ms project help

7/27/2019 Ms Project Help

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Getting Help

Create a plan

Set up a project

Enter a task list

Schedule tasks

Assign resources

Enter costs

View the schedule

Adjust the schedule

Save the plan

Track and manageCommunicate

Lesson: How do you set up a project?

The first steps in creating a schedule are starting a new file, designating a project start or finish date, and

entering general project information.

Create a new project

When you start a new project in Microsoft Project, you can enter your project's start or finish date, but

not both. It's recommended that you enter only your project's start date and let Microsoft Project calculate

the finish date after you have entered and scheduled tasks.

If your project must be finished by a certain date, enter only the project's finish date. Even if you initially

schedule from the project finish date, it's best to schedule from the project start date after work begins on

the project.

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Click New.

The New button may be temporarily hidden. It may not appear because there is not enough room to

display all the buttons. Click More Buttons, and then click New.

In the Project Information dialog box, type or select a start date or a finish date for your project, and then

click OK.

Click Save.

In the File name box, type a name for your project, and then click Save.


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Tip You can change your project information at any time by clicking Project Information on the Project

menu.

Enter key project information

Each project has a unique set of ingredients: the tasks involved, the people who do them, and the project

goal. To help remember and communicate important details, enter information about the project and refer

to it when necessary.

1 On the File menu, click Properties, and then click the Summary tab.

2 Enter any information you'd like about your project, such as the people who will manage it and

maintain the project file, the project goal, any known limitations that may make it difficult to reach

that goal, and other general project notes.

3 Click OK.

Tip To look for a menu command that doesn't appear, click the arrows at the bottom of the menu. The

menu expands to show more commands. You can also expand a menu by double-clicking it.

Set up the project calendar

You can change theproject calendarto reflect the working days and hours for everyone on your project.

The calendar defaults are Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., with an hour off for lunch.

You can specifynonworking times, such as weekends and evenings, as well as special days off, such as

holidays.

1 On the View menu, click Gantt Chart.

2 On the Tools menu, click Change Working Time.

3 Select a date on the calendar. To change one day of the week for the entire calendar, for example, to have Fridays end at

4:00 P.M., click the abbreviation for that day at the top of the calendar.

To change all working days, for example, to begin working days Tuesday through Friday at9:00 A.M., click the abbreviation (such as T for Tuesday) for the first working day of theweek. Hold down SHIFT, and then click the abbreviation for the last working day of the week(such as F for Friday).

4 Click Nonworking time for days off, or Nondefault working time to change the hours worked.

5 If you clicked Non-default working time in step 3, type the times you want work to start in the Fromboxes, and the times you want work to end in the To boxes.
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6 Click OK.

Lesson: How do you enter and organize a task list?

First, list the steps needed to accomplish your project's goals. Start with the large chunks of work and

then break down each chunk into tasks with singledeliverables. Addmilestones. Finally, gather and enter

durationestimates.

After you enter task information, create an outline to help you see the project's structure.

Enter tasks and their durations

A typical project is a series of relatedtasks. A task represents an amount of work with a cleardeliverable;

it should be short enough to track its progress regularly. Tasks should generally be between one day and

two weeks long.

Enter tasks in the order they will occur. Then estimate how long it will take to complete each task, and

enter your estimate as the duration. Microsoft Project uses durations to calculate the amount of work to

be done on the task.

Note Don't enter dates in the Start and Finish fields for each task. Microsoft Project calculates the start

and finish dates based on how the tasks are related, information you'll enter in the next lesson.


2 In the Task Name field, type a task name, and then press TAB.

Microsoft Project enters an estimated duration of one day for the task followed by a question mark.

3 In the Duration field, type the amount of time each task will take in months, weeks, days, hours, or

minutes, not counting nonworking time. You can use the following abbreviations:

months = mo

weeks = w

days = d

hours = h

minutes = m

Note To show an estimated duration, type a question mark after the duration.

4 Press ENTER.
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Tip You can also add a note about a task. In the Task Name field, select the task, and then click Task

Notes. Type your information in the Notes box, and then click OK.

Note The toolbar button you want may be temporarily hidden. It may not appear because there is not

enough room to display all the buttons. Click More Buttons, and then click Task Notes

Create a milestone

Amilestoneis a task you use to identify significant events in your schedule, such as the completion of a

major phase. When you enter a duration of zero days for a task, Microsoft Project displays the milestone

symbol on the Gantt Chart at the start of that day.

1 In the Duration field, click the duration of the task you want to make a milestone, and then type 0d.

2 Press ENTER.

Note Although a task with a duration of 0 is automatically marked as a milestone, you can make any

task a milestone. To mark a task as a milestone, click the task in the Task Name field. Click Task

Information, click the Advanced tab, and then select the Mark task as milestone check box.

Tip To see all milestones, click Milestones in the Filter list. To see the entire project again, click All

Tasks in the Filter list.

Create a recurring task

Recurring tasks are tasks that repeat regularly, such as weekly meetings. A recurring task can take place

daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. You can specify the duration of each occurrence, when it will occur,

and for how long or how many times it should occur.

1 In the Task Name field, click the row below where you want the recurring task to appear.

2 On the Insert menu, click Recurring Task.

3 In the Task Name box, type the task name.

4 In the Duration box, type or select the duration of a single occurrence of the task.

5 Under Recurrence pattern, click Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly.

6 To the right of Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly, specify the task frequency.

7 Under Range of recurrence, type a start date in the Start box and then select End after or End by.

If you selected End after, type the number of occurrences for the task.
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If you selected End by, type the date you want the recurring task to end.

8 Click OK.

Tip To view all instances of a recurring task, click the plus sign next to the main recurring task.

Structure tasks into a logical outline

Outlininghelps organize your tasks into more manageable chunks. You can indent related tasks under a

more general task, creating a hierarchy. The general tasks are called summary tasks; the indented tasks

below the summary task aresubtasks. A summary task's start and finish dates are determined by the start

and finish dates of its earliest and latest subtasks.

To organize your outline, use outline buttons:

Indent Outdent

Show Subtasks Hide Subtasks

Show All Subtasks


2 Click the first task you want to make into a subtask.

3 On the Insert menu, click New Task.

4 In the inserted row, type the name of the new summary task in the Task Name field.

5 In the Task Name field, select the tasks you want to make into subtasks.

6 Click Indent to indent these tasks.

Tip You can indent or outdent a task quickly with the mouse. Select the task, and then position the

pointer over the first letter of the task name. When the pointer changes to a two-way arrow, drag right to

indent the task or drag left to outdent the task.

Edit a task list

As you create a task list, you will probably want to break large tasks into smaller tasks and rearrange

tasks. You may want to copy, delete, or move tasks in your project.
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You can also easily rearrange project phases in an outlined schedule. When you move or delete a

summary task, thesubtasksassociated are moved or deleted as well.

1 In the ID field (the leftmost field), select the task you want to copy, move, or delete.

To select a row, click the task ID number. To select a group of adjacent rows, hold down SHIFT, and then click the first and last ID numbers of

the group.

To select several nonadjacent rows, hold down CTRL, and then click the task ID numbers.

2 Copy, move, or delete the task.

To copy the task, click Copy. To move the task, click Cut. To delete the task, press DELETE.

3 To move the selection you cut or repeat the selection you copied, select the rows where you want to paste it.Be sure to select entire rows.

4 Click Paste.

If there is information in the destination row, the new rows will be inserted above the destination row.


enough room to display all the buttons. Click More Buttons, and then click the button you want.

Tip To add a new task between existing tasks, click a task ID number and then press the INSERT key.

Tasks renumber automatically after you insert a new task.

Lesson: When will tasks start and finish?

After you create and outline your task list, it's time to address how the tasks relate to each other and to

specific dates. There are many types of task relationships, such as links that show one task starting as

another finishes. These links are calledtask dependencies. Microsoft Project automatically determines the

start and finish dates for tasks that have dependencies to other tasks.

The advantage of dependencies or "linked" tasks is that whenever a task changes, linked tasks are

automatically rescheduled. You can refine task schedules using constraints, overlap or delay tasks, and

split tasks when work stops temporarily.

Establish relationships between tasks

To establish relationships between tasks, usetask dependencies. First, select the related tasks, link them,

and then change the dependency type, if necessary. The task whose start or finish depends on another task

is thesuccessor. The task that the successor is dependent on is thepredecessor. For example, if you link

"Hang clock" to "Paint wall," then "Hang clock" is the successor and "Paint wall" is the predecessor.
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After the tasks are linked, changes to the predecessor's dates affect the successor's dates. Microsoft

Project creates a finish-to-start task dependency by default. Because a finish-to-start dependency does not

work in every situation, you can change the task link to start-to-start, finish-to-finish, or start-to-finish to

model your project realistically.


2 In the Task Name field, select two or more tasks to link in the order you want them linked.

To select adjacent tasks, hold down SHIFT, and then click the first and last task you want to link.

To select nonadjacent tasks, hold down CTRL, and then click the tasks you want to link, in order.

3 Click Link Tasks.

4 To change thetask link, double-click the link line between the tasks you want to change.

The Task Dependency dialog box appears. If the Bar Styles dialog box appears, you didn't click precisely on

the task link and need to close this dialog box and click on the task link again.

5 In the Type box, select the task link you want, and then click OK.

Note To unlink tasks, select the tasks you want to unlink in the Task Name field, and then click Unlink

Tasks. The tasks are rescheduled based on existing links to other tasks, orconstraints.

Overlap tasks or add lag time between them

After you've sequenced tasks by linking them, you can overlap or delay them as well. In Microsoft

Project, delay tasks by adding lag timeto thepredecessortask, and overlap tasks by enteringlead time.

You can also enter lead or lag time as a percentage of the task.

1 In the Task Name field, click the task you want to add lead or lag time to (it must have predecessors),and then click Task Information.

2 Click the Predecessors tab.

3 In the Lag column, type the lead time or lag time you want, as adurationor as a percentage of thepredecessor task duration.

Type lead time as a negative number (for example, 2d for two days lead time) or as apercentage.

Type lag time as a positive number or as a percentage.

4 Click OK.

Tip To quickly add lead or lag time to a successor task, double-click the link line on the Gantt Chart,

and then type the amount of lead or lag time in the Lag box of the Task Dependency dialog box.
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Set a specific start or finish date for a task

You can schedule your tasks most effectively by entering task durations, creatingdependenciesbetween

tasks, and then letting Microsoft Project calculate the start and finish dates for you. However, you can set

a specific start or finish date for a task if necessary.

Task constraints that tie tasks to specific dates are called inflexible constraints; the most inflexible

constraints are specific start or finish dates. Because Microsoft Project takes constraints into account

when calculating your schedule, use these inflexible constraints only when tasks must start or finish on a

specific date.

1 In the Task Name field, click the task you want to set a start or finish date for, and then click TaskInformation.

2 Click the Advanced tab.

3 In the Constraint type box, click a constraint type.

4 Type or select a date in the Constraint date box, and then click OK.

Note If you select a start date for a task in the Start field of the Gantt Chart, or if you drag a Gantt bar to

change the start date, Microsoft Project sets aStart No Earlier Than (SNET)constraint based on the new

start date. If you select a finish date for a task, Microsoft Project automatically assigns a Finish No

Earlier Than (FNET)constraint.

Add a deadline to a task

When you set a deadline for a task, Microsoft Project displays an indicator if the task is scheduled to

finish after the deadline.

Setting a deadline doesn't affect how tasks are scheduled. It's just a way to have Microsoft Project inform

you that a task will finish past its deadline. You then have the option of adjusting the schedule to meet

that deadline.


2 In the Task Name field, click the task that you want to set a deadline for.

3 Click Task Information and then click the Advanced tab.

4 Under Constrain task, type or select the deadline date in the Deadline box, and then click OK.Tip You can drag the deadline symbol on the Gantt Chart to change the deadline date.
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Split a task into segments

You can split a task if work on the task is interrupted and then resumes later in the schedule. This is

useful, for example, when you need to temporarily stop work on a task to work on another task. You can

split a task as many times as necessary.

Note that splitting a task into parts is not the same as entering a recurring task, a task that occurs at

regular intervals, such as a staff meeting.


2 Click Split Task.

3 On the task's Gantt bar, click the date where you want the split to occur and drag the second part of the barto the date that you want work to begin again.

Tip You can remove the split by dragging a portion of a split task so that it touches another portion.

Lesson: How do you assign resources?

You should assign resources to tasks when you want to:

Track the amount of work done by people and equipment assigned to tasks or monitor materialsused.

Have more flexibility in scheduling tasks. Monitor resources with too little or too much work assigned. Keep track of resource costs.If you don't enter resource information, Microsoft Project calculates your schedule using only taskdurationanddependencies.

Create a resource list

You can use the Resource Sheet in Microsoft Project to create a list of the people, equipment, and

material resourcesthat make up your team and carry out the project tasks. Your resource list will consistofwork resourcesor material resources. Work resources are people or equipment; material resources are

consumable materials or supplies, such as concrete, wood, or nails.

1 On the View menu, click Resource Sheet.

2 On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Entry.

3 In the Resource Name field, type a resource name.

4 To designate resource groups, in the Group field for the resource name, type the name of the group.
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5 In the Type field, specify the resource type:

For a work resource (people or equipment), set the resource type to Work. For a material resource (consumed throughout the project) set the resource type to Material.

6 For each work resource (people or equipment), type the number of resource units available for this resourcein the Max. Units field, as a percentage. For example, type 300% to indicate three full-time units of a

particular resource.

7 For each material resource (supplies consumed throughout the project), in the Material Label field, type ameasurement unit for the material resource, such as ton.

Notes

Resource groups can be used forsorting,filtering, orgroupingtasks by resources belonging to a particulargroup. You can use groups to indicate the department a human resource belongs to or to specify

accounting codes for billing purposes.

You cannot assign resource groups to tasks. If you want to specify consolidated resources, such as"Carpenters" or "Editors" or "Engineers," enter that as the resource name, and then assign the

consolidated resource name to tasks.

Tip As you work in the Gantt Chart or other task views, you can enter additional resource names. Toassign additional resources, click Assign Resources, and then type a resource name in the Name field.You can also click Address and select a resource from your e-mail address book.

Change the work schedule for a resource

The working hours and days off defined in theproject calendarare the default working hours and days

off for each resource. When an individual resource works a different schedule entirely, or when you needto account for vacations or equipment downtime, you can modify an individualresource calendar.

1 On the View menu, click Resource Sheet, and then select the resource whose schedule you want to change.

2 On the Project menu, click Resource Information, and then click the Working Time tab.

3 On the calendar, select the days you want to change.

To change a day of the week for the entire calendar, click the abbreviation for the day at the top of the

calendar.

4 Click Use default, Nonworking time, or Non-default working time.

When you click Use default, the selected days return to the Microsoft Project Standard calendar default,

which is Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M., and 1:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.

5 If you clicked Non-default working time in step 4, type the times that you want work to start in the Fromboxes and the times that you want work to end in the To boxes.

6 Click OK.
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Tip If a group of resources has the same special working hours and days off, you can create a newbase

calendarfor them. On the Tools menu, click Change Working Time. Click New, and type a name for the

new base calendar. Click Create new base calendar to begin with a default calendar.

Or to base the new calendar on an existing calendar, click Make a copy of, and then click the calendar

name of the existing calendar in the Calendar box. Click OK, and then modify the days and hours on the

calendar. On the View menu, click Resource Sheet, and select the new base calendar in the Base

Calendar field for each resource that you want to assign the calendar to.

Assign resources to tasks

When you assign a resource to a task, you create an assignment. You can assign any resource to any task

and change assignments at any time.

You can assign more than one resource to a task and specify whether a resource works full-time or part-

time on a task. If the work assigned to a resource exceeds the daily full-time allotment indicated in the

resource's working times calendar, Microsoft Project displays the name of the overallocated resource in

red in resource views.


2 In the Task Name field, click the task to which you want to assign a resource, and then click Assign Resources.

3 In the Name field, click the resource you want to assign to the task.

4 To assign a resource part-time, type or select a percentage less than 100 in the Units column to represent thepercentage of working time you want the resource to spend on the task.

To assign several different resources, hold down CTRL and click the names of the resources. To assign more than one of the same resource (such as two carpenters), type or select a percentage

greater than 100 in the Units column. If necessary, type the name of a new resource in the Name

column.

5 Click Assign.

A check mark to the left of the Name column indicates that the resource is assigned to the selected task.

6 Click Close.

Tip You can replace one resource with another. Select the task whose resource you want to replace. In

the Assign Resources dialog box, select the assigned resource and click Replace. Select one or more

resources to assign, and then click OK.
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Fix the duration of a task

As you assign more resources to a task, Microsoft Project automatically decreases the duration of the

task. For example, a task with a one-day duration and one assigned resource has 8 hours of work. With

effort-driven scheduling, if you assign a second resource, the task still has 8 hours of work, but its

duration is reduced to half a day.

If you want to change the amount of work on the task instead, you can turn off effort-driven scheduling

and assign another resource. The task will then have 16 hours of work and still have a one-day duration.


2 In the Task Name field, select the tasks for which you want to turn off effort-driven scheduling.

3 Click Task Information, and then click the Advanced tab.

4 Clear the Effort driven check box, and then click OK.

Now when you assign an additional resource, the task's duration will not change.

Tip You can turn off effort-driven scheduling for all new tasks you create. Existing tasks will not be

affected. On the Tools menu, click Options, click the Schedule tab, and then clear the New tasks are

effort driven check box.

Check and edit resource assignments

The Resource Usage view shows project resourceswith their assigned tasks grouped underneath them.

Using the Resource Usage view, you can find out how many hours each resource is scheduled to work on

specific tasks and see which resources areover allocated. You can also determine how much time each

resource has available for additional work assignments.

1 On the View menu, click Resource Usage.

To see different information about resource assignments, such as work and cost, point to Table on the View

menu, and then click the table you want to see in the Resource Usage view.

2 In the Resource Name column, review the resource assignments.

3 To reassign a task from one person to another, select the entire row, position the pointer over the ID field(the leftmost column), and then drag the task to its new location.

Notes

You can change the timescale to another scale, such as weeks, if that is more appropriate for yourproject. On the Format menu, click Timescale, and change the values in the Units boxes under Major

scale and Minor scale.

Changing the view or table does not add information to or remove information from your project; it onlychanges the project information that is displayed.
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If a resource name is red and bold, the resource is over allocated.Lesson: How do you enter costs?

Whether you need to account for each task's expenses or the overall cost of the project, entering rates for

a resource's work on tasks or for fixed task costs enables you to see whether you are staying within

budget.

You can choose when to accrue costs, enter per-use and overtime rates for resources, and plan for raises.

Assign costs to resources

Microsoft Project allows you to assign rates to human andmaterial resourcesso you can manage project

costs accurately. You can assign standard rates,overtimerates, orper-use ratesto resources.



3 In the Resource Name field, select a resource or type a new resource name.

4 In the Type field, click Work if the resource is a worker or machine, or Material if the resource is material orsupplies (such as cement).

5 For a work resource, in the Std. Rate, Ovt. Rate, or Cost/Use fields, type the resource rates.

For a material resource, in the Material Label field, type a measurement unit for the material resource (such

as ton), and in the Std. Rate or Cost/Use fields, type a rate.

6 Press ENTER.

Tip You can set the default standard and overtime rates for any new resources you enter. On the Tools

menu, click Options, and then click the General tab. In the Default standard rate and Default overtime

rate boxes, type the new rates. If you want to set this default for all future projects, click Set as Default.

Note If the rate for a resource will change over the course of the project or if the resource will be paid at

different rates for different assignments, or if you work with different grades of material, click Resource

Sheet on the View menu. In the Resource Name field, select a resource and then click Resource

Information. Then, enter the information on the Costs tab.

Set fixed task costs

When you know an exact cost associated with a task, such as equipment costs, you can enter afixed cost.


2 On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Cost.
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3 In the Fixed Cost field for the task, type the cost.

4 Press ENTER.

Tip In the Cost table, you can also change when the fixed cost is accrued by selecting an accrual method

in the Fixed Cost Accrual field.

Define when costs accrue

In Microsoft Project, resourcecostsare prorated by default. Their accrual is distributed over its duration.

You can, however, change theaccrual methodso that resource costs take effect at the start or end of the

task instead.



3 In the Accrue At field, click the accrual method you want to use.

Notes

When you enter time phased rate changes for a resource and use the prorated cost accrual method, yourcosts will be calculated using the rates for the appropriate time periods and may change during the

completion of the task.

You cannot prorate per-use resource costs or accrue them at the end of a task assignment. They alwaysaccrue at the start of the assignment.

See the cost of tasks or resources

After you assign rates to resources or fixed costs to tasks, you may want to review the total costof these

assignments to make sure they fall within your expectations. If the total cost of a task or resource does

not meet your budget, you may need to examine each individual task's costs and each resource's task

assignments to see where costs can be reduced.

1 To see task costs, on the View menu, click More Views, and then click Task Sheet.

To see resource costs, on the View menu, click Resource Sheet.

2 On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Cost.

Tips

You can also view how costs are distributed over a task's duration in the Task Usage view by displaying itscost details. On the View menu, click Task Usage. On the Format menu, point to Details, and then click

Cost.
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You can view resource costs in more detail by clicking Resource Usage on the View menu, pointing toDetails on the Format menu, and then clicking Cost. You can also see resource cost totals displayed

graphically by clicking Resource Graph on the View menu, pointing to Details on the Format menu, and

then clicking Cost or Cumulative Cost.

See the cost of the entire project

You can view your project's current,baseline,actual, andremaining coststo see whether you're staying

within your overall budget. These costs are updated each time Microsoft Project recalculates your project.

1 On the Project menu, click Project Information.

2 Click Statistics.

3 Under Cost in the Current row, view the total planned cost of the project.

Tips

After you set a baseline and begin to track actual costs, you can compare the Baseline and Actual fields tosee if total project costs are progressing as expected.

As actual work progresses, you can also compare the variance between the Current and Remaining fieldsto see if you will have enough money to complete the project.

Lesson: How do you view the schedule and its details?

After entering the basic project data, review it. Will you meet your deadlines? If not, examine the tasks

leading up to milestones and make sure you have scheduled them efficiently.

First, look at the big picture: the start and finish date and thecritical path. Then check the details. Display

tasks and resources inviewsthat you can change to suit your needs.

When you've completed this lesson, you'll know how to see overall schedule information as well as

details.

See the entire project on the screen

You can get an overview of your project's start and finish dates and see when major phases will occur by

zooming in and out on the Gantt Chart.


2 On the View menu, click Zoom, click Entire project, and then click OK.

Tips

To see the Gantt bars on a larger or smallertimescale, click Zoom In or Zoom Out. If you have to scroll down to see the project's finish date, and you have outlined tasks in a hierarchy, you

can look at just the top-level summary tasks. Click the ID field heading (the left uppermost cell in the

Gantt Chart) and then click Hide Subtasks.

To see tasks to a specific outline level, click the ID column heading (the left uppermost field in the GanttChart). Click Show, and then click the outline level you want.
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Check the project's finish or start date

You can review important project information, such as the finish date, to see if the project will meet your

expectations as it is currently scheduled.

On the Project menu, click Project Information, and then click Statistics.

The project's start and finish dates are shown, as well as the project's total work and cost.

Identify the critical path

The critical path is a series of tasks that must be completed on time for a project to finish on schedule.

Most tasks in a typical project have someslackand can therefore be delayed a little without affecting the

project's finish date. Those tasks that cannot be delayed without affecting the project finish date are the

critical tasks. As you modify tasks to resolve overallocations or other problems in your schedule, be

aware of the critical tasks; changes to critical tasks will affect your project finish date.


2 Click GanttChartWizard.

3 Follow the GanttChartWizard instructions to format critical path tasks.

Tips

You can filter your schedule so that only the critical tasks are displayed. On the Project menu, point toFiltered for, and then click Critical. Click All Tasks in the Filter list to display all the tasks again.

After filtering critical tasks, you can sort them by duration so that the critical tasks will be in order, fromthe longest to the shortest. Sorting the critical tasks helps you see where to put your efforts in shortening

tasks.

Switch to a different view

You can display project information intask viewsorresource views. Some task and resource views are in

sheet views, containing columns (called fields) of related information. You can change the table in a

sheet view to see different fields of information. Other views show tasks or resource allocation

graphically (such as the Calendar, Network Diagram, and Resource Graph views), or tasks and resources

related to atimescale(such as the Task Usage and Resource Usage views).

On the View menu, click the task or resource view you want.If the view you want to see isn't on the View menu, click More Views for more choices. Click a

view in the Views list, and then click Apply.

Note Changing the view neither adds information to nor removes information from your project; it only

changes what is displayed.
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See different fields in a view

As you plan and track your schedule, it's useful to look at different combinations of information. By

changing the table applied to a sheetview, you can change the fieldsof information displayed in that

view.

1 If necessary, on the View menu, click the view you want.

To use a view that is not on the View menu, click More Views, click the view you want in the Viewslist, and then click Apply.

2 On the View menu, point to Table, and then click the table you want to apply.

To apply atablethat isn't on the Table submenu, click More Tables, click the task or resource tableyou want, and then click Apply.

Note that the field headings change as you switch between tables.

Display specific information by using a filter

When you want to focus on certain tasks or resources in the current view, you can apply a filter to the

view. You can specify that the filter show or highlight only those tasks or resources that meet the filter

criteria.

1 On the Project menu, point to Filtered for, and then click the filter you want to apply.

To apply a filter that isn't on the Filtered for submenu or to apply ahighlighting filter, click More Filters.

2 Click Apply to apply the filter, or click Highlight to apply a highlighting filter.

3 If you apply aninteractive filter, type the requested values, and then click OK.

4 To turn off a filter, point to Filtered for on the Project menu, and then click All Tasks or All Resources.

Note You cannot apply task filters to resource views or apply resource filters to task views.

Tip You can set anAutoFilterin many views to quickly find a subset of data in a field. On the Projectmenu, point to Filtered for, and then click AutoFilter. Click the arrow in the column that contains the

information you want to display, and then click a value you want to use to filter the table. To turn off

AutoFilters, point to Filtered for on the Project menu, and then click AutoFilter again.

Sort information in a view

You can sort tasks or resources by criteria such as task name, finish date, and resource name. Sorting can

be useful when you want to see tasks in sequence. For example, you can see which tasks should start or

finish sooner.

Sorting is maintained when you switch views and is saved when you close a project file. However, a

custom sort cannot be saved.
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2 On the Project menu, point to Sort, and then click the sorting option you want.

3 To customize a sort, on the Project menu, point to Sort, and then click Sort by.

4 In the Sort by box, click the field you want to sort by, and then click Ascending or Descending to specify thesort order.

5 Specify sorting options.

To sort by an additional field, click the field in the first Then by box, and then click Ascending orDescending to specify the sort order.

To permanently renumber your tasks, select the Permanently renumber tasks check box. To sort tasks within their outline structure so thatsubtasksremain with theirsummary tasks, select

the Keep outline structure check box. To reset the sort order back to the default sort order, click Reset.

Note Clicking Reset only resets the sort options in the Sort dialog box to their default order. If your

tasks were permanently reordered by using the Permanently renumber tasks check box, then clicking

Reset will not reset the numbered order of the tasks.

Group information in a view

In many views, you can group information for tasks or resources to compare and contrast data. For

example, you may want to see all tasks that have a similar duration grouped together.

1 To group task information, on the View menu, click More Views, and then click Task Sheet.

To group resource information, on the View menu, click Resource Sheet.

2 On the Project menu, point to Group by, and then click the group you want to apply.

To apply a group that isn't on the Group by submenu, click More Groups. For example, for the Task Sheet,

click Duration to see tasks grouped by duration. For the Resource Sheet, click Resource Group to see

resources grouped by the information in the Group field.

3 To remove the grouping you applied, on the Project menu, point to Group by, and then click No Group.

Lesson: How do you adjust your schedule?

If, after viewing your schedule, you find that you won't meet your project finish date, you can adjust tasks

to shorten your schedule. Pay special attention tocritical tasksbecause any changes to those tasks may

affect the finish date.

Can a task begin earlier? Uselead time. Is there a date that a task must absolutely start? Add aconstraint.

Are some resources overworked and others free? Reassign resources to shorten tasks.
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When you've completed this lesson, you'll have adjusted your schedule to meet the finish date.

Check and adjust a task dependency

Atask dependencydescribes how a task is related to the start or finish of another task. Microsoft Project

provides four task dependencies you can use to connect a series of tasks in a schedule: finish-to-start (the

most commonly used dependency), start-to-start, start-to-finish, and finish-to-finish. By using these

dependencies effectively, you can modify thecritical pathand shorten your project schedule.

Microsoft Project assigns a finish-to-start task dependency when you link tasks. If another relationship

better models your tasks, change the dependency type. For example, when two tasks need to start at the

same time, you can create a start-to-start link. When tasks need to finish at the same time, you can use a

finish-to-finish link.


2 Double-click the link line of the tasks you want to check.

The Task Dependency dialog box appears. If the Bar Styles dialog box appears, you didn't clickprecisely on the task link and need to close this dialog box and double-click the task link again.

3 In the Type box, check the task dependency.

4 To change the dependency, in the Type box, click thetask linkyou want to use.

Tips

If you have tasks that can be worked on at the same time, you can shorten the critical path most bychanging the task dependency. For example, if two tasks can be started at the same time, you can change

the task dependency to start-to-start. If two tasks should finish at the same time, you can change the task

dependency to finish-to-finish.

You can addleadorlag timeto tasks to make their start or finish dates overlap each other or to delay apredecessor task. To quickly add lead or lag time to a successor task, double-click the link line on the

Gantt Chart, and then type the amount of lead or lag time in the Lag box of the Task Dependency dialog

box. Type lead time as a negative number (for example, 2d for two days of lead time) or as a

percentage. Type lag time as a positive number or as a percentage

Overlap tasks

If you have tasks that can begin earlier than shown in your schedule, you can overlap (add lead time) to

more accurately model how the work will be done.

For example, if the electricians can begin wiring outlets before the walls are all finished, you can use time

more efficiently by starting the "Wire outlets" task after half of the walls have been roughed in. To do

this, you set up a lead time between the finish of the "Rough-in walls" task and the start of the "Wire

outlets" task. In Microsoft Project, you type lead time as a negative number or as a negative percentage,

such as 50 or30%.
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1 In the Task Name field, click the task you want, and then click Task Information.

2 Click the Predecessors tab.

3 In the Lag field, type the lead time you want, as a negative number or as a percentage.

Tips

You can quickly add lead time to a successor task by double-clicking the link on the Gantt Chart, and thentyping the amount of lead time in the Task Dependency dialog box.

You can also delay tasks by adding lag time. For example, if you need a 2-day delay between the finish ofone task and the start of another, double-click the link line on the Gantt Chart, and then type 2d in the

Lag field of the Task Dependency dialog box.

Check and adjust constraints on tasks

Task constraints can help you create a more accurate schedule by tying tasks to specific dates. For

example, you can specify that a task must start no earlier than a particular date or finish no later than a

particular date. You can change the constraint on a task from the default, As Soon As Possible, to seven

other constraints or reset it to the default constraint to better reflect when the task will be done.


2 On the View menu, point to Table, and then click More Tables.

3 In the Tables list, click Constraint Dates, and then click Apply.

You may need to drag the divider barto the right to view the Constraint Type and Constraint Datefields.

The Constraint Dates table shows the task name, duration, constraint type for all constraints, and the

constraint date, as applicable.

If the field you want to see isn't visible, press TAB to move to it.

4 For each task with a constraint other than the default, As Soon As Possible, look at thepredecessortasks andsuccessortasks on the Gantt Chart to determine if you really need the constraint.

5 Change a constraint if necessary.

To change a constraint type, in the Constraint Type field, click the arrow, and then click theappropriate constraint.

To change a constraint date, type or select the date in the Constraint Date field.Notes
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If you type a start date for a task or drag a Gantt bar to change the start date, Microsoft Project sets aStart No Earlier Than (SNET) constraint based on the new start date. If you type a finish date for a task,

Microsoft Project automatically assigns a Finish No Earlier Than (FNET) constraint.

If you're scheduling your project from a finish date, typing a start date for a task or dragging a Gantt barto change the start date sets a Start No Later Than (SNLT) constraint. If you type a finish date for a task,

Microsoft Project automatically assigns a Finish No Later Than (FNLT) constraint.

Make tasks shorter by adding more resources

After you've assigned resources to a task, Microsoft Project recalculates the task's duration if you add or

remove additional resources. For example, if you add another resource to an effort-driven task with a

four-day duration and one assigned resource, the task will be shortened to two days. If you have more

flexibility with your resource assignments than schedule deadlines, adding resources can be an effective

way to shorten your schedule.


2 In the Task Name field, click the task to which you want to assign more resources, and then click AssignResources.

3 In the Name field, click the resource you want to assign to the task.

If necessary, type the name of a new resource in the Name field.

4 Click Assign.

A check mark to the left of the Name field indicates that the resource is assigned to the selected task.

Note If the task duration isn't affected by adding resources, ensure the scheduling options are set to

effort-driven scheduling. Click Task Information, and then click the Advanced tab. Be sure the Effort

driven check box is selected and the task type is Fixed Units or Fixed Work.

Tips

If you don't know which resources are available to take on more work, you can see current resourceallocations by clicking Resource Usage on the View menu.

To assign a resource part-time, type a value less than 100 in the Units field to represent the percentage ofworking time you want the resource to spend on the task. To assign more than one of the same resource

(such as two carpenters), type a percentage amount greater than 100 in the Units field.

To assign several different resources, hold down CTRL as you click nonadjacent resources or hold downSHIFT as you click adjacent resources.

Split a task into segments

Splitting tasks may help adjust your schedule. You can split a task so that the task is interrupted, and then

resumes later in the schedule.
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Splitting tasks is useful when you need to stop work on a task temporarily to work on another task. You

can split a task as many times as necessary. Splitting a task into parts is not the same as entering a

recurring task scheduled to occur at regular intervals, such as a staff meeting.


2 Click Split Task.

3 Move the pointer over the taskbar you want to split, and then click the taskbar where you want the split tooccur.


enough room to display all the buttons. Click More Buttons, and then click Split Task.

Tips

You can create a longer split by clicking and dragging the taskbar to the right. You can remove the split by dragging a portion of a split task so that it touches another portion.

Lesson: How do you save the plan along the way?

After you've entered task, resource, and cost information for your project, you can save a snapshot of

your original plan, called a baseline.

To save a checkpoint of actual progress on the project, you can save an interim plan and compare changes

to your baseline plan.

After the project is underway, you can enter actual information and compare that data to the baseline.

Save a baseline plan

When you've entered all of your project information and you're ready to start actual work, you can save a

baseline of your project's information to compare with the actual progress of your project. Using a

baseline, you can track the progress of your schedule so you can make the necessary corrections. For

example, you can see which tasks started later than planned, how much work resources performed, and

whether your budget's on track.

1 On the Tools menu, point to Tracking, and then click Save Baseline.

2 Click Entire project to save a project baseline.
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Click Selected tasks to add new tasks to an existing baseline.

3 Click OK.

Tip To create a budget, first assign resources and enter rate information or anyfixed costs, and then savea baseline. The cost information in the baseline plan can serve as a budget. You cannot save thisinformation in an interim plan.

Note If you haven't yet entered all your basic project information when you first save your file, you canchoose to save it without a baseline.

Save an interim plan

After you save a baseline of your project's information, you can save up to 10 interim plans as

checkpoints during the project.

1 On the Tools menu, point to Tracking, and then click Save Baseline.

2 Click Save interim plan.

3 In the Copy box, click the name of the current interim plan.

4 In the Into box, click a name for the next interim plan, or specify a new name.

5 Click Entire project to save an interim plan for the whole project.

Click Selected tasks to save a portion of the schedule.

6 Click OK.

Note An interim plan saves the tasks' start and finish dates into Start and Finish fields. You can display

these interim plan dates by adding the Start and Finish fields to a table.

Track and manage progress

When you manage a project, you need to monitor the elements of the project triangle: time, money, and

scope. Adjusting one of these elements affects the other two. Events such as unexpected delays, cost

overruns, and resource changes can cause problems in your schedule.

If you keep your project information up to date, you can always see the latest status of the project. That

way, you can identify problems early that might affect your project's success and use Microsoft Project to

find solutions.

Lesson: How do you track the actual progress on tasks?

Once you've set up your project and work has begun, you can keep track of actual start and finish dates,

tasks' percentage of completion, and actual work. Tracking actuals shows you how changes affect other

tasks and, ultimately, the project's finish date.
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Check if tasks are progressing according to plan

To keep your project on schedule, make sure that tasks start and finish on schedule. The Tracking Gantt

view helps find trouble spots, tasks that vary from the baseline plan. You can then adjust task

dependencies, reassign resources, or delete some tasks to meet your deadlines.

The Tracking Gantt view pairs the current schedule with the original schedule for each task. When you've

saved the project with a baseline, but before you've entered actual data on progress, the Tracking Gantt

view shows tasks with the baseline bars and the scheduled or actual bars synchronized.

As you enter actuals, the top bar may move to show a departure from plan. For example, if the start date

of "Inventory artifacts" moves by two days and is over half complete at 55%, the red scheduled bar

extends two days beyond the lower baseline bar.

1 On the View menu, click Tracking Gantt.

2 To view the variance fields, on the View menu, point to Table, and then click Variance.

3 If necessary, press TAB to see the variance fields.

4 On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Tracking.

5 Update the progress of the tasks in your project.

If the task has started as scheduled, click the task, and then click Update as Scheduled . If the task is not progressing as scheduled, in the next lessons you'll learn how to enter actual start

and finish dates, enter the actual duration of the task, or update a task's progress as a percentage.

Note You must have saved a baseline in order to havevarianceinformation.

Enter actual start and finish dates for a task

Tasks that start or finish late can throw an entire project off schedule by delaying the start or finish dates

of related tasks. Tasks that start or finish early can free resources to work on other tasks that are behind

schedule. Microsoft Project uses theactualvalues you enter to reschedule the remaining portions of your

project.


2 On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Tracking if it is not already selected.
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3 In the Task Name field, select the tasks you want to update.

To select nonadjacent tasks, hold down CTRL, and then click the tasks. To select adjacent tasks, hold down

SHIFT, and then click the first and last task to update.

4 Click Update Tasks.

5 Under Actual, type or select a date in the Start or Finish box.

If you enter a finish date, make sure that the task is 100% complete; Microsoft Project will assume the date is

correct and reschedule tasks accordingly.

6 Click OK.

Note Entering an actual start date or actual finish date for a task changes the corresponding scheduled

date for that task. Baseline dates, however, are not affected.

Enter the actual duration of a task

If you know the number of days a task has been in progress and if it is progressing as planned, you can

track progress by entering thedurationthat the resource has been working on the task.

When you enter the actual duration of a task, Microsoft Project updates the actual start date, the task's

percentage of completion, and the duration of the task remaining in the schedule.


2 In the Task Name field, click the task for which you want to enter the actual duration.

3 On the Tools menu, point to Tracking, and then click Update Tasks.

4 In the Actual dur box, type the actual duration of the task.

5 Click OK.

Tip If you think the task is going to be finished sooner or later than originally scheduled, you can enter a

new value in the Remaining dur box.

Note If you enter an actual duration longer than or equal to the scheduled duration, the task becomes

100% complete, and the scheduled duration then equals the actual duration.

Update a task's progress as a percentage

You can indicate how much progress has been made on a task by entering the percentage of the task

duration that is complete. For relatively short tasks, it may not be worthwhile to track progress in such

detail; but for long tasks, indicating the percentage of completion for the task helps you track actual

progress against the baseline plan.
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1 On the View menu, click Gantt Chart

2 In the Task Name field, click the task for which you want to update progress.

3 Click Task Information, and then click the General tab.

4 In the Percent complete box, type a whole number between 0 and 100.

5 Click OK.

Notes

Microsoft Project calculates thesummary task'spercentage of completion based on the progress of itssubtasks. You can also manually enter the summary task's percentage of completion, which Microsoft

Project will use to calculate the percentage of completion for its subtasks.

By default, Microsoft Project indicates the task's percentage of completion as a thin, black line drawnhorizontally through the middle of each Gantt bar on the Gantt Chart.

When you mark a task as 100% complete, Microsoft Project displays a check mark in theIndicators field.Tip You can use the buttons on the Tracking toolbar to update progress on a task and to perform othertracking activities. To view the Tracking toolbar, point to Toolbars on the View menu, and then clickTracking.

Update actual work by time period

You can track actual work using the timephased fields in Microsoft Project. Tracking using the

timephased fields helps you keep your project up to date periodically because you can enter information

for a particular day in your schedule.

1 On the View menu, click Task Usage.

2 On the Format menu, point to Details, and then click Actual Work.

3 In the timephased portion of the view, in the Actual Work field, type the actual work of each assignedresource.

Tips

If it makes no difference which of the resources assigned to a task performs the work, in the Actual Workfield for the task, type a value for the combined work done on the task by all the resources. Microsoft

Project divides the actual and remaining work among the resources based on when they are scheduled

on the task and the remaining work for each assignment.

You can also type actual work for a week at a time. On the View menu, click Zoom, and click 1 month todisplay the timescale in weekly increments. Then, type actual work for the week in the Actual Work field.
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See if tasks have more or less work than planned

If you're managing resource assignments in your project, you need to make sure resources complete tasks

in the time scheduled. If you've saved abaselinefor your project, you can check thevarianceinformation.

Variances in your schedule can be good as well as bad, depending on the type and severity of the

variance. A task with less work than planned, for example, is usually good news but may indicate that

your resources are not allocated efficiently.


2 On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Work.

If necessary, press TAB to view the Actual field.

3 Compare the values in the Work, Baseline, and Actual fields.

The values in the Variance field show the difference between the work scheduled and the originally planned

amount of work saved in the baseline.

Compare actual task information to the baseline

When you save abaseline planand then update your schedule, you can compare the baseline plan to your

actual progress to identifyvariances. Variances alert you to the areas of the project that are not going as

planned.

To keep your project on schedule, make sure that tasks start and finish on time as much as possible.

Every project has variances, but it is important to find tasks that vary from the baseline plan as soon as

possible so you can adjust task dependencies, reassign resources, or delete some tasks to meet your

deadlines.

1 On the View menu, click Tracking Gantt.

The Tracking Gantt view shows task variances graphically, making it easier to see variances in your schedule.

2 On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Variance.

If necessary, press TAB to view the variance fields.

Note You must update tasks' actual start and finish dates, actual work values, or actual durations before

variances will appear. Microsoft Project calculates the other task information based on the information

you enter.

Lesson: How do you track the actual work by resource?

You may need to track how much work each resource on your project completes task by task or

cumulatively for the project. Then you can compare the planned and actual amounts of work. This
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comparison can help you keep track of your resources' performance and plan workloads for future

projects.

Enter the total actual work done by a resource

If you schedule tasks based on the availability of resources, track the progress of your tasks by updating

the work completed on a task. Using this approach, you can track the work that each resource is

performing.

When you update the actual work a resource has done on a task, Microsoft Project automatically

calculates the work remaining by subtracting the actual work done by the resource from the total work the

resource is scheduled to do.

1 On the View menu, click Task Usage.


In the Task Name field, both task and resource names are listed. If necessary, press TAB to view the Actual

field.

3 In the Actual field for each resource, type the updated work value and the duration abbreviation for theactual work of each assigned resource.

Tip If it makes no difference which resource assigned to a task performs the work, then type a value for

the combined work done on the task by all the resources in the Actual field for the task. Microsoft Project

divides the actual and remaining work among the resources based on when they are scheduled on the task

and the remaining work for each assignment.

Update a resource's actual work by time period

You can track actual work for individual resources using the timephased fields in Microsoft Project.

Tracking resources' actual work by using the timephased fields can help you keep your project up to date

by time period because you can enter information for a particular day (or other time period) in your

schedule.



3 On the Format menu, point to Details, and then click Actual Work.

4 In the Act. Work field for the resource, type the actual work value.
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See the variance between a resource's planned and actual work

If you schedule tasks based on the availability of resources and you track actual work, you can analyze

how much total work a resource is accomplishing by looking at the variance between the baselinework

andactualwork. You can also compare those figures to the baseline work and actual work over time to

see how the resource's work is progressing in greater detail.



If necessary, press TAB to view the Baseline and Actual fields.

3 Compare the values in the Baseline and Actual fields for each resource.

4 Make sure the Work and Act. Work fields are displayed in the the timescaled portion of the view. On theFormat menu, point to Details, and then click Work if it's not already selected. On the Format menu, point to

Details, and then click Actual Work, if it's not already selected, to display it as well.

5 In the timescale portion of the view, compare the Work and Act. Work fields for a daily summary of eachresource's work.

Lesson: How do you compare actual costs to budget?

You may want to track cost overruns in a phase of your project or learn how much a particular resource

costs you on a certain day. Or you may simply need to see how much total cost has accrued.

Tracking costs for your project can help you see where changes need to be made to finish your project on

time and within budget and can help in planning budgets for future projects.

Enter actual task costs manually

Microsoft Project automatically updates actual costs as a task progresses based on the task's accrual

method and the rates of the resources. But if you want to track actual costs separately from the actual

work on a task, you can enter costs manually instead.

To update c

ms project help

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