4. Planning a Project
? Define Goals
? Develop Tasks
? Establish Timeframes
? Resource Availability?
? Organize
5. Managing and Tracking a
Project
? Track Progress
– Are the tasks being completed on time?
– Is one task holding up the whole project?
? Manage Finances
– Is the project going to stay within the budget?
6. Using MS Project
? Define the Project
? Build the Plan
– Set a start date
– Enter tasks/durations
– Assign resources
– Link tasks
– Fine tune the plan
7. Using MS Project (cont’d)
? Track and Manage
– Set a baseline
– Enter actuals
– Adjust plan
? Close Project
8. Defining the Project
? The objective of the project should be
defined by the person/group that is going to
manage the project.
? Tasks, start times, and deadlines should be
clearly established.
9. Setting a Start Date
? When opening a new Microsoft Project file,
the user is automatically prompted for a
start date. Setting an accurate start date will
make future entries more convenient.
10. Entering Tasks and Durations
? Tasks are entered in the “Task Name”
column
? Subtasks are created by indenting a task.
? Durations may be entered in number of
working days or start and finish dates may
be used
12. Standard Markers
? Normal Task
– designates ordinary task duration
? Summary Bar
– designates the duration of a group of sub-tasks
13. Special Markers
? Milestones
– A reference point marking a major event in a
project and used to monitor the project's
progress
– To create a milestone, Enter “0” in the duration
field
15. Assigning Resources
? A resource can be a single person, a piece
of equipment, or it can represent a group,
such as Plumbers
? Information on resources include
Availability, Costs, and Working Time
? Resources are very important in accurate
scheduling
16. Assigning Resources
? To Assign a Resource:
– Select the task to which you want to assign the
resource
– Click the Assign Resources button on the
toolbar
20. Linking Tasks
? Some tasks require that another task be
completed before it can begin. These tasks
must be linked.
? Tasks and subtasks are linked by assigning
Predecessors.
21. Linking Tasks
? Predecessor
– A task that must start or finish before another
task can start or finish
? Successor
– A task that cannot start or finish until another
task starts or finishes
– A task becomes a successor when a row
number is entered in the predecessor column
23. Fine Tune the Plan
? When all resources have been assigned and
appropriate tasks are linked, the original
Gantt chart will be complete
? Check to make sure tasks have been linked
correctly and task durations are correct
? The project is now ready to begin
24. Set a Baseline
? A baseline compares your original plan for
the project with the actual course of the
project.
? You can see which tasks started earlier or
later than planned, exceeded their original
budget, took longer than planned, and so
on.
25. Set a Baseline
? Create a baseline after you've polished it
and just before you actually start work on
the project
? To track costs, be sure to enter cost
information before you create the baseline
? Updates can easily be made to the baseline
if information is missing
26. Set a Baseline
? The Baseline plan includes:
– Tasks (start and finish dates, duration, work,
cost, splits, timephased work, and timephased
cost)
– Resources (work, cost, timephased work, and
timephased cost)
– Assignments (start and finish dates, work, cost,
timephased work, and timephased cost)
27. Set a Baseline
? To set a baseline:
– Point to Tracking on the Tools menu
– Click Save Baseline
28. Entering Progress
? Update actual start and finish dates for a task.
– On the Tools menu, point to Tracking and then click
Update Task
– Under Actual, type Start and Finish dates
29. Entering Progress
? Update progress on a task
– Double-click on the task to be updated
– Enter a percentage
– On the Gantt chart, a progress bar appears in the task
bar
30. Tracking Gantt Chart
? Tracks the progress of the project
? Shows what tasks are overdue and what has
been completed on time
? Click on the Tracking Gantt icon to view
32. Tracking Progress
? Determining if tasks are starting and finishing
according to plan:
– In the Tracking Gantt, point to Table (View menu)
and click Variance
– Drag the Divider bar to the right to view variance.
– Variance is shown in Days
33. Tracking Progress
? Determine if tasks cost more or less than
budgeted
– In the Tracking Gantt, point to Table (View
menu) and click Cost
– Drag the Divider bar to the right to view Total
Cost and Baseline fields
34. PERT Chart
? Shows a flowchart of
the project.
? Each box represents a
task in the project.
? Connecting arrows
show dependencies
between tasks.
? To view, click the
PERT chart icon
35. Calendar View
? Keeps tabs on when
tasks occur.
? Quickly see how long
tasks take, when they
start and finish, and
how they occur in
relation to other tasks.
? To view, click the
Calendar icon
36. Task Usage View
? Work with task and
resource information
side by side.
? Easily create useful
reports about when a
resource is scheduled
to work on a task.
? To view, click the
Task Usage icon
37. Resource Graph View
? See whether resources
are overallocated,
what capacity they're
working at, and how
much they cost in a
timescale graph
? To view, click the
Resource Graph icon
38. More Views
? Resource Sheet View
– Easy way to review, add, edit data about
resources
? Resource Usage View
– Work with resource and task information side
by side
39. The Project is Now Complete !!
? MS Project is a very powerful tool if it is
used correctly
? This program can save a lot of time for
engineers who are interested in time, cost,
etc.
? Automatically keeps your project
organized.