_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

PART I: MICROSOFT PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

This book provides information about basic project management and Microsoft
Project concepts. It then leads you to how you can create a plan, track its
progress, and communicate the results.

Each topic contains a set of step-by-step directions with simple navigation to

lead you through the process. You can actually build your first working project
with this manual.. However, if you create a sample file instead, you might have
more freedom to experiment and learn. Afterwards, when you're more familiar
and comfortable with Microsoft Project, you can use what you learned to
create your first real project plan with confidence.

1. WHAT IS PROJECT MANAGEMENT?

Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and managing

tasks and resources to accomplish a defined objective, usually within
limitations on time, resources, or cost. A project plan can be simple, for
example, a list of tasks and their start and finish dates written on a notepad. Or
it can be complex, for example, thousands of interdependent tasks and
resources with a million-dollar budget. Whether simple or complex, however,
all projects consist of three major phases:

1. Build the plan

2. Track and manage the project
3. Close the project

The more successful these phases are, the greater your chance of a successful
project.

THE PROJECT TRIANGLE

If only you could foresee your project's future....In a way you can, if you
understand three factors that shape every project:

Time: The time to complete the project as reflected in your project schedule.

Money: The project budget, based on the cost of the resources, that is, the
people, equipment, and materials required to do the tasks.

Scope: The goals and tasks of the project and the work required to complete
them.

1
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
This trio of time, money, and scope is the project triangle. Adjusting one of
these elements affects the other two. While all three elements are important,
typically one will have the most influence on your project.

The relationship between these elements differs in every project and

determines the kinds of problems you'll encounter and the solutions you can
implement. Knowing where your limitations and flexibility reside makes it
easier to plan and manage your project.

YOUR PROJECT STRATEGY

Before considering the tasks of your project or the resources you need, first set
your strategy. Your project strategy helps you build the big picture of the
project, so you and other project stakeholders are very clear about where
you're headed.

Gather or develop the following information:

 Objectives. The goals and outcomes of the project must be clearly
understood.
 Assumptions. If you're making any assumptions that support the goals
and successful outcome of the project, these assumptions need to be
specified ahead of time.
 Limitations. Any limiting factors or project constraints should be spelled
out. Identifying limits and constraints can also help you plan
contingencies for potential problems.
 Scope. The scope defines the tasks and deliverables of the project.

This information helps you and others understand the project. It can also be
instrumental when you need to respond to changes that might occur in the
midst of the project.

2. PLAN YOUR PROJECT

As you build a project plan, Microsoft Project calculates and creates a working
schedule based on information you provide about the tasks to be done, the
people who work on them, the equipment and supplies used to accomplish
them, and the costs involved.

When building your project plan, you enter the following types of information:
 Tasks
 Duration
 Task dependencies
 Resources
 Costs

2
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
With this information, Microsoft Project can calculate your schedule, costs, and
resource work load.

3. TRACK YOUR PROJECT

After you've built a project plan, it needs to be managed and tracked. By

reviewing project progress periodically, you can make the changes necessary
to keep the project on schedule and within budget.

When managing a project, you can use features such as:

Custom fields to identify specific information.

Views and tables to display the exact information you want to review.

Filters and groups to focus on the information that needs your attention.

You enter actual progress on tasks, compare your actual information to your
original plan, and see how your resource work load is balanced. You can then
effectively head off potential problems.

4. CREATE A PROJECT PLAN

When you've defined project goals and thought out the major phases of your
project, it's time to begin creating your plan.

First, you start a new project plan and then enter and organize the list of tasks
to be completed, along with each task's duration and any task dependencies.

Next, you add people, equipment, and materials and their costs to your plan,
and then assign these resources to tasks. With this resource and task
information, Microsoft Project creates a schedule. You can verify the schedule
and adjust it as necessary.

SET UP A PROJECT

The first steps in creating a schedule are starting a new project plan,
designating a project start or finish date, and entering general project
information.

When you've completed this, you will have a Microsoft Project plan containing
the project name and other key information, the project's start or finish date,
and the project calendar

ENTER AND ORGANIZE A TASK LIST

3
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Now that you've created your new project plan, you're ready to fill it with
tasks. First, you list the steps needed to accomplish your project's goals. It's
easiest to start with the large chunks of work and then break down each chunk
into tasks with single deliverables. Add milestones. Finally, gather and enter
duration estimates.

After you enter task information, you create an outline to help organize the
tasks logically and see the project's structure. When you've completed this,
you'll have a task list organized into summary and detailed tasks.

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 how they meet important dates. You can link your
tasks to show a task relationship, for example, specifying that one task will
start as another finishes. These links are called task dependencies. Along with
duration and other scheduling factors, task dependencies play a large role in
the way that Microsoft Project calculates the start and finish dates for tasks.

If the scheduling for a linked task changes, tasks linked to and from the task
are automatically rescheduled. You can refine task schedules using specific
date constraints and deadlines. Then, you will have a schedule for your project.

ASSIGN RESOURCES

Assign resources to tasks when you want to:

 Track the amount of work done by people and equipment assigned to tasks,
or monitor materials used in the completion of a task.
 Schedule tasks with more flexibility.
 Balance resource work loads between those with too little or too much work
assigned.
 Track resource costs.

Without resource information, Microsoft Project calculates your schedule

based on task duration, dependencies, and any date constraints.

When you assign resources, the work schedule and resource availability are
figured into the scheduling equation.

When you've completed this, you will have added people, equipment, and
materials to your project, set up work schedules, and assigned resources to
tasks. If you use online team collaboration such as Microsoft Project Server,
you will have published assignments, to be accepted by team members.

ENTER COSTS

4
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Whether you need to account for the expenses on each task or the overall cost
of the project, entering rates for a resource's work on tasks or for fixed costs
for tasks enables you to see whether you are staying within budget.

You can enter per-use and overtime rates for resources, plan for raises, and
choose when costs are accrued. You can also review cost information in
different ways.

When you've completed this, you will have entered cost information for
resources and tasks. If you don't need to track costs in your project, click View
the schedule in the left pane to go on to the next lesson.

VIEW THE SCHEDULE AND ITS DETAILS

After entering the basic project data, review it. Will you meet your deadlines?
What are resources working on right now? How much of the budget has been
spent so far?

First, look at the big picture: the overall start and finish date and the critical
path. Then check the details. Display tasks and resources in views that suit
your needs.

When you can examine your project from different points of view, you can
pinpoint likely trouble spots and take the necessary action to resolve them
before they become big problems.

When you've completed this, you'll know how to review overall schedule
information, and manage views and fields to review pertinent details. If you
use Microsoft Project Server, you'll also know how to see Microsoft Project
Server information with either Microsoft Project Web Access or from within
Microsoft Project itself.

ADJUST YOUR SCHEDULE

After reviewing and analyzing your schedule, you might want to make certain
adjustments. If you find that the project finish date is in jeopardy, you can
adjust tasks to shorten your schedule.

Maybe projections show you'll run over budget. Or perhaps you just want to
make sure that your project plan accurately models how the project will really
run.

Can a task begin earlier? Use lead time. Is there a date when a task must
absolutely start? Add a constraint. Are some resources overworked and others
free? Reassign resources to shorten tasks.

If you use an online team collaboration solution such as Microsoft Project

Server, you can publish the changes you've made to assignments so your team
members have updated task lists to work with.
5
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
When you've completed this, you will have adjusted your schedule to meet your
goals and better model reality.

SAVE THE PLAN ALONG THE WAY

After you've entered task, resource, and cost information for your project, you
can save a snapshot, or baseline, of your original plan.

After the project is under way, you can enter actual information and have
Microsoft Project help you compare that data to the baseline. When you've
completed this, you'll have a baseline of your project for future reference.

5. 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. You can track actual progress on tasks, track actual work
by resources, compare your actual costs to your planned budget, and balance
the resource work load. With these methods, you can identify potential
problems early enough to find and implement solutions.

TRACK THE ACTUAL PROGRESS ON TASKS

After you've set up your project and work has begun, you can keep track of
actual start and finish dates, task percent complete, or actual work. Tracking
actually shows you how changes affect other tasks and ultimately, the project's
finish date.

Decide on one or two progress indicators to use throughout the project. For
example, resources can quickly report percent work complete on tasks, giving
you a broad idea of task progress. At the other extreme, resources can report
exact hours of work on each task every week. This is more time-consuming,
and you have a highly accurate picture of progress. Which indicators you use
depends entirely on your preferences and priorities.

When you've completed this, you'll know which views to use for tracking and
checking progress. You'll know how to enter different types of task progress
information and see their effects on the schedule. If you're using an online
team collaboration solution like Microsoft Project Server, you'll learn how to
receive progress updates from team members.

TRACK THE ACTUAL WORK BY RESOURCE

You might need to track how much work each resource on your project
completes task by task or cumulatively for the project. Then you can compare
6
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
the planned and actual amounts of work. This comparison can help you keep
track of your resources' performance and plan work loads for future projects.
When you've completed this, you'll know how to enter actual work done by a
resource and see the variance between a resource's planned and actual work.

COMPARE ACTUAL COSTS TO BUDGET

You might want to track cost overruns in a certain phase of your project or
learn how much a particular resource costs on a certain day. Or you might
simply need to see how much total cost has accrued so far. Tracking costs for
your project can help you see where changes need to be made to finish your
project on time and within budget. It can also help you plan budgets for future
projects. When you've completed this, you'll know how to enter and view actual
costs.

BALANCE A RESOURCE'S WORK LOAD

Check your schedule periodically for resources with too much or too little
work. If some resources are over allocated, see if adding more resources to a
task or reassigning a task will balance out the work load better.

If this doesn't work, you can delay tasks assigned to an overworked resource
until later in the schedule or reduce the amount of work for tasks. When you've
completed this, you'll know how to find over allocated resources and
understand techniques for balancing resource work loads.

COMMUNICATE RESULTS
To manage a project effectively, you need to communicate and distribute
project information. You might prepare reports or presentations; publish
information on a Web site; or use Microsoft Project Server to communicate
with your project team on the Web.

With Microsoft Project, you can format and print views and reports to meet the
needs of a particular person or group. You can publish the information in Web
format (HTML) or include it in a presentation by using a program such as
Microsoft PowerPoint.

FORMAT THE SCHEDULE TO LOOK THE WAY YOU WANT

Especially with larger projects with extensive task lists, sometimes it can be
difficult to focus on areas that concern you. To emphasize what you need to
see, you can customize the format of the task list and the Gantt bars. You can
format categories of information, such as all tasks that must end by a certain
date. You can change or add Gantt bars for certain information. You can also
format individual text and Gantt bars if needed.

PRINT PROJECT INFORMATION

7
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Printing various aspects of your project plan can be useful when you're
analyzing the plan, or sharing project information with others. On your project
printout, you can add headers, footers, and page numbers. You can switch to a
different view, customize the view to show only the information you need, and
print it. You can also select from an array for predefined reports. When you've
completed this, you'll know how to print the project information you want.

PART II. START A PROJECT

After initial planning, you can start your project, enter your preliminary project
data, and attach your planning documents to the project.

1. Create a new project

1. Click New button on the standard tool bar

Tip: You can also use the New Project Wizard to guide you through the
process of setting up a new project. In the Tasks side pane, click Define the
project or Define general working times, and then follow the instructions. Click
a link at the bottom of each pane to move through the wizard.

 If you want to schedule from the project start date, then

2. In the Start date box, type or select the date that you want to start your
project.

 Or, if you want to schedule the project from the finish date, then

2. In the Schedule from box, click Project Finish Date

3. In the Finish date box, type or select a finish date from which to schedule
your project.

 Save the project to a folder on your computer or network

4 In the Save to the Microsoft Project Server dialog box,

click Save as File.
5 In the Save as dialog box, type a name for the project in the File name
box, and then click Save.

Tip If your plans change, you can change this initial project information at
any time by clicking Project Information on the Project menu.

8
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Note After you've determined how late you can start a project and still finish
by a particular date, it's often preferable to switch back to scheduling from the
start date when work begins on the project.

2 Open a project

Open a project. The first step in creating your project is to open the file you
will use throughout your project. You can create a new file, which is the usual
way of beginning, or you can base your new file on an existing file or template
that contains tasks or resources similar to those you'll need for the current
project.
Enter file properties. File properties, such as the project title or the company
name, can help you and others in the organization identify and locate your file
in the future
Link or store project-related documents in Microsoft Project. After you have
created a file, you can attach your project-related documents to it. For
example, you may want to link a scope management plan or risk management
plan to your project for easy access

Set the working time for the project calendar. You may need to change the
working days and hours for your project calendar. In Microsoft Project, the
default working times are 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. weekdays, with an hour off
for lunch. You can change working hours for all working days, specific days
(such as every Tuesday), or certain dates such as holidays.

Save a project. From time to time, you need to save your project, either to
include changes you made, to create a backup copy of your current project, or
to create a template you can use for another project. Microsoft Project
provides several ways to save a project file.

Open a project stored on your computer or network

1. Click Open button

2. In the Open from Microsoft Project Server dialog box, click Open from
File
3. In the Look in box, click the drive or folder that contains the project.
4. Double-click the project you want to open

Tips:

 To open a project created in another program, click the file format you
want in the Files of type box, and then double-click the file name in the
folder list. You can also type the extension in the File name box (for
example, type *.mpt to find Microsoft Project templates).
 To open a project stored in a database, in the Open from Microsoft
Project Server dialog box, click Open from File. Then, in the Files of
type box, select Project Database. Double-click the file.

9
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Note Enterprise projects cannot be stored to a local database; they
must be saved locally to a computer or network first.

 To open a project you've used recently, click the file name at the
bottom of the File menu. If the list of recently used files isn't
displayed, click Options on the Tools menu, click the General tab, and
then select the recently used file list check box.

3. Enter file properties

You can enter a variety of file properties for your project, including a
descriptive title, the subject, the manager, and comments. You can also use
these properties to organize your files.

1. To enter basic file properties for the active project, on the File
menu, click Properties, and then click the Summary tab
2. Type the relevant project information in the file properties boxes
3. To add custom file properties for the active project, click the
Custom tab
4. Type the relevant information in the Name, Type, and Value boxes,
and then click Add.

4. Add preset information to a header, footer, or legend

With Microsoft Project, you can add information (such as page numbers, date
and time, a file name, or project-specific information) to the header, footer, or
legend of a view or to the header or footer of a report.

 To Add information to the header, footer, or legend of a view

1. On the File menu, click Page Setup

2. Click the Header, Footer, or Legend tab
3. Click the Left, Center, or Right tab
4. In the text box, place the insertion point where you want to add the
project information.
5. To add page numbers, click Insert Page Number button, Insert Total
Page Count button, or both.

To add the current date and time, click Insert Current Date button, Insert
Current Time button, or both

To add the file name, click Insert File Name button

6. To add project-specific information, click the information you want in the

General and Project fields’ boxes, and then click Add for each entry.
Repeat this to add more project information.

Tips:

10
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 Headers can have up to five lines of information, footers and legends
can have up to three lines. You can also adjust the width of the
legend's text box from 0 to 5 inches.
 To format preset information, select the ampersand (&) or select the
text you want to format, click Format Text Font, and then select the
formatting options you want.
 To add the file name and its path, you can select File Name and Path
in the General list box, and then click Add.
 To start the first page with a number other than 1, you can click the Page tab, and then
specify the number you want in the First page number text box.

 To Add information to the header or footer of a report

1. On the View menu, click Reports

2. Click the report type you want, and then click Select

If you chose Custom as the report type, click a report in the Reports list,
click Setup, and then go to step 5.

3. Click the report you want, click Select, and then click Page Setup
4. Click Page Setup, and then click the Header or Footer tab
5. On the Header or Footer tab, click the Left, Center, or Right tab
6. In the text box, place the insertion point where you want to add
information
7. To add page numbers, click Insert Page Number button, Insert Total
Page Count button, or both.

To add the current date and time, click Insert Current Date button,
Insert Current Time button, or both

To add the file name, click Insert File Name button

8. To add project-specific information, click the information you want in the

General and Project fields boxes, and then click Add for each entry.
Repeat this to add more project information.

Tips:

 Headers can have up to five lines of information, footers can have up

to three lines.
 To format information, select the ampersand (&) that precedes it or
select the entire line, click Format Text Font button, and then select
the formatting options you want.
 To add the file name and its path, you can select File Name and Path
in the General list box, and then click Add.

11
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 To start the first page with a number other than 1, you can click the
Page tab, and then specify the number you want in the First page
number text box.

5. Set the working time for the project calendar

You can set the working days and hours for your project calendar to reflect the
general working days and hours of the project. You can specify regular
nonworking times (such as weekends and evenings), as well as special days off
(such as holidays).

1 On the Tools menu, click Change

Working Time.
2 In the For box, click the project calendar.
The project calendar for the current project is followed by
"(Project Calendar)."
3 Select a day on the calendar to change.
 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 the working days (for example, to have the working day

begins at 9:00 A.M.) click the abbreviation at the top of the first day,
and then hold down SHIFT and click the abbreviation at the top of the
last day.
4 Click Use default, Nonworking time, or No
default working time.
5 If you clicked No default working time, type the times you want work to
start in the From boxes and the times you want work to end in the To boxes.

Tips

 You can also use the Project Working Times side pane to quickly set
the working time for the project calendar. On the Project Guide
toolbar, click Tasks, and then click Define general working times. Then
follow the instructions that appear in the side pane.
 When setting up a shift that spans 12:00 midnight, pay close attention
to the working hours per day and not just to the shift hours. For
example, to set up a shift that runs from 10:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M.
weekdays, you would enter the following non-default working times:
o Mondays 10:00 PM to 12:00 AM.
o Tuesdays through Fridays 12:00 AM to 6:00 AM and 10:00 PM to
12:00 AM.
o Saturdays 12:00 AM to 6:00 AM.

Working times that span midnight are difficult to visualize in the

Change Working Times dialog box, but are well illustrated in the
Project Working Times side pane.

12
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 You can also create separate calendars for resources and tasks.

6. Set working times, days off, and vacations

Note: To make changes to schedule information for an enterprise resource, you

must first check out the resource. Learn how to edit information for an
enterprise resource. You can also update changes to resource calendars by
using Microsoft Project Server.

You can set up project and resource working time calendars to accurately
reflect resource availability. Microsoft Project uses this information when
scheduling tasks, and examining whether resources are
overallocated.Microsoft Project uses this information when scheduling tasks,
examining whether resources are over allocated, and when leveling resources.

Note: You can also specify availability for individual resources.

What do you want to do?

 Set the working times and days off for all resources on the project

Tip: You can also use the Resource Working Times side pane to quickly set
working times for resources. On the Project Guide toolbar, click Resources,
and then click Define working times for resources. Then follow the instructions
that appear in the side pane.

1 On the Tools menu, click Change

Working Time.
2 In the For box, click the project calendar.
The project calendar for the current project is followed by "(Project
Calendar)." The default is Standard (Project Calendar).
3 Select a date on the calendar.
 To change a day of the week for the entire project calendar, click the
abbreviation for the day at the top of the calendar.

To change all the working days, click the abbreviation at the top of

the first day, and then hold down SHIFT and click the abbreviation at
the top of the last day.
4 Click Use default, Nonworking time, or Non-default working time.
 If you click Use default, the selected days adopt the default working
times, which are 8:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.,
Monday through Friday, and nonworking time on weekends.

 If you click Non-default working time, type the times you want work to
start in the From boxes and the times you want work to end in the To
boxes.

13
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Note You can use the working hours in the project calendar to help
accommodate work on non-project tasks. If team members realistically can
only spend six hours per day working on project tasks, with the other two
hours spent on meetings and administrative tasks, you can reflect this by
indicating resource availability of six hours per day in the project calendar.
Learn more about accounting for non-project tasks.

 Set up alternative working times for specialized schedules

1. On the Tools menu, click Change Working Time
2. Click New
3. In the Name box, type a name for your new base calendar
If you want to begin with a default calendar, click Create new base
calendar
If you want to create a new calendar based on an existing calendar,
click Make a copy of, and then click the calendar name in the calendar
box
4. Click OK
5. 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
 To change all the working days, click the abbreviation at the top of
the first day, and then hold down SHIFT and click the abbreviation
at the top of the last day.
6. Click Use default, Nonworking time, or Non-default working time
 If you click Use default, then the selected days adopt the default
working times, which are 8:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M. to
5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, and nonworking time on
weekends.
 If you click Non-default working time, type the times you want work to
start in the From boxes and the times you want work to end in the To
boxes

Notes

 The new base calendar you create becomes available in the list of
calendars in the Change Working Time dialog box and on the Working
Time tab in the Resource Information dialog box. You can then assign
the new base calendar to resources.

 If you need to quickly remove all the changes you've made to a

calendar, select all of the days on the calendar and then click Use
default

Assign a base calendar to a resource

1 On the View menu, click

Resource Sheet.
2 In the Resource Name field, select the resource you want to
14
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
assign a calendar to.
3 Click Resource Information button, and then click the
Working Time tab.
4 In the Base calendar box, click the calendar you want to assign to the
resource.

For example, if the selected resource works the night shift, click Night Shift
to assign this as the resource's base calendar.

By default, the Standard calendar is the project calendar. The project

calendar is applied to all resources as you add them. You can either assign a
different base calendar to the resource, or you can modify the individual
resource calendar.

 Change the working times, days off, and vacations for individual
resources

Tip: You can also use the Resource Working Times side pane to quickly set
working times for resources. On the Project Guide toolbar, click Resources,
and then click Define working times for resources. Then follow the instructions
that appear in the side pane.

1 On the Tools menu, click Change

Working Time.
2 In the For box, click the resource whose calendar
you want to change.
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.

To change all the working days, click the abbreviation at the top of

the first day, and then hold down SHIFT and click the abbreviation at
the top of the last day.
4 Click Use default, Nonworking time, or Non-default working time.
 If you click Use default, then your selected days adopt the working
and nonworking times of the resource's base calendar.

 If you click Non-default working time, type the times you want work to
start in the From boxes and the times you want work to end in the To
boxes.
 Change task scheduling defaults for scheduling days, weeks, and
months

15
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
1 On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click
the Calendar tab.
2 To change the default start or end time for scheduled tasks, change the
time in the Default start time and Default end time boxes.
3 If you want to change how many hours Microsoft Project schedules for 1
day, enter it in the Hours per day box.
For example, if you want Microsoft Project to schedule 6 hours when you
enter a 1-day duration, type or select 6 in the Hours per day box.
4 If you want to change how many hours Microsoft Project schedules for 1
week, enter it in the Hours per week box.
For example, if you want Microsoft Project to schedule 30 hours when you
enter a 1-week duration, type or select 30 in the Hours per week box.
5 If you want to change how many days Microsoft Project schedules for 1
month, enter it in the Days per month box.
For example, if you want Microsoft Project to schedule 24 days when you
enter a 1-month duration, type or select 24 in the Days per month box.

Note: The settings you make on the Calendar tab do not change the project
calendar or resource calendars. To change project or resource calendars, do
one of the following:

 Use the Resource Working Times side pane. On the Project Guide
toolbar, click Resources, and then click Define working times for
resources
 Use the Change Working Time dialog box on the Tools menu.

7. Change Working Time dialog box

To open this dialog box, on the Tools menu, click Change Working Time. Or, in
any resource view (Resource Sheet, Resource Usage, or Resource Graph), click
the resource name, and then click Resource Information button. Click the
Working Time tab. If you open this dialog box with the Tools menu, all
resource calendars are listed with the base calendars. If you open this dialog
box with the Resource Information dialog box, you'll see only the resource
calendar for the selected resource.

Use this dialog box to enter, review, or change base calendars and resource
calendars. You can:

 Review and modify the working days and times in the project calendar.
 Review and modify the working days and times in any base calendar or
resource calendar.
 Create a new base calendar for use as the default hours for a set of
resources or as a task calendar.

16
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 Change a resource's working times and days off.

Details:

For This box is available only in the version of the Change Working Time
dialog box from the Tools menu. Choose the calendar that you want to review
or modify. By default, Standard (Project Calendar) is selected. The project
calendar is set in the Project Information dialog box, available on the Project
menu. This list includes the base calendars that come with Microsoft Project,
as well as any new base calendars you create and all the resource calendars,
which are automatically created as soon as the resource is created. You can
distinguish a resource calendar from a base calendar because a resource
calendar not only takes the name of the resource, but a notation such as based
on Standard calendar appears next to the For box. The base calendars and
their working times that come with Microsoft Project are as follows. If you
create additional base calendars or modify the working times for existing base
calendars, your changes are reflected in this list.

Standard The base calendar that has a standard work day and work week of
Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., with 12:00 P.M. to 1:00 P.M.
of nonworking time for break.

24 Hours The base calendar that has no nonworking time. All time, from
Sunday through Saturday, 12:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M., is set as working time.

Night Shift The base calendar that is set up for a graveyard shift. Working
times are Monday night through Saturday morning, 11:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M.,
with 3:00 A.M. to 4:00 A.M. of nonworking time for break.

Base calendar This box is available only on the Working Time tab of the
Resource Information dialog box. Choose the calendar that you want the
selected resource's working times to be based on. By

default, this calendar is the Standard calendar. You can choose from the base
calendars that come with Microsoft Project, as well as any new base calendars
you have created. You can create your own base calendar by clicking New in
the Change Working Time dialog box. If you create your own base calendars,
or modify the working times in existing base calendars, your changes are
reflected in this list.

Select Date(s) Select dates in the calendar to indicate which days you want to
change. Once you select the day or days, you can use the Set selected date(s)
to options and the From and To boxes to specify the change to current working
and nonworking times.

To select a date in the current month, click the date in the calendar.

17
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
To select a date in a different month, use the scroll arrows to move to the
month, and then click the date.

To select multiple adjacent days in one week, drag across the days. Or click the
first day, hold down SHIFT, and then click the last day. All days between the
first and last are selected.

To select multiple nonadjacent days in one month, click the first day, hold
down CTRL, and then click all the other days in the month that you want to
change in the same way.

To select the same day throughout the project, click the label for the day of the
week.

Remarks

A resource calendar sets working time specific to a particular resource. This

calendar can include information such as vacations, special working hours, or
equipment maintenance time. When you assign a resource to a task, Microsoft
Project uses the resource calendar information to calculate the work for that
resource.

If a task has a fixed duration, then Microsoft Project does not schedule the task
based on the resource calendar. The task duration remains the same
regardless of the number of resources assigned to the task or the working
times reflected in the resource calendar.

You can create a base calendar that can be applied to a task as a task calendar.
In the Task Information dialog box for the task, click the Advanced tab, and
then in the Calendar list click the base calendar you want to apply to the
selected task. If you have a task calendar and resources assigned to a task,
Microsoft Project schedules the task based on the working times the task
calendar and resource calendars have in common. If you select the Scheduling
ignores resource calendars check box, then the task is scheduled according to
the working times in the task calendar alone.

Microsoft Project does not use resource calendars for material resources.

If you change the number of working hours per day, hours per week, or days
per month in your project calendar, you might want to match the settings on
the Calendar tab of the Options dialog box. While the working times calendars
actually control when work is scheduled, it's helpful to have this synchronized
with the Calendar tab settings. The Calendar tab settings affect how Microsoft
Project converts the durations you enter for new tasks into work.

8. Change a project start date or finish date

18
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Typically, one of the first things you do when building a new project plan is to
specify whether you want to schedule your project from a start date or finish
date and to specify that date. However, you can change the project start date
or finish date even after you have built your project plan. [ Click for more ]

 Change the project start date

1. On the Project menu, click Project Information. Be sure that the

Schedule from box shows Project Start Date
2. In the Start date box, type or select the new start date

Note:

 If the finish date doesn't change after you've changed the start date,
then one or more tasks may have a date constraint applied. Review the
constraints in your plan to make sure they're necessary and
appropriate.

 You can also click Adjust Dates on the Analysis toolbar to change the start
date. Using Adjust Dates, tasks with date constraints move to a date in relation to the new
start date you entered.

 Change the project finish date

1 On the Project menu, click Project Information.

Be sure that the Schedule from box shows
Project Finish Date.
2 In the Finish date box, type or select the
new finish date.

Notes

 In most cases, you should schedule your project from a start date.
However, there are some cases where scheduling from a finish date
makes sense. Learn more about scheduling a project from a finish
date.
 If the start date doesn't change after you've changed the finish date,
then one or more tasks may have actual progress reported, or it may
have a date constraint applied. Review the constraints in your plan to
make sure they're necessary and appropriate.
 You can also click Adjust Dates on the Analysis toolbar to change the
start date. Using Adjust Dates, tasks with date constraints move to a
date in relation to the new start date you entered.

Set the default working folder

Different versions of Windows can have different default locations for storing
your projects. For example, Windows 2000 and Windows XP store project files
19
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
in \Documents and Settings\user name\My Documents, but Windows 98 and
Windows Me store project files in C:\My Documents. The first time you open
the Open or Save As dialog box (File menu) after starting Microsoft Project,
the names of the files stored in the default working folder are displayed in the
dialog box.

You can easily change the default working folder to any convenient location.
From the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Save tab. In the File
Types list, double-click Projects, navigate to the new default working folder
and double-click it, and then click OK.

Setting project properties

1. click file
2. click properties

USING SUMMARY TAB

 You can add some of the data fields to the headres and footers in
project reports
 You can also view the General, Statistics and Contents Tab to get
other related information.

USING CUSTOM TAB

 You can display property, can create new property, can delete a property
and you can modify a property.
 To create new property:
1. Choose File
2. Click Properties
3. Select the custom Tab
4. Select property from the Name drop-down list, or type a property
name in the Name Text Box.
5. If you want the property linked to an existing field in the project,
click the Link to Content check box and then select the source from
the source drop-down list. OR

If you do not want the property linked to an existing field in the

project, click the Link to Content check box and then select a
property type from the type list. You can choose between Text,
Date, Number; and Yes or No. Choose the type that most closely
matches the expected value in the property.

6. If you choose Text, Number or date, enter a value in the value text
box.

If you choose the Yes or No option, you can use the Yes or No
buttons that appear in the value box.

20
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
7. Click the Add button to add the new property to the list.
 To delete a property:
1. Select the property in the Name Column of the Property.
2. Click the Delete button.

 To modify a property:
1. Select the property’s name in the Properties list to move the name
and value to the appropriate text boxes at the top of the dialog box.
2. Make the desired changes to the Type, Source or Linking of the
property. The add button changes to a modify button.
3. Click Modify to accept the changes.
 When you finish the project properties, click Ok to save the changes you
made; or Cancel to close the dialog box without saving the changes.

Save a project
From time to time, you need to save your project to include changes you made,
to create a backup copy of your current project, or to create a template you
can use for another project. Microsoft Project provides several ways to save a
project file.

Save a project to the Microsoft Project database format

You can save a project to a database format (.mpd), and then you can work
with the project in Microsoft Access or any program that supports the
Microsoft Access file format. The Microsoft Project database format replaces
the MPX file format as the standard interchange format for project data.

Note Enterprise projects must not be saved directly to the Microsoft Project
Server database by saving them in Microsoft Project database format. This can
lead to overwriting or corruption of project data. An enterprise project can be
saved to a local computer or network and then saved in database format, but if
you save all enterprise global template items, the project file will be very large.
It is recommended that you choose the option of saving only currently loaded
enterprise global items. If you plan to save a project from Microsoft Project
Server to Microsoft Project database format, in the Open from Microsoft
Project Server dialog box, click Open from File instead of Open from Microsoft
Project Server.

1 On the File menu, click

Save As.
2 In the Save as type box, click
Project Database.
3 If necessary, type a name for the exported file in the File name
box, and then click Save.
4 On the first page of the Export Wizard,
21
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
click Next.
5 Type a name for the project in the Project name box, and
then click Finish.

Tip You can store multiple projects in a single MPD file. In the File name box,
type the file name to which you want to save the project, click Save, and then
click Append.

Save a new project to a local or network folder

You may want to save a project to your computer or a local network folder;
however, saving an enterprise project with the enterprise global template
applied can make the project file very large.

1 On the File menu, click

Save As.
2 In the Save to Microsoft Project Server dialog box,
click Save as File.
3 In the Save as file dialog box, click All enterprise global items to include all
of your organization's enterprise global template items, or click Currently
loaded enterprise global items to save the project with only the enterprise
global items you included in the project when you created it.
Note If you choose to save all enterprise global items in your file, you will
create a very large file. You can reduce the file size by saving the project
with only the currently loaded enterprise global items.
4 In the Save as dialog box, type a name for the project in the File name
box, and then click Save.

Notes

 When working in an enterprise project, you must include values for all
mandatory fields defined in the enterprise global template. You will be
prompted to add information for any fields you have not entered
values for.
 If you save a local project to Microsoft Project Server, you are
prompted to rename items with the same names as items in the
enterprise global template before you can save it to the server.
 If you have not set a baseline for your project, you are asked if you
want to set a baseline when you save your project. Learn how to set
baselines.

22
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

PART III. DEFINE PHASES AND CREATE A TASK LIST

After you have determined the work involved in your project, you can organize
it into milestones, phases, and tasks and enter it into a Microsoft Project file. If
this data is stored in another file, you can copy or import it into Microsoft
Project.

1. DEFINING A TASK

To define your tasks most effectively, take into account the following
guidelines:

 Break down tasks to the level of detail that you want to track. You
should break them down in greater detail for riskier areas.
 Make sure that tasks have clear completion criteria.
 Define tasks that are short compared with the overall project duration.
Shorter tasks allow you to more easily estimate time and resources.
 Avoid defining such things as vacation or training as tasks. Learn how
to enter these items as nonworking time on a resource calendar.

23
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
A work breakdown structure (WBS) can help you create a task list by taking a
high-level description of the work and breaking it into components. For
example, the high-level work description, "Remodel kitchen" includes such
lower level work as installing cabinets, installing a sink, and installing a
countertop. "Remodel kitchen" is considered a phase or summary task. The
lowest levels of the WBS, the installation components, are tasks or subtasks. In
some organizations, tasks may also be called work packages.

2. ENTER A TASK INTO A PROJECT

You can enter two kinds of tasks in Microsoft Project: tasks that occur once
and recurring tasks.

1 On the View menu, click

Gantt Chart.
Enter a task that occurs once

2 In the Task Name field, type a task name at the end of the task list.
Or, to insert a new task, click the task in the Task Name field below where
you want to add a new task. Then click New Task on the Insert menu. Type
the name of the new task.
3 Press
ENTER.

Tips:

 With Microsoft Project, you can use an outline to organize your schedule as
you enter tasks or you can wait until you enter all of your project tasks.
When you outline a schedule for your project, you simplify its organization
so that your project is easier to create, manage, and maintain. Learn more
about outlining.
 You can insert a task between existing tasks by selecting the row below
where you want a new task to appear. On the Insert menu, click New Task
and enter the task name in the inserted row.

Note: The task IDs are automatically renumbered after you insert a task.

3. ENTER RECURRING TASK

2. In the Task Name field, select the row below where you want the recurring
task to appear.
3. On the Insert menu, click Recurring Task
4. In the Task Name box, type the task name
5. In the Duration box, type or select the duration of a single occurrence of the
task
6. Under Recurrence pattern, click Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly

24
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
7. Specify the task frequency and select the check box next to the day of the
week that the task should occur.
8. Under Range of recurrence, type a start date in the Start box, and then
click End after or End by.
9. If you clicked End after, type or select the number of occurrences for the
task. If you clicked End by, type or select the date you want the recurring
task to end

Notes:

 The task IDs are automatically renumbered after you insert a task.
 If you want to apply a calendar to your recurring task, under Calendar for
scheduling this task, click the calendar you want to use.
 If you don't enter a date in the Start box, Microsoft Project uses the project
start date.
 If your recurring task will occur on any nonworking days, Microsoft Project
asks you if you want to reschedule those occurrences.

4. CREATE PHASES AND SUBPHASES IN A PROJECT

1. On the View menu, click Gantt Chart.

2. In the Task Name field, click the first task that you want to be part of a
phase or sub phase.
3. On the Insert menu, click New Task
4. In the Task Name field, type a name for the phase or sub phase
5. Select the tasks that you want to be part of the phase or sub phase. To
select multiple tasks, hold down CTRL, and then click each task.

Tip: To move a task beneath the phase or sub phase, click the Task ID
number in the leftmost column of the task, and then click Cut button.
Select the field below where you want to insert the task, and then click
Paste button.

6. Click Indent button to indent the task or tasks beneath the phase or sub
phase

5. CREATE A MILESTONE

A milestone is a task with no duration (zero days) that you use to identify
significant events in your schedule, such as the completion of a major phase.
When you enter a duration of zero for a task, Microsoft Project displays the
milestone symbol button on the Gantt Chart on that day.

1. On the View menu, click Gantt Chart

2. Type 0 in the Duration field of the task you want to change
3. Press ENTER

25
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Tip Some milestones may need duration. For example, your project has an
approval milestone at the end of a phase and you know that the approval
process will take a week. To mark a task as a milestone with duration of more
than 0 days, click Task Information button, and then click the advanced tab. In
the Duration box, enter the task duration, and then select the Mark task as
milestone check box

6. ADD SUPPORTING INFORMATION ABOUT A TASK

You can store information about tasks in Microsoft Project by typing notes,
attaching files, or creating hyperlinks to related information in your project file
or in other locations. If your organization has set up Microsoft Project Web
Access, you can set up document libraries and link documents to projects and
tasks in Microsoft Project Web Access. Then resources, executives, and other
stakeholders can view the associated documents through their Web browsers.
Team members who have Microsoft Project installed can also click Documents
on the Collaborate menu to access this feature.

1. On the View menu, click Gantt Chart

2. In the Task Name field, select a task to add supporting information to

 Add a task note

3. Click Task Notes button, and then click the Notes tab
4. In the Notes box, type the content of the note

Tip To view the task note, rest the pointer on the notes indicator button in the
Indicators field. If the complete note is not visible, double-click the notes
indicator.

 Attach a file to a task note

3. Click Task Notes button

4. In the Notes box, click Insert Object button
5. Click Create from File
6. In the File box, type the path and file name of the document you want to
insert, or click Browse to locate and select the file you want.
7. Embed or link the file:
 To embed the object independent of the source document, clear the
Link check box.
 To link the object to the source document, select the Link check
box.
8. To display the object as an icon, select the Display As Icon check box. By
default, Microsoft Project displays the contents of the file you insert.
9. Click OK to close the Insert Object dialog box.

Tip: To view the task note, rest the pointer on the notes indicator button in the
Indicators field. If the complete note is not visible, double-click the notes
indicator
26
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
TO MOVE OR COPY A TASK:

1. Select the entire task by clicking the ID number for the task.
2. Click the Cut or Copy button
3. Click in the row where you want the task to appear.
4. Click the paste button.

TO DRAG AND DROP A TASK:

1. Select the entire task by clicking the row header ( ID number) for the
task
2. Point to the row header, or the top or bottom border of the selected area,
with the arrow headed pointer.
3. Drag the Mouse and just below where you want the task to appear,
release the mouse button.

TO INSERT A ROW
1. Select the row below where you want the new row by clicking the row
number.
2. Click insert
3. Click new task

TO DELETE ENTIRE TASKS:

1. Select row(s) you want to delete.
2. Choose Edit
3. Click Delete Task or press the Delete Key.

7. TASK INFORMATION DIALOG BOX

Use the Task Information dialog box to enter, review, or change detailed
information about a selected task. When you click a single task and open the
Task Information dialog box, the title bar title is Task Information and all six
tabs are available. If you click multiple tasks to make the same change to
several

tasks at once, the title bar title is Multiple Task Information, and the
Predecessors tab, the Notes tab, and the Custom Fields tab are not available. If
you click a summary task or the project summary task, the title bar title is
Summary Task Information.

There are six tabs on the Task Information dialog box.

TASK INFORMATION DIALOG BOX, GENERAL TAB

To open this dialog box and tab, in any task view, click the task and then click
Task Information button. Click the General tab.

Use this tab to enter, review, or change basic information about the selected
task. You can:

27
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 Enter task durations and indicate whether the durations are
estimated or set.
 Track progress on a task by entering the percentage of completion.
 Enter the task start or finish date to set a Start No Earlier Than or
Finish No Earlier Than constraint.

Remarks

Percent complete Type the percentage of the task that is complete to indicate
the actual progress on the task. Microsoft Project calculates the task's actual
and remaining duration using this number. If you enter a percentage for
summary tasks, the progress is distributed to its subtasks.

You can quickly mark tasks as 100% complete and on schedule by clicking
100% Complete button on the Tracking toolbar.

Priority You can set task priorities to indicate their availability for resource
leveling. You can sort tasks by priority by using the Sort command on the
Project menu. You can also use priority to filter tasks. Set the priority to 1000
(meaning do not level) if you don't want Microsoft Project to delay this task at
all when leveling.

Typically, when you delay a task, either by using leveling resources or by

adding delay manually, if you click Clear Leveling in the Resource Leveling
dialog box, this delay is removed. However, suppose a task is split or delayed
as a result of leveling, and then that task is subsequently set to a priority 1000
(meaning do not level). If you click Clear Leveling in the Resource Leveling
dialog box, the leveling delay or split is not removed.

TASK INFORMATION DIALOG BOX, PREDECESSORS TAB

To open this dialog box and tab, in any task view, click a task and then click
Task Information button. Click the Predecessors tab. Although you can select
and change multiple tasks at once with the other Task Information tabs, the
Predecessors tab is available only if a single task is selected.

Use this tab to enter, review, or change predecessor information about the
selected task. You can:

 Enter a predecessor for the current task.

 Click the predecessor type: Finish-To-Start (the default), Start-To-
Start, Finish-To-Finish, and Start-To-Finish.
 Enter a lag time indicating a delay between linked tasks.
 Enter lead time indicating overlap between tasks.

Details: The following are details about the Predecessors table.

28
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
ID Type the identification number of the task's predecessor. Type the ID of
only one predecessor per row and enter information about that predecessor in
the remainder of the row. If you don't know the ID, you can click the name of
the task in the Task Name field. You can only enter the ID of a task that
already exists. If you want to link to a task in another project, with the other
project open, you can type the project name and the task ID, for example,
Project1\8.

Task Name Click the name of the predecessor task from the list. All other
tasks in the project are listed. If you typed an ID in the ID column, Microsoft
Project automatically enters the task name in this column.

Type Specify a task dependency. You can click the dependency type from the
list. Or you can type it, using the two-letter combination shown in parentheses
below:

Finish-To-Start (FS) - The successor task cannot start until the predecessor
task finishes. This is the default task dependency.

Start-To-Start (SS) - The successor task cannot start until the predecessor task
starts.

Finish-To-Finish (FF) -The successor task cannot finish until the predecessor
task finishes.

Start-To-Finish (SF) -The successor task cannot finish until the predecessor
task starts.

None - No task dependency has been set for this predecessor task.

Lag Type the lead time or lag time between the tasks. Enter an amount
followed by a time unit abbreviation. You can also enter lead or lag as a
percentage. Indicate lead time with a negative number, for example, -2d.
Indicate lag time with a positive number, for example, 4h.

You can enter lead and lag time units as working time or as elapsed time.

Remarks:

When you link tasks in different projects that are stored in Microsoft Project
Server, the predecessor's task ID must be formatted correctly. In the Task
Information dialog box, on the Predecessors tab, in the ID column, the task ID
must be formatted as shown in the following example: <>\
projectone.published\42. In this example, the angle brackets (<>) contain no
information, projectone.published is the name of the project containing the
predecessor, and 42 is the task ID of the predecessor task.

29
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
TASK INFORMATION DIALOG BOX, RESOURCES TAB

To open this dialog box and tab, in any task view, click the task and then click
Task Information button. Click the Resources tab.

Use this tab to enter, review, or change resource assignments and assignment
units for the selected task.

Details: The following are details about the Resources table.

Resource Name Enter the name of a resource you want to assign to the task.
Enter the name of only one resource per row. You can replace one resource
assignment with another. You can also delete a resource assignment by
clicking the row and then pressing DELETE.

Request/Demand When preparing projects for resource substitution specify

whether the selected resource must do the task or whether any resource with
the required skills can do the task.

Units Type the number of assignment units that you are allocating to the
task. For example, to assign a work resource to work half-time on a task, type
50%. The default for assignment units is the same as the resource's maximum
units, up to 100%. That is:

 If a resource's maximum units is set to 100%, the default

assignment units setting is 100%.
 If a resource's maximum units is set to 50%, the default
assignment units setting is 50%.
 If a resource's maximum units is 300%, the default assignment
units setting is still 100%.

The assignment units percentage is based on the working time available as set
in the resource calendar. If the resource calendar indicates that the resource is
available for 8 hours on Monday, then 100% on a task scheduled for Monday
means 8 hours of work on the task. If the resource calendar indicates that the
resource is available for 4 hours on Tuesday, however, then 100% on a task
scheduled for Tuesday means 4 hours of work on the task.

To assign a material resource to a task, type the quantity of material to be

used. The unit of measurement label (tons, boxes, yards, and so on) that you
used to define the material resource appears in the Units field, and the default
is 1.

Remarks:

By default, your project is set up to automatically add new resources as you're

making assignments. In other words, if you're working on the Resources tab of
the Task Information dialog box, and you want to assign a new resource that

30
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
isn't already identified in the resource pool, you can simply type the resource
name.

You can change this setting. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click
the General tab. Clear the automatically add new resources and tasks check
box. If you change this setting and you want to assign a new resource on the
Resources tab of the Task Information dialog box, you can still type the
resource name, but then Microsoft Project asks you to confirm the new
resource when you close the tab or click OK.

OPTIONS DIALOG BOX, GENERAL TAB

To open this dialog box and tab, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then
click the General tab.

Use this tab to enter, review, or change your preferences for the general
operation of Microsoft Project. You can:

 Set general options globally for Microsoft Project as a whole.

 Set options globally about the Planning Wizard.
 Set general options locally for the current project.

Remarks:

Individual Planning Wizard messages include the check box, Don't tell me
about this again. You can turn off individual messages by selecting this check
box when the message appears. If you turn off individual messages in some of
the Planning Wizard messages, the Advice About check boxes for the affected
wizards appear shaded.

TASK INFORMATION DIALOG BOX, ADVANCED TAB

To open this dialog box and tab, in any task view, click the task, and then click
Task Information button. Click the Advanced tab.

Use this tab to enter, review, or change supplemental task information. You
can:

 Enter a deadline for the task if you want be alerted about missed
deadlines.
 Change the constraint on the task to affect schedule dates.
 Specify the task type for the task to affect how changes to task
information affect scheduling.
 Specify the task calendar for the task.
 Mark the task as effort-driven, or as a milestone.
 Specify the method to use when performing earned value analysis on
this task.

31
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Details: The following are details about list choices on this tab.

Deadline Enter a date that indicates when you want this task to be
completed. Setting a deadline does not set a date constraint or affect the task
scheduling. Instead, it displays an indicator if the deadline passes and the task
is not completed. It also displays an arrow on the chart portion of the Gantt
Chart view.

Constraint type Specify any restriction on the allowable start or finish date
for the task. You can assign one constraint per task. If you specify a constraint
other than As Soon As Possible or As Late As Possible, enter the appropriate
date in the Constraint date box.

The constraint types are as follows:

As Late As Possible With this flexible constraint, Microsoft Project schedules

the latest possible start and finish dates for the task, given other scheduling
parameters. This is the default constraint for new tasks for a project scheduled
from the finish date.

As Soon As Possible With this flexible constraint, Microsoft Project

schedules the earliest possible start and finish dates for the task, given other
scheduling parameters. No additional date restrictions are put on the task.
This is the default constraint for new tasks for a project scheduled from the
start date.

Finish No Earlier Than This moderate constraint indicates the earliest

possible date that this task can be completed. It cannot finish any time before
the specified date.

For projects scheduled from the start date, this constraint is applied when you
type a finish date for a task.

Finish No Later Than This moderate constraint indicates the latest possible
date that this task can be completed. It can be finished on or before the
specified date.

For projects scheduled from the finish date, this constraint is applied when you
type a finish date for a task.

Must Finish On This inflexible constraint indicates the exact date on which a
task must finish. Other scheduling parameters such as task dependencies, lead
or lag time, resource leveling, and delay become secondary to this
requirement.

Must Start On This inflexible constraint indicates the exact date on which a
task must begin. Other scheduling parameters such as task dependencies, lead
or lag time, resource leveling, and delay become secondary to this
requirement.
32
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Start No Earlier Than This moderate constraint indicates the earliest
possible date that this task can begin. It cannot start any time before the
specified date.

For projects scheduled from the start date, this constraint is applied when you
type a start date for a task or drag a Gantt bar.

Start No Later Than This moderate constraint indicates the latest possible
date that this task can begin. It can start on or before the specified date.

For projects scheduled from the finish date, this constraint is applied when you
type a start date for a task.

Task type Specify the effect that a change to work, assignment units, or
duration has on the calculation of the other two fields for this task.

Fixed Duration Set the task to Fixed Duration if you want the task duration to
remain constant, regardless of any change in assignment units or work for the
task. For fixed-duration tasks:

 If you revise units, Microsoft Project recalculates work.

 If you revise duration in a fixed-duration task, Microsoft Project
recalculates work.
 If you revise the amount of work, Microsoft Project recalculates
the units.

Fixed Units Set the task to Fixed Units if you want the number of assignment
units to remain constant, regardless of any change in duration or work for the
task. This is the default. For fixed-unit tasks:

 If you revise units in a fixed-unit task, Microsoft Project

recalculates duration.
 If you revise duration, Microsoft Project recalculates work.
 If you revise the amount of work, Microsoft Project recalculates
the duration.

Fixed Work Set the task to Fixed Work if you want the amount of work to
remain constant, regardless of any change in duration or resource assignment
units for the task. Because, by definition, fixed-work tasks are effort-driven, the
Effort driven check box is automatically selected for fixed-work tasks. For
fixed-work tasks:

 If you revise units, Microsoft Project recalculates duration.

 If you revise duration, Microsoft Project recalculates units.
 If you revise the amount of work in a fixed-work task, Microsoft
Project recalculates the duration.

33
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Calendar Specify the calendar for this task if it is anything other than the
project calendar, as set in the Project Information dialog box. You can choose
from the base calendars that come with Microsoft Project, as well as any new
base calendars you have created. You can create your own base calendar by
clicking New in the Change Working Time dialog box (Tools menu). If you have
a task calendar applied as well as resources assigned, the task is scheduled
during the working times that the task calendars and resource calendars have
in common. If you select the Scheduling ignores resource calendar check box,
then only the task calendar is used to schedule the task. The following are the
default base calendars and their working times that come with Microsoft
Project. If you add your own base calendars or modify the existing ones, your
changes are reflected in this list.

Standard The base calendar that has a standard work day and work week of
Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., with 12:00 P.M. to 1:00 P.M.
designated as nonworking time for break.

24 Hours The base calendar that has no nonworking time. All time, from
Sunday through Saturday, 12:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M., is set as working time.

Night Shift The base calendar that is set up for a graveyard shift. Working
times are Monday night through Saturday morning, 11:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M.,
with 3:00 A.M. to 4:00 A.M. designated as nonworking time for break.

None : No base calendar is applied to the task.

WBS code Specify the WBS code you want to apply to this task. The WBS
field contains an alphanumeric code you can use to represent the task's
position within the hierarchical structure of the project. This field is similar to
the outline number, except that you can edit it or apply a specific WBS format,
or mask. WBS codes are generally unique; that is, each task has a separate
WBS code. The default WBS code is the task's outline number. You can type or
define a format for your own custom WBS code. Learn how to define a custom
WBS code format.

Earned Value method Specify whether you want earned value calculated by
using % Complete or Physical % Complete.

% Complete Calculates basic cost of work performed (BCWP) by using the

percentage of the task duration that has been completed.

Physical % Complete Calculates BCWP by using the percentage of the task

that is complete independent of the actual duration/total duration of the task.

Remarks:

Because constraints affect scheduling, it's best to use the inflexible date
constraints, such as Must Start On or Finish No Later Than, only when

34
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
required by conditions external to the project. Otherwise, let Microsoft Project
calculate the project schedule based on task durations and dependencies.

You can set the default task type for all new tasks. On the Tools menu, click
Options, and then click the Schedule tab. In the Default task type box, click the
task type you want.

You specify the default earned value method for Microsoft Project on the
Calculation tab of the Options dialog box. Use the Earned Value button on this
tab to apply a different method to the selected fields when you calculate
earned value.

TASK INFORMATION DIALOG BOX, NOTES TAB

To open this dialog box and tab, in any task view, click the task and then click
Task Information button. Click the Notes tab.

Use this tab to enter or review notes for a selected task. You can:

 Add new notes about a task.

 Revise or add to existing notes.
 Format the font and alignment of notes.
 Insert objects into a note.

Remarks:

When you add a note to a task, the notes indicator button appears in the
Indicators field. You can rest your mouse pointer over the notes indicator to
read some or the entire note. You can double-click the notes indicator to open
this Notes tab.

To include task notes when you print a task view such as the Gantt Chart view,
on the File menu, click Page Setup, and then click the View tab. Select the
Print notes check box.

To enter notes about the entire project rather than an individual task, on the
File menu, click Properties, and then click the Summary tab. Type your note in
the Comments box.

You can also add the project summary task and then add a note there. On the
Tools menu, click Options, and then click the View tab. Select the Project
summary task check box, and then click OK. On the Notes tab of the Task
Information dialog box for the project summary task, add your note.

USE NOTES

You can add notes to tasks, resources, assignments, or the entire project.
Notes can be edited, deleted, and viewed as needed.

35
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 Add, edit, delete, or view task notes

1 On the View menu, click

Gantt Chart.
2 On the View menu, point to Table, and
then click Entry.
3 In the Task Name field,
select a task.
4 Click Task Notes
button.
5 In the Notes box, type, edit, or delete the content of the note,
and then click OK.
6 To view the task note, rest the pointer on the notes indicator button in the
Indicators field. To view a long task note in its entirety, double-click the
notes indicator button.
Note: You can also include this note when printing the view or a report.

Tips :

 To format the text in a note, select the note text, and then use the
Format Font, Align Left, Center, Align Right, and Bulleted List
buttons. You can also insert objects such as images by using the
Insert Object button.
 To paste text from another program, open the program, and then
copy the information by using the program's Copy command. In
Microsoft Project, select the task, resource, or assignment you want
to add a note to. Click Notes button, and then press CTRL+V to paste
the information into the note.

TASK INFORMATION DIALOG BOX, CUSTOM FIELDS TAB

To open this dialog box and tab, in any task view, click the task, and then click
Task Information button. Click the Custom Fields tab

Use this dialog box to view and assign values to task custom fields and outline
codes.

You can also use this dialog box to view and assign values to task enterprise
custom fields and enterprise outline codes.

Details: The following are details about the Custom Fields table.

Custom Field Name Task custom fields that you have created in the Customize
Fields dialog box are displayed in this column.

36
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Value Values for the task custom fields or task custom outline codes for the
selected task are displayed in this column. You can enter or change values in
the entry bar or directly in the table.

Remarks:

You can edit values but not the custom fields or custom outline codes
themselves on the Custom Fields tab of the Task Information dialog box. To
make changes to custom fields (or to change values for custom outline codes
that are limited to lookup table values), you must do so in the Customize Fields
dialog box.

If you need to change an enterprise custom field or custom outline code, you
can make changes only with the required permission. Enterprise custom fields
and custom outline codes are part of the enterprise global template.

TO ENTER NEW SUBTASK

1. Enter the task in a blank cell in the Task Name Column.

2. Click the Indent button on the outlining tool bar.

TO DISPLAY THE WBS NUMBERING COLUMN

1. Click in the column to the right of where you want the new column to
appear.
2. Select Insert and then click Column to display Column Definition dialog
box.
3. Pull down the Field Name list and then select WBS.
4. Enter a Title for the new column, such as WBS, in the Title text box.
5. Make any desired modifications to the title alignment, data alignment,
and width.
6. Click OK to insert the column.

TO CHANGE WBS CODING DEFINITION

1. Choose project
2. click WBS
3. Click Define Code.
4. In the WBS Code Definition dialog box, enter the project code Prefix, if
you would like to use one.
5. Enter a Code Mask (including Prefix), if desired.
6. Click in the sequence field to choose a sequence from the drop down list
7. Click in length field and then select a length, or choose any.
8. Click in the separator field and then choose a separator.
9. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each additional level you want to define. If
you do not define additional levels, Project applies the first-level
definition to subsequent levels by using the indicated separator.
10. If you want project to generate a WBS code for each new task,
verify that the first check box is checked.
11. If you want project to verify the uniqueness of each WBS code,
verify that the second check box is checked.
37
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
12. Click Ok to apply the new coding definition to the WBS column

* To create a milestone, reduce the duration of the task to 0. Project

immediately converts the task to a milestone by changing the task bar in the
Gantt Chart to a black diamond with the data above it.

PART IV. SCHEDULING AND LINKING PROJECT TASKS

HOW DOES MICROSOFT PROJECT SCHEDULE A PROJECT?

Microsoft Project schedules a project from the information you enter about the
overall project, the individual work items (called tasks) required to complete
the project, and, if necessary, the resources (the people, equipment, and
materials) needed to complete those tasks. If anything about your project
38
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
changes after you create your schedule, you can update the tasks or resources
and Microsoft Project adjusts the schedule for you.

For each task, you enter durations, task dependencies, and constraints, then
Microsoft Project calculates the start date and finish date for each task. You
can enter resources in your project and then assign them to tasks to indicate
which resource is responsible for completing each assignment, and to calculate
how many machines are needed or how much material will be consumed. If you
enter resources, task schedules are further refined according to resource
work, units, and working times entered on calendars. Other elements, such as
lead time and lag time, task types, resource availability, and the driving
resource can affect scheduling, so understanding the effects of these elements
can help you maintain and adjust your schedule as needed.

HOW DOES THE PROJECT START DATE AFFECT THE SCHEDULE?

If you enter a start date for the project, by default, Microsoft Project schedules
tasks to begin on the project's start date and calculates the project's finish date
based on the last task to finish. As you enter more information about tasks,
such as task dependencies, durations, and constraints, Microsoft Project
adjusts the schedule to reflect more accurate dates for tasks.

Most projects should be scheduled from a start date. However, scheduling

from the finish date can be useful for determining when a project must start if
it must finish on a specific date. You can change various task and resource
information to see what effect it has on the project's start date and determine
the optimum project start date.

Note You must schedule a project from a start date or from a finish date; you
cannot schedule from both start and finish dates. You pick which date you want
to use (normally a start date), and Microsoft Project schedules the other date
(normally a finish date) for you based on the information you enter into the
project plan.

STRATEGIES FOR SCHEDULING A PROJECT FROM A FINISH DATE

Nearly all projects should be scheduled from a known start date. Even if you
know the date that a project must be completed, scheduling from a start date
gives you the maximum flexibility.

However, in some cases, you may want to schedule from a finish date. For
example, schedule from the finish date when:

 You are not sure when your project will begin (for example, if you're
receiving work from another source that could be delayed).
 Your project management methodology requires you to schedule from a
finish date.

39
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

1. CHANGE A PROJECT START DATE OR FINISH DATE

Typically, one of the first things you do when building a new project plan is to
specify whether you want to schedule your project from a start date or finish
date and to specify that date. However, you can change the project start date
or finish date even after you have built your project plan.

Change the project start date

1 On the Project menu, click Project Information. Be sure that the Schedule
from box shows Project Start Date.
2 In the Start date box, type or select the
new start date.

Notes:

 If the finish date doesn't change after you've changed the start date,
then one or more tasks may have a date constraint applied. Review the
constraints in your plan to make sure they're necessary and
appropriate.
 You can also click Adjust Dates on the Analysis toolbar to change the
start date. Using Adjust Dates, tasks with date constraints move to a
date in relation to the new start date you entered.

 Change the project finish date

1 On the Project menu, click Project Information.

Be sure that the Schedule from box shows
Project Finish Date.
2 In the Finish date box, type or select the
new finish date.

Notes

 In most cases, you should schedule your project from a start date.
However, there are some cases where scheduling from a finish date
makes sense. Learn more about scheduling a project from a finish
date.
 If the start date doesn't change after you've changed the finish date,
then one or more tasks may have actual progress reported, or it may
have a date constraint applied. Review the constraints in your plan to
make sure they're necessary and appropriate.
 You can also click Adjust Dates on the Analysis toolbar to change the
start date. Using Adjust Dates, tasks with date constraints move to a
date in relation to the new start date you entered.

40
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
As you work with your project scheduled from a finish date, you should be
aware of differences in the way Microsoft Project handles some actions, such
as the following:

 When you enter tasks in a project scheduled from a finish date, Microsoft
Project automatically assigns the As Late As Possible constraint. You
should set other constraints only when necessary. Learn more about task
constraints.
 If you drag a Gantt bar to change the finish date of a task, Microsoft
Project automatically assigns a Finish No Later Than constraint.
 If you change your project to schedule from a finish date, and it was
previously scheduled from a start date, you will remove all leveling
delays and leveling splits from tasks and assignments.
 If you use automatic leveling to reduce resource overallocations in your
project, Microsoft Project will add leveling delay after a task, rather than
before a task. Learn how to level a project that is scheduled from a finish
date.

2. START NEW TASKS ON THE CURRENT DATE

Microsoft Project starts new tasks on the project start date by default. You can, however,
specify that nw tasks start on the current date instead of the project start date.

1 On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click

the Schedule tab.
2 In the New tasks box, click Start on
Current Date.

3. ENTER A DURATION

You can enter an accurate duration for a task or a new estimated duration to
replace the estimated duration that Microsoft Project assigns to each task by default.

1 On the View menu, click

Gantt Chart.
2 In the Duration field of the task you want to change, type the duration you
want.

You can enter durations in minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months.

Note To assign the task an elapsed duration, type an e before the time
unit. For example, to assign an elapsed duration of 3 days, type 3ed.
3 To indicate or flag the new duration as an estimate, type a
question mark after it.
4 Press
ENTER.

41
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Tip You can schedule your tasks most effectively by entering a duration and
links for each task and letting Microsoft Project calculate the start and finish
dates for you. For the greatest flexibility in scheduling, avoid inflexible
constraints. Learn about avoiding constraints.

OPTIONS DIALOG BOX, CALENDAR TAB

To open this dialog box and tab, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then
click the Calendar tab.

Use this tab to enter, review, or change date and time settings in Microsoft
Project. These are all local settings saved with the current project, rather than
global settings. You can:

 Specify when this project's week and fiscal year begin.

 Specify the default start and end time for task constraint dates in
which you enter a date but do not include a time.
 Specify how many hours are in a day or week, and how many days are
in a month when entering values for duration or work.

Remarks:

Changing options in this dialog box does not affect the project calendar or
resource working times calendars. It only affects how Microsoft Project
converts the durations into related time amounts used throughout your
project. For example, if the Hours per day box is set to the default of 8 hours,
and then you enter 2d in the Duration field, the two days of duration is
displayed on the Gantt bars as 16 hours. If you set Hours per day to 5, and
then enter a 2-day duration for a task, the task has a duration of 10 hours.
The time amounts you set here also apply to the translation of duration to
work amounts. The translation of time amounts operates the same way with
the Hours per week and Days per month boxes.

To control the way the work is actually scheduled, change the appropriate
working times calendars. Also, if you change the number of hours per day,
hours per week, or days per month, you might want to update the project
calendar to match, so that times and durations are properly synchronized.
On the Tools menu, click Change Working Time.

For the Default start time and Default end time boxes, enter the beginning
and ending times you want to use as defaults when you don't enter specific
times with dates entered in your project. This is most useful when entering
constraints and actual start and finish dates. For example, unless you
explicitly specify the finish time, a Must Finish On time will be the end time
set on this tab.

42
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Settings on the Calendar tab apply only to new tasks entered after you make
the setting change. For existing tasks, the amount of work stays the same,
but the duration is recalculated to use any new values for the existing
amount of work. For example, if you have a task with a 2-day duration, and
then you change the Hours per day setting from 8 hours per day to 4 hours
per day, this still equates to 16 hours of duration (and work) on the task, but
the duration changes from 2 days to 4 days.

HOW DO CONSTRAINTS AFFECT THE SCHEDULE?

When you need to control the start or finish date of a task, you can add a
constraint to the task. Flexible constraints work with task dependencies to
make a task occur as soon or as late as the task dependency will allow. For
example, a task with an As Soon As Possible (ASAP) constraint and a finish-to-
start dependency will be scheduled as soon as the predecessor task finishes.

Constraints with moderate scheduling flexibility will restrict a task from

starting or finishing before or after a date you choose. For example, a task with
a Start No Earlier Than (SNET) constraint for June 15 and a finish-to-start
dependency to another task can begin June 15 if its predecessor is finished by
June 15 (or later if its predecessor finishes after June 15), but it can't be
scheduled before June 15.

Inflexible constraints override any task dependencies and restrict a task to a

date you choose. For example, a task with a Must Start On (MSO) constraint
for September 30 and a finish-to-start dependency to another task will always
be scheduled for September 30 no matter whether its predecessor finishes
early or late.

If a task constrained to a date has a predecessor that finishes too late for the
successor to begin on the date specified in the constraint, negative slack can
occur. To specify that constrained tasks with negative slack are scheduled
according to their task dependencies rather than the constraint dates, on the
Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Schedule tab.Clear the Tasks will
always honor their constraint dates check box.

Constraint Scheduli Description

Type ng
Impact
As Soon As Flexible With this constraint, Microsoft Project schedules the
Possible task as early as it can, given other scheduling
(ASAP) parameters. No additional date restrictions are put on
the task. This is the default constraint for newly created
tasks in projects scheduled from the start date.
As Late As Flexible With this constraint, Microsoft Project schedules the
Possible task as late as it can, given other scheduling
(ALAP) parameters. No additional date restrictions are put on
the task. This is the default constraint for newly created
tasks in projects scheduled from the finish date.
43
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Finish No Moderate This constraint indicates the latest possible date that
Later Than you want this task to be completed. It can be scheduled
(FNLT) to finish on or before the specified date. A predecessor
won't be able to push a successor task with an FNLT
constraint past the constraint date. For projects
scheduled from the finish date, this constraint is applied
when you enter a finish date for a task.
Start No Moderate This constraint indicates the latest possible date that
Later Than you want this task to begin. The task can be scheduled
(SNLT) to start on or before the specified date. A predecessor
won't be able to push a successor task with an SNLT
constraint past the constraint date. For projects
scheduled from the finish date, this constraint is applied
when you enter a start date for a task.
Finish No Moderate This constraint indicates the earliest possible date that
Earlier you want this task to be completed. The task cannot be
Than scheduled to finish any time before the specified date.
(FNET) For projects scheduled from the start date, this
constraint is applied when you enter a finish date for a
task.
Start No Moderate This constraint indicates the earliest possible date that
Earlier you want this task to begin. The task cannot be
Than scheduled to start any time before the specified date.
(SNET) For projects scheduled from the start date, this
constraint is applied when you enter a start date for a
task.
Must Start Inflexible This constraint indicates the exact date on which a task
On (MSO) must be scheduled to begin. Other scheduling
parameters such as task dependencies, lead or lag time,
resource leveling, and delay can't affect scheduling the
task unless this requirement is met.
Must Finish Inflexible This constraint indicates the exact date on which a task
On (MFO) must be scheduled to be completed. Other scheduling
parameters such as task dependencies, lead or lag time,
resource leveling, and delay can't affect scheduling the
task unless this requirement is met.
HOW DO DEADLINE DATES AFFECT THE SCHEDULE?

Deadline dates don't usually affect task scheduling. Deadline dates are used to
indicate a target date you don't want to miss, without requiring you to set a
task constraint that could affect scheduling if predecessor tasks change. A task
with a deadline is scheduled just like any other task, but when a task finishes
after its deadline, Microsoft Project displays a task indicator notifying you that
the task missed its deadline.

Deadline dates can affect total slack on tasks. If you enter a deadline date
before the end of the task's total slack, total slack will be recalculated using

44
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
the deadline date rather than the task's late finish date. The task becomes
critical if the total slack reaches zero.

You can set deadlines for summary tasks as well as individual tasks. If the
summary task's deadline conflicts with any of the subtasks, the deadline
indicator signifies a missed deadline among the subtasks.

But deadline dates can affect how tasks are scheduled if you set a deadline
date on a task with an As Late As Possible (ALAP) constraint. The task is
scheduled to finish on the deadline date, though the task could still finish after
its deadline if its predecessors slipped

HOW DO CALENDARS AFFECT THE SCHEDULE?

Calendars determine the standard working time and nonworking time, such as
weekends and holidays, for the project. They are used to determine resource
availability, how resources assigned to tasks are scheduled, and how tasks
themselves are scheduled. Project and task calendars are used in scheduling
tasks, and if resources are assigned to tasks, resource calendars are used as
well.

The calendars referred to in Microsoft Project are:

 Base calendars; these are the foundations for the other types of
calendars. You can also choose a base calendar to be the project
calendar, and you can apply a base calendar to tasks as a task calendar,
or as the default hours for a resource calendar. Microsoft Project
provides three base calendars, the Standard, 24-Hours, and Night Shift
calendars. Resource calendars are based on the Standard calendar by
default. You can customize your own base calendar using any of the base
calendars provided.
 Project calendars; these set the standard working and nonworking times
for the project as a whole. If resource calendars or task calendars are not
used, tasks are scheduled during the working time on the project
calendar, by default.
 Resource calendars; these are based on the Standard calendar by
default. You can change working time or nonworking time for specific
resources or a set of resources, ensuring that resources are scheduled
only when they're available for work. If you have changed working or
nonworking time on a resource calendar and the resource is assigned to
a task, the task is scheduled during the working time on the resource
calendar.
 Task calendars; these can be used to define working times for tasks
outside the working times in the project calendar. When a task calendar
is assigned to a task and the resource assigned to the task has different
working times in its resource calendar, the task is scheduled for the
intersection of the two calendars' working times. But you can set a task
option to ignore resource calendars and schedule the task through the
resource's nonworking time
45
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
WHAT ARE CALENDARS?

Calendars determine how resources assigned to tasks are scheduled and how
tasks themselves are scheduled. Base calendars are sets of working and
nonworking times and days that are used by the three other types of calendars:

 Project calendar
 Resource calendar
 Task calendar

Base calendars can be used for the project calendar and task calendars, and
provide the basis for resource calendars. Project and resource calendars
identify when work on tasks can take place, ensuring that resources are
scheduled only when they're available for work. Project calendars affect the
default for when tasks are scheduled. Resource calendars affect a specific
resource or category of resources. Task calendars make it possible for tasks to
have a calendar different from the project calendar. Learn how to set up
working time calendars.

Calendars apply only to work resources, not material resources.

These calendars are distinct from the Calendar view, which shows the project
schedule in a calendar format. Learn more about the Calendar view.

WHAT ARE THE BASE CALENDARS?

Base calendars are calendars on which the resource calendars are based. You
also choose a base calendar to be the default project calendar, and you can
apply a base calendar to tasks as a task calendar. Three base calendars are
provided with Microsoft Project:

 Standard
 24-Hours
 Night Shift

The Standard calendar is the base calendar that is used as the default for the
project, and for resource and task calendars. This calendar reflects a
traditional work schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.,
with an hour off for break.

The 24-Hours calendar reflects a schedule with no nonworking time at all. The
24-Hours calendar can be used when resources and tasks are scheduled for
different shifts around the clock, or when equipment resources work on tasks
continuously.

The Night Shift calendar reflects a graveyard shift schedule of Monday night
through Saturday morning, 11:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M., with an hour off for break.

46
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
You can also create your own base calendars. Creating your own base
calendars is particularly useful if you have alternative schedules for multiple
resources, such as a part-time schedule, a swing-shift schedule, a 12-hour shift
schedule, or a weekend schedule. Learn how to create and assign base
calendars.

WHAT IS THE PROJECT CALENDAR?

The project calendar designates the default work schedule for all resources
assigned to a project. By default, the Standard base calendar is the project
calendar. The working time hours defined on the Standard calendar are the
default working hours and days off for each resource.

You can set up the working days and hours for your project calendar to reflect
the working days and hours for everyone working on your project. You can
specify regular nonworking time (such as weekends and evenings), as well as
special days off (such as company holidays). You can also indicate other
nonworking times to reflect periods when the entire team will be working on
nonproject activities (such as company meetings or departmental retreats).
Learn how to modify the project calendar.

If you have alternative schedules that a number of resources work, such as a

part-time schedule, a swing-shift schedule, or a 24-hour schedule, you can set
up and apply a separate base calendar.

WHAT IS A RESOURCE CALENDAR?

The working hours and days off defined on the project calendar are the default
working times for each resource or resource group. In other words, the
resource calendar is initially identical to the project calendar.

If you want, you can customize the resource calendars for individual resources
to indicate specific working hours, vacations, leaves of absence, and planned
personal time. This can help you create a more accurate schedule, especially if
there are significant variations of working time among resources. Microsoft
Project only schedules resources when they are available, according to their
resource calendars. Learn how to customize resource calendars.

If you have alternative schedules that a number of resources work, such as a

part-time schedule, a swing-shift schedule, or a 24-hour schedule, you can set
up and apply a separate base calendar. The base calendar you create becomes
the resource calendar for the selected resources. You can then customize the
individual calendars for the individual resource schedules.

If you change working times on a resource calendar, and the resource is

assigned to a task, the task is scheduled during the working times on the
resource calendar.

47
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
If you're working with resources from a shared resource pool, or if you're
sharing resources from another project, there are probably different calendars
in effect. Take note of which project's calendars are in effect when sharing
resources.

WHAT IS A TASK CALENDAR?

The scheduling of tasks is based on the working times established in the

project calendar. If you have tasks to be completed at different times,
especially tasks that are independent of resources, you can set up a task
calendar. A task calendar is especially useful for situations in which you want a
task to be scheduled outside the normal working times defined by the project
calendar or assigned resource calendars.

You create a task calendar in the Change Working Time dialog box as a new
base calendar. You then apply the base calendar to a task using the Advanced
tab in the Task Information dialog box.

If you have a task calendar applied as well as resources assigned to a task, by

default, the task is scheduled for the working times that the task calendar and
resource calendars have in common. If you want the task to be scheduled using
only the task calendar, select the Scheduling ignores resource calendars check
box on the Advanced tab in the Task Information dialog box.

4. CREATE A CALENDAR FOR A TASK

By default, tasks are scheduled based on the project calendar. When

scheduling individual tasks, task calendars define unique or specific
exceptions, such as machinery that runs during nonworking time.
Learn more about using a task calendar to make sure tasks start and
finish on time

1 On the Tools menu, click Change

Working Time.
2 Click
New.
3 In the Name box, type a name for your
new calendar.
4 To begin with a default calendar, click Create new base calendar.

To create a new base calendar based on an existing calendar, click Make a

copy of, and then click the calendar name in the calendar box.
5 Click
OK.
6 Select the days you want to change on the calendar.
 To select adjacent days, hold down SHIFT, and then click the
abbreviation for the first and last days you want. To select
nonadjacent days, hold down CTRL, and then click the abbreviation

48
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
for the days you want.

 To change a day of the week for the entire calendar, click the
abbreviation for the day in the top row of the calendar.
7 Under Set selected date(s) to, click Use default, Nonworking time, or
Nondefault working time.
8 To change Non-default working time, type the times you want work to start
in the From boxes and the times you want work to end in the To boxes.

Note: After you create a base calendar, you need to assign that calendar to
a task.

5. ASSIGN A CALENDAR TO A TASK

By default, your tasks are scheduled by the project calendar. A task calendar
defines unique or specific exceptions for working and nonworking time for a
task or a recurring or summary recurring task.

1 On the View menu, click

Gantt Chart.
 Assign a calendar to a task or to a recurring subtask

2 In the Task Name field, select the task to which you want
to assign a calendar.
3 Click Task Information button, and then click the
Advanced tab.
4 In the Calendar box, click the calendar you want to
use for the task.
5 If applicable, select the Scheduling ignores resource calendars check box to
have the task calendar ignore all resource calendars.
Note: If you choose to have Microsoft Project ignore resource calendars, a
task will be scheduled even if resources assigned to the task have
nonworking time set in their resource calendar.

Assign a calendar to a summary recurring task

2 In the Task Name field, select the summary recurring task to which you
want to assign a calendar.
3 Click Recurring Task
Information button.
4 In the Recurring Task Information dialog box, click the calendar you want to
assign to the recurring task in the Calendar box.
5 If applicable, select the Scheduling ignores resource calendars check box to
have the task calendar override all resource calendars.
Note: If you choose to have Microsoft Project ignore resource calendars, a
task will be scheduled even if resources assigned to the task have
nonworking time set in their resource calendar.

49
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
What do calendar options have to do with the working times settings?

The project calendar and resource calendars are used to establish when
resources are available to be scheduled for tasks. You can also use the
calendars to establish a shorter work day or work week for all resources. For
example, you might want to set up a 6-hour day and a 30-hour week to account
for non-project tasks the resources are responsible for. Learn more about
accounting for non-project tasks.

However, if you change the working times, keep in mind that Microsoft Project
still assumes that a day is 8 hours and a week is 40 hours until you change how
Microsoft Project calculates the durations and other time abbreviations you
enter. If you want Microsoft Project to interpret a day as 6 hours, or a week as
30 hours, you need to change the settings on the Calendar tab of the Options
dialog box (Tools menu).

On the Calendar tab, you can indicate the default start and end time for any
dates you enter in Microsoft Project, for example, constraint or actual dates.
You can also establish the number of hours in a day, the number of hours in a
week, and number of days in a month. If you indicate that there are 6 hours to
a day, when you enter a 1-day duration for a task, Microsoft Project schedules
this as a 6-hour day, regardless of whether resources are assigned. Likewise,
when you enter a 1-week duration for a task, Microsoft Project schedules this
as a 30-hour week.

By synchronizing your task scheduling defaults with the resource calendars,

you can ensure that your schedule accurately reflects the work days and work
weeks of your project. Learn how to change the date and time amount defaults.

How do the project, resource, and task calendars interrelate?

When you first open a new project file, the Standard base calendar is set as the
default for the project calendar. The Standard base calendar reflects the
traditional Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. work week. You can
modify the Standard base calendar to meet your specific project calendar
needs. You can also base the project calendar on a different base calendar,
such as the Night Shift or 24-Hours calendar, or on another base calendar that
you create. Set the project calendar in the Project Information dialog box,
available on the Project menu.

The working times in the project calendar affect the scheduling of all
resources. The project calendar is the basis for the default resource calendar
applied to each resource in your project. You can apply a different base
calendar to a group of resources working a different shift. You can also
customize the working times for an individual resource's working schedule and
vacations. If you apply a different base calendar to resources or customize
working times of an individual resource, the new settings override the project
calendar settings when scheduling resources.

50
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
The working days and times in the project calendar affect the scheduling of all
tasks. The project calendar is the basis for the default task calendar applied to
each task in your project. You can create and apply a specific task calendar to
a task. If you do this, these new settings override the project calendar settings
when scheduling the task. If resources are assigned to the task, the task is
scheduled by the working times the task calendar and resource calendar have
in common. You can have the task ignore the settings in the resource calendar
by selecting the Scheduling ignores resource calendars check box on the
Advanced tab in the Task Information dialog box.

To summarize, the project calendar applies to all tasks and resources, unless a
specific task or resource calendar is applied.

6. ESTABLISHING LINKS

Create a dependency between tasks in a project

After you've decided what your tasks should be, you're ready to sequence them
by linking related tasks. For example, some tasks may need to finish before other tasks can begin.
Others may depend on the start of another task.

1 On the View menu, click

Gantt Chart.
2 In the Task Name field, select two or more tasks you want to link in the
order you want to link them.
 To select nonadjacent tasks, hold down CTRL, and then click the tasks
you want to link.

 To select adjacent tasks, hold down SHIFT, and then click the first
and last tasks you want to link.
3 Click Link Tasks button.

Microsoft Project creates a finish-to-start task link by default. You can

change this task link to start-to-start, finish-to-finish, or start-to-finish.
Learn how to change the type of dependency.

Note: If you want to unlink tasks, select the tasks you want to unlink in the
Task Name field, and then click Unlink Tasks button. The tasks are
rescheduled based on links to other tasks or constraints.

Change a task link

1 On the View menu, click
Gantt Chart.
2 Double-click the link line of the tasks you
want to change.

51
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
3 In the Type box, click the task link
you want.

Tip: A simple finish-to-start link does not work in every situation. Microsoft
Project provides additional types of task links so you can model your project
realistically. 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. Learn about sequencing tasks and start-to-start
and finish-to-finish links.

Remove a task link

1 On the View menu, click
Gantt Chart.
2 In the Task Name field, select the tasks you
want to unlink.
3 Click Unlink Tasks.

The tasks are rescheduled based on any links to other

tasks or constraints.

Start-to-start and finish-to-finish links

When you link tasks in Microsoft Project the default link type is finish-to-start,
but you can also link tasks at their start dates or their finish dates.

For example, a museum manager determines that two tasks in her clock
exhibit project (installing the artifacts in their cases and preparing the labels
for those cases) should start as soon as the artifacts have been removed from
storage. Because these two critical tasks involve coordination between the
chief archivist and a volunteer, the manager needs to ensure that if one task is
held up, the other is held up as well. She creates a start-to-start link between
the two tasks, so that they will start as soon as possible, but the successor task
will not start before the predecessor.

Tie a task or phase to a specific date

When you have unavoidable constraints, such as event dates, you can tie a task or phase to a specific
date. When Microsoft Project calculates the start and finish dates based on the durations and task
dependencies you enter for each task, it applies flexible constraints, such as the default, As Soon As
Possible. Only when there are unavoidable constraints, should you tie a task or phase to a specific
date

1 On the View menu, click

Gantt Chart.
2 In the Task Name field, select the task you want to work with, and then
click Task Information button.

52
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
3 Click the
Advanced tab.
4 In the Constraint type box, click a
constraint type.
5 If you selected a constraint other than As Late As Possible or As Soon As
Possible, type a constraint date in the Constraint date box.

Note: When you schedule your project from a start date, you type a start date
for a task or drag a Gantt bar to change the start date, and Microsoft Project
sets a Start No Earlier Than (SNET) constraint based on the new start date. If
you type a finish date for a task, Microsoft Project automatically sets a Finish
No Earlier Than (FNET) constraint.

7. Set lead or lag time for task links between projects

You can set lead or lag time for external dependencies just as you would tasks
within the same project.

Note : If a project contains external dependencies, you can open the other
projects and view these dependencies only if each of the linked projects is
saved as the same version on the enterprise server. When you save projects to
the enterprise server (including subprojects that have been inserted into
master projects), the default version is Published. If you cannot open a
subproject or project containing an external dependency, you may need to
resave the associated projects as the same version. To find a project's version,
on the File menu, click Open. Look in the Version column for the project's version.

1 On the View menu, click

Gantt Chart.
2 In the Task Name field, click the task with the
external dependency.
3 Click Task Information button, and then click the
Predecessors tab.
4 In the Lag field, type the lead time or lag time you want as a duration or as
a percentage of the predecessor task's duration.
 To enter lead time, type a negative number or negative percentage,
such as –2d for two days of lead time.

 To enter lag time, type a positive number or percentage, such as 50%

for half the predecessor task's duration in lag time.

Tip: You can quickly add lead or lag time to a successor task by double-clicking
the link line on the Gantt Chart, and then typing the amount of lead or lag time
in the Lag box.

Avoiding inflexible task constraints

53
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
When you enter tasks and task durations, and then link those tasks, you give
Microsoft Project the most flexibility and power to calculate your schedule as it
changes and to level your resources. Because Microsoft Project takes
constraints into account when calculating your schedule and leveling your
resources, it is important to use them only when necessary.

When you enter tasks and task durations, and then link those tasks, you give
Microsoft Project the most flexibility and power to calculate your schedule as it
changes. Because Microsoft Project takes constraints into account when
calculating your schedule, it is important to use them only when necessary.

The two most inflexible constraints in Microsoft Project, which tie a task to a
specific date, are the Must Start On and Must Finish On constraints. An
appropriate use of an inflexible constraint, for example, is a requirement that a
particular task, such as an event, start on an exact date.

Note: When you enter a start or finish date for task, you automatically apply a
constraint to it. Constraining a task that is dependent on another task can
produce unwanted results, as illustrated in the following example:

The task "Pour foundation" is linked so that it starts as soon as "Dig hole"
finishes; "Dig hole" is supposed to happen on the 10th. If you enter an
inflexible constraint that forces "Pour foundation" to start on the 10th and then
"Dig hole" finishes early, Microsoft Project will not be able to take advantage
of the early finish and move "Pour foundation" to start earlier.

Rather than setting specific dates for a task, consider assigning an As Soon As
Possible (ASAP) constraint and enter a deadline for the task. Entering a
deadline causes Microsoft Project to display a deadline marker on the Gantt
Chart, and you will be alerted if the task's finish date moves past the deadline.

8. Review and change a task constraint

Sometimes, inflexible date constraints (Must Start On or Must Finish On) are
set on tasks unnecessarily or inadvertently. If you use more flexible constraints
on critical tasks, Microsoft Project can calculate the schedule with fewer
restrictions, and you might be able to meet your targeted finish date or use
resources more effectively. Learn more about ensuring that tasks start and
finish on time.

 Review existing constraints

1 On the View menu, click

Gantt Chart.
 Review all tasks in the Gantt Chart

2 Review the indicators column. Any task with the constraint indicator has a
date constraint applied to it. Rest the pointer on the constraint indicator to
see the constraint type and date.
54
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
3 Get more information about a task with a date constraint by clicking the
task and then clicking Task Information.
4 Click the
Predecessors tab.
5 Review the predecessors of the task to determine how the predecessors
influence the scheduling of this task. You might find that the predecessors
are sufficient to control the task scheduling constraint that's applied.
 Review all tasks listed with their constraints

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.
The Constraint Dates table shows the task name, duration, constraint type
for all constraints (even As Soon As Possible), and the constraint date, as
applicable.
4 In the Constraint Dates table, review the tasks to determine if their
constraints are necessary.
 Group tasks by constraint type

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.

The Constraint Dates table shows the task name, duration, and constraint
type for all constraints (even As Soon As Possible), and the constraint date,
as applicable.

If the field you want to see isn't visible, use the scroll bar, or press TAB to
move to it.
4 On the Project menu, point to Group by, and then click
Constraint Type.
The tasks are grouped by constraint types.
5 In the Constraint Dates table, review the tasks, constraint types, and
constraint dates to determine whether the constraints are necessary.
 Review only those tasks that have a date constraint

2 Click Tasks With Fixed Dates in the Filter box.

Only those tasks that have actual start dates or date
constraints applied are shown.
3 Get more information about a task with a date constraint by clicking the
task and then clicking Task Information.
4 Click the Advanced tab. Review the constraint type and constraint date to
determine whether the constraint is really necessary.
 Change a task constraint

1 On the View menu, click

More Views.
55
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
2 In the Views list, click Task Sheet, and
then click Apply.
3 On the View menu, point to Table, and then
click More Tables.
4 In the Tables list, click Constraint Dates, and then click Apply.
The task sheet changes to show the Constraint Dates table, which shows the
task name, duration, constraint type for all constraints (even As Soon As
Possible), and the constraint date, if applicable.
5 To change a constraint type, click the down arrow in the task's Constraint
Type field, and then click the constraint type you want. To change the date
of a constraint, in the task's Constraint Date field, type or select the date
you want. If you change a constraint to As Soon As Possible or As Late As
Possible, the Constraint Date field shows "NA".

PART V. DEFINING PROJECT RESOURCES AND COSTS

56
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
In this unit, use of Ms- Project moves into a new and exciting phase. From
many small projects, it may be enough to create a simple project by setting up
the project, entering project tasks, and scheduling and linking tasks. By the
time you finish with these basic activities, you have a solid, workable plan to
serve as an excellent mangement toolas the project progresses.
In this chapter, we'll discuss how to define project resources and costs. here is
what we will cover.
 Estimati
ng resource requirements
 Entering
resource
 Setting
working times for resources.
 Entering
cost information

Project not only schedules tasks, but it schedules the full range of resources
needed to complete a project: individuals, teams, facilities, equipment,
supplies and materials.

Understanding Resource Tracking

To evaluate whether youwant to include resources in your project, consider the
following:
 Is it
important to track the amount of work done by the people involved with
the project?
 Is
equipment being used in the project, and if so, is it important to know
how long it takes the equipment to do its job?
 Is it
important that responsibilities for the work of the project be clearly
delineated for the people who will be completing the work?
 do you
need a high leve of accuracy in scheduling when individual tasks will be
completed, and how long these tasks take to complete?
 Do you
need to manage work assignments to make sure that people and other
resources are not over or under used?
 Do you
need assistance from the resources in other departments, teams, or
external sources, and do you have to submit a request for their services?
 Do you
need to account for the time and costs spent on the project?

1. Estimating Resource Requirements

After you need that you are going to track resources in the project, you still
have a few more questions to answer:
 What kind of resources do you need?
57
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 How much of each resource do you need?
 Where will you get the resources?

Determining Types of Resources

Resources fall into categories for use in project: work resources and material
resources. Work resources are the people and equipment assigned to work on
a project. These resources complete tasks by expending time (or work) on the
task. Material resources, on the other hand, are supplies, stock, or other
consumable items used to complete tasks in the project. Project professional
include a third type of resource, called a generic resource.
To determine the types of resources you need in the project, review the project
scope and task list to see what the project requires.

Mapping out the Necessary Resources Quantities

The quantity of resources, in most cases, is directly related to the desired
duration of the task. Experience and productivity levels of a resource may also
influence the duration of a task.

Defining Max Units

By Default, Project measures Max Units in percentages. To instead measure
Max units as a decimal number,
 choose Tools
 Select options and then Select the Schedule tab
 In the field Show Assignment Units As A, Select Decimal from the drop-
down list.

2. Refining Duration Estimates

To change a duration, follow these steps:
1. Switch to the Gantt chart view.
2. Select the cell in the Duration field you want to change.
3. Click the up or down Spin-box arrow to the number you want.
4. Press Enter to accept the changes.
Tip: - you can edit directly in a cell by clicking within the cell (or pressing
F2) to switch to edit mode.

Refining The Task List.

When you review the task list with resources in mind, you may find that one
task really requires two or more different resources.
If you find a task that you want to split, insert a new task in to the task list.
To do this
1. Right-click on a task and
2. Then choose New Task from the Shortcut menu.
3. Or Click on a task and then choose Insert and New Task.
The New Task is inserted above the selected task.

58
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
3. Preparing to Enter Resource Information into your Project
After you determine what kinds of resource you need, how much of each
resource you need, and where you will obtain your resources, you are now
ready to begin creating a draft resource list for your project. You can enter
resources into your project in three ways:
1. Create a resource list with in your Project.
2. Share the resource list created in another project.
3. Share resources with other projects in another project.
A share resource pool is a master list of resources that is shared among
multiple projects in an organization. By using a resource pool, you can
schedule work resources across projects while tracking conflicts, over and
under allocations and availability.

4. Entering Resource Information in Project.

This section describes all the ways for entering work resources into Microsoft
Project:
 Entering resources directly in a table in the Resources sheet.
 Add detailed address information using the resource information
dialog box.
 Enter resources on a form, such as the Resources Form.
 Add Addresses automatically as you assign them.

Adding Address book Resources with the assign Resources Dialog Box.
1. Display the Gantt chart view, and click the assign Resources button on
the standard tool bar( or chose Tools- Assign Resources) to Open the
Assign Resources dialog box.

59
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

Figure Assign Resource

2. Click the + button next to resource List options to expand the dialog box
and display additional options.

Figure
3. Click the Add resources button and then select from Address Book from
the Pull-down menu. Project will launch outlook if it is not already
running. You may be prompted to select a Outlook Profile

4. Still within the Address Book, Locate and double-click the address you
want to add, or select multiple addresses and click Add. If you add a
personal distribution group, all members of the group are added to the
resource list.

60
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

5. When you finish adding all the resources from the Address book, Click
Ok in the Select Resources dialog box, and closing the Assign resources
dialog box.
You can add additional information about each resources and add material
resources using the Resources sheet and the Resource Information dialog
box.

5. Adding New Resources with the Resource Sheet.

The resource sheet is the Primary means of entering new work and material
resources for your projects. Uses the entry views of the Resource sheet to:
 Enter resources for a project.
 Set up the pay rates and characteristics of resources.
 Group related resources so you can track data by groups.

To enter resources using the Resources sheet, or to enter additional

information on existing resources, follow these steps
1. Click view- resources sheet.
2. Choose view- Table- Entry to make sure that the Entry form is displayed
in the left side of the window.
3. In the resource Name field, type a resource name.
4. Press Tab to move to the Next field.
5. Complete entry in the fields using the field descriptions found in Table
below.
Field Data Type Description
ID Number Identifier assigned to the resource.
Resource Text Name of the resource
Name
Type Text What kind of resource it is: Work or Material
Material Text Unit of measurement for a material resource:

61
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Label tons, pounds, items, gross, and so on.
Initials Text Initials to represent resource name.
Group Text Group name given to similar resources to
indicate the category of resource
(programmer, computer equp., etc). You can
use department names or codes, job titles or
job types, or accounting codes for billing.
Entering a group allows you to display, sort,
filter, or edit resources by the resource group.
Max Units Percentage/ Maximum Percentage or number of units that
Number represent the maximum capacity for which a
work resource is availbe to accomplish any
tasks during the current time period.
St.Rate(Stan Currency Rate of pay per unit for regular non-overtime
dard Rate work. The standard time unit is hour( as
dollars per hour); to enter a different time
unit, include a forward slash and the unit.
Ovt.Rate(Ove Currency Rate of pay per time unit for overtime hours.
r time Be sure to enter a rate here, even if the rate is
the same as the standard rate; otherwise,
Project will calculate overtime hours at $0.00
per hour.

Cost/Use Currerncy Cost that accrues each time you use a

resource. For example, if a resource charges a
set fee instead of an hourly rate, you would
include that fee in this field. Or enter a set
delivery charge for delivering a material
resource.
Accrue At Enumerated Determines when charges start accruing for a
resource- at the start of a project, at the end,
or throughout the project on a prorated basis
The default method is prorated, which applies
the costs as the resource ids used.
Base Enumerated Determines which calendar- standard, 24
Calendar Hours, or Night Shift- will serve the default
Calendar for the resource. You can adjust the
calendar for the individual resource, but it is
still related to abase calendar.
Code Text An open field; enter additional code you want
to use to classify a resource, such as cost
number, a department number, and so on. Use
it to sort, filter, and report on resources
related to a code

TIP: If many of your resources are paid the same rate, you can set a default
standard rate and overtime rate.
 Choose tools menu

62
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 Choose options to open the options dialog box and then select the
Ge
ner
al
tab
.
 In the Default Standard Rate field, type the rate. In the Default overtime
Rate field, enter the overtime rate.
The Default rates are applied to all new resources you created unless you
change it.

DISPLAYING OR HIDING COLUMNS

If you are not using material resources in your project, you can hide the
Resource Sheet's Material Label Column (or any other Column) by right-
clicking the column header and then choosing Hide from the context menu.

To display a column that is not currently displayed, follow these steps:

1. Select the column to right of where you want the new column to be
inserted.
2. Right - click the selected column and choose Insert Column.
3. Select the column you want to display from the field Name list in the
Column Definition dialog box.

4. In the Title field, enter the display name you want to use for the field.
5. Set the assignment for the Column title by choosing Center, Right, or
Left from the Align Title field.
6. Set the assignment for the data cells in the column by choosing Center,
Right or Left from the Assign Data field.
7. Adjust the field width by clicking the box arrows on the width field.
8. Click the Best Fit button if you want project to determine the best
column width, based on the data in the field.
9. Click OK to insert the new column.

6. Entering More Information with Resource Information Dialog Box

The Resource sheet displays only a subset of the total data you can enter about
any given resource. The complete set of resource data is stored (and entered
into) the Resource Information dialog box, shown below. This dialog box

63
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
consists of five tabs, in which you can list more detailed data and include
exception data, such as availability, about a resource

Entering Resource Availability

The Resource Availability table on the General Tab of the Resource
Information Dialog box can track the Available From data and Available To
data- start and finish dates- for a resource if either one differs from the project
start or finish Date. By default, the Start and finish dates of the project are
designated by NA in the Available From and Available To Fields.

Figure: The Resource Availablity

If the resource is available from the Start of the project but not until the end,
leave NA in Available From field. If a resource can't start at the beginning of a
project but is available to the end of the project after starting, leave NA in the
Available To field. Enter specific dates that relate only to the resource, not to
the proposed Start or finish date for the project.

To enter specific dates that a resource is available, follow these steps:

1. If the resource's start date does not correspond to the project's start
date, select the Available From field and then choose a Start date from
the drop-down calendar.
2. If the resource's finish date does not correspond to the project's finish
date, select the Available To field and then choose an end Date from the
drop- down calendar.
3. Click the units field to adjust the maximum units available to work on a
project, if appropriate.

7. Changing The Working Time For A Resource

When you create a resource, Project assigns default working Calendar to the
resource.
 You can customize the working calendar for a specific resource on the
working Time tab of the Resource Information Dialog box.
 Or by selecting the resource in any resource view and then choosing
Tools- Change working Time.
Note: Material resources do not use resource calendars.
Managing the Base Calendar
When you open working Time calendar from the Resource Information dialog
box, you have access only to the Calendar for the specific resource that you
64
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
open. While you can make changes to the resource calendar and assign a
different base calendar to the resource, you can not make any change to the
base calendar.

To make Changes to the base Calendar.

 Open the Change working Time dialog box from the Tools menu (Tools-
Change working Time). From here you have access to all the base and
the resource Calendars; select the Calendar you are interested in
reviewing from the For drop-down list

Assigning Calendars to Resources

If you want to assign a different base calendar (for example. the Night Shift
Calendar) to a resource,
1. Open the resource information dialog box.
2. Click the working Time tab;
3. Then Select a new calendar from the Base- calendar drop-down list.

Making Changes to a Resource Calendar

To change the working times for any of the dates in the resource Calendar you
must first select the dates you want to change. table below reviews the
methods for selecting dates.
To Select Action
A sinlge date Click the date.
Multiple dates Hold Ctrl and click each date.
Consecutive dates Click the first date and hold the Shift
key before clicking the last date in the
sequence.
Day of the week Click the column header for that day.
Multiple days of the week Hold Ctrl and click the column
headers or drag across
Column headers to select consecutive
days.

Table Selecting Dates in the working Time Calendar.

To change a date to a non working date, select the date and then click the Non
working Time. Projects shades the dats in the Calendar and Underlines it to
indicate that it deviates from the Default Calendar.
 To change the working hours of a particular day of week( for example, all
Fridays), select the day by clicking the Day header to select the entire
column and then Click the Nondefault working time option. Enter the
scheduled working time in the From and T fields, Press Tab to move
between the To and From fields automatically Selects the contents. When
you have entered new times, project designates the edited working hours
by a lightly shaded pattern.

65
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 if you want to change any of the Calendar dates back to the default
working times, select the dates and then choose the use Default option in
the Change Working Time dialog box.

8. Entering Cost Information

On the costs Tab of the Resource Information dialog box, you can record up to
five different rates for a selected resource that you can then assign to tasks. In
addition to entering separate rates schedules, you can enter up to 25 changes
from the established rate in each schedule to account for price changes in
material resources and pay rate changes in work resources. Each of these
rates includes an Effective Date, a Standard Rate, an Overtime Rate, and a Per
Use Cost

To enter costs for a resource, follow these steps:

Open the resource Information dialog box, and click the cost tab
1. If the effective Data of the cost is the same as the project start date, do
not enter an effective date otherwise, in Table A, type a date or click the
drop-down arrow in the field and then select a date from the calendar.
2. Enter the Standard Rate
 For work resources, project assumes $ per hour. Type in /y for
year, /m for month and /d for day if you want to enter a different type
of rate.
 Material resources user Material Label you assigned the resource on
the General tab in the Material Label field.
3. Enter the over time Rate for work resources even if the over time Rate is
the same as the Standard Rate. If a work resource works over time
hours, any additional hours are changed at this rate.
4. Enter any additional Per Use Cost for a resource. For example, include
costs for delivery or shipping and handling of material resources, or
mileage fees for consultants.
5. If you know when rate increases or decreases will occur, click in the
second row, and type in or select an effective date for the change along
with the new standard Rate, Over Rate, and Per Use cost numbers. When
you enter new rate, you can enter a fixed rate or a percentage increase
or decrease from the rate in the first row; for example, you can enter
+10% to indicate a 10% rate increase.
6. If you want to enter a second rate table, click B tab and repeat steps 2-
6.Repeat these steps as necessary for tabs C, D, and E.

Assigning a cost-Accrual Method:- The cost accrual method is the way the
costs will be paid out after the project starts. You have three accrual choices:-
Prorated is the default choice, if attributes costs to the project as the
resources are used.
Start is the choice you want to make if the costs are due to the
beginning of the project.
End is appropriate if the costs are due as the project is completed.

66
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 To assign a cost-accrual method to the costs, select your choice from
the cost-Accrual drop-down list on the costs tab of the Resource
Information dialog box.

Adding Notes About Resources

You can add any additional information you want to store about a resource on
the Note tab of the Resource Information dialog box, as shown below. For
instance, you can
 Enter new notes about a resource
 Revise or add to existing notes.
 Format notes
 Insert objects into a note.

You can insert plain or formatted text into a note, or you can insert an object,
such as a file from word, Excel, or other similar program. When you insert an
object, you can choose to insert the contents of the document, or you can
include an icon like this to represent the document
 Whether you insert the object as an icon or insert the entire object, you
can link the object to the original by clicking Create from File and
Selecting the Link Check Box on the Insert Object dialog Box. Any
changes made to the original object are immediately reflected in the
linked object, as long as the original object and project continue to be
stored in the same file locations.

To Insert an Object into a note, follow these steps:

1. Click the Insert Object button on the notes tab of the Resource
Information dialog box.
2. Choose Create New if you want to create a new object from one of the
applications listed in the object Type list, or select Create From file if you
want to attach an existing object.
3. If you choose Create New in step 2, profile launches the application.
Create the object and then close the application. Project inserts the new
object into the Notes tab.
4. If you choose Create From File in step 2, enter the Complete file path or
click the Browse button to locate the object file. When you find it, select
it and then Click OK. Project enters the file name in the File box.
5. Choose whether you want to link the file to the original object by clicking
the Link box.
6. Click the Display as Icon check box if you want to insert an icon and not
display the entire document. If you choose this option, you can change
the icon by clicking the Change Icon button.
7. Click OK to insert the object.
If you do not link the object's type as the name of the icon ( for example,
Spreadsheet) rather than the actual file name.

Much of the information you entered in the Resource Information dialog box is
available in the Resource sheet view. If you added a note to a resource, a Note
icon appears in the Indicators column of the resource sheet, as shown in the
67
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
figure below. Point to the icon to see all or part of the note, or double- click the
Notes icon to read the entire note.

TIP: - A resource pool is a project file created solely for the purpose of storing
resource information that is shared among multiple projects. Creating a
resource pool is generally the preferred method of sharing resources because
it easier to manage task assignments between the resources because it makes
it easier to manage task assignments between the resources shared in the
pool.

9. Entering other Cost Information.

In addition to costs related to resources, you can plan and track a number of
other costs associated with a project. Project supports both fixed and variable
costs, which can be related to resources, tasks, and even to entire projects.

Entering fixed costs

A fixed cost is a cost that doesn't change over the life of the project; the cost of
a telephone installation, the cost for the movers, work done on a contract
basis, or printing costs, for example.
To display cast table
 choose v
table fields, such as Fixed Cost Accrual and Total Cost, drug the Vertical
Split bar to the Right. Select a Cell and enter the amount of the Fixed
Cost. In the Fixed Cost Accrual Column, indicate how the Cost shows
accrue; at the start, prorated Cover the course of the Task), or at the end
of the task.

Understanding Total Costs

When you enter a fixed cost, the Total Cost Column changes to include the new
cost. The Total Cost column represents the total of standard pay, overtime pay,
per use resource costs, plus fixed cost associated with a task. The total Cost is
calculated based on the actual work completed on the project, the planned
work yet to be completed, and the amount of fixed cost. The formula for
figuring Total Cost is Actual Cost + Remaining Cost + Foxed Cost.

TIP:- If you want to enter fixed Costs for the entire project, display the project
Summary Task. Choose- Options from the menu to display the options dialog
box. Click the view tab. Enable the project Summary Task Check box and the
Click OK. The project Summary Task is displayed as the first task in the table.

68
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

PART VI: ASSIGNING AND SCHEDULING RESOURCE AND COSTS

Assigned resources plus the sequence and links between projects tasks
combine to form the project schedule. In this part, we’ll work with
assignments, tasks, and resources to create a schedule that correctly reflects
the nature of the work being done in the project before the project starts and
as it progresses through development. It will include the following topics:
 Understanding Duration, work and Units.
 Working with effort-driven scheuling and task types.
 Assigning a resource to project tasks.
 Assigning multiple resources.
 Assigning different rate tables to assignments.
 Contouring resource assignments.

1. Understanding Duration, Work, and Units.

There are three tables of data used in Microsoft Project: tasks, resources, and
assignments ( which are relationships between tasks & resources). When you
assign resources to tasks, Project takes the task’s duration, which may be an
estimated duration, and multiplies it by the specific percentage or number of
units for the resource to arrive at the hours of work that will be done in the
task.
 Work is the assignment version of project scope. Work defines what will be
accomplished in the assignment: 16 hours of planning, 4 hours of
shipping, 5 days of training, and so on.
 Assigning Units of employees or machinery to a task incurs Cost.
 Duration is time on the project timeline- nothing more, nothing less.

69
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Duration: - is chronological: the amount of calendar of click time that will
pass between the beginning and end of the task. Changes in duration affect the
schedule.
Work: -is the number of person- hours or machine- hours on task.
Units: - are the resources committed to the task and are usually expressed as
a percentage (although you can change this setting to use numbers.)
Duration, work, and units are interdependent because work is duration
multiplied by Units, as in the following formula:
W=D*U
Viewing Work, Duration, and Resources
If you want to see work, duration, and resources in one view, there are two
ways to do it: with the Task Form, or by inserting column in a view. Similar to
the Task Information dialog box, Task Form displays information about one
task.

To set up the project workspace follow these steps

1. Choose view- Gantt Chart to display the Gantt Chart.
2. Choose views- Table- Entry to display the Entry table in the Tasks area.
3. Adjust the vertical split bar to display the Duration and Start columns.
4. Right- click on the Duration column and choose Insert column from the
short cut menu. This opens the column- Definition dialog box.
5. Select work from the Field Name drop-down list and then click OK.
6. Click the Assign Resources- button on the standard toolbar, or choose
Tools- Resources- Assign Resources from the menu to display the Assign
Resources dialog box.

2. Assigning a Resource to a Task

With the Gantt Chart view and the Assign Resource dialog box open, it’s a
three-step process to assign a resource to a particular task:

1. In the Entry table, select the task(s) for which you want to make the
assignment.
2. In the Assignment Resource dialog box, select the resource(s) you want
to assign.
3. Click the Assign button.

Project does four things when make this assignment:

 In the Assign Resources dialog box, units are set 100% (100% is project’s
default for a resource).
 The task’s finish date is calculated and used to draw the task bar in the
Gantt Chart.
In the work column of the Entry table, work is calculated at hrs previously
changed the Hours per Day Calendar option). If a resource spends 100% of
the time for two days working on the task, it might be working 16 hours: 1
unit*2days*8hours per day= 16 hours of work

Note:- A resource can be assigned to a task only once to assign more than
one generic resource (work, painter production and so on) assign a large
70
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
percentage of the resource- for example 300% painter for three full-time
painters.

3. Calculating Required Resources.

 When you enter a value for work (in the Gantt chart) before assigning
resource, Project calculates the units required to complete the work within
the duration.
 When we select the Workers resources and click the Assign button, project
calculates that one worker working 8 hours per day would take eight days
to complete the 64 hours ( for example) in a specific Task. Project therefore
reschedules the task to last for eight days.
 What if, however, we actually had four workers available? Go to the Assign
Resources dialog box, and change the units from 100% (1 worker) to 400%
(4 workers)
 With four workers now available, Project automatically adjusts the Duration
back down to two days (64 hours/4 workers working 8- hours days) =
64/32=2 days). When view the Gantt Chart, the diration has been adjusted.

4. Adjusting Assignments
Unless you select otherwise, project assumes that all tasks are effort driven.
With effort driven tasks, the task’s duration is completely dependent on the
resources you assign to the task. If you add or remove resources after the
initial assignment, project will recalculate duration but will leave work alone,
such as:

 If you add resources, project decreases duration

 If you remove resources, project increase duration

Adjustments to duration when resources are added or removed are the result
of effort driven scheduling. Project implements this type of scheduling if you
assign a resource and then add another resource to the same task.

In the normal course of events from this point forward, adding or subtracting
resources affects only duration because the task’s default effort driven setting
forces project to calculate duration rather than work. To see the recalculation
in action, return to the assign resources dialogue box and then add another
resource. Project adjusts duration; the two people now assigned can be
complete the 16 hours (for e.g) of work in rather than two.

Effort driven scheduling is the default because in many projects, the bulk of
the tasks are effort –driven. Adding resources gets the tasks completed more
quickly.

Changing the way project recalculates

As the project moves into development, you will do your job as a project
manager by adjusting resources, work, and duration. These are typical project
management tasks:
71
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
 Moving resources from a less critical task to a more critical task
 Adding resources to complete a task more quickly
 Changing the amount of work required to complete a task satisfactorily,
based on information from team members.
 Adjusting the start or finish date for a task to keep the project on
schedule.

Each time you edit one of the three variables in the assignments triangle,
project will recalculate one of the two remaining variables. To control which of
the value is calculated, you change the task’s task type and effort settings.

There are three task types: - fixed units, fixed unit, and fixed duration- that
determine which variables project calculates when you assign resources.

Note: Fixed means that project won’t recalculate the field’s value when values
change in either of the other variables. It doesn’t mean that the value can’t
change. You will typically be given the option of changing the value via a smart
tag, and it’s likely that you will often edit this value.

To Change a Task Type or Effort-Driven setting

1. Double click the task (or select the task(s), and click the task information
button on the standard toolbar) to open the task information dialogue
box; then select the advanced tab, shown below.
2. Choose a task type from the task type drop-down list.
3. For fixed unit and fixed duration task setting, enable or disable the effort
–driven check box(depending on the unique task type/ effort driven
combinations).
4. Click ok.

FIGURE Change task type or effort driven status.

Fixed Unit Tasks

With a fixed unit task, the first time you assign resources, project calculates
the amount of work that the resources can do by multiplying duration by units.
72
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
After the initial assignments, project holds units constant, and adjusts duration
when either work or units change. If the duration changes, project

recalculate work. As the project progresses, you will manage fixed unit tasks
that are slipping on the schedule by increasing the units assigned to the task
so you can accomplish the task more clicking.
What happens when you change a fixed unit task?

 If you add or remove units, project recalculates work

 If you change the percentage or a resource assignments; project
recalculates duration.
 If you adjust the duration, project recalculates work
 If you change work, project recalculates duration.

For this type of task, change the task’s type to fixed unit, uncheck the effort
driven setting, and project will recalculate work and duration; however, it will
not recalculate units.

Fixed Unit, Effort Driven Tasks

With effort-driven tasks, project recalculates duration when you add or
remove resources to a task. With fixed unit, effort-driven tasks, there’s only
one thing left to change duration. Every change in units assigned or work
required affects the schedule. You manage fixed unit, effort-driven tasks that
are slipping on the schedule by adding resources to decrease duration.
What happens when you change a fixed unit, effort-driven task?
 If you add or remove resource units, project recalculates duration
 If you change the percentage of a resource assignment, project
recalculates duration
 If you change the duration, project recalculates work
 If you change work, project recalculates duration

Fixed Work Tasks

With fixed work tasks, when you make the initial resource assignment, project
calculates the units of resource- that are required to complete the task by
dividing work by duration. By setting work and duration, you can calculate
required resource easily.
What happens when you change a fixed work task?
 If you add or remove a resource, project recalculates the duration.
 If you change the percent of units assigned, project recalculates the
duration
 If you change work, project recalculates duration
 If you change the duration, project recalculates units.
Fixed work tasks are by definition, effort driven. When you choose the fixed
work task type, project turns the effort driven check box and disables it.

Fixed Duration Task

If a task type is set to fixed duration, when you make the initial assignment,
project calculates work by multiplying units by duration. After the initial
assignment, additional resources will complete more work during the duration,
73
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
but duration is unaffected by resources or work. If the fixed duration task slips,
there is to way to get them back on schedule. When fixed duration tasks are in
the critical path and the project schedule is slipping, you manage the fixed task
indirectly by adding resources to its predecessors.
What happens when you change fixed duration task?
 If you add or remove a resource, project recalculates work
 If you change the percent of units, project recalculates work
 If you change work, project recalculates work
 If you change the duration, project recalculates work.
For this type of task, change the task’s type to fixed duration, but deselect the
effort driven option.

Fixed Duration, Effort Driven Tasks

With fixed duration and effort driven tasks, neither the duration nor the
amount of work can increase, therefore, adding resources means that each
resource will be assigned at a lower percentage( they will spend less time
working on the task), freeing them for other tasks. If you change the
percentage of a unit’s assignment, project recalculates work. You manage fixed
duration, effort driven tasks by adjusting, duration to get work done with fewer
resources.
What happens when you change fixed duration, effort driven?
 If you add or remove units, project recalculates units.
 If you change the percent for assigned units, project recalculates work.
 If you increase the duration, project recalculates units.
 If you change work, project recalculates units.

For this type of task, change the task’s type to fixed duration and then select
the effort driven option.

5. Setting the Default Task Type

The default task type is fixed unit and effort driven. To change the task type for
new tasks in your project, change the default:
1. Choose tools - option from the menu to open the options dialog box; then
select the schedule tab, shown below.
2. Choose fixed duration or fixed work from the default task type drop
down list
3. Click ok to close the dialog box.

All new tasks will be created with new default setting.

74
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

FIGURE: - Use the Options dialog box to set the default task type.

Assigning Resources
An assignment relates a task to the resource responsible for the task. There
are many reasons to assign resources. Here are a few:
 Establishing responsibility for the project’s task.
 Reporting for project management.
 Tracking individual and group performance on tasks.
 Accurately measuring human and material resources
used to complete individual tasks, project phases, and the project as a
whole.
 Tracking and managing project costs
If you don’t have resources working on a task, don’t assign resources to the
task.

Assigning Resources from Assign Resource Dialog box

To assign resources using the assign resources dialog box:
1. Switch to Gantt chart view (view-Gantt chart).
2. Select the task(s) from which you want to create the assignment.
3. Click the assign resources button on the standard tool bar
4. Select a resource name in the assign resources dialog box
5. To assign a resource part-time, use the spin box or type a percentage
less than 100% in the units field. To assign multiple units of the same
resource, use the spin box control or type a percentage greater than
100% in the units field. To assign more than one resource, select each
resource.
75
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
6. Click the assign button to assign the resource.

Assigning Resources Using the Task form

When you use the task form to enter or view assignment, you usually split the
window and display a task view such as Gantt chart view in one pane and the
task form in the other.
The task form provides a wealth of information about the task selected in the
Gantt chart view, and it is the best view to use if you change the task type and
effort driven setting as you assign resources to the project tasks. You can see
the proposed start and finish dates, the task type and effort driven settings, as
well as the task’s predecessors and lag, and resources. To show the Gantt
chart and the task form, follow these steps:
1. Choose view- Gantt chart to switch to the Gantt chart view
2. Choose window –Split window.
3. Click in the lower pane, and choose view – More view to open the more
views dialog box.
4. Select task form and then click ok.

To assign resources using the task form:

1. In the Gantt chart, select the task(s) to which you want to assign
resources.
2. In the task form, select a resource from the resource name drop down
list.
3. In the units and work columns, use the spin box controls to enter units,
work or both.
4. Repeat step 2 and 3 until all resources are chosen for the selected task.
5. Click the ok button in the task form to assign the resource(s)

The task form gives you a major advantage when you are assigning multiple
resources to tasks. In the assign resource dialog box, if you change the units
for one resource and then switch to another resource, project assigns the first
resource and then calculates work or duration for the entire task, based only
on the first resource. In the task form, all resources are assigned at the same
time; when you use the task form, project doesn’t accidentally calculate work
or duration prematurely.

Assigning Material Resources to Tasks

Material resources are materials consumed in the completion of a task, as
opposed to equipment used to complete a task. When you assign a material
resource, you specify the way the material is consumed. With variable material
consumption, the quantity of material consumed changes as task duration
changes. Examples of variable material consumption include the following:
 Fuel for a generator
 35mm film in a photo shoot or movie
 Disposable paint rollers
 Bottled gases used in welding
 Antibacterial scrub soap used in a surgical unit.

76
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Variable consumption resources are assigned at an amount per time period
based on the material label listed for the resource.
Choosing the fixed material consumption method indicates that the amount of
material used is not related to the duration of the task.

To assign material resources to a task in Gantt chart view:

1. Switch to Gantt view(view- Gantt chart)
2. Select the task(s) that you want to create the assignment for.
3. Click the assign resources button on the standard toolbar.
4. Select the material resource name in the assign resources dialog box.
5. To assign a fixed consumption resource, enter the number of units of the
resource that will be used in the task. To assign a variable consumption,
enter the number of units per unit of duration.
6. Click the assign button to assign the resource

Using the resource name form: The resource name form displays limited
information about tasks assigned to a resource.
To display the resource name form, choose- More view resource name form to
open the resource name form, shown below in figure.

Using the resource form: The resource form includes editable information
fields for the resource, such as standard, overtime, and per use rates. Double
click a task to open the task information form for the task. Use the previous
and next buttons to move form resource to resource.

Using the Resource Usage form: The resource Usage view gives you an easy
way to view each resource’s scheduled periodic activity. In this view, project
tasks are grouped by resource, and resources are listed in alphabetical order.

PART VII. TRACKING A PROJECT PROGRESS.

In this topic we will see about
 Updating tasks
 Reviewing variances
 Analyzing earned value
 keeping the Project on task
Updating Tasks with Actual Data
If you’ve spent a lot of time in planning a project, nothing is more exciting than
seeing the first few project tasks completed.
77
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

1. Understanding the project Update fields.

For tasks that do not have resources assigned to them, you can manually
update the following:
 Actual Start and finish
 Task Status, including Percent complete, Actual Duration & Remainig
Duration
 Costs
For the tasks to which you have assigned resources, you can also update.
 Actual work
 Timephased work
Actual Start And Finish Dates
Actual start is the date and time when a task actually begins. Project calculates
this date based on times to the Percent Complete Field, Actual Work, or
Percent Work Completed Fields.
Actual Finish is calculated when there is 0 remaining work or when the
Percent Complete or Percent Work Complete fields are set to 100%
Note:- Both Actual Start & Actual Finish Contain NA until there are values to
display.
Percent Complete
The % Complete field is the percentage difference between Actual Duration
and Duration. the Formula Project uses is % Complete= actual Duration/
Duration* 100.
When you enter % Complete, project automatically calculates Actual Duration
and Remaining Duration. If you enter Actual Duration, Remaining Duration,
Actual Work (because it affects Actual Duration), project calculates percent
Complete.

Actual And Remaining Duration.

Actual Duration is the total span of working time, regardless of the actual
numbers of hours(amount of work) spent on a task. If a task, for example,
starts on Monday and is completed on Friday, the Actual Duration is five days.
Remaining Duration is the difference between scheduled duration & Actual
Duration,. Project also calculates Remaining Duration based on the entry in
Percent Completed. For example, if the duration of a task is five days and the
task is 50% completed, the remaining Duration is two and a half days.

Actual Costs
Actual costs include costs incurred by the Project to date for resources and
fixed costs attached to a task. Project calculates this field based on Actual
Work, Actual Overtime Work, Per Use Cost, and Fixed Cost. The formula that
Project uses is
Actual Cost= (Actual Work*Standard Rate)+(Actual Overtime*Overtime
Rate)+Resource Peruse cost+Task fixed cost.

78
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Follow these steps to calculate Actual costs manually:
1. Click Tools – then the options and then click the Calculation tab.
2. Uncheck the Actual Costs, are always calculated by Microsoft Project
check box.
3. Click OK to close the options dialog box and save the changes.
4. To apply the calculation method to future Projects, click Set as default.

Actual Work
Project calculates Actual Work based on the amount of work completd by the
resources assigned to the project. This field is not available if you do not have
resources assigned to a task. When you manually enter Actual Work, Project
Calculates Percent Work Complete and Remaining Work according to these
formulas:
Percent Work Complete= Actual Work/Work.
Remaining Work= Work- Actual Work.
When you enter Percent Complete, Percent Work Complete, or Actual Work,
Microsoft Project updates Actual Work for the task.

2. Entering Task Update Data.

You can update most project data by using the Tracking table in Task Sheet
View.
To switch to the Task sheet/ Tracking Table View, follow these steps
1. Choose view – the More Views to display the More Views dialog Box.
2. Select Task Sheet, and then Click OK.
3. Now Choose Views – then Table- and then Tracking.

Figure: - Use the Task Sheet to update task duration.

 To enter date into the Table, Click the appropriate cell and then
click the down arrow. Select a date from the drop-down Calendar.
 To enter numeric values in fields such as % Comp. and Act. Dur,
first click the cell, then use the spin box controls to change the values, or
simply type a number in the cell.
79
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

3. Using the Tracking Toolbar.

To provide easier access to common tracking operations, consider displaying
Project’s Tracking toolbar. You activate the Tracking toolbar by choosing
view- then Toolbars- then Tracking.

Using The Update Tasks Dialog Box.

In the update Tasks dialog box, shown below, you can enter the percentage of
work Completed, the actual duration, remaining duration, actual Start and
finish, and notes. You can access this dialog box from the Tracking toolbars
as well as from the menu by clicking Tools- then Tracking- and then Update
Tasks.

Updating Tasks For the Entire Project.

If you are on schedule, you can quickly update the Completed tasks in the
Project to 100% by choosing Tools- then Tracking – and then Update Project.
This opens the Update Project dialog box shown below.

Figure: - Update your tasks in the Update Project box.

To update tasks for the entire project up through a specified date by using
the update Project dialog box, follow these steps:
1. On the View menu, click Gantt Chart.
2. Select Tools- then Tracking – and then Update Project.
3. Click Update Work as Complete Through; then type the date through
which you want progress updated.
4. Click set 0% or 100% Complete only.
5. Select Entire Project.
6. Click OK

NOTE: If you want to update tasks in the Project, select those tasks before
opening the update Project dialog Box.

Entering Percent Complete.

In addition to using the update Tasks and Update Projects dialog box, you can
update the percent Complete by selecting the tasks you want to update and
clicking the appropriate % Complete button on the Tracking Toolbar- from
0% to 100%.finally, you can update the percent complete by dragging the left
side of the Gantt bar. When you point to the left side of a bar on the Gantt

80
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Chart, the pointer changes to a % symbol with a right-pointing arrow. Drag
the arrow over the Gantt bar until the correct Complete Through date
appears in the information box that opens.

Tracking Timephased Actual Work.

You can manually enter time phased actual work, or you can let project enter
is automatically based on data entered by resources when they respond to
your requests for project updates. If you want to enter timephased actual
work manually, follow these steps:

1. Switch to Task Usage View(View – and then Task Usage)

2. Choose the Tracking table(View- then Table- then Tracking)
3. Click Format – then Details, and Select Actual Work.

Reviewing Variances from the Baseline.

Project calculates variances to baseline from start and finish dates, duration,
work, costs. You can most easily display these variances by switching to
Tracking Gantt View(View –then Tracking Gantt) and then Selecting the
Variance table(View – table –Variance.)
The Tracking Gantt View, displays gray bars for the baseline start and finish
dates, in addition to the blue or red bars for actual or scheduled start and
finish dates. (red bars indicate critical path tasks.)

Viewing and Printing Summary reports.

Printing views and reports provide the hard documentation that you sometimes
need to evaluate in the status of Project and communicate information to
Project Stakeholders. At this point in the project, you may be interested in
printing some of the project- in progress reports, such as Tasks in progress,
should Have Started Tasks, and Slipping Tasks. These reports are available
from the Reports menu(View –then Reports and choose current Activities)

Using Earned value Analysis to Analyze Project Performance.

Real Projects don’t run precisely on schedule or budget. When you have tasks
Starting and finishing ahead of schedule, or tasks are slipping behind, and
costs running over or under budget, it is hard to tell at a glance whether you
are under budget because you are behind schedule or under budget because
you are spending less than what is budgeted. Earned value analysis is a set of
simple calculations that separates budget performance from work performance
so you can mange costs and work in the midst of the chaos.

The task-related values are as follows:

Budget cost of work scheduled (BCWS) the cost that could have
been incurred for a task from the beginning of the project until the status
date if the task were incurring the scheduled costs. BCWS is baseline
budget.
Budget cost of Work Performed (BCWP):- The cost that should
have been incurred between the beginning of the project and the status
81
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
date, based on the actual work performed. BCWP is the actual hours
calculated at the baseline cost, and is also called Earned Value.
Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP):- the actual Cost
incurred for the task between the beginning of the Project and the Status
date. ACWP is actual costs for the task.

 Budgeted cost of Work Scheduled is the baseline hourly Cost

multiplied by the baseline scheduled hours (BCWS= baseline cost*
baseline hours).
 Budgeted Cost of Work performed is the baseline hourly Cost
multiplied by the actual hours(BCWP= baseline Cost*actual hours)
 Actual Cost of Work Performed is the actual hourly Cost multiplied by
the actual hours (ACWP= actual cost* actual hours).

Calculating Earned Value Variances.

The three task- related values are used to calculate two variances and two
ratios, which is where it really get interesting. Schedule variance (SV)
compares BCWS to BCWP (budgeted costs for scheduled and actual work) and
isolates the budget difference attributable solely to the difference between
scheduled work and actual work. Cost Variance (CV) compares BCWP and
ACWP (budgeted and actual costs for actual work) to isolate the budget
difference solely attributable to the difference in resource costs.

SV=BCWP-BCWS
CV=BCWP-ACWP

Calculating Earned Value Ratios.

The variance figures reflect the budget for the task, so it is hard to compare
the results from one task to another task with a very different workload or
hourly cost. The two most useful indices of this type let you compare one task
to another or one project to another project at the same point in a schedule.
Schedule Performance Index (SPI) is the ratio of actual work performed to the
scheduled work (SPI=BCWP/BCWS).

Cost Performance Index (CPI) is the ratio of baseline budget costs to the actual
costs incurred for the task (CPI=BCWP/ACWP).

4. Calculating Cost Estimates:

Project also uses the actual costs and work to estimate the financial future of
your Project. these estimates aren’t strictly part of earned value analysis, bur
they answer the questions that loom just over the project horizon;
-Estimates at Completion (EAC) includes fixed costs, actual costs, plus the
remaining costs for a task. Note that this estimate is the estimates if the
remainder of a task’s work is completed as budgeted.
-Baseline Cost, or Budget at Completion (BAC) is as described; fixed Costs plus
Baseline resource Costs. BAC include over time hours at overtime rate and
standard hours at the standard rate.
-Variance at Completion (VAC) is the difference between BAC and EAC
(VAC=BAC_EAC)
82
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

To see all the earned value variances and Cost estimates, display the Earned
Value Variances and Cost estimates, display the Earned Value table in any task
view. To display earned value columns in a Gantt Chart:
1. Switch to Gantt Chart view (view- then Gantt Chart).
2. Choose View- then Tables – and then Tables to open the More Tables
dialog box
3. Select the Earned value Table and then Click Apply.

PART VIII. EVALUATING AND ANALYZING PROJECT DATA

1. Using Views To Evaluate Data.

After you’ve entered Tasks, allocated resources, established a timeline and
entered periodic ways to view data that is relevant this minute while ignoring
pieces you don’t immediately need is essential. Choosing and customizing
views may seem overwhelming at first because there are hundreds of options
available in project, but stick within. This Chapter covers the following topics:
 Using Calendar view.
 Introducing task view.
 Accessing resource views.
 Examing data with tables.
 Customizing and formatting views.
 Creating and saving views.
 Using the Organize.
 Sorting filtering, and grouping.

To display the view bar, select view-, Repeat this procedure and then deselect
the view Bar option to hide the bar.

83
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Calendar View.
Calendar View, a member of the task view category, focuses on task date and
deadlines. To see tasks displayed as bars that span the days on which they are
scheduled, select view- Calendar.

Choosing Dates to display.

Display any month in the calendar view by clicking the navigation arrows at
the top right of the calendar, or by using the horizontal scroll bar below. Use
the vertical scroll bar to display another set of dates, beginning in one month
and ending in another. Notice the screen tip as you scroll; release the mouse
button when the tip shows the dates you want to view.

If you want to see more weeks within the calendar windows, drag the
horizontal line between each calendar week upward. This enables you to see a
larger portion of the project timeline, although some of the tasks may be
hidden. Notice a downward pointed arrow Called the over flow Indicator) on
any date when there are tasks you can’t see Double click the indicator to
display a dialog box showing all tasks for that day, their durations, and start
and end sates.When you want to specifically focus on a particular week or two
weeks, drag the horizontal week separator downward to display fewer dates
with more detail for each date.

You can also choose a display format for month, week, and day names. You can
also choose five-day or seven-day weeks as well as a myriad other option. From
Calendar view, click Format- time Scale to Open Timescale dialog box.
On the week Heading tab, choose the formats you want to use for Monthly,
Daily, and Weekly. Enable the Previous/Next Month’s Calendars feature to see
a 30-day thumbnail of the preceding and following months.
- To Format each Calendar day to look the way you want it to, select the
Date boxes tab, choose the type and style of information you want
displayed at the top right and top left of each row; then choose a pattern
and color to shade the top of each calendar day, you can also format the
bottom of each square, but to display a pattern an/or color, you must first
change one of the Bottom Row (Left or Right) default settings to
something other than None.

-To choose specific patterns and colors for certain types of days, select the
Date Shading tab. By default, all working days show up while, and non
working days are shaded gray. Change the defaults for the standard project
calendar, the 24-hour calendar, or any of the resource calendars.

2. Formatting the Calendar.

The default calendar view shows the tasks names and duration for all types of
tasks except summary and Milestone tasks. Those task types don’t list
durations by default; however, all the calendar settings are customizable. If
there is a certain types of project information you want to display on the
calendar, such as resource names, completion percentages, and so on, you can
add it to the task bars. You can also make all tasks of a certain type standout
by changing the default formatting of the bars.
84
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

From Calendars view, choose Format- Bar Styles to open the Bar Styles dialog
box. You can see a list of the task types at the left of the Bar Styles dialog box.
Choose the task type you want to format and then do the following:

1. Set your shape options by choosing a bar, pattern, color, and split
pattern.
Note: - If there is task type you don’t want to display, choose it and then
select None as its bar type.
2. If you choose Bar as the bar type, you can enable the shadow, option, if
you want.
3. Enable the Bar Rounding feature if you want to show bars across a
fullday. Enabling or disabling this feature does not affect the actual
duration of the a task- only the way it is displayed.
4. Using the Fields drop-down list, select the fields you want to appear as
text on each bar. To choose more than one field, select the first field,
type a comma after the first field name, and the second field.
5. position the text within each bar using the Align and Wrap options

Other Task Views.

Task views all have one thing in common: you can use them to enter project
tasks. Some of the task views lend themselves to a particular level of detail in
task entry.

Gantt Chart View

Gantt Chart View ids the default view you see when you open project. In this
view, you can work with task information in both text and bar graphics format.
The left side of the window shows the project fields for entering and modifying
task names, durations, start and finish dates, and soon. the right side of the
window graphically displays each task, its duration, and sequence relative to
the other tasks.

Display more of the existing fields in the task list by dragging the window
divider to the right, effectively shrinking the size of the Gantt Chart Windows.
Widen the graphical portion of the window by dragging in the opposite
direction.
Gantt Chart View is most typically used for entering tasks and all details
associated with a task, such as duration, priority, assigned resources,
predecessors, constraints, percent completed, and more.

Formatting The Bars

To apply formatting the Gantt Chart Views, make sure you’re in Gantt Chart
view; then click Format- Bar Styles to open the Bar Styles dialog box, shown
below.

85
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

FIGURE:- The Bar Style dialog box for Gantt Chart view.

TIP: - You can also double-click any in the Gantt Chart to open the Bar Styles
dialog box.
The fields of data displayed are listed in the Name Column of the dialog box.
To delete information from the Gantt Chart, click one of the fields listed in the
Name Column and then Click the Cut Row button at the Top of the dialog box.
Add data fields in the Blank rows at the bottom of the list. If you want to add
the field in the middle of the list, click in the row below where you want the
new field added and then click in the row below where you want the name of
the field in the Name Column; then choose one of the Show for options from
the drop-down list that appears when you click in the third column. Choose the
bar formatting you want for the field by using the drop-down lists shown on the
Bars tab of the dialog box. The start and end Settings are optional; use them if
you want to display a symbol at the start or end of the bar, representing the
field you’re formatting.

Display any project field as text by choosing the field on the Text Tab of the
Bar Styles dialog-box. Decide where you want the text positioned relative to
the bar: left. right, top, bottom, or inside. Click beside that position to activate
drop-down list, and choose a field name from the list.

86
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
TIP: - If you want to make a number of formatting changes to the Gantt Chart,
or you want to design your own Gantt Chart, the Gantt Chart Wizard walks you
step-by-step through a variety of formatting options for tasks, links, and fields.

3. Configuring The Gantt Timescale.

Gantt Chart view also contains features to format timescale. Once again,
choose Format-Timescale(from the Gantt Chart view this time). If you prefer,
you can double-click the existing timescale to open this dialog box.

There are three tiers to consider when formatting the timescale, each with its
own tab in the Timescale dialog box(There’s a fourth tab for formatting the
appearance of non-working time.) The top Tiers

(turned off by default) is typically used for displaying years or quarters. The
middle tier is typically used for displaying weeks or months. The bottom tier is
typically used for displaying individual days or hours.

To format the Timescale, follow these steps: -

1. In any of the first three tabs, pull down the show list in the Timescale
options section, and select how many tiers you want to display.
2. Select the tab for the first tier you want to display.
3. Choose a unit of time for the scale.
4. Choose a label for each unit.
5. Select an alignment option for the label, and disable the Tick lines
feature if you don’t want divider lines between each unit on the scale.
6. Adjust the count spin box to determine the interval between unit labels
on the scale. For instance, if the unit is weeks.
7. Repeat steps 2-6 for the other tiers you want to display.
8. From any of the first three tabs, configure the remaining Timescale
options features. Change the size spin box to make the scale larger or
smaller, thereby showing less or more time in the same amount of space.
Disable the scale Separator if you don’t want to see the horizontal line
between the major and minor scales.
9. If you want to adjust the appearance of the nonworking time on the
Gantt Chart, click the Non-working Time Tab of the Timescale dialog box
and then choose your options there. Click OK when you are finished.

4. Adjusting Gridlines Settings

The appropriate placement of gridlines can be a big help in viewing
information displayed across rows and down columns. By default, the Gantt
Chart does not show horizontal gridlines. Unless you count the horizontal
separator between the Major and Minor Timescales at the top of the Chart.
Adjust gridlines for different Gantt Chart Components by selecting Format-
Gridlines to open the gridline dialog box.
Follow these steps to change the gridlines: -

1. Select the line you want to change from the list on the left. Gantt Rows
correspond to the numbered rows in the task list. Major Columns
87
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
correspond to the Major Timescale, and minor Columns correspond to
the Minor Timescale.
2. In the Normal section of the dialog box, select the type and pattern for
the gridline.
3. If you want to get grid of an existing gridline, select it from the Line to
change list and then click the blank area in the type drop-down list.
4. Certain gridlines appear repeatedly, so you can apply contrasting
gridlines at specific intervals. Select an interval, line type, and line color.
If those options are disabled, it’s because you have selected a line type
that does not repeat. To skip a gridline at certain intervals, click the
blank area on the type list in the At Interval Settings.

Formatting Text In the Task list

It makes sense to spend a few minutes formatting text, even for projects with
relatively small task lists. At minimum, you’ll want some type of formatting on
summary tasks so they stand out from others in the list. For larger projects,
you may want to format milestones, critical tasks, external tasks, or even your
timescale.

You access project’s formatting options by selecting Format- Text Styles to

open the Text Styles dialog box.
Select the part of the view you want to format by choosing an item from the
Item to change list; then choose a font, font style, font size, and color. Enable
the Underline feature, if you want. Repeat the process for each additional item
you want to format, and click OK when you’re finished.

5. Network Diagram View.

Project’s Network Diagram view (view- Network Diagram) presents tasks in
PERT- like flowchart format with each task displayed in its own node. Tasks
are arranged vertically to reflect the hierarchy of tasks in the outline, and
arranged horizontally to show relationships between tasks. By default, tasks in
progress are displayed with
one diagonal line through them, and completed tasks are displayed with
crossed diagonal lines. You can enter relationships. Use this view to focus on
small groups of tasks while fine-tuning their settings and relationships.
Unless you have a large-screen monitor to view the diagram, it’s quite possible
to become utterly lost while scrolling through the task nodes. To keep from
becoming too confused, Zoom options can help you find your way around the
diagram.
You can zoom way out to see a larger portion of the project. Click the zoom out
button on the Standard toolbar (the magnifier with the minus sign, or click
view- zoom and choose a setting from the list of options in the Zoom dialog
box.
As you might expect, you can format the nodes so that certain types of tasks
stand out. by default, critical tasks are displayed in nodes bordered in red.
Configure the node settings by clicking Format- box Styles to open the Box
Styles dialog box.

88
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
The Box Styles dialog box works the same way as the Bar Styles dialog boxes
we explored in Calendar and Gantt Chart views. Select the type of task from
the style settings for list on the left; then configure the Border and Background
settings. you’ll like the unique feature of this dialog box. You can actually
choose the task you want to use in the preview by adjusting the show data
from Task ID field.

To create a new template, click the More Templates button to open the Data
Templates dialog box; then choose New to open the Data Template Definition
dialog box; then choose new to open the Data Template Definition Dialog Box.
1. Enter a name for the Data Template in the Template Name field.
2. Click the cell layout button to choose the number of rows and columns
you want in the node. Change the cell Width setting if you want the cells
in the new template to be larger or smaller than the cells of the standard
template. you probably want to keep the merge Blank cells with cells to
the Left option; otherwise, the Task Name displayed would be cut off. As
long as the cell to the right is blank, why not let the data spill over?
3. After you configure cell layout settings, choose the data fields you want
to display in each cell. Click a cell in the choose cells area of the dialog
box to enable a drop down list of project fields. Select a field from the
list.
4. Choose a font for each cell of the node. When you click the Font button,
the settings your chose are applied to the selected cell(s). It’s easy to
bold one field and leave the rest of the data in the default font (Arial 8
pt.). To make all cells the same font, select them all from the choose
fields area of the dialog box, click Font, and Choose settings.
5. Select a Limit cell Text to setting for each cell, it makes sense to make
the Name cell two lines (or more), but you wouldn’t need that much
space for a field such as Resources Initials.
6. Choose a Horizontal and vertical alignment setting for each cell. Enable
the show Label in cell field if you want the field name to precede the data
in each cell. (You’ll need relatively large cells to do this) otherwise, most
of the data windup out of view.)

7. If the Selected cell is a date field, you can choose a date format from the
drop-down list of the same name.

8. Click OK to return to the Data Templates dialog box. Click close to turn
to box Styles, click OK, and you’re done!

You can apply this new template to any type of task in Network Diagram view.
Simply open the Box Styles dialog box (format- Box Styles), select the type of
task from the list at the left, and select the template from the Data Template
drop-down list. You can then change border and background settings for the
task type displayed in this template.

Task Usage View.

89
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Task usage view focuses on how much each resources has completed overtime.
Use this view to compare actual work and costs to budgeted works and costs.
Select View- task Usage to display the two-paned window.

The pane on the left of the figure shows tasks with the assigned resource
indented below. The fields displayed on this side of the window focus on the
task by default, but you can customize it to display other data by applying a
different table.
The right portion of the window (the timeline pane) displays information
related to the resource. By default the timeline pane describes work (total
person-hours) for each task. Add another Detail field by right-clicking any cell
in the Details column, or by clicking Format- Details on the menu and then
choosing another field.
Right-click again to deselect Detail fields you don’t want t view. If the field you
want to detail isn’t on the menu, you can gain access additional fields by
choosing Detail Styles from the shortcut menu to open the Detail styles dialog
box( Alternately, you can click Format- Detail Styles.)

Tracking Gantt View

Tracking Gantt view is similar to the traditional Gantt Chart View, but it
compares baselines Start and finished dates to scheduled Start and Finish
dates or the percentage of work that has already been completed. As you
might expect, you can use this view to do and of the things you would
ordinarily do in regular Gantt Chart View: enter tasks and their details, assign
resources, and link tasks, to name a few.
Tracking Gantt view displays a single bar for each task; the percent completed
is displayed in a solid color while the percent of the task remaining is in a
shaded color. Click and hold either side of the bar to get a Summary of what
that bar is showing. The right side (percent uncompleted) part of the bar
shows the start and finish dates pulled from the project baseline. The left side
(percent complete) upper bar shows different data, depending on the status of
the task. You’ll see the following:
 Scheduled Start and Finish dates, if the task hasn’t begun yet( that is,
the Percent Complete=0)
 Actual Start and Completed through dates, if the task is in progress.
 Actual Start and finish dates, if the task is Complete.
Change the format of Gantt Tracking view just you would in regular Gantt
Chart view: click Format- Text Styles to change the way tasks are displayed in
the task list at the left of the split window. Click Format- Bar Styles to choose a
new look for the bars displayed in the graphical portion of the window. Choose
Format- Timescale or Format- Timescale or Format- Gridlines to change those
settings in the Gantt Chart.

Resource views
The resource views all relate to assigning and tracking the use of human
resources, materials, and equipment used to complete the project. Remember
90
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
that a resource can be an individual, a company, department within a
company, a team, a piece of equipments, a room, or any other resource you
need for the project.

Many of the project views enable you to see which people you’re driving
toward premature burnout (what project politely cells over allocating);
however, resource views tend to make it overtly apparent which resources are
being worked past the number of hours available in their calendars.

Resource Graph
To see work allocation, or cost information about a resource represented
graphically, display the Resource Graph (view- Resource Graph). Similar to
Network diagram view, you can easily become lost in the resource graph. It
helps to have Specific dates in mind when you’re viewing work assigned to a
particular resource. If the project timeline is scrolled to a time period where
the selected resource has no assigned tasks, you’ll see nothing in the timeline
pane!
It may not look like it at first, but the resource Graph view is actually two
separate panes. The selected resource is displayed in the left pane, and that
resource’s allocation is shown in the right pane. Scroll the left pane of the split
window to select the resource you want to see in the pane on the right. Scroll
window to select the resource you want to see in the pane on the right. Scroll
the right pane to move the timeline to correspond with the scheduled start and
end rates for tasks assigned to the selected resource.
By default, the detail field shown in the timeline pane is Peak Units (the
combined time required for all tasks assigned to that resource at a given point
in time.). Change the detail by right-clicking on the chart and then choosing
Bar Styles. Select a new type from the Show As Field in the Bar Styles dialog
box.

Resource Sheet
Resource sheet view (view-Resource Sheet) provides a summary of information
about resources in a spreadsheet format. In this view, you can enter and
review information resources: names, assigned groups), regular and overtime
rates, and so on.
Choose this view to quickly put together a list of resources with details about
each. If you want to review information about resources with details about
each. f you want to review information about resources in a non-graphical
format, this is also a good view. Compare the number of work hours assigned
to each resource, or compare resource costs (actual& budgeted.)
Add fields to the default table by right-clicking the column header to the right
of where you want your new column. Choose Insert Column from the shortcut
menu to open the column Definition dialog box.
Choose the field you want to insert from the field Name drop-down list. Type a
different display name for the field (if you want one) in the Title field. Set
Assignment and width options, and click OK.

Resource Usage

91
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Resource Usage view (view- Resource Usage) groups tasks by resource and
displays the amount of work, allocation, and work availability for each
resource. (Of course, you can add fields to the table in the left pane by right-
clicking a column header, as described in the previous section.
Customize the timeline, gridlines, and text Styles by choosing those options
from the Format menu, or by right- clicking the portion of the view you want to
format.

More Views
Understanding and using the standard views described so far can be daunting
especially for a new user. But the true Microsoft Project experts wants more
and more Project has more to give! Select view- More views to see additional
view selections. If the available list doesn’t contain exactly what you’re looking
for, you can create your own view

6. Examining Data With Tables.

Task Tables
As the categorization implies, Task tables contain fields that relate to tasks. In
the More Tables dialog box, choose the Table option to display Task tables.
Select the Table you want and then click Apply. In most cases, you have to be
in a Task-related view to insert a Task table into the table pane.

Resource Tables.
Several table views are available to assess Resource information. In the More
Tables Dialog Box, Select Resource to see a list of prefabricated Resource
Tables. Again, we have already seen many of these tables as we’ve explored
Resource views.

Creating and Formatting your Own Tables.

With dozens of tables readily available in project, you might be wondering why
in the world you’d want to make your own! Well, there is always that one extra
piece of information you’d like to add, or perhaps there is too much
information and you want to delete. Whatever the case, you can make a new
table from Scratch (lots of work, or create one based on another table that’s
close to what you want.
As we mentioned in previous sections of this chapter, you can make changes to
existing table columns fairly easily, as follows.
 Add or Delete a column by right-clicking the column header and then
selecting the appropriate action from the shortcut menu.
 Change the field name, field title, or text alignment by double clicking
the column header and then configuring these options in the column
Definition dialog box.
 Change the size of a column by dragging the column border in either
direction, or double-click the column border (on the right) to auto-fit.
These types of changes are permanent for the active project file. That means
that the next time you open the file, the tables you’ve modified will remain as
you last left them; however, when you start a new project file, all tables are
back to the default column settings.

92
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
If you want to change table configurations for the active project, but you also
want to leave the original settings intact, open the More Tables dialog box
(view- table- More Tables), select the table you want to modify, and click the
copy button. A working Copy of the original table is created and the Table
Definition Dialog Box opens.

Formatting, Creating, and Saving Views.

Formatting Views.
Click Format- Layout to open the Layout dialog box for the view you are in
figure below shows the Layout dialog box for Gantt Chart view.
The first thing you should know about view layouts is that each view has its
own layout settings. Depending on which view you’re adjusting, the specific
layout changes may include the following:-
- Link Type: - Choose from the three options to specify whether you want
S-shaped links, l-shaped link, or no links displayed.
- Date format: - Shows subtasks on the same bar as the summary task
under which they fall. You can mouse over rolled-up tasks to see the
detail of subtasks.
- Round Bars: - Displays the bars as a full day across the entire day
whether the task stops mid-day or not.
- Bar Splits: - these show tasks that have been interrupted and restart at a
later time. You can choose not to show them.
- Show Drawings: - If you’ve used the Drawing tools, you can show or hide
the drawn objects you’ve created.

Creating and Saving Views

There are dozens of predefined views available in Microsoft Project, as you
well know. You can customize any of these views in hundreds of ways, most of
which we’ve discussed. But wait… there’s more!
If all the previously presented options aren’t enough for you, you can create
and save your own views- from scratch, - or based on an existing view. Here’s
how:-

1. Select view- more views to open the More Views dialog box.
2. Click the view you want to use as a basis for your new view and then
click copy. If you want to create a new view from scratch, simply click
the New button. If you choose copy, the view Definition dialog box opens.
If you choose New, you get the Define New view dialog box.
3. If you’re starting from scratch, choose whether you want a single pane
view or combination view in the Define New dialog box and then Click
OK. The Single view choice takes you to the view Definition dialog box
shown above. The Combination view choice takes you to a slightly
different view Definition dialog box.
4. In the view Definition dialog box, type a name for your new view if you
want what you want to display in the top and bottom panes, and enable
the Show InMenu option. For new views based on another view, choose a
different table, group and/ or filter for this view.

93
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
5. Click OK when you’re through, and the new view appears along with the
others in the More views dialog box. Click Apply to see your new view, or
click close to exit the dialog box without changing the current view.

7. Sorting, Filtering, and Grouping

The visual elements of a view are easy to recognize. You need only computer
monitor to see, for example, that the bars in the Gantt chart are formatted blue
for regular tasks and red for critical tasks. There are other components,
however, that aren’t so obvious, but they are still considered part of the view.
Examples include:
 The order in which items appear, determined by the last sort settings
applied to the view.
 Whether an item is displayed or hidden, depending on the filter applied.
 Whether an item appears by itself or with like items, depending on the
item’s grouping.
Sort, filter, and group settings are as important as visual settings in
determining how data is displayed in a view. As your project groups, so does
the important of these features.

Sorting a View
Changing the sort order doesn’t hide any of your data; it jut puts it in a
different order. The default sort for most table views is ascending ID order;
that is, the lowest ID number appears at the top of the list. Most views, except
Network Diagram view, can be sorted, and some have more fields available to
sort by.
In general, choose the view you want to sort, click Project- Sort, and Choose
the field you want to sort by. You’ll get ascending (A-z and 1-10) order if you
choose one of the fields on the menu.
If you want to sort in different order or if you wish to use a multilevel Sort
(resources by last name, then by first name). Click Project- Sort- SortBy to
open the Sort dialog box.
The current sort settings are displayed when the dialog box opens. Choose a
different field from the sort By List. For Secondary and tertiary sorts, choose
fields from the Then By lists, and choose ascending or descending order for
each field. If you want items permanently renumbered after the sort, enable
that option. For task lists, choose whether to maintain the outline structure.
When you sort a combination view, all panes sorts that means that bars on the
Gantt Chart are reordered when you sort the accompanying task list.

Applying a Filter.
Too much data to grasp in a single-glance? Try filtering the data displayed. It’s
fast and easy, and enables you to see relevant portions of data while hiding the
rest.
Autofilters provide one of the quickest ways to pull relevant portions of your
data for viewing. The AutoFilters appears as down arrows as the right of each
column header. Click the filter arrow for the field you choose the value you
want to display. Project applies a [field you filtered on] equals [value you
choose from the list] test to determine which rows of data to display.
94
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

Creating and Saving custom AutoFilters

Let’s say you want to see resources with overtime rates between a certain
range, or you want to display all tasks assigned to two different resources to
filter for more than one value at a time, or to use a filter condition other than
“equals” you need to customize.
To customize an existing AutoFilter, click the AutoFilter arrow on the field you
want to filter, and choose custom from the list. The Custom AutoFilter dialog
box opens. This is where you establish the criteria for the filter.
The drop-down lists on the left contain tests; greater than, less than, equals,
contains, begins with and so on. The drop-down lists on the right show values
for the selected field. You can have to select a test from the list, but you can
type values if the ones you want to use aren’t on the list. For filters that
require two tests, you must choose an operator such as And/Or.
 Choose And if you want both tests to be true to display the row.
 Choose Or if you want the row displayed whne either test is true.

Mastering Filter Tests.

If you’ve used filtering in Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access, you’re probably
already familiar with tests such as equals. Do not Equal, Is Greater Than, and
Is Less Than; however, project introduces three new filter test are not quite as
intuitive. Specifically, these tests are IsWithin, Is Not Within, and Contains
Exactly.
IsWithin enables you to locate values within a range, such as all tasks with
durations that are greater than or equal to two days and less than or equal to
five days. Is NotWithin excludes values within the range you identify; the trick
is in knowing how to enter the range. To enter a range of values, follow these
steps:

1. Click the AutoFilter button to turn on auto filtering.

2. Click the drop-down arrow in the field on which you want to filter, such
as Duration, and choose custom.
3. In the custom Filter dialog box, choose IsWithin or ISNotWithin from the
show Rows where dropdown list.
4. Enter the range in the values text box, separated by a comma, For
example, to show durations that are greater than or equal to two days
and less than or equal to five days, Enter 2, 5
5. Enter a second test if desired
6. Click OK to apply the filter.

Project applies the filter, and shows that are within or not within the
designated range.
The Contains Exactly filter is a hybrid of both Equals and Contains. The
difference is that Contains Exactly allows you to search for individual values in
fields where you have entered multiple values.
Can’t find the filter you want to use? Spend a few extra minutes and create
your own custom filter. You’ll follow the same basic steps as you do when you
create your own tables or views. Specifically:

95
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual

1. Click Project- Filtered For- More Filters to display the More Fiters dialog
box.
2. Choose one of the filter options based on what you want to modify: task
filters or resource filters.
3. Choose a filter on which to base your new filter and then click copy, or
click New to create a new filter from scratch.
4. In the Filter definition dialog box, enter a name for your new filter, and
enable the ShowIn Menu option.
5. Choose new or edit existing operators, fields, and values. When multiple
tests are used, Project can apply filter criteria to groups of expressions, if
you leave a blank line between criteria groups.

6. Within groups of three (or more) expressions, the and statements are
evaluated before the Or statements, Between groups, however,
expressions are evaluated in the order they appear.
7. Use Cut, Copy, Delete, Paste, and Insert to move, duplicate, remove, or
add filter criteria.
8. Click Ok when you’re finished. The new view shows up in the More Views
list as well as on the menu, if you enabled that option.

Grouping views.
Project enables you to categorize resources by grouping them in ways that
make sense to you. After groups are assigned, you can sort, filter or edit
resources by group.
The Group field is displayed by default in Resource sheet view.
When you’re entering resource information, simply type a group name in the
field. Resources with the value in the Group field are, of course, assigned to
same group.
Let’s say you want to see the critical tasks assigned to each group. Grouping
resources based on multiple criteria requires some additional configuring.
Make sure that all resources are assigned to a primary group and then create a
custom group as follows: -

1. Click project- group- More groups to open the More Groups dialog box (It
should look familiar by now. It looks similar to the More Tables. More
Views and More Filters dialog boxes.
2. Select either Task or Resource, and click the New button to open the
Group definition dialog box. Alternately, you can choose an existing
grouping on which to base your custom group by clicking the copy
button.
3. Give your new group a name and then choose the field you want to group
by. Change the order default to descending. You might want to do this if
you’re grouping by a numeric interval, such as cost, so your highest cost
appears at the top of the sheet.
4. Configure formatting options if you want them to be different from the
default.
96
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
5. If you’re grouping on a numeric field, the Define Group Intervals button
will be enabled. Configure an interval for the field in the dialog box that
appears when you click the button.
6. Enable the show Summary Tasks feature, if you want.
7. Click Ok to close the Group definition dialog box and return to More
Groups.

8. Using reports to analyze data

This chapter focuses on the formal reporting required of a project manager.
Microsoft project allows you to create reports to fit most any scenario. This
chapter will cover the following topics: -
 Setting the printed page
 Printing a view.
 Using reports.
 Customizing reports.
 Creating a new report.

Setting up the Printed Page

For views, click File – page setup; if you’re already in print preview, click the
page setup button on the print preview toolbar. for customized reports, click
the setup button in the custom reports dialog box.

Adjusting Page settings

Because most views and reports are quite wide, the default orientation is
Landscape; however, you can change to portrait orientation on the Page tab of
the page setup dialog box. Use the Scaling controls to shrink or enlarge the
image size by a certain percentage (Adjust To), or to force the image to print
on a defined number of page (Fit To). Choose a different paper size if you’re
not printing on standard 81/2*11, and enter a first page Number if you want to
start with a number other than1.

On the Margins tab, you can edit the default settings of ½ inch all around, and
choose whether and where to print page borders.

Using Headers, Footers, and Legends.

Elements outside the standard page- headers, footers, and legends are useful
in helping the reader keep track of what they are reading. You can use a
header and/or footer to print text and graphics in the top (or bottom) margin
area of every page in a view or report. you can use a legend to describe
information in Gantt chart, calendar, or Network Diagram view, but not in
reports. The Legend can print on every of the view, or on a page by itself.
To configure header, footer, and legend settings, select the header, Footer, or
Legend tab of the page setup dialog box.
Tip: - If the page setup dialog box isn’t open, click view- Header 7 footer to
display the dialog box with the Header tab selected.

97
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
Adjusting settings the same, whether you’re working on a header or footer or
Legend- just make sure that you’re on the appropriate tab of the dialog box
before you start; then do the following:
1. Choose whether you want the information at the left, center, or right of
the page by clicking one of the corresponding tabs below the preview
window.
2. Click in the white space below the tab you selected, and type information
you want to include, and/or
Click one of the header/footer shortcut buttons to insert page numbers,
current date and time, filename, or pictures, such as company logo. If
you want to format the text, select it and then click the Format Text Font
button.
3. insert standard information fields such as manager’s name and company
name, or select from a list of common Project fields choose from the
drop-down lists under the shortcut buttons and then click the Add button
to the right of the list.
4. For legends, you must choose whether you want the legend to appear on
every page or on a page all its own. Click the Legend Labels button to
format this area of the Legend.
5. when the preview portion of this dialog box appears like you want it,
click print to open the print dialog box and then proceed with printing.
Alternately, you can click print preview if you want to see the entire
printed page, or click OK to close the dialog box & print later.
Note: - It’s important to note that headers, footers, and legends are specific to
the view or report in which they are created. That means is you’ve configured
a legend in Gantt Chart view, the same legend does not print in Network
Diagram view unless you reconfigure it for that view.

Printing Par of a view

When you print the Gantt chart view, all expanded tasks are printed unless you
make some adjustments to the print settings first. Because a project with more
than 50 tasks will be too large to fit on one page,

project prints down and across, left to right, starting in the upper left corner of
the view. Each page is numbered in the sequence it prints. if you’re interested
only in printing the first few tasks in the project, you might need to print only
two of the pages from the Gantt chart view (the sheet with the few tasks and
the corresponding chart bars). You do this by clicking File- Print to open the
Print dialog box and then entering the pages you want to print in print range
section.
If you’re trying to print a specific portion of the view, try inserting manual
pages breaks before and after the section you want to print.(Select the task
you want to be first on the printed page and then click Insert- page break). In
the print dialog box, choose the page(s) you want, and make sure that the
manual page Breaks setting is enabled.
-To delete a page break, select the cell below the break and then click Insert-
Remove Page Break.

Displaying Additional Columns.

98
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
When you print a view, whether it’s a Resource or Task view, the number of
columns displayed on screen is exactly what gets duplicated on paper. If there
are columns in the sheet hidden by the Gantt Chart, they won’t show up in the
printed view.
You can instruct Project to print all sheet columns, however, without first
displaying them on screen. to do this, choose file- Page Setup to open the page
setup dialog box and the n select the view tab.
Enable the first option to print all columns; as an alternative, enable the
second option and then choose the number of sheet columns you want to print.
You can preview how the printed page will look by clicking the preview button
at the bottom of the dialog box.

Using and Managing Reports

Options for reporting in project are seemingly endless. For those rare
occasions when project doesn’t have a report to meet the needs of your
audience, you can build in from scratch using fields and formatting of your own
choice.
In most cases, you’ll follow this simple four-step strategy:
1. Navigate to the view or report that is closest to the information you
need.
2. Customize the view or report by applying filters, grouping, adding or
deleting filters, grouping, adding or deleting fields, and so on.
3. Format the report so the information you want to emphasize stands out-
change the color of bars in charts, highlight filtered data, add logos, and
add pictures and drawn objects where appropriate.
4. Print the view or report you want.
To make it easier to find the report for which you are looking, project
categorizes the built- in- reports for you – click view- Reports to open the
reports dialog box. All report categories appear there

Overview Reports
An overtime report provides just: an overview of an aspect of the project at a
fixed point in time. These reports work well with managers, team members,
and stakeholders a like. Click the overview button in the Reports dialog box
and then click Select to see the Overview reports.

Current Activities Reports

The Current Activities reports are primarily task- focused, but you can add
resource information by customizing. Click the Current Activities button in the
Reports dialog box and then click select.

Cost Reports

99
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
In the real world, success or failure of the project is often measured in dollars.
You might finish on time with product, but if you’re double the budget,
stakeholders are likely to be displeased.
Costs reports allow you to catch discrepancies early on while there’s still a
chance of pulling your project back on budget.

Assignment Reports.
Resource reporting is the focus of the Assignments reports. You can print task
lists for the entire team and then review them all at once; or you can select a
resource and then print a list of that person’s tasks with completed tasks
checked off . When you click the Assignments button in the Reports dialog box,
you’ll see four choices.

Work load reports.

There are two workload reports, both providing information on tasks and the
resources assigned in the first column. the rest of the columns are dates
representing one-week increments, with the scheduled for each task and each
resource. The Resource Usage report is similar to the Who Does What When
report (an Assignments report). Resource Usage Shows assigned work by
week, rather than by day.

Managing custom Reports with the Organizer.

Any custom reports you create in one project can be easily copied to other
projects, using project’s organizer feature. To use organizer to copy a report,
follow these steps: -
1. Select Tools- organizer to open the organizer dialog box.
2. Select the reports tab.
3. Select the file that contains the custom report using the views
Available In drop-down list on the left side of the window.
4. Make sure the active project is selected in the right side views
Available in drop-down list.
5. Click the report you want to import.
6. Click the Copy button.
The report you imported now appears in the custom reports dialog
box.

Customizing Reports.
There are really only two types of customization for reports (and views); you
can change the appearance (formatting), and you can change the content
certain reports such as the project Summary will let you change only
appearance. Others offer dozens of options for changing both appearance and
content

Changing the Appearance of a report

After you’ve chosen the report you want to produce in the second Reports
dialog box (but before you actually open the report), click the edit button. This
displays the customization options for that report. If you’re working from a
resource report, the resource Report dialog box opens. If you’re working from
a task report, you’ll see the Task Report dialog box.
100
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
When you’re concerned with the appearance rather than content, check the
following settings:
1. On the Definition tab, change the Name field if you want the report’s
title to be something other than the default.
2. Click the Gray Bands option on the Definition tab if you want to see
divisions between major units in the report.
3. On the details tab, choose whether you want a border around and
gridlines between details. Gridlines are the horizontal lines and
borders are mostly vertical. This may be opposite from how you
normally think of gridlines and borders.

4. Click the Text button to choose a font, font style, font size and color
for fileds of a certain type.

Changing the content of a report.

Begin content customization the same you did with appearance; choose the
report you want to produce, and click the edit button. content customization
settings include the following:
-Period: - change this setting if you want a different time interval for the
selected report.
- Count: - Determines how many periods to display in one interval.
- Table: - determine the fields used in the report. To see different report fields,
choose a different table,
including any custom tables you’ve created for which the shown in
Menu option is enabled.
-Filter: - Determines the of task or resource information that gets displayed.
For example, the over
allocated Resources that applies on the Over allocated Resource filter
so that resources that
aren’t over allocated do not appear on all information while high
lightly the information that
meet the filter criteria.

Resource Details (or Task Details). You use the Details tab to select which
fields to display in your report. For each field that you enable, except objects,
information prints once per resource or once per task. Enable the Predecessor
check box and each task shows predecessor information.
Assignment details: - The choices you make here determine the fields that print
for each resource (in Resource reports) or each task ( in Task reports)
Show Totals: - Enable the Show Totals Check box ( on the Details tab) if you
want numeric field totaled.
Sort Order: - Choose a Sort order using the controls on the Sort of this dialog
box.
Inserting a New object.
The Insert Object button is found on the Notes tab both the Task Information
and Resource Information dialog boxes. when you click the Insert Object
button, the Insert Object dialog box opens. After you open the Insert Object
Dialog box, you have two choices, you can create a new object from scratch, or

101
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
you can insert an object create a new object from scratch, or you can insert an
object that already exists.
Let’s assume that you’re attaching this new object to a resource. In the
Resource Information dialog box, click the Notes Tab; then click the Insert
Object button to open the Insert Object dialog box. Make sure that the create
New option is selected at the left. Scroll the to choose the type of object you
want to create, and Click OK.

Inserting an Existing Object.

Click Insert- Object (or click the Insert Object button ion the Notes tab of the
task Information or resource Information dialog boxes) to open the Insert
dialog box, choose the Create Form File option. The dialog box changes to give
you browsing options instead of scroll list of programs.
Click browse to navigate to the folder that contains the object you want to
insert. Select the object file and then Click OK. The path is insereted in the file
field of the Insert object dialog box. from there, you canchoose to link to the
file, and/or display the file as an icon that users double-click to view. click OK
when you’re through, and you’ll see the object you inserted or the icon
representing that object.

Viewing and Printing The Insert Object.

Resource table views display an Indicator column with icons denoting the
condition of the resource. When you see the Notes icon in the indicator
column, it indicates that there is something on the Notes tab of the Resource
Information dialog box for that resource name to open the resource. Double-
click

the resource name to open the Resource Information dialog box, right-click the
Notes icon and then choose Resource Notes from the Shortcut menu. You’ll see
the object or an icon representing the object. If it’s an icon, you have to
double-click one final time and you’re there!
If you want an object you’ve attached to Notes to appear in a printed report,
you have to edit the report to include Notes in the details. From the top, do the
following:
1. Click view- reports to open the reports dialog box.
2. Choose the type of report you want to print. Let’s say you’re printing a Who
Does What report, and you want to see the pictures you’ve attached to each
resource to each resource Choose Assignments and then click select.

3. Choose Who Does What, and Click Edit.

4. Click the Details tab, and enable Notes. Click OK and then Click Select. You
should see the inserted
objects at the end of each resource’s list of tasks.

Using The Drawing Tools

There’s always supplementary information about tasks and resources that you
can include in the Notes for that task or resource; however, to highlight this
type of information on the Gantt Chart, you might choose to use drawing tools.
For example, you could insert a text box with a comment about a task or group
102
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
of tasks to a particular task, or objects created on the Gantt Cart can add
information or types of Drawing Toolbar Click view- Toolbars- drawing to turn
it on.

Drawing An object.
To create a drawing object, follow these steps: -
1. Click once on the button to select the type of object you want to draw.
The mouse pointer changes to cross- hair.
2. Click and drag on the Gantt Chart. Release the mouse when the object is
the approximate size you want.
Note: - If you’re creating a polygon, you have to drag a line for each side of
the shape. When you draw the final line that completely encloses the shape,
the polygon tool turns itself off.
3. Move and/or resize the object as needed. To resize, simply point to one of
the object handles. When the pointer changes to a two-headed arrow,
drag the object smaller or larger. (If you’re trying to resize a polygon and
dragging the handles only changes its shape, click Draw- Edit points) to
move the object, point at it(but not a handle), then click and drag to the
new location.
4. Format the object as desired (see the following section)

Formatting An Object
By default, all project drawing objects have a black line and white fill. If all you
want to do is change the fill color from white to another solid color, you can
select the object and then click the cycle Fill color button on the Drawing tool
bar. Continue clicking until you see the fill color you want.
To change the fill pattern, the border width and color or to remove the border
completely you’ll have to adjust the object’s properties. Select the object and
then choose Format- Drawing- Properties or right-click the object and then
choose properties from settings until the Preview window displays the look
you’re aiming for; then click the size and Position tab to see additional
settings.
Use the Attach To timeline option to anchor the drawn object vertically and
horizontally, relative to the timescale. the Date control determines where the
object anchored horizontally. The vertical control reflects the amount of space
between the top of the object and the timescale area of the Gantt Chart.

Use the Attach To Task Option to keep the object with the selected task, even
if the task gets delayed or scheduled for different start date. Enter the ID
number of the task you’re attaching to get and then choose whether you want
to attach at the begging or end of the task bar. Adjust the vertical and
horizontal spin settings to determine the position of the object relative to the
task bar to which it’s attached.
Here’s where it can be a bit tricky. If you’re attaching the object to the left end
of the task bar, the horizontal spin setting must be a negative number, or the
object will still appear to the right of the Task bar. If you’re attaching to the
positive number. If both horizontal and vertical settings are set to zero, the
object will appear on top of the task to which it’s attached. You can quickly
103
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
access the Attach To Settings of a selected object by clicking the Attach To
Task button on the Drawing toolbar.

Using The Draw menu

The Draw menu on the Drawing tool bar includes other options for
manipulating objects. Use the Bring Forward and Send Backward commands
when you have more than two object layers on the Gantt Chart. These
Commands move the selected object one layer at a time.
Tip: - Unlike other office applications, project does not support object
grouping. Instead, use the attach To Task and Attach To timeline settings to
make sure that your graphics stay put.
The edit Points command on the draw menu allows you to change the shape of
a polygon. When the feature is active, dragging a handle on a polygon changes
its shape. When the Edit Points feature is inactive, dragging a handle on a
polygon resizes it.

Copying a Picture of your Project.

In project, navigate to a view that contains the information you need, and
select Edit- Copy picture; or click the copy picture button on the Standard
toolbar. This opens the Copy Picture dialog box.
Begin by selecting a Render Image Option. For Screen if you want the picture
to display exactly at it looks on your monitor. Choose For Printer if you want
the picture to display as it would when printed in project. Choose TOGIF Image
File if you’re planning to use the picture on a web page. If you choose this
third option, you must specify a filename and location.
If you choose For Screen Or For Printer from the rendering options, switch to
the program you want to use to display your Project picture and then paste
using the appropriate command from that program.

Creating a New Report.

Project reports are based on one of four templates: Task, Resource, Monthly
Calendar, and Cross tab. to create a new report, click view- reports- Custom,
and click select to open the custom Report list. Click the New button, and
you’ll see the Define New Report dialog box.
Choose one of the four available report templates to use as a basis for the
monthly calendar Report Definition dialog box.
If you choose Resource, Task, or Cross tab, you’ll get the same dialog box and
setting you use when you edit an existing report of the type.

9. Closing a project
The single most effective trait of a successful project manager is the ability to
close a project with the same level of enthusiasm as when it is started. Closing
a Project can be the easiest and the hardest part of project management- it
involves a rigorous evaluation and review of the decisions, processes, and
effort that went into making a project success or doomed it to failure.
The process involved in closing a project can be as critical as the process
involved in defining and designing the project at the outset. if your goal is
continual quality improvement, it is imperative that

104
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
every project success or failure be carried through to its conclusion- you
cannot improve if you don’t know what it is you are improving.
After you decide that a project has met its objectives= or that it will not reach
its objectives- you can proceed with the other steps involved in closing a
project. These steps include the following: -
 conducting a project review, including a review of the processes
used in the project
 Evaluating project results.
 Communicating information about the project results to all the
stakeholders.
 Preparing for future projects.

Using Project’s Predefined End-of Project Reports.

To create a Project report, choose View- Reports and then select the
appropriate report from the Reports dialog box.project has seven predefined
reports that offer valuable data in preparing a final project report. there are
three overview reports: Project Summary,Milestones, and Top-Level Tasks; and
four costs reports: budget, Earned Value, overbudget Tasks and Overbudget
resources

Project Summary Report

The Project Summary report is found Overview category of the Reports dialog
box and then clicking the Project summary report button. the Project Summary
report provides an overview of the following: Dates, Duration, Work, Costs,
Task Status and Resource Status.
Tip The default Project Summary reports data in hours and days. You can
change the report to reflect minutes, days weeks or months by resetting
Project’s Schedule options for Duration and Work. From within any non-report
view, choose Tools- Options to display the options dialog box; then select the
Schedule tab. Change the Duration Is Entered In and Work Is Entered In fields
to reflect the desired measure.

Milestones Report
105
_____________________________________ Micro Soft Project Management Manual
The milestone report, found by clicking the Overview category of the Reports
dialog box. It includes Task ID, Task Name, duration (o) Start and finish Dates,
and Predecessors.

Top-Level Tasks Report

Top-Level the top-level report, found by clicking an overview report that shows
the Task ID; Task Name; and actual figures for Duration, Start, finish, %
comp(percent Complete), cost, and work

106