Microsoft Office Training Series

Project
Intermediate Post Course

£
Courses never 12+ Months
Cancelled Schedule
24 Months UK Wide
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Contents
Module 1: Project Management and Project ................................................................... 1
New features and edition comparison............................................................................... 2
Starting MS Office Project .................................................................................................... 4
Using Help ............................................................................................................................... 4
MS Project- The Screen ........................................................................................................ 5
The Quick Access Toolbar: ................................................................................................... 5
The Ribbon (with the Project tab displayed): .................................................................... 6
The Status Bar: ........................................................................................................................ 6
The Project Timeline: ............................................................................................................. 7
The Entry Bar:.......................................................................................................................... 9
Introduction to Project Views ..............................................................................................11
MS Project – using the Ribbon ........................................................................................... 15
Exercise: Opening and viewing a project ......................................................................... 16
Change the View ................................................................................................................... 16
Test the ‘Group By’ Feature................................................................................................. 17
Test the ‘Highlight Feature .................................................................................................. 17
View and change the Project Information ....................................................................... 18
Viewing the Network Diagram ........................................................................................... 19
Applying a filter .................................................................................................................... 20
Exit Project .............................................................................................................................. 21
Introduction to Project Management............................................................................... 22
Understanding how MS Project helps you plan and adjust your projects................ 24
Project Terminology ............................................................................................................ 25
Module 2: Planning the Project ..................................................................................... 29
Defining the Project ............................................................................................................. 30
Areas that must be completed .......................................................................................... 30
Completing the Project Definition ..................................................................................... 31
Project Planning ................................................................................................................... 32
Completing the Project Plan .............................................................................................. 33
Where to begin with MS Project ....................................................................................... 34
Setting the project start date ............................................................................................. 34
Project Properties ................................................................................................................. 36
Creating Calendars for Working/ Non-Working Time ................................................. 39
Factors to Convert Duration Units into Hours ................................................................ 39
Amending the Standard Calendar ..................................................................................... 41
Creating a New Base Calendar.......................................................................................... 42
Exceptions to Work Week settings for recurring events .............................................. 43
Displaying a Specific Calendar on the Gantt Chart ....................................................... 44
Saving the New Project File................................................................................................ 45

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 Saving a Project .................................................................................................................... 45
Ending a Project Session..................................................................................................... 46
Closing a Project .................................................................................................................. 46
Module 3: Task Entry and Task Linking ......................................................................... 47
Entering tasks ........................................................................................................................ 48
Using the Gantt Chart to enter tasks ................................................................................ 48
Manually outlining tasks into summary and subtasks tasks .......................................... 51
Choosing to show all subtasks or a specific outline level .............................................. 51
Inserting an additional task ................................................................................................ 52
Deleting a task ...................................................................................................................... 52
Moving a task ........................................................................................................................ 52
Using AutoFill to enter repeat data .................................................................................. 54
Using AutoComplete ........................................................................................................... 54
Using AutoCorrect ............................................................................................................... 55
Entering a milestone task ................................................................................................... 55
Adding a recurring task. ..................................................................................................... 56
Adding a note to a task ...................................................................................................... 57
Manually apply fill colours to selected cells for emphasis ............................................ 57
Understanding the new Task Mode in Project ............................................................... 58
Working with task durations and relationships .............................................................. 60
Entering task durations ....................................................................................................... 60
Creating task relationships .................................................................................................. 61
Using lag time and lead time ............................................................................................. 62
Exercise: Creating a new project ....................................................................................... 64
Creating constraints for tasks in Auto Schedule Mode ................................................ 67
Utilising task constraints ...................................................................................................... 67
Resolving scheduling conflicts ........................................................................................... 69
Setting a deadline on a task............................................................................................... 70
Quick Reference .................................................................................................................... 71
Module 4: Resources and Resource Management ...................................................... 73
Creating resources ............................................................................................................... 74
Using the Resource Sheet to enter resources ................................................................ 74
Assigning and amending a resource calendar ............................................................... 77
Resource Availability Dates ................................................................................................ 79
Resource Costs ..................................................................................................................... 80
Understanding how cost per use is calculated ................................................................ 81
Exercise: Enter resources .................................................................................................... 82
Assigning resources to tasks – Auto Schedule Mode ................................................... 83
How project recalculates the task duration in Auto Schedule mode......................... 87
Using Material Resources ................................................................................................... 88
Exercise: Assigning resources to tasks Manual vs Auto Schedule Mode ................. 90
Exercise: Using the Task Inspector and Team Planner to view and change
assigned resources................................................................................................................ 91

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 Baselining your project........................................................................................................ 93
Module 5: Managing Project and project views ........................................................... 96
Exercise: Preparing a project for analysis and tracking ................................................ 96
Outline Tasks ......................................................................................................................... 99
Constraints and Deadlines.................................................................................................. 99
Resources..............................................................................................................................100
Exercise: Resource Levelling ..............................................................................................102
Customising the Gantt Chart ............................................................................................105
Critical Path ..........................................................................................................................105
Changing Time Scale..........................................................................................................107
Using the Formatting Tab of the ribbon.........................................................................109
Add a new (custom) Gantt Bar .......................................................................................... 111
Editing Tasks using the Gantt Chart ................................................................................ 113
Using Network Diagrams ................................................................................................... 114
Network Diagrams (the PERT Chart principle) .............................................................. 114
The Network Box (or Node) .............................................................................................. 115
Change how the nodes are displayed ............................................................................ 115
Adjust the diagram layout ................................................................................................. 116
The Network Diagram in a combination view ............................................................... 117
Navigating the Network Diagram .................................................................................... 119
More about Tables.............................................................................................................. 121
Inserting columns ................................................................................................................ 121
Remove (hide) columns .....................................................................................................122
Modifying (or editing) an existing Table using the Table Definition Dialog Box ....122
Creating a New Table.........................................................................................................123
Formatting tables ................................................................................................................123
Applying Filters ....................................................................................................................124
Using AutoFilters .................................................................................................................125
Exercise: Working with Tables and Filters .......................................................................127
WBS Codes and Viewing a WBS ......................................................................................128
What is a work breakdown structure code? ..................................................................128
Displaying outline numbers ..............................................................................................128
Displaying the WBS column ..............................................................................................129
Why use Custom WBS Codes ........................................................................................... 131
Create a custom WBS code .............................................................................................. 131
Renumber the custom WBS codes of tasks ...................................................................133
Module 6: Examining and Updating the Project .........................................................134
Amending tasks ...................................................................................................................135
Using the Task Sheet ..........................................................................................................135
Using the Task Details Form..............................................................................................137
Using the Mouse on the Gantt Chart to update task progress ..................................139
Using the Network Diagram .............................................................................................140
Resource Usage and Task Usage views .......................................................................... 141

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 Team Planner .......................................................................................................................142
Displaying the Critical Path................................................................................................143
Using Resource Levelling ...................................................................................................143
Saving the first Baseline Plan ........................................................................................... 144
Set another baseline ...........................................................................................................146
Set an interim plan ..............................................................................................................147
View project baseline information ...................................................................................147
Compare baseline and scheduled information .............................................................148
Tracking and Updatinsks Effectively ................................................................................150
Quickly updating tasks as % complete ...........................................................................150
Quickly marking tasks on track .........................................................................................150
Quickly updating your project to a specific date ..........................................................150
Using the Update Task form ............................................................................................. 151
Exercise: Updating the Holiday project ...........................................................................153
Viewing Progress Lines ......................................................................................................154
Exercise: Show the Project Progress Line .......................................................................155
Understanding project costs .............................................................................................156
Rate-based costs .................................................................................................................157
Per-use costs ........................................................................................................................158
Fixed costs ............................................................................................................................159
Cost resources .....................................................................................................................159
Exercise: Adding costs ........................................................................................................160
Creating a budget ............................................................................................................... 161
Viewing total resource costs .............................................................................................163
Viewing total task costs ......................................................................................................163
Reducing project costs .......................................................................................................163
Project Deliverables ............................................................................................................164
Overview of Project Deliverables .....................................................................................164
Creating a schedule focused on deliverables ................................................................164
Module 7: Printing and Reporting ................................................................................ 167
Printing project views .........................................................................................................167
Viewing and changing the print settings ........................................................................167
Add a header, footer, or legend to a view.....................................................................169
Reports ..................................................................................................................................173
Editing Reports ....................................................................................................................174
Visual Reports ...................................................................................................................... 175
What You Can Print ............................................................................................................179
Information that shows progress .....................................................................................182
Reports by Report Type .....................................................................................................183
Module 8: Multiple Projects and Resource Sharing ....................................................186
The Resource Pool ..............................................................................................................187
Exercise: Create a resource pool from an existing project and share the resources188
Updating the Resource Pool .............................................................................................190

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 Review and update assignments......................................................................................190
Update resource availability or cost information .......................................................... 191
Stop sharing resources from a Resource Pool (permanently)....................................193
Consolidating projects .......................................................................................................194
When to use a master project and subprojects ............................................................194
Insert subprojects into a master project .........................................................................197
Compare Project Versions .................................................................................................199

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 Module 1: Project Management and Project

Objectives
After completing this module you will be able to:
 Start Project.
 Note the difference between Project Standard and Project
Professional editions and the new features available.
 Open a Project File.
 Use the ribbon interface and the new Timeline view.
 Change the View of a Project.
 Understand terms and procedures in project management and
planning.

Microsoft Project has many useful features to help you to plan projects, manage and
update project information, and communicate the status once the project is under
way:

 The Gantt chart can show the project schedule graphically on a time scale,
with scaling ‘zoomed in’ down to units of ¼ hour, or ‘zoomed out’ up to
yearly intervals.
 You can ‘outline’ your project into phases of summary tasks and sub tasks
and collapse the view to print only the top level tasks.
 You can create different working times for each group of resources and for
each individual resource if required.
 Filters, sorts and grouping can be applied to view selected information
meeting your defined criteria.
 There are views and reports to help you quickly identify resource availability
and costs.
 You can attach documents to tasks (for example Visio diagrams, or Excel
spreadsheets) so that your project plan is a complete database of your
project.
 Saving Baseline plans allows you to track actual progress and view date and
cost variances.
 You can create custom fields so you can track additional information
unique to your project.

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New features and edition comparison

The Microsoft Project family of products consists of Microsoft Project Standard,

Microsoft Project Professional and Microsoft Project Server.

The content of this course refers to features available in the two desktop versions
(Standard and Professional). Most of the end user features are available in both
versions, the main difference being that the Professional version is required if you
want to connect to Project Server or sync tasks with SharePoint. The following
edition comparison is reproduced with acknowledgements to Microsoft Corporation
and details the improved and new features available in Project.

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Microsoft Project has numerous new features which are explored during this course:
 Customizable fluent user interface (the new ribbon) and Quick Access
Toolbar
 Timeline view
 Team Planner (Professional version only)
 Manual v Auto scheduling
 Task Inspector
 Active/inactive tasks
 Top down summary tasks

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Starting MS Office Project
1. Double-click on the MS Office Project icon on your desktop.
Or
2. Click the Start button; select All Programs; select the Microsoft Office Project
icon (this may be in the Microsoft Office folder).

Using Help

Note: The Project Guide is no longer available in Project

1. Click on Help or press [F1] to display the Help dialog box:

2. Type a word or phrase and click Search to find help on that specific
topic:

3. Click on any of the blue hyperlinks to display the various help topics
4. Exit the Help system by clicking the red Close button

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MS Project- The Screen
The default Project view is the Gantt Chart view which consists of a table of data on
the left hand side of the screen and a Gantt bar chart on the right. The Divider Bar
separates the two and can be repositioned to display more of the table or more of
the chart. The Gantt table consists of rows and columns. Just like on a spreadsheet,
the intersection of a row and a column is called acell. The Gantt bar chart graphically
displays your schedule.

Quick Access Toolbar The Ribbon

The Project Timeline

GANTT CHART

The View Bar with the name Divider Bar

of current view displayed:
right-click to choose another
Horizontal Scroll Bar
view

View buttons
Status Bar
and zoom
slider

The Quick Access Toolbar:

The Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) is a customizable toolbar that can display either
above or below the Ribbon. Click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar
(on the right of the QAT) to change how it is displayed:

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Tip: to add commands (buttons) to the Quick Access Toolbar, right click any
existing command and from the shortcut menu choose Add to Quick Access
Toolbar:

Click here to
minimize the
The Ribbon (with the Project tab displayed): ribbon

The Ribbon, which is part of the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface, is
designed to help you quickly find the commands that you need. Commands are
organized in logical groups that are collected together under tabs.
Note: The Format tab is context specific – the commands on it changes
depending on the view/area of the screen that is selected.
When the Ribbon is minimized, you see only the tabs. To use the Ribbon while it
is minimized, click the tab you want to use, and then click the option or
command you want to use.
Tip: To quickly minimize the Ribbon, double-click the name of the active tab.
Double-click a tab again to restore the Ribbon. The Keyboard shortcut to
minimize or restore the Ribbon is CTRL+F1.

The Status Bar:

The status bar displays information such as whether filters are applied or whether
new tasks are Manually or Auto Scheduled:

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On the right of the status bar is the Zoom Slider and quick buttons for displaying
the main views of Project (Gantt Chart, Task Usage, Team Planner and Resource
Sheet):

The Project Timeline:

On the View tab there is an option to show or hide the Project Timeline

The Timeline is a new feature in Project which allows you to easily create a high level
view of your project plan that you can then share through other Office applications
such as PowerPoint and Outlook.

You can use the Timeline to zoom or change the time displayed for your project:

Click and drag Click and drag

here to move here to change
the timeline of the zoom
the Gantt chart

Click on the Timeline to select it and then click the Format tab so see specific
options:

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Note: When the Timeline is active, many of the commands on the Task and
Resource tabs of the ribbon will be greyed out. Click back on the Gantt chart/Gantt
table to work as normal.

Click the Copy Timeline command to be able to paste a picture of your project into
an email or other document:

Click the Existing Tasks command to display specific tasks on the timeline:

Tip: You can also drag and drop tasks onto the Timeline.

Right click the Timeline to change how tasks are displayed: tasks can be displayed
on the timeline as a bar, or as callouts:

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You can also apply formatting to the Timeline by clicking the relevant task and using
the font commands:

The Entry Bar:

The Entry Bar allows you to edit the content of a cell:

Note: Unlike previous versions of Project, the Entry Bar is not displayed by default.
To display the Entry Bar:

1. Click the File Tab

2. Click Options
3. Click Display
4. Click the option to show the element Entry Bar:

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Introduction to Project Views
MS Project is a large database holding all the information relating to both tasks and
resources. This information is organised into Views or preset formats classified as:

 Task views which display mostly task-related information (for example Gantt
Chart, Task Usage and Network Diagram views)
 Resource views which display mostly resource-related information (for
example Team Planner, Resource Usage and Resource Sheet views).

Use the View tab to access the main Project views:

You can also use the view buttons on the Status Bar:

Or right click the View Bar:

As well as the standard views, you can select More Views to see more detailed and
complex views:

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The views are further classified as sheet, graph or form format:

Sheet format displays information about many tasks or resources in columns and
rows. Project has predefined sets of columns (called tables) which display specific
information. To apply a different table to a sheet view, click the View tab, click
Tables, and then select the table you want to apply:

It is possible to add/remove columns from the view – this is covered in the

intermediate course.

Graph format displays information graphically (e.g. Resource Graph view)

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Tip: You can right click the graph to choose to display other details, such as cost.
Form Format displays fields of information for a single task or resource arranged on
screen in a format similar to a dialog box (e.g. Task Form view):

Tip: You can modify a form to display different information. For example, you can
display the cost of a selected resource instead of the resource schedule on the
Resource Form. To display different details, right-click the form.

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Combination views
Views can be displayed separately or in any combination of two - for example, the
Task Entry view is a preset combination view with the Gantt chart in the top half of
the screen and the Task form in the bottom half.
You can manually combine most single-pane views on the screen to create a split
screen view. When two views are combined, the information in the bottom relates
only to the task or resources in the top view. The reason for having combination
views is to make the job of entering and analysing information easier. To display a
combination view:

1. On the View Tab in the Split section, click Details

2. Choose the required detail from the drop down list

Note: To remove the split, uncheck the Details option.

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MS Project – using the Ribbon
The File Tab
After you click the File tab, you can see the new Microsoft Office
Backstage view which is common across all of the MS Office suite
of applications. The Backstage view is where you manage your files
and the data about them — creating, saving, inspecting for hidden
metadata or personal information, and setting options.
Further information about this options will be provided later in the
course.

Note: To continue working on your project, you need to click back

on the Task tab of the ribbon.

The Task tab is similar to the Standard and Formatting

The Task Tab
toolbars available in previous versions and has commands
to link, outline and track tasks.
The Resource tab pulls together the various tools for
The Resource Tab
allocating, sharing and levelling resources.
The Project tab is a combination of both the Project and
The Project Tab
Tools menus available in previous versions and includes
commands to change the Project calendar and baseline the
project.
The View Tab The View tab has features from View, Project and Windows
menus available in previous versions and includes
commands to change the Project calendar, baseline the
project and sort and filter.
The Format tab includes options to customise the look of
The Format Tab
the Gantt chart (like the Gantt Chart wizard in the previous
versions)

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Exercise: Opening and viewing a project
1 Click the File tab and click Open to open a project file.
2 Select Software Development with Baseline_Tracking.mpp from the
Project Data Files folder
3 Use the scroll bars to look at the project.
4 On the Task tab click the Find command and search for
training – you will be moved to row number 48.
Note that you can’t see the Gantt bar for this task.
Click the Scroll to Task command to view the Gantt bar.
5 Press [Ctrl-Home] to go to row 1 of the project and [Alt-Home] to view
the start of the project on the Gantt Chart.
6 Alter the time scale with the Zoom Slider on the Status Bar.

Change the View

1 Click on the View tab.
2 Click the Details box and note that the Timeline is hidden and the Task
Form appears in the bottom of the screen.
3 Click the drop down arrow of the Details view list and select Task Usage –
note that as you select different tasks in the top half of the screen, the
resource information for that task is displayed in the bottom half of the
screen.
4 Remove the split screen by un-checking the Details box.
5 Choose each of the main views (Task Usage, Network Diagram, Calendar,
Team Planner, Resource Usage, Resource Sheet) and note the different
screens.
6 Select Gantt Chart to return to the original
view.
7 Move the mouse to the central vertical bar on the screen when it will
change to a double line with a double-headed arrow
8 Click and hold the left button and drag left to see more of the Gantt
Chart.
9 Repeat but drag right to see more of the Entry Table.
10 On the View tab, click the Tables command and choose
Summary. Note that different columns are displayed. Click the
Tables command and choose Entry to return to the normal
view.
11 On the Format tab click the Project Summary Task command and note
that a new Gantt bar appears at row

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Test the ‘Group By’ Feature
1 With the Project open (in the default Gantt view), click View tab and click
the drop down arrow to the right of the Group By drop box.
2 Select Duration as the new grouping view.

3 View the diagram in this different (grouped) format then change the view
back to [No Group].

Test the ‘Highlight Feature

1 With the Project open (in the default Gantt view), click the View tab and
click the drop down arrow to the right of the Highlight box.
2 Choose Completed Tasks and note that the text of all the tasks in the
Scope phase of the project is coloured blue:

3 Change the view back to [No Highlight].

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View and change the Project Information
1 Select the File tab and from Info, click Project Information/Advanced
Properties:

2 On the Summary tab of the properties dialog box, type in your name as
the project manager.
3 Select the Custom tab.
4 Select Client and in the Value box type ‘PlastiChem’:

5 Click Add and click OK

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 6 To see project progress so far, select Project Information/Project
Statistics:

Viewing the Network Diagram

The Network Diagram (also known as a PERT chart) is another useful way to view
your project, particularly the relationships between the tasks:

1. On the View tab choose Network Diagram

2. Use the zoom slider to see more of the tasks and use the scroll bars to move
around the screen

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 3. Click the Format tab, choose Layout

4. Experiment with the different Arrangements and Link styles

Applying a filter
You can filter the Gantt Chart or the Network Diagram in the same way:
1. Select View tab
2. Click the drop down arrow of the Filter command and choose the required
Filter – for this exercise choose Using Resource and then select Developer to
see just the tasks the Developer is assigned to.

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 3. Remove the filter by choosing [No Filter]
4. Return to the Gantt Chart view by clicking the first view button on the status
bar (bottom right of the screen):

Exit Project
Select the File tab and click Exit to close the existing project file and the application –
when prompted, do not Save Changes.

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Introduction to Project Management
Project: - ‘A planned undertaking’

The skills of project management are gathered from a wide range of experiences.
Consciously or sub consciously we all apply these skills in the daily administration of
our work.

Where a major undertaking has to be completed, these skills are not only brought
into focus but must be applied in a much more structured format.

We must take on the jargon and techniques of the Project Manager as well as
become familiar with the "Tools of the trade".

To review the skills that are relevant to project management

 The ability to define the Goal, Objective, Specifications and Limitations

of a project
 The ability to define the individual tasks in sufficient detail and
sequence to meet the objective with the minimum of problems, and
within the defined time scale
Task attributes should include some or all of the following

Objectives Time constraints

Milestones Task(s) on which this Task is Dependant
Estimated Duration: - Task(s) that are dependent on this task
(Optimistic estimate) Itemised task Budget
(Pessimistic estimate) Resources required to complete the Task

 The ability to manage the progression of the tasks in terms of their

resources, start times and finish times.
 The production of appropriate progress reports
As the complexities of these undertakings increase so the importance of discipline
and structure increase and the Project Manager must look to the tools that can help
which is where Microsoft Project comes into the picture.

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The Stages of Project Management
The process of project management is divided into specific stages which can be
defined as follows: -
Define the Project
|
Plan the project
|
Implementation
|
Monitoring and Adjusting
|
Evaluation

Defining the Project

Setting out the Goal and the Objectives together with the Specification and
Limitations within which the undertaking must be completed.

Plan the Project

Planning of all the activities, resources, and estimation of materials and time scales.
Some of this planning may have to be done at an appropriate level for cost
estimation before the project can be agreed. Once the decision to go ahead has
been taken the skills of the Project Manager are used to define the details of the
planning stage. When this has been completed and agreed it will become the "Plan"
or the base line against which progress can be measured.

Implementation
Notes: A poorly planned project will take three times longer that the original plan.
A well-planned project will only take twice as long!
A project that will be completed without changes, on time and within
budget has never been known in the past and will never happen in the
future!
Microsoft Project will help!

Monitoring and Adjusting

 Recording Actual Progress - Once the project is under way, the progress of each
activity is recorded. This information can then be compared against the Plan and the
differences highlighted.
 Revising the Schedule - The process of minimising the effect of problems and
delays on meeting project deadlines is achieved by adjusting and updating the
Schedule to meet the changed circumstances.
Evaluation

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As the project progresses and when it has been completed the process of
evaluation should be used to learn the lessons for the next time.

Understanding how MS Project helps you plan and adjust your projects
At the heart of every project management system is a scheduling algorithm. An
algorithm is a mathematical or logical equation that solves a complex problem by
breaking down the problem into simple steps. When scheduling resources and
parameters are entered into it, the scheduling algorithm produces a project
schedule that would be impossible for you to produce manually. This Input/Output
model is displayed below.

Input Output
(Schedule)
Task Information
Task Name Gantt
Duration The “Black Box” Network Diagram
Task Relationships (algorithm) Resource Graph
Fixed Costs
Constraints

Resource
Information
Who
Availability
Cost

In Microsoft Office Project, if you choose Auto Scheduling, you provide information
about the project start date, resource availability, task relationships and duration.
This information is fed into the “Black Box” or algorithm, to provide you with a
schedule in the form of a Gantt chart. In Project you can also choose to manually
schedule task (this is explained in detail in the next module).

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Project Terminology
The project management industry uses specific language and terminology. Some of
these terms are illustrated below.

Summary Task

Delay Total Slack

EA SS Task A SE LE

Predecessor Task
Free Slack

Task B

Successor Task
EA The earliest possible time a task can start.
SS The scheduled start time of the task.
SE The scheduled end time of the task.
LE The latest possible time a task can end.

In the illustration above, two tasks have a relationship. Task A is the predecessor task
and Task B is the successor task. Both of these tasks are considered to be non-
critical because they both have flexibility. Let’s focus on Task A. EA marks the earliest
possible time Task A can start. SS marks the scheduled start time for Task A. By
default, all tasks are scheduled to start at the earliest possible time, unless you
specify otherwise. In the example above, Task A is scheduled to start later and
therefore has been delayed. SE marks the scheduled end time for Task A, and LE
marks the latest possible time Task A can end. Both of these tasks have slack, the
amount of time a task can slip before it affects another task’s dates or the project
finish date. Free slack is the amount of time Task A can be delayed before affecting
the start time of Task B, and total slack is the amount of time that Task A can be
delayed before affecting the finish date of the project. The summary task
summarizes Tasks A and B.

Critical tasks, not shown above, have no slack; therefore, delaying this type of task
would mean delaying the project. A critical path is a series of critical tasks. All tasks
on a critical path must be completed on time for the project to finish on time. If one
task on a critical path is delayed, then the project is delayed. In Microsoft Office
Project, a critical path is shown on the Gantt chart and the Network Diagram
(alternatively known as PERT Chart) in red.

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A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

A WBS is a top-down planning method that defines the desired end result of a
project and is made up of related elements, often called work packages, work
elements, work phases, or tasks (summary tasks and subtasks). WBS descriptions
define how the result will be accomplished. They also help you identify logical
groupings of tasks and establish the focus of the project to prevent unintended
future changes.

Useful for a quick, high-level view of the parts of your project, a WBS is often shown
as a block diagram.

As a deliverable-oriented grouping of project elements, a WBS chart organizes and

defines the total scope of the project. Each descending level represents an
increasingly detailed description of a project component.

WBS representation is described in more detail in the Level 2 course in this series.

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 Terminology (continued)

Actual Usage A measure of the resource expended in completing or

partially completing a task.
ALAP Refers to a task that should be started ‘As Late As
Possible’, using all the free-float time available.
ASAP Used to indicate a task that should be started ‘As
Soon As Possible’, taking into account the start date of
the project and its predecessor tasks.
Baseline The original project plan, including the time schedule
and resource and cost allocations. The baseline is
used for comparing projected values to actuals, and
facilitates the tracking and analysing of a project’s
progress.
Note: in Project you can have several baselines to
reflect your project structure.
Cost Variance A project tracking function recording the difference
between the budgeted cost of the work performed
and the actual cost. Values below the baseline show
an overspend and positive values denote cost savings.
Critical Path The sequence of tasks or activities whose schedules
and durations directly affect the date of overall project
completion.
Earned Value This is a measure of a project’s performance, and is
calculated by multiplying a task’s planned cost by the
percentage of work completed.
Float (slack) The amount of time by which a non-critical task can
be delayed before it affects another task’s schedule.
Gantt chart A graphical representation of a project schedule
showing each task as a bar, the length of which is
proportional to its duration. Many project
management packages use a spreadsheet section to
the left of the Gantt chart to display additional
information.
Hammock Task A task whose duration is calculated based on the time
span between its predecessor and successor activities.
Histogram A bar chart that shows resource workloads over a time
period.
Lag The amount of time between the finish of a
predecessor task and the start of a successor task.
Lead The amount of time that a task is permitted to start
before its predecessor is finished.

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 Terminology (continued)

Loading A measurement of resource usage on a task per unit

of time. Different methods of loading may be used
depending on what’s available in your project
management application and what’s applicable for
your particular project.
Loading(back) A loading pattern that allocates resource usage as
late in the task as possible.
Loading (contour) The contour-loading pattern assesses which
resources are left over after allocation to the critical
tasks and spreads these resources among the
remainder.
Loading(fixed) When using fixed-loading algorithms, you specify the
actual amount of resource allocated to the
encompassing tasks.
Loading(front) Front loading systems will attempt to allocate
resources as early in the task as possible.
Loading(uniform) This loading pattern allocates the resource usage on
a by day basis in a task. This will usually be done
without causing any one task to be over committed.
Milestone A project event that represents a checkpoint, a major
accomplishment or a measurable goal.
Negative float Refers to an unscheduled delay before an actual task
start time that must be recovered if the project is not
to be delayed.
OBS codes Organisational Breakdown Structure codes are used
to identify tasks by resource groups in a hierarchical
format. OBS codes are often used to reflect
departmental structure in a company or code of
accounts, and can also be used for filtering tasks.
‘NETWORK Network Diagrams are a graphical depiction of task
DIAGRAMS’ dependencies, and resemble flow charts.
(before Project Dependencies are shown by connecting lines or
2000, were called arrows indicating the work flow. (PERT = Programme
PERT Charts) Evaluation and Review Technique)
Predecessor In dependency relationships, the predecessor is the
task that must be started or completed first.

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 Terminology (continued)

Project Best defined as a body of knowledge, a set of

Management principles, or techniques dealing with the planning
and control of projects.
Resource Any person, group of people, item or equipment,
service or material used in accomplishing a project
task.
Resource Levelling The process of resolving resource conflicts. Most
project management programs offer an automated
resource levelling routine that delays tasks until the
resources assigned to them are available.
Resource Driven Task durations determined by the program and
based on the number of an allocation of resources,
rather than the time available. Both individual tasks
and entire projects can be resource-driven.
Sub-project A group of activities which are treated as a single task
in a master project schedule. Subprojects are a way
of working with multiple projects that keep all the
data in one file rather than in independent files.
Successor In a dependency relationship between two tasks, the
successor is the task that must await the start or
completion of the other.
WBS codes Work Breakdown Structure codes are used to identify
tasks in a hierarchy. Many project management
applications associate these codes with an outline
structure. WBS codes can be used to filter the project
schedule for tracking and reporting purposes.

Module 2: Planning the Project

Objectives
After completing this module you will be able to:
 Define your own project.
 Start to use MS Project.
 Amend and create project calendars.
 Save and close projects.

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Defining the Project
This is the starting point for a new project.

Areas that must be completed

The Goal
This is a short statement of what the project should achieve in the broadest terms.
For example, if the project is to build a new road to divert traffic away from a
shopping centre the goal would be: -

To make access to the shopping centre easier for pedestrians and improve
the shopping amenities for local residents.

The Objectives
The objectives can be more specific and there can be any number of them as
required. To continue the example from above the following are examples: -

1. To build a road for through traffic that does not use any existing residential
areas.
2. To design the road and the route to allow for the projected traffic flow for
the next 20 years.

The Specification
This section will provide more detailed areas for the project, for example it may
specify the broad sections of the project and at what points approvals are required
before proceeding. There may be a section concerning where resources should
come from.
It may also specify the management team.

The Limitations
These are the restrictions that will affect the project, for example there may be a
cost limit, there could be a set of regulations that must be obeyed, and time may be
a vital factor.

When these areas are clearly specified before the project starts there is a much
greater chance of the project succeeding and major pitfalls being avoided. (In
theory!)

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Completing the Project Definition
As an exercise, define a project that can be planned in the next section and
subsequently used in the following modules of the course to try out the features of
the package.

Complete the following form: -

Project Title:
(File Name)

Start Date:

Goal:

Objectives:

Specification:

Limitations:

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Project Planning
This is where the experience and skill of the Project Manager must be used. At this
point the project is broken down into a series of tasks.

The Project Manager must be confident that it will be possible to control the task as
listed, if there is any doubt then the task should be broken down into a number of
smaller tasks, each of which will be easier to control.

When defining a task the following is a guide to the information required.

The Title
The Objective of the Task
The time required to complete the task.
(Give an optimistic and pessimistic estimate.)
A note of any previous task or tasks that are associated with this task.
The immediate subsequent tasks.
The resource(s) that are required to complete the task.
Any time constraints that apply.

When all the tasks have been specified together with their resources, you have
completed the major part of the planning of the project.

The next stage is to examine the flow of the tasks and the utilisation of the
resources.
It may well be that some of the resources are over-allocated and such problems
must be resolved or noted.

At this point it will be possible to save the Baseline Plan against which actual
progress can be measured in terms of date variances and cost variances.

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Completing the Project Plan
Complete the following table
Number Task Name Duration Predecessors Resources

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Where to begin with MS Project
When you open the Project application you are in a new blank project and you can
start creating your project straight away. You can also start your project from a
template or an Excel spreadsheet:
1. From the File tab, choose New.
2. Choose the required template or option:

Setting the project start date

In a new project, the first step is to enter general information about the
project in the Project Information dialog box on the Project tab:

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Note: If you do not enter a project start or finish date, Microsoft Project will
automatically use the current date as the start date.

Planning from a start date v planning from a finish date

 If you choose to schedule from the start date, the Finish date box becomes
unavailable. You set the start date, which by default is today's date, and
Microsoft Project calculates the finish date based on your task information.
All new tasks have a default constraint type of As Soon As Possible (ASAP)
 If you choose to schedule from the finish date, the Start date box becomes
unavailable. You set the finish date, and Microsoft Project calculates the start
date based on your task information. all new tasks have a default constraint
type of As Late As Possible (ALAP).

Other options in the Project Information dialog box

 Project uses the status date to perform earned value calculations, identify the
complete-through date in the Update Project dialog box, and place progress
lines. If you set the status date to NA, Microsoft Project uses the current date
as the status date.

 Priority indicates how readily tasks in the current project are delayed when
resources are levelled across multiple projects. Type or select a number
between 0 and 1,000, with the higher number indicating a higher priority
task. Microsoft Project takes into account project-level priorities before task-
level priorities when levelling.

 There are three base Calendars, any of which you can modify.

o By default, Project automatically uses the Standard base calendar,

which defines a Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00 work week, with 12:00 P.M.
to 1:00 P.M. of non-working time for a break.

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

o The Night Shift base calendar has working times of 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 a break.

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  The Enterprise Custom Fields are available in the Professional version if you
are connected to the Project Server.

Clicking the Statistics button opens the Project Statistics dialog box

This dialog box displays information on project start and finish dates, duration, work,
and cost. It also provides comparative statistics you can use to measure the progress
of your project.

Project Properties
You can enter descriptive information about your project in the Properties dialog
boxError! Bookmark not defined.. This information will help you and others identify
the source and purpose of your project. The Properties dialog box consists of five
tabs, described in the table below.

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 Tab Function
General Provides information about the project, including
filename, file type and size, file location, size and times
of file creation, most recent modification, and most
recent access.
Summary Provides fields for: Project Title, Subject, Author,
Manager, Company, Category, Keywords, And
Comments.
Statistics Provides information about project file editing including
date created; most recent modification, access, printing,
person who last saved it, current revision number and
total editing time
Contents Contains overall schedule information, including project
start and finish dates, duration, total work and cost, and
percent complete.
Custom Allows you to enter project properties by which you can
search and define links to actual values in your project.

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 To view and change the Project Information
7 Select the File tab and from Info, click Project Information/Advanced
Properties:

8 On the Summary tab of the properties dialog box you can type the
Project Title, Manager’s name, etc
9 Click OK when you are finished
10 Click the Task tab on the ribbon to return to the Gantt chart view.

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Creating Calendars for Working/ Non-Working Time
Calendars are used by Project to determine when the work by the resources
assigned to that task can proceed.

Microsoft Project comes with three base calendars of working and non-working
time: Standard, 24-Hours and Night Shift. By default, the Microsoft Standard
Calendar is used. You can amend any of the base calendars or create your own and
you can assign different resources to different calendars. For tasks to which no
resources have been assigned, the base calendar you choose to be the ‘Project
Calendar’ is used. The ‘Project Base Calendar’ is set in the Project Information dialog
box.

It is important that you amend the Calendars because no holidays or festivals are
included.

Note: whilst all calendars will be applied, the Gantt Chart can only display one
calendar - the vertical grey columns indicate the non-working time in the calendar
which is currently chosen to be displayed.

Factors to Convert Duration Units into Hours

Before you create your own calendars, it helps to understand the significance of the
Calendar options for ‘Hours per day’, Hours per week’ and ‘Days per month’:

File, Options, Schedule for conversion of Duration units into hours

These three settings are not defining how many hours a resource works per day,
week or month – this is done in detail in the calendars you create (see later).

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These three settings are defining the conversion factors to be applied by Project to
task durations you enter in days or weeks or months for conversion into hours:
Project performs its calculations in hours.

Unless this point is understood, some unexpected task bar lengths can cause
confusion as illustrated below where two resources are each given a 2d (2 days) task
but one resource’s task bar is only one day long:

For example, with the conversion factor ‘Days to hours’ changed to 7 hrs/day, by
then entering 2d Duration on each task, you are telling Project that there is 2 x 7 =
14 hrs work involved in each task. However, the first resource’s Resource Calendar
has been set to allow the resource to work 7 hrs /day but the second resource’s
Resource Calendar has been set to allow the resource to work 14 hrs/day and the
second resource consequently covers the work within only one 24-hour day.

We can have only one setting for each of the above three conversion factors in
a file.

Project performs its calculations in hours. If the above graphical task bar length
effect causes confusion when discussing your plan with people who do not
understand the workings of Project, enter your durations in hours and it will not
have to use the conversion factors.

After you have entered some task durations (see later), try to avoid changing these
conversion factors as such changes will modify the durations you have already
entered in days, weeks or months. For example, changing the ‘Hours per day’ from
8 to 7 will change an existing duration of 1d to 1.14d because it is still storing the 1 x
8hrs work for that task as 8hrs but you have now changed your definition of a day
to 7hrs: consequently, the duration is shown in your new definition of a day as 8/7 =
1.14 of your days.

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Amending the Standard Calendar

1. From the Project tab menu, choose Change Working Time

2. Use the Exceptions tab for non-working times like Bank Holidays - type the
name of the exception and select the Start and Finish dates.

3. Use the Work Weeks tab to set the default working/non-working times:

a. on the Default row and click the Details button

b. for working days, select the appropriate days of the week (select
adjacent weekday names by dragging or non-adjacent days by
using the Ctrl key)
c. for these selected days, choose the third option ‘Set Day(s) To
These Specific Working Times’
d. type the relevant start and end times
e. for non-working days, select the relevant days of the week and
choose the second option ‘Set days to non-working time’
f. Click OK to complete your changes

4. Click OK to close the Change Working Time dialog box (this will save your
changes).

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Creating a New Base Calendar
1. From the Project tab menu, choose Change Working Time
2. Click the ‘Create New Calendar’ button.
3. In the Name text box, type your new Base Calendar’s name: although not
essential, it helps to include the word ‘Base’ for when viewing lists of your
calendars in some dialogue boxes where both Base Calendar and Resources
Calendar names appear.
4. Select the Create New Base Calendar option:

5. Click OK.
6. On the Work Weeks tab, click on the Default row and click the Details button
to make the required changes.
7. On the Exceptions tab include any relevant non-working times such as Bank
Holidays.

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Exceptions to Work Week settings for recurring events

Note: this is for use only on exceptions which occur regularly weekly, monthly or
occur annually on the same date(s) each year

1. Select Project, Change Working Time, Exceptions tab

2. Enter a Name for the exception and, under Details, edit as appropriate

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Displaying a Specific Calendar on the Gantt Chart

1. Right click the Gantt Chart and choose Non-Working Time to display the
Timescale dialog box

2. On the Non-working time tab, from the Calendar drop-down list, select the
calendar from which you currently wish to display:

Note: there is no indication on the screen to remind you which calendar is

currently displayed.

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Saving the New Project File
Saving a Project
While you are working on your project, make sure that you save it regularly - it is
good practice to save your project every fifteen minutes so that, if there is a power
outage or power surge, you will lose only fifteen minutes of work at the most.

To save a project click on the Save button on the Quick Access Toolbar or press the
keyboard shortcut Ctrl S

 A File name can contain up to 255 characters and will automatically be given
a file extension of .mpp.
 If you open a project created in a previous version, it will open in
compatibility mode and when you save it, it will be saved in the previous file
format.
 click the File tab and choose Save As if you amend or update a project and
wish to save a separately named copy of it.

Note: You can share Project files with people using an earlier version by saving the
file in the appropriate file format:

1. On the File tab click Share

2. Click Save Project as File
3. Choose the appropriate file type
4. Select the location for the file
5. Type the file name
6. Click Save

Tip: to set Project to save automatically, you can set the Auto Save frequency

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1. Click the File tab
2. Choose Options
3. In the Save section, click Auto Save and set the number of minutes
4.

Ending a Project Session

At various intervals, you will need to close a project and work on other ones.
Alternatively, when you are finished working in Project, you will need to close all
your projects and exit out of Project altogether.

Closing a Project
Once you have finished working with an existing project, you will close it. When you
do this, Project asks whether you need to save the changes.
To close a project
1. From the File tab, choose Close.
2. Choose Yes to save the changes or No to close the file without saving the
changes.

To close Microsoft Project and any open files

1. From the File menu, choose Exit

2. For each open project on which you have made unsaved changes, answer
the question whether to save

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 Module 3: Task Entry and Task Linking

Objectives
After completing this module you will be able to:
 Understand the new Task Mode and how it affect the project
schedule
 Enter, Delete and Edit Tasks.
 Link Tasks.
 Create a project outline using summary and subtasks
 Insert milestone and recurring tasks
 Understand how constraints and deadlines impact tasks
 Use automatic features including AutoCorrect and AutoFill

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Entering tasks
This is the initial activity in setting up a new project. The system will hold task
information in a Task database, used by the system whenever we view task data.
This is one of three databases the system uses, the others being the Resource
database and the Assignment database.

The order of entry of tasks does not need to follow any set pattern: to keep the
Gantt Chart as simple as possible, enter your tasks in approximately chronological
order, but this is by no means essential. You do not need to enter tasks in order of
resource or resource group in order to readily see tasks being performed by a given
resource or resource group because you can use filters or reports to see this
information (covered later in the course).

There is no need to enter all the tasks at this stage: additional tasks can be inserted,
tasks can be moved, copied or deleted. A practical approach is to initially enter only
the main tasks (Summary Tasks) and afterwards fill in the detailed tasks ( Subtasks):
this is a ‘brainstorming’ stage where you and the project team are recognising all
the tasks necessary to meet the project’s objectives.

Do not at this stage be concerned regarding the resources for each task or the
duration: concentrate of thinking of all the requirements which need to be covered
by creating the necessary tasks.

Using the Gantt Chart to enter tasks

The most user-friendly way to enter tasks is to use the Gantt Chart view and the
Insert commands on the Task tab:

1. Click the Summary command to insert your first main task and overtype the
placeholder text with the correct task/phase name:

2. Click the Task command to enter more subtasks

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3. Continue adding as many Summary tasks and subtasks as you
require
– you will need to make sure that the Summary tasks are entered at
the right level and you can indent/outdent them by using the command
buttons on the schedule group of the Task tab

Notes:

 You can write long, descriptive task names – the text should wrap
automatically in the cell and you can also change the column width if
required:
Click and drag to
widen the column

 the UnDo button on the Quick AccessToolbar will undo your recent actions:
by default up to 20 actions, but you can increase this to a maximum of 99
actions (on the File, Options, Advanced tab)

 The cells which are affected by your last modification are automatically
temporarily highlighted in a blue colour so you easily see if other cells have
been affected by the change

 It is possible to use In-Cell Editing but you may prefer to double click the task
and make the changes on the general tab of the Task Information Dialog
Box:

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 The Task Information box (General tab) has the following details about the
task which you can edit:

Name: The Name of the Task.

Duration: The time the Task will take including the time units.
Whether the duration is estimated or not - entering a ‘?’
Estimated: after a duration means it is particularly questionable and
needs to be reassessed.
Progress on a task can be entered here, but is best entered
Per cent Complete: in the Tracking dialog box: Actual Start Date, % Complete,
Actual Finish Date (this is covered later in the course)
You set the importance on a scale of 1 to 1000 for use by
Priority:
Project in resolving resource overallocations (1000 is high).
(New for project ) the default mode for new projects which
Manually Scheduled allows you complete control over the project schedule (see
p58 for further details)
Use this if you want project to work in the same way as it
Auto Scheduled
did in previous versions
(New for Project )
Marking a task inactive greys it out on the Gantt chart:

Inactive

You might use inactive tasks if you have to cut scope – you
still have a record of the tasks and any notes and
information but the task is shown as deleted and doesn’t
have an effect on the project.

This is the current Scheduled Start date for the Task

calculated by Project. If you are using Auto Scheduling, do
Start Date: not type in a start date here or on the Gantt Chart unless
you want to set a Start No Earlier Than constraint on the
task.

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 The Scheduled Finish date calculated by Project. If you are
using Auto Scheduling, do not type in a finish date here or
Finish Date:
on the Gantt Chart unless you want to set a Finish No
Earlier Than constraint on the task.
(New for Project )
Displaying the tasks on the Timeline is a new visual way of
Display on Timeline:
displaying your project (see module 1 of the course for
more information)

Manually outlining tasks into summary and subtasks tasks

Subtasks are defined by being indented - the Task above automatically becomes a
Summary Task formatted in bold.

1. Select the Task(s) in the Task Name column

2. Click the Indent command on the Tasks tab to make it a sub task
and note the task above it becomes bold

Tip: more than one Task can be indented/ outdented at once by selecting the
required Tasks with the mouse before the indent/ outdent operation

Choosing to show all subtasks or a specific outline level

 You can click the outline button next to the task name to show/hide the
subtasks
 On the View tab, choose the Outline command to choose which level of
subtasks are displayed:

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Inserting an additional task

1. Select the Task that is to appear immediately below the inserted Task
2. Click the relevant command button to insert a Summary or Task.

Tip: You can also press the Insert key (Ins) on the keyboard

Note: The Task ID numbers will automatically change

Deleting a task

1. Select the whole Task record by clicking on the Task ID number

2. Press the Delete key (DEL) on the keyboard.

Note: The Task ID numbers will automatically change

Moving a task

Drag and drop

1. Select the whole Task on the ID number

2. Release the mouse button

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 3. Hold down the mouse button while you drag and drop the Task to the new
position already visible on the screen – the task is inserted between
existing tasks

Cut and paste

1. Select the whole Task on the ID number

2. Click the Cut command
3. Click on the Task Name of the task which is to be below the moved Task
4. Click the Paste command

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 Copying a task
Drag and drop

1. Select the whole Task on the ID number

2. Release the mouse button
3. Hold down the Ctrl key while you drag and drop the Task copy to the new
position already visible on the screen – the copied Task is inserted between
existing Tasks

Copy and Paste

1. Select the whole Task on the ID number

2. Click the Copy button
3. Click on the Task Name of the task which is to be below the moved Task
4. Click the Paste button – the copied Task is inserted between existing Tasks

Using AutoFill to enter repeat data

As in Microsoft Excel, in any table view in Project you can use the ‘Fill Handle’ for fast
entry of repeat information. For example, you don’t have to type out repeat
durations or resource names:

Click the
bottom right
corner of the
cell and drag

Using AutoComplete
Like with Excel, when you type something similar to information that is already in the
same column of data, Project will automatically offer to complete the entry.

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Using AutoCorrect
AutoCorrect automatically corrects mistyped words and expands abbreviations as
you type. Project provides an extensive list of predefined typing corrections and
abbreviations, and enables you to customise the list by adding your own:

1. Click the File Tab, choose Options, choose Proofing

2. Type the name of the entry in the Replace text box.
3. Type the name of the replacement in the With text box.
4. Click Add and then click OK

Entering a milestone task

Select where you want to insert the task and click the
Milestone command.
Note the format of the Milestone symbol on the Gantt chart:

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Adding a recurring task.
5. Select the task above which you want the recurring tasks or select a blank
task row.
6. Click the bottom part of the insert Task command and choose Recurring
Task:

7. In the Recurring Task Information dialog box enter the name and duration of
the tasks and set the recurrence pattern:

Note: By default, when inserting a recurring task, it continues until the current finish
of the project, but if your project finish date changes, the recurring task dates will
NOT automatically change.

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Adding a note to a task

1. Select the task and click the Notes command on the Task tab

2. With the flashing cursor in the Note text area, type your note or click the
Insert Object command to attach relevant documents such as Excel
spreadsheets or the minutes of a meeting
Click here to
attach a
document

Note: a Note indicator will appear in the Task’s Indicators field

 for a quick view of the Note’s first paragraph, point the mouse at the
Task’s Note indicator
 to view all of a Task Note or to edit a Note, click in any of the Task’s fields
and again click the Task Notes button on the Standard toolbar
or double-click the Note indicator in the Indicators field
 Task Notes can be printed out with your project plan

Manually apply fill colours to selected cells for emphasis

1. Select the cells

2. Click the Background Color command on the Task tab of the ribbon

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Understanding the new Task Mode in Project
In Project there is a new concept called ‘User-Controlled Scheduling’. It's a collection
of features designed to make Project a more flexible planning and schedule
management tool. The idea is that you, as the project manager, can have complete
control over when a task should happen. If and when appropriate, you can leverage
Project's powerful scheduling engine to help forecast the date of a task based on
various factors like dependencies, calendar, constraints, etc. But at any time, you
have the flexibility to manually override Project's automatic calculations to better
capture all of the high-level, possibly vague information that you have when you
start your project.

Tasks are by default "Manually Scheduled", meaning that you have complete control
over their dates. For example, when you start typing tasks the Start, Finish &
Duration fields are blank. When tasks are in this ‘Manually Scheduled’ mode, Project
will not automatically calculate and fill in dates for you.

If you have specific dates for some tasks and just a rough idea for others you can
enter the information, even using text in the duration, start or finish columns:

In Project you can start with high level planning and put duration or dates against a
summary task, leaving the details of the subtasks to be filled in later (as opposed to
the bottom up approach of the previous versions of Project where you had to start
by defining all the specific work items which then rolled-up the total for each phase):

Note in the next screen shot that there is a small blue bar under the Design
summary bar - this is the roll-up of all of the subtasks. If the subtasks’ dates are
updated, the blue bar will automatically update. This provides a visual way of
indicating whether there is buffer time in the schedule.

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If one of these tasks end up taking longer than expected, and the subtasks end up
exceeding the original dates of the summary phase, the roll-up bar will turn red to
indicate a slippage:

Notice the red squiggles under the dates – the new ‘schedule-checker’ highlights
potential problems with the schedule. And just like the spell- checker in Word, you
can right click on the squiggle to see some possible corrective actions:

Choosing ‘Fix in Task Inspector’ option will bring up a side pane that will provide
information - in this case, the schedule is slipping beyond the original 2 weeks
planned for the Design phase and we have the option to extend the finished date:

Another example where "Manually Scheduled" mode could be useful is when a

task's predecessor slips. Instead of automatically moving the linked task, a red
squiggle underneath the Finish Date indicates a potential problem. This gives you,

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the project manager, a better way of spotting problems and a chance to decide on
a mitigation plan.

At any point, if you wish to have Project calculate your schedule for you
instead of maintaining manual control, you can toggle your tasks to
‘Auto Schedule’ mode. When tasks are Auto Scheduled, Project will
calculate and update their dates automatically just like it has always done
in previous versions.
Note: Manual Scheduling was not available in previous versions of
project so if you are working in compatibility mode you can only use
Auto Scheduling.

Working with task durations and relationships

Entering task durations
 You can type durations in units of minutes, hours, days or weeks. Project can
figure out most spellings or abbreviations for a time unit.

 You cannot type combinations of units such as 3 weeks 2 days. You can type
fractional units such as 3.4 weeks, but if a unit of time does not divide evenly,
you should use whole units instead. For three weeks and two days, type 17
days, which assumes three five-day work weeks plus two extra days.

 You can enter an estimated duration by typing a question mark, e.g.

3 wks? You can then filter for tasks with estimated durations.

 If a task extends over nonworking days (such as Saturdays and Sundays),

Project displays the Gantt bar over the nonworking days but does not count
them towards the completion of the task.

 To include nonworking days, specify elapsed duration by prefixing an e to a

unit of time. Use the following abbreviations: emin (elapsed minute), ehr
(elapsed hour) eday (elapsed day), or ewk (elapsed week), for example,
3eday specifies a full 72- hour period.

 If a subtask is manually scheduled, you can choose the start and finish dates
for the task and this will calculate the duration. Do not do this for an Auto
Scheduled task unless you mean to put a constraint on the task.

 If a summary task is Auto Scheduled it’s duration is automatically calculated

from the overall duration of all it’s subtasks; however you can change the
mode to manually scheduled and enter a different duration for summary task
if you need to.

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Creating task relationships
Tasks can be linked to other Tasks with the following relationships:

Relationship Description Gantt Bar Chart Display

Finish-to-start (FS) Task starts when its
predecessor finishes.
Start-to-start (SS) Task starts when its
predecessor starts.
Finish-to-finish (FF) Task finishes when its
predecessor finishes.
Start-to-finish (SF) Task finishes when its
predecessor starts.

Setting up a Finish to Start relationship link between two tasks

1. Select the two Tasks in the required order Finish to Start (using the CTRL
key to select them if they are not next to each other)

2. Click the Link Tasks command on the Tasks tab of the ribbon

Tip: You can link several tasks at once by selecting them then clicking the link
command

Note: To avoid problems in using some of the more advanced features such
as Resource Automatic Levelling, do not link Summary Tasks to each other
but link their relevant subtasks:

For example, Do not link task 1 to task 7:

link the last subtask of task 1 (=6) to the first subtask of task 7 (=8)

To unlink tasks
1. Select the Tasks
2. Click the Unlink Tasks button

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Editing the relationship between two tasks
1. Double-click the link in the Gantt chart to display up the Task
Dependency dialog box:

2. Choose from the required relationship from the Type drop down list

Using lag time and lead time

With Lag Time you can delay the start of the Successor Task by a defined time
period following the finish of the Predecessor Task

With Lead Time you can schedule an overlap between the finish of the Predecessor
Task and the start of the Successor Task so that the Successor Task starts at a
defined time period before the finish of the Predecessor Task

A Lead-Time is entered as a negative Lag Time

1. Double click the relevant link line on the Gantt chart to display the Task
Dependency dialog box
2. Enter an amount (in hours/days/weeks) in Lag box:

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 Lead entered as negative lag to give partial overlap of Tasks 8 and 9

Alternative for viewing/changing a task’s relationship links

1. Double click a task to display the Task Information Dialog box and click
the Predecessors tab
2. Click the Type drop down list to change the type
3. If necessary enter the lag
4. Click OK

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Exercise: Creating a new project
The project you will create is based on the following fictitious project scope:

The project is the production of an IT training course manual, similar to the one you
are reading. It must contain separate written modules (8 of them) and it all must be
based on some technical appraisal of the software (studies and specification) and
authoring of each of the modules. Finally, a slide show must be created to
accompany the paper course manual.

1. Create a new blank Project file

2. Save the project with the name MyTrainingCourse.
3. Title the Project Word Training Manual and enter your name as the
manager of the project
(Click the File Tab – Project Information – Advanced Properties)
4. The start date should be one month in the future to the nearest Monday.
(On the Project tab, click Project Information and change the Start Date)
5. Amend the Standard calendar so that all Saturdays are set to be working
days using the same standard hours of 08:00-12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00.
(On the Project tab, click Change Working Time; on the Work Weeks tab
click the Details buttons and change Saturdays):

6. Enter the following tasks using the Insert Summary/Task/Milestone

command buttons on the Task tab of the ribbon as appropriate.

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 [This column is for your Task Duration
information only]
Summary task Preparation Calculates
itself
Sub task Install Software 1h
  Backup Installation 2h
  Studies and Specification 1d
Summary task Module Development Calculates
itself
Sub task Module 1 Authoring 1.5d
  Module 2 Authoring 1.5d
  Module 3 Authoring 1.5d
  Module 4 Authoring 1.5d
  Module 5 Authoring 1.5d
  Module 6 Authoring 1.5d
  Module 7 Authoring 1.5d
  Module 8 Authoring 1.5d
  Slide Development 5d
  Editing Process 2d
Milestone Task Publish Course 0d

7. Add a note to the Install Software task:

8. Display the Project Summary Task – an option on the Format tab

9. Link the tasks together with a Finish to Start relationship – your project
should look similar to the screen shot on the next page:

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 10. Select all the tasks, right click and choose
- the Timeline of your project should look similar to the following:

11. Save and close the project.

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Creating constraints for tasks in Auto Schedule Mode
Utilising task constraints
Certain tasks in your project may require to be “constrained” to a fixed date.
If you are using Manual Scheduling mode, you simply choose the required dates
from the Start/Finish columns. Manual Scheduling was not available in previous
versions of project so if you are working in compatibility mode you can only use
Auto Scheduling and therefore you need to understand how to utilise task
constraints.
Constraints are entered in the Task Information box on the Advanced Tab:

There are eight different types of constraints:

Constraint type Description

As Late as Starts the task as late as possible, depending on other task constraints
Possible and relationships. You do not need to enter a date to use this
constraint
As Soon as Starts the task as soon as possible, depending on other task constraints
Possible and relationships. You do not need to enter a date to use this
constraint. This is the default and is equivalent to having no constraint
Finish No Constrains the task to finish on or after the date that you enter in the
earlier than Date box
Finish no later Constrains the task to finish on or before the date that you enter in the
than Date box
Must Finish on Constrains the task to finish on the date that you enter in the Date box.
You can manually enter this constraint by typing a date in the Finish
field in the Gantt table
Must Start On Constrains the task to start on the date that you enter in the Date box.
You can manually enter this constraint by typing a date in the Start field
Start No Earlier Constrains the task to start on or after the date that you enter in the
than Date box
Start No Later Constrains the task to start on or before the date that you enter in the
than Date box

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Notes:
 If you set a constraint, Project displays a constraint icon in the Indicators
column:
a red dot means an inflexible Constraint
for example: Start/ Finish No Later Than
Start/ Finish On

a blue dot means a flexible or ‘moderate’ constraint

for example: Start/ Finish No Earlier Than

 to display the Constraint details hover the mouse over the Constraint icon:

 If the task is linked to a predecessor, Project may display a Planning Wizard

dialog box warning you about possible current or future conflicts:

In this case you would choose the third option ‘Continue’ to set the
constraint if you were sure you wanted to fix the date of the task.

 If you wish to remove a constraint that you set earlier, change the constraint
type to As Soon As Possible. Although it is in the constraint list, it is the same
as having no constraint.

 the Gantt Chart can be filtered for tasks with constraints by using the criteria
‘Tasks With Fixed Dates’ – filters are explained later in the course

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Resolving scheduling conflicts
When using Manual Scheduling, you will see red squiggles under task dates if
project considers there is a problem with the schedule and you can use the Task
Inspector to help you resolve the problem:

You can also use the new Move command on the Task tab to quickly move tasks
forward or back in time:

Note: If you are in Auto Schedule Mode, using the Move command will put a
constraint on the task.

When using Auto Scheduling, conflicts can arise when a task is calculated to start/
finish on a date that is too early/late in the light of its own constraint or due to its
relationship to a successor task that has a constraint. You can identify which tasks

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have constraints by viewing the Indicators field for constraint indicators; then if
possible, alter the conditions which impose the constraint and remove it or consider
modifying/ removing the relationships between the tasks.

Setting a deadline on a task

A deadline on a task is not as rigid as a constraint. You can use deadlines in both
Auto and Manual Scheduling mode – when you set a deadline you see a green
arrow on the Gantt chart:

To set a deadline date on a task, double click the task to display the Task
Information dialog box and on the Advanced tab, choose the deadline date.

Project will allow a task to slip beyond its Deadline, but in the Indicators
column it will display a warning Indicator

To remove a deadline date on a task, double click the task to display the Task
Information dialog box and on the Advanced tab, clear the deadline date box.

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Quick Reference
Change the project start date On the Project tab of the ribbon click Project Information
On the Project tab of the ribbon click Change Working
Amend the project calendars
Time
Go to the Row of a Specific
Press the F5 key and type the row number
Task or to a Specific Date
See the Gantt Bar of a Selected Select the task and click the Scroll to Task command on
Task the Task tab of the ribbon

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 On the background of the Gantt Chart, right-click and
Change the Calendar from
choose Non-Working Time – select the required calendar
which the Gantt Chart Non-
from the drop down list
Working time is displayed
Select the tasks and click the Link toolbar button to create
Link tasks and change the link the relationship; double click the actual link on the Gantt
type bar to change it.
Right-click the Task Name column heading and choose,
Display the Unique ID field
Insert Column - choose Unique ID – this numbering is in
which does not change when
the order of Task creation
Tasks are inserted/ deleted:

Show the Task outline number On the Format tab of the ribbon, click the option
grouping Tasks within their Outline Number
Summary Tasks:
On the Format tab of the ribbon click the Layout
Format the appearance of Task
command
bar Links
On the background of the Gantt Chart, right-click and
Display/ Format Gantt Chart
choose Gridlines
Gridlines

Locate Tasks or Resources that On the Task tab of the ribbon use the Find command
meet criteria in selected fields:
HOME goes to the start of the current row
END goes to the end of the current row
CTRL + HOME goes to the first field in the first Task
Navigate faster in Tables by: CTRL +  goes to the top of the current column
CTRL +  goes to the bottom of the current
column
ALT + HOME goes horizontally to the start of the
project
Navigate faster in the Gantt ALT + END goes horizontally to the end of the
Chart timescale by: project
ALT + PgUp/Dn ‘pages’ sideways

Rename, delete or copy a Base

Calendar (and other File tab – Info - Organizer
customised items) between
projects:

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 Module 4: Resources and Resource Management

Objectives
At the end of this module you will have
 An understanding of the various information required to enter
resources
 Assigned resources to the tasks
 Changed individual resource calendars/availability
 Modified task assignments
 Completed the end of the design and planning stage and set
a baseline for the project.

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Creating resources
Resources are the people, equipment and supplies required to complete a particular
task. You do not have to include resources in your project but by defining and then
assigning resources to tasks you accomplish several goals:

 You are able to track the whereabouts of resources

 You can identify potential resource shortages or over allocation that could
force you to miss scheduled deadlines and which, in turn, could possibly
extend the duration of your project.
 You can identify under-utilised resources – and if you reassign these
resources, you may be able to shorten the project’s duration.

When working in Auto Schedule mode, assigning a resource to a task can affect the
duration of the project because work on the task cannot begin until the resource is
available. Project uses a resource calendar to define the working days and times for
a resource, but the resource’s availability also depends on other tasks to which you
assigned the resource. If the work assigned to a resource exceeds the resource’s
time available, Project assigns the resource to the task and indicates that the
resource is over allocated by showing a red person icon in the Indicators column

Using the Resource Sheet to enter resources

The Resource Sheet view allows you to enter and view resources, costs and other
information.

1. Display the Resource Sheet by clicking the last view button on the status
bar:

2. Type the name of the Resource (i.e. John Smith or simply ‘Builder’)

3. Choose the Resource Type (Work/Material/Cost).

Work resources are people or equipment
Material resources are supplies, stock, or other consumable items used to
complete tasks in the project. Examples of material resources include
concrete, steel, pipe, wood, and glass. When you set up a material
resource, define the Material Label, or unit of measurement, for the
material. Label examples include metres, tons, and boxes. Material
resources are different from work resources:
 The overtime rate and workgroup fields are disabled.
 Unit availability cannot be specified.
 Material resources don't use resource calendars.

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 Examples of cost resources could be travel or accommodation – and it is
now much easier to track this kind of cost in project (Cost resources are
covered in detail in the level 3 course)

4. The first initial of the Resource Name appears in the Initials column –
overtype this with the specific initials you want to use to refer to that
resource in certain views and reports

5. The Group column is an optional text field that you can use to sort and find
specific types of resources

6. Type the maximum number of units available to you – e.g. you may have 3
plumbers so you would type 300%, but against named individuals you
would type 100% (or 50% if they are only available to you part time)

7. Enter the Standard rate of pay – this can be per hour, day, week or year

8. If the resource gets paid overtime, fill in the Ovt Rate column

9. The Cost per Use can be in addition to or instead of the standard rate –
e.g. this could be an administration or delivery charge for equipment, or a
rate for the job regardless of the time taken to complete it.

10. The Accrue At field provides choices for how and when a resource’s costs
are to be charged, or accrued, to the cost of a task. The options are Start,
End or Prorated (default). Example - One of the resources on the project is
a consultant whose hourly fees are paid upon completion of assigned
tasks. In the Accrue At field in the Resource Sheet view, select the End
option. As each of the consultant's assigned tasks is marked complete, the
consultant's fees are charged to the task.

11. Click in the Base Calendar field and click on the list arrow at the right of the
field to assign a calendar for that resource. Project uses the Standard
Project calendar by default. Calendar information is used to schedule all
working and non-working days for a particular resource and you can
create additional base calendars if necessary.

12. To apply an alphanumeric code to a Resource (for example for cost centre
accounting), use the ‘Code’ field

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Tip: You can quickly enter duplicate information by using dragging the ‘Fill Handle’

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Assigning and amending a resource calendar
1. In the Resource Sheet Base Calendar column, select the relevant
Base Calendar:

2. Double click the Resource to display the Resource Information Dialog

Box and click the Change Working Time button

3. Edit on the Exceptions or Workweeks tabs as described earlier for setting

up a Base Calendar, although here you leave the Work Weeks tab
Default Details unchanged as they reflect the default settings in the Base
Calendar on which the Resource Calendar is based:

Note: the name of the underlying Base Calendar is displayed beneath the
name of the Resource. Any subsequent changes you make to a Base
Calendar will be automatically reflected in any dependant Resource
Calendars.

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Resource Availability Dates

1. In the Resource Sheet, double click a resource to display the Resource

Information dialog box

2. On the General tab, enter the Resource’s overall dates of availability for
the project:

3. A series of Available From or To or both can be entered to contour the

availability of the resource for this project, with varying max Units

4. Resources allocated to Tasks outside these dates will be shown over

allocated

5. Use this facility to register availability/ non-availability of the Resource

over long periods, not for short periods such as holidays
– use the Resource Calendar for shorter periods

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Resource Costs
You can use Project with entering any costs. If you are going to include costs you
can change the currency symbol used:

Click File, Options, Display to edit the currency options:

In addition to entering cost information on the Resource Sheet, you can build in
profiles of how the rates are expected to change over time and for different ‘types’
of work: Double click a resource to display the Resource Information Dialog Box and
on the Costs tab, enter the Resource’s future Rates and Costs Per Use (you can
enter the rate itself or a % increase or decrease):

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Note: There are five tabs (A-E) representing five different cost rate tables - you can
create different Cost Rates for different types of work:

Understanding how cost per use is calculated

Allocating resources with max units set to under 100%

For example, allocating a Resource with Max Units = 50%, Cost/Use = £200
to a 1 day = 7 hrs Duration Task will result in the following:

Duration = 1 day
Work = 3.5 hours
accrued cost/use = £100

Modifying the Resource’s Max Units to 100% will not change the scheduled costs for
tasks already allocated to this resource, but allocation of the modified resource to
future tasks will attract the full £200.

Allocating resources to a task at less than 100% effort

For example, allocating a Resource with Max Units = 100%, Cost/ Use = £200
to a 1 day = 7 hrs Duration Task at 25% Units on the Task will result in the following:

Duration = 1 day
Work = 1.75 hours (7h/d *25%)
accrued cost/use = £50

Modifying the Resource’s Units on the Task to 100% will immediately change the
scheduled cost for the Task to include the full £200 Cost/ Use.

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Exercise: Enter resources
8. Open the project MyTrainingCourse that you created previously.
9. Enter the following work resources in the Resource Sheet

Resource Name Initials Group Units Std. Rate OVT. Rate

Terry Wogan T BBC 100% £200.00/h £300.00/h
Mark Woolway M Team Leader 100% £25.00/h £50.00/h
Emma Cheesman E Contractor 100% £15.00/h £30.00/h
Julian Cook J Contractor 100% £15.00/h £30.00/h
Madeleine Adams M Contractor 100% £15.00/h £30.00/h
Nick Pavey N Contractor 100% £15.00/h £30.00/h
Richard Buller R Contractor 100% £25.00/h £50.00/h
Jamie Price J Contractor 100% £10.00/h £20.00/h
Binding B Printing 100% £12.00/h £12.00/h
Copying C Printing 100% £10.00/h £10.00/h
Technician T Contractor 200% £12.50/h £20.00/h

10. Save the project.

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Assigning resources to tasks – Auto Schedule Mode

1. In the Gantt Chart view, select the Task

2. On the Resource tab of the ribbon click the Assign Resources

command

3. In the Assign Resources dialog box, from the Resource list select the
Resource and click the Assign button:

Note: the Resource’s Units on this Task are by default set to the Resource’s
Maximum Units for this project set in the Resource Sheet, but you can edit the
Resource’s Units on this Task to a lower % if required. The costs for a work type
resource are displayed but cannot be amended here.

Tips:
 you can leave the dialog box open for assigning to other Tasks
 to assign the same Resource(s) to more than one Task at a time, select the
Tasks before using the Resource Assignment dialog box
 to assign more than one Resource to Tasks, select the Task(s) and select the
Resources in the dialog box before clicking the Assign button
 use SHIFT or CTRL to select contiguous or non-contiguous Tasks
 the Task Duration does not change on the first assignment of Resources to a
Task, even if you assign more than one Resource – the Work hours for each
Resource are by default equivalent to the full Duration. However, if you later
assign additional Resources to the Task, the workload is shared – see below on
how to have complete control over the split of the work between multiple
resources on a task

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  by default the resource name is displayed on the Gantt chart - you can choose
to display the initials (or any other data) against each Task bar – (this is
covered later in the course).

Assistance in finding resources with available working time

In the Assign Resources dialog box:

1. Click the Resource list options to expand the dialog box

2. Tick the Filter by check box and make sue All Resources is displayed
(alternatively you can filter for a specific resource group, etc)
3. Tick the ‘Available to work’ check box and enter the number of hours
availability for which you are searching
4. The list of resources will be automatically filtered:

Note: In the Assign Resources dialog box, there is a Graph button. This feature has
changed from the previous versions of project. When you click the Graph button
you will see a split screen view with the Gantt chart in the top half of the screen and
the Resource Graph view in the bottom half. You can right click the graph to display
further details:

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Assigning additional resources to reduce task duration
If you later assign additional resources to a task, by default the work on the task is
initially shared equally between the Resources and the Duration is reduced.
However, you can modify the work allocated to each resource using the Task Entry
View:

1. In the Gantt Chart, click the Details command on the Task tab to split the
screen and place the Task Form in the bottom half.

2. Right click the form and choose Work:

3. Assign another resource using the drop-down list of resources as shown

above

4. In the form, you can edit the Work against each Resource assigned to the
Task to give your required split of Work – the Task Duration is automatically
recalculated (you are not bound to stay with the original total hrs work)

5. Click the Form’s OK button (pressing Enter is not the same here as OK)

6. In the form, you can also change the Units of each resource on the task and
this will also recalculate the duration of the task

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 7. Edit the Task Duration in either half of the screen and notice that the work
for the work for the Driving Resource(s) is automatically recalculated

How project recalculates the task duration in Auto Schedule mode

Assigning a Resource to a Task defines the hours of Work for the Task:

WORK = DURATION hours x RESOURCE UNITS

When you first allocate Resource(s) to a Task, the initial hours of Work for each
Resource on the Task are calculated as the Task Duration expressed in hrs

When subsequent changes are made to the number of resources assigned to the
task or to any of the allocated Resource Units or to the Resource Work hours, the
Task Duration is automatically recalculated for each Resource in the course of
recalculating the Task Duration:

For each allocated resource, the following is automatic:

RESOURCE DURATION HOURS = RESOURCE WORK/ RESOURCE UNITS

 Project identifies the Resource which spends the longest number of hours in
real time on the Task as calculated by the above expression
– this Resource is termed the ‘Driving Resource’

 the task duration is automatically recalculated to the hours between the first
resource starting work on the task and the last resource finishing work on
the task, in accordance with their Resource Calendars

 by default, if you modify the split of the Resources’ Work, MS Project will
recalculate the Duration as above

 if you modify the Resources’ Units on the Task, MS Project will recalculate
the Duration as above

 if you modify the Duration, MS Project will recalculate the Work for the
Driving Resource(s)

 by default, MS Project will not change the Resources’ Units on the Task

 on a Task allocated to multiple Resources which do not all share the same
Calendar From and To daily working hours settings, the start and finish of

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 the Task will be determined by the above Driving Resource calculation in
combination with the individual Resource Calendars’ From and To times

NOTE: Resources do not have to be assigned to Summary Tasks

Using Material Resources

Assigning variable material consumption

Used where consumption varies with the Task Duration or the length of time of
the Assignment. Enter the rate of consumption in the Units field of the Assign
Resources dialog box, for example 4/h:

Assigning fixed material consumption

Used where consumption does not vary with the Task Duration nor the length of
time of the Assignment.
Enter in the amount in the units field, for example for 100 litres just type 100 and the
label will appear automatically:

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Exercise: Assigning resources to tasks
Manual vs Auto Schedule Mode
The new Manual Schedule mode has an impact on the way resources are
scheduled.
The easiest way to see this is to open the project file called 2 - Example Task
Mode.mpp and follow the exercise:

1. Make sure the project is in Auto Schedule Mode – on the Status Bar it should
say
2. Go to the Resource Sheet view, double click Caroline Bell and click the
Change Working Time button – notice that she has a holiday booked for the
6-8 Jan
3. In the Gantt Chart notice that the Plan task is due to finish on 15 Jan
4. On the Resource tab click the Assign Resources button and assign Caroline
to the Plan task – notice that whilst the task remains at 10 days duration, it is
now planned to finish on 18 Jan because of Caroline’s holiday
5. Look at the Resource Usage view – note that Caroline is scheduled to do 80
hours work and there is a gap in the schedule for when Caroline is on
holiday:

6. Assign Caroline also to the Implement Task – note the warning indicator that
tells you Caroline is over allocated. Right click the indicator and choose to Fix
in Task Inspector to see the suggested repair options. Also look at the
Resource Usage view and note Caroline’s name is coloured red.
7. Remove Caroline from both the tasks – select the tasks, select Caroline’s
name in the Assign Resources dialog box and click Remove. Notice that both
tasks are now planned to finish on 15 Jan because there are no scheduling
restrictions.
8. Change the Task Mode for the Plan task to Manually Scheduled:

9. Assign Caroline to the task – notice this time that the finish date does not
change – look at the Resource Usage view – note that there is a gap in the
schedule but the difference is that project has allocated 56 hours of work (7
working days) and assumed the other three days are not required.

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 10. Close the file without saving the changes

Exercise: Using the Task Inspector and Team Planner

to view and change assigned resources
1. Open the project called 3 - Software Development pre_tracking.mpp
2. Note that the planned finished date for the project is 19 May
3. Note that some of the task (ID 29, 30, 33, 34 etc) have the warning indicator
that resources are over allocated.
4. Click task 29 and click the Task Inspector command on the Task toolbar

5. This is an improved version of the Task Driver feature

that was available in Project 2007 and in the task pane
that appears on the left side of the screen you will see a
lot of information about the selected task.

6. The Task Inspector has suggestions on how to solve the

over allocation - click the Repair Option to view the
Team Planner.

7. The Team Planner is a new view in Project that helps

you view and manage your resources. You can see that
the problem in this instance is that the Developer is
allocated to two tasks in the same time period:

8. You can solve this over allocation by moving out the testing task until the
Developer is next available - but of course will have an impact on the project
dates. Click the Developer testing task in the diagram and from the Task

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 Inspector click the option to Reschedule Task (In the Gantt Chart you will see
that the impact of this is that the project finish date has now slipped to 3
June.)

9. Note that more of your team (Testers, Trainers, Technical Communicators)

are coloured red – indicating that they are also over allocated.

Another way to solve an over allocation is to assign the work to a different

resource and this is quite easy to each in the Team Planner view – click and
drag the Develop user manuals task so that it is reallocated to the Trainers to
This task
start on 8 March: has been
moved

10. Note that more there is one task in your project that has not yet been
assigned
(it is at the bottom of the list):

This task has not

been allocated

11. Double click the task to display the Task Information dialog box

12. On the Resource tab, click the drop down arrow and select the Project
Manager:

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 13. When you click OK you will notice that task has moved to the Project
Manager’s part of the diagram.

14. Switch to the Gantt Chart view by click the first view button on the bottom
right of the status bar (Tip: Team Planner is the third view button)

15. Close the Task Inspector pane if it is still visible

Baselining your project

1. Now that you have adjusted your plan, you decide to save the baseline so
that you have a way of tracking and comparing any further changes with this
current plan.
2. On the project tab, click Baseline and choose Save baseline to display the Set
Baseline dialog box your project.
3. As the project has not been baselined before, simply click OK.

4. To see the baseline on the Gantt Chart, click the Format tab and choose
Baseline:

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 .

5. Exit Project – when prompted save your changes.

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 Quick Reference Guide
Durations:
Default is entered in days
0 (zero) = milestone
? = estimated
e = elapsed (i.e. two elapsed days = 2ed = 48 hours rather than 16 work hours)
Lag/Lead:
Lag moves a task to the right; Lead to the left
May be entered as time (i.e. 4h, 3d) or as a percentage of the predecessor (i.e. 20%)
Lag entered as positive; Lead as negative
To enter lag/lead time, double-click the second task  Predecessors tab  Lag Column

To setup/change project information: File  Info  Project Information  Advanced Properties

To insert tasks: Task Ribbon Insert  Task  r/click task  Insert Task
To edit tasks: Double Click Task  Edit entry  Click OK
To delete tasks: Click the task number and press the Delete key
To indent tasks: Click the indent button or drag the selected task to right
To show Project Summary Task (task 0): Gantt Chart Tools Format  Show/Hide Tick Middle box
To view different outline levels: View Ribbon Data Outline  Select appropriate level
To link tasks: Select tasks  Task  Schedule Link Tasks button
To zoom in/out: View Ribbon Zoom  Zoom In/Zoom Out buttons /
To change task relationships: Double-click the successor task  Predecessors tab  Type
To change Lag/Lead: Double-click the successor task  Predecessors tab  Lag
To add a time constraint: Double-click the task  Advanced tab  Constraint Type  Date
To create a new calendar: Project Properties Change Working Time  Create New
Calendar
To assign a calendar to a resource: View Ribbon Resource Sheet  Base Calendar Column
To assign a calendar to a project: Project Ribbon  Properties  Project Information
To assign a calendar to a view: Right Click Gantt Chart  Non-working Time  Calendar
To create resources: View Ribbon  Resource Sheet
To assign resources: Resource Ribbon  Assign Resources or
Double-click the task  Resources tab or
Window  Split
To view/change a resource’s calendar: Double-click resource in Resource Sheet  Change Working
Time
To view tables (cost, summary, tracking): View Ribbon  Data Table
To view reports: Project Ribbon  Reports  Reports
To view visual reports Project Ribbon  Reports  Visual Reports
To resolve time conflicts: Add more resources  reduce duration
To view resource over-allocation: View Ribbon  Resource Usage
To view next over-allocation: Alt+ F5
To resolve resource conflicts: Resource Ribbon  Level  Choose appropriate action
To set baseline: Project Ribbon  Schedule  Set Baseline  Set Baseline
To clear baseline: Project Ribbon  Schedule  Set Baseline  Clear Baseline
To view Critical Path: Gantt Chart Tools  Format  Bar Styles  Select Critical Tasks
To update tasks Task Ribbon  Schedule  Use % or  Mark on Track
To manually schedule tasks Task Ribbon  Tasks  Manually schedule
To auto schedule tasks Task Ribbon  Tasks  Auto schedule
To inspect tasks Task Ribbon  Tasks  Inspect
To move tasks Task Ribbon  Tasks  Move
To view timeline View Ribbon  Split View  Select Timeline
To add a selected task to the timeline Task Ribbon  Properties  Add to Timeline
To share resources from a pool file Resource Ribbon  Assignments  Resource Pool  Share
Resources
To add projects to a master project Project Ribbon  Insert  Subproject
To work with team planner View Ribbon  Resource Views  Team Planner
To work with highlighting View Ribbon  Data  Highlight
To filter View Ribbon  Data  Filter
To group View Ribbon  Data  Group By

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

Module 5: Managing Project and project views

Objectives
At the end of this module you will have
 Reviewed how to create a project and solve resource allocation
issues
 Understood what the Critical Path is and how to apply it
 Customised the Gantt Chart with various formatting options
 Understood how to use the Network Diagram view
 Learned how to insert columns and create custom tables
 Filtered the project for specific information
 Understood how to display and customise WBS Codes

Exercise: Preparing a project for analysis and tracking

To test your knowledge of Microsoft Project and to revise your knowledge at
introductory level, this module, together with your instructor, will help you create a
suitable project for analysis.

Alternatively, you can pick up the exercise on page 96, where you have to do some
levelling and modifying to get the project on track. To do this, go to page 96 of this
manual and open the data file supplied with this course named 4 - Holiday Home
Levelling in the course data folder.

1. Create a new project, name it Holiday Home with the start date of 6 Sept
2. Making sure the project is in Auto Schedule mode, type in the following
tasks, durations and notes:

Task Name Duration Notes

Travel to France 2d? Drive to Portsmouth; Ferry to
Cherbourg; Drive to Carcassonne.
Start searching for plot 1d Register with local Estate Agents
and buy topographical maps.
View all available plots over time 1mo
Make offer on suitable plot 1d
Pay deposit for plot 1d
Have deeds checked 0.5d
Apply for Certificate of Urbanism 0d
Complete application form 2h
Take to Mairie and file 1h
Collect Certificate of Urbanism 2h
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Apply for planning permission from 0d

Mairie
Have deeds checked 0.5d
Have outline plans drawn up 1d
Submit plan 0.5d
Collect Permission Acceptance letter 2h
Pay balance on land acquisition 0.5d
Clear land 7d
Install services/amenities 1d
Connect Sewerage 1d To be carried out by Amenity
Connect Electricity 1d Contractor, using their own
Install water pump 1d resources.
Design Garage 3d? Estimated design duration.
Build double garage 3mo No specific project plan yet
Design House 3d? Estimated design duration.
Build House 3mo No specific project plan yet
Design Swimming Pool 0.5d? Estimated design duration.
Build Swimming pool 1mo No specific project plan yet

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Task Linking
Most of the tasks are linked with Finish to Task relationships – follow the logic in the
Notes column and create the links (you do not have to type the notes)

Task Predecessor Link Notes for information

Type
2 1 F to S We can only start searching if we have finished getting
there.
3 2 F to S We can search once we’ve (finished) started the search
process (in this case, engaged an Estate Agent).
4 3 S to S We don’t have to finish searching for one month before we
can start an offer. The offer may come at any time. The link
we select at this stage is that once the search has started
the offer task can start.
5 4 F to S We can only pay the deposit if we have finished making an
offer.
6 5 F to S We can only have the deeds checked if we have paid the
deposit.
7 6 F to S We can only apply for the certificate if we have finished
having the deeds checked (6).
8 6 F to S We only complete the application form if we have finished
having the deeds checked (6).
9 8 F to S We can only take the form to the Mairie if the application
form has been finished (completed)
10 9 F to S We only collect the certificate of Urbanism if the
application has been taken to the Mairie.
11 10 F to S We can only apply for Planning Permission if we have
collected the Certificate of Urbanism.
12 10 F to S It’s only worth having the final deeds (the Certificate of
Urbanism) checked if we have collected the Certificate of
Urbanism.
13 12 F to S We can only start the ‘Have outline plans drawn up’ task if
we have checked the final deeds.
14 13 F to S We can only submit the plan if we have finished drawing
them up (task 13).
15 14 F to S We can only collect the Planning Acceptance letter if we
submitted the plan (task 14).
16 15 F to S We can only pay the balance if we have collected the
Planning Acceptance letter.
17 16 F to S We can only clear the land if we have finished the task of
paying the balance.
18 17 F to S We can only start to install amenities if we have finished
the task of clearing the land.
19 No link Will become a sub task of 18.
20 No link Will become a sub task of 18.
21 No link Will become a sub task of 18.
22 No link Can take place at any time after the project has started.
23 18,22 Dependent on a design having being finished, AND that
the amenities have all been installed.

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

24 No link Can take place at any time after the project has started.
25 24 Dependent on a design having being finished.
26 No link Can take place at any time after the project has started.
27 26 Dependent on a design having being finished.

Outline Tasks
Outline tasks as shown below:

Constraints and Deadlines

Set constraints and deadlines as shown below:

Task Constraint type Constraint date Deadline

Start searching for plot SNLT 20/9/10 NA
Make offer on suitable plot ASAP NA 8/10/10
Have deeds checked FNLT 22/10/10 NA
Take to Mairie and file SNLT 11/10/10 NA

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

Collect Certificate of Urbanism ASAP NA 21/10/10

Collect Permission Acceptance letter ASAP NA 15/11/10
Pay balance on land acquisition SNLT 15/11/10 NA
Install services/amenities ASAP NA 19/12/10

Resources
Add Resources in the Resource sheet
(all at 100% Max. Units and all available from project start to project finish):

Resource Name Notes Type Group Std. Rate Ovt. Rate

(HR) (HR)
Bryan Hayden Project Manager Work Managemen £40.00/h £60.00/h
t
Builder 1 Work Building £20.00/h £30.00/h
Builder 2 Work Building £20.00/h £0.00/h
Labourer 1 Work Building £15.00/h £25.00/h
Mini Digger Fuel and Material Building £5.00
maintenance
Amenity Contractor Has own workforce Work Building £75.00/h £0.00/h
for projects.
Emma Robbins Building Contractor Work Building £50.00/h £100.00/h
Tony Butler (Surveyor) Surveyor Work Professional £100.00/ £200.00/h
h
Estate Agent Work Procuremen £75.00/h £0.00/h
t
Excavation Contractor Work Building £75.00/h £0.00/h
Solicitor Work Professional £75.00/h £0.00/h
Architect Work Professional £75.00/h £0.00/h

Resources Assignments
Assign resources as shown below:

Task Resource Name % (UNITS) Hours forecast

Travel to France Bryan Hayden 100% As per duration
Start searching for plot Bryan Hayden 100% As per duration
View all available plots over time Bryan Hayden 100% As per duration
Make offer on suitable plot Bryan Hayden 100% As per duration
Pay deposit for plot Bryan Hayden 100% As per duration
Have deeds checked Solicitor 100% 4h
Apply for Certificate of Urbanism Summary task / Unassigned
Complete application form Bryan Hayden 100% 2h
Take to Mairie and file Estate Agent 100% 1h
Collect Certificate of Urbanism Emma Robbins 100% 2h
Apply for planning permission from Mairie Summary task / Unassigned

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

Task Resource Name % (UNITS) Hours forecast

Have deeds checked Solicitor 100% 4h
Have outline plans drawn up Architect 100% 8h
Submit plan Bryan Hayden 100% 4h
Collect Permission Acceptance letter Labourer 1 100% 2h
Pay balance on land acquisition Bryan Hayden 50% 2h
Solicitor 50% 2h
Clear land Mini Digger Material accruing costs.
Labourer 1 100% 56hr
Excavation 100% 28hr
Contractor
Emma Robbins 100% 56hr
Install services/amenities Summary task / Unassigned
Connect Sewerage Amenity 100% 8hr
Contractor
Connect Electricity Amenity 100% 8hr
Contractor
Install water pump Amenity 100% 8hr
Contractor
Design Garage Architect 100% 4hr
Build double garage Unassigned NA Unassigned
Design House Architect 100% 24hr
Build House Unassigned NA Unassigned
Design Swimming Pool Architect 100% 4hr
Build Swimming pool Unassigned NA Unassigned

Your project should look similar to the following:

Note: If you wish to pick up this exercise from here, open the file Holiday Home
Levelling from the course data folder.

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

Exercise: Resource Levelling

Looking at the project in the Resource Usage view, you will see that three Resources
are over allocated. This means that:

 the project schedule is incorrectly planned; and/or

 your resources really are literally over allocated; and/or
 your resources have been incorrectly set up for this project.

In fact, in this project all these factors exist and are causing the project to be
incorrectly represented and scheduled.

1. Check the first over allocation for Bryan Hayden.

In the resource usage view you can see quite clearly that there are a number of days
where Bryan is working more than 8 hours a day. Either the allocation is illogical, or
he is simply working too many hours, which could lead to high extra costs or work
not being completed.
Analysis of the Resource Usage view will show that from 9 September Bryan is
spending 8 hours per day viewing available plots. This means that if he is required
to undertake another task during the day he will appear over-allocated on the
system, which is clearly illogical.

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

To resolve this over-allocation.

The link between tasks 3 and 4 is Start to Start. Whilst it is true that task 4 (make an
offer on a plot) can come at any time within the one month period that has been
allocated to viewing plots, it cannot take place, logically, until viewing has stopped.
One solution here is to make the link between the tasks Finish to Start. That is to say
that, although we do not know when viewing will finish (i.e. when a suitable plot is
found), it must be finished before the next task (making an offer) can start. In your
own planning you might consider various other ways of restructuring the project.
For example, the omission altogether of the task called ‘Make an offer’ and consider
it as part and parcel of the Viewing task. In which case, the next task would be Pay
Deposit.
This would be a partial, and logical solution. However, you would still end up with
the same problem regarding a finish to start link, unless you physically moved the
next task or allowed an over allocation.
For the sake of this exercise, lets assume that Bryan will stop viewing when he makes
an offer. So on the Gantt Chart, double click the link line between tasks 3 and 4 and
change the relationship to Finish-to-Start:

You will note that the resource, Bryan Hayden, is no longer over allocated.

2. Check the over allocation for the Amenity Contractor.

This resource is committed to a total of three tasks simultaneously and at 100 %
availability. However, this resource is a contractor and, as per the Resource notes
‘Has own workforce for projects’.
Since this resource CAN work on three tasks simultaneously due to having his own
resources and team, we can set his percentage availability to 300% - on the
Resource Sheet increase the percentage and then note that this clears the over
allocation of this resource.

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

3. The third over allocation is the Architect.

Checking the logic of the tasks on the Gantt Chart - it makes sense that:
 Build Double Garage is dependent on the finished tasks of: Design Double
Garage and the Installation of Amenities
 Build House is dependent on Design House.
 Build Swimming Pool is dependent on Swimming Pool.
The problem is the lack of resources – since we only have one architect, he/she
cannot work 100% on three different tasks simultaneously and therefore we need to
change the sequence of the tasks.
a. In the Gantt Chart, change the Design Garage Task to Manually
Scheduled and type a start date of 13 Oct
b. Change the Design House Task to Manually Scheduled and drag the
Gantt bar to the right to fit when the architect is available (this is the
same as typing in a date)

This should solve the over allocation problem and your project should look similar
to the following will all resources ‘levelled’:

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Customising the Gantt Chart

The Gantt Chart is a horizontal bar chart that represents each task in the time scale
of the project. Each task entered in the project will be shown and by default the
name of the resource allocated to the task appears next to the bars.

Gantt Charts form the significant part of a regular communication about your
project and can be quickly formatted to display the critical tasks, the current
progress, comparison with the original plan, and the new projected completion.

Critical Path
Critical Path Analysis or CPA is an important part of project management. It will
enable you to interrogate the tasks in your project to see which tasks form the basis
of a successful completion of the project. These tasks, should they be delayed or
indeed, completed sooner than planned will have a critical and fundamental impact
on your project. We need to be able to view these statistics from time to time and it
will enable us, by viewing them, to either shorten the plan or concentrate on costs.

When you use Auto Schedule mode, Project schedules the tasks based on the
project start or finish date and any task relationships you have defined. Using the
scheduled start and finish dates, Project determines which tasks must finish on time
for the project to finish on time.

Because other tasks are linked to the critical tasks, if a critical task finishes late, it
causes all of the tasks that follow, to start and finish late. By extension, the project
finishes late. Conversely, if a critical task finishes early, the project can finish early.

In the example below we have three tasks that are all due to start on the same day
and each has varying durations:

5 days

Task 1

1.5 days
slack time (3.5 days)
Task 2

2 days
slack time (3 days)
Task 3

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

Task 1 is the longest task; Tasks 2 and 3 are not linked to Task 1, which has the
longest duration. So long as they are completed prior to the end of Task 1 the
project will not overrun.

In most projects, you have many tasks linked to one another with numerous
relationships. If you link all the tasks with only Finish-to-Start relationships, all of the
tasks are critical. The start of one task depends on the completion of the previous
task. So, all of the tasks must start and finish on time without the project going
astray.

If, however, you have assigned other types of relationships in your project, some of
your tasks will be non-critical tasks:

START 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 END

3 days
Task 1

2 days
Task 2

Task 3 1 day 7 days slack time

Task 4 1 day

Task 5 4 days

Total Duration of project 10 days

Task 3 not linked 7 days slack

To view the critical path in the Gantt view

On the Format tab of the ribbon, click the Critical Path check box:

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

Changing Time Scale

The time scale of the Gantt Chart is change by using the Zoom Slider on the Status
bar, but you can also use the Timescale dialog box to customise the way the
Timescale is displayed: Double click here to display
the Timescale dialog box

In the Timescale dialog box you can choose to display up to three tiers (Top, Middle
and Bottom) and within each of these it is possible to alter the units, the label and
the count of the interval.

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Formatting the non-working time

On the Non-working Time tab of the Timescale dialog box you can change the
colour of the non-working time and whether it is displayed behind or in front of
tasks. You can also choose which Calendar is displayed on the Gantt Chart:

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

Using the Formatting Tab of the ribbon

To quickly apply different colours to the Gantt Chart bars, choose a different Gantt
Chart Style:

To manually change the look on one Gantt bar:

1. Select the task
2. Click the format command
3. Click bar
4. Select the required colours and shapes in the dialog box:

Use the Bar Styles command to manually change the display of

the different types of tasks (for example, you might display the
planned and actual times for each task, in different colours).

1. Select the type of task you want to change, for example Milestones
2. Chose the required colour and shape
3. Click OK

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Use the Text tab of the Bar Styles dialog box to change what information is
displayed next to the bars on the Gantt Chart:

Select the
type of task
you want to
change

Click the
drop down
lists to
change the
type of data
that is
displayed

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Add a new (custom) Gantt Bar

If you want to spotlight a particular task category that is not represented by its own
Gantt bar, you can create a new Gantt bar. For example, you can create a Gantt bar
to show available slack or to call attention to delayed tasks.

1. On the Format tab, click Format and select Bar Styles.

2. In the Gantt bar list, click the Insert Row button.
3. In the Name column of the new row, type a name for the new bar style.
Example below – ‘Yet to start’.
4. In the Show For Tasks column of the new row, type or select the task type
you want the bar to represent. Example below – Not Started.

To exclude tasks with a specific bar type, type not before the task type. For
example, you can define a bar type as not milestone to display only tasks
that are not milestone tasks.

To display a Gantt bar for tasks of multiple types (such as tasks that are
milestones and critical), type a comma (,) after the task category in the text
entry box, and type or select a second task category.

1. In the From and To columns, type or select the fields you want to use to
position the start and finish points of the new Gantt bar. For example, to
create a symbol that represents a single date, type or select the same field in
the From and To columns.
2. Click the Bars tab, and then under Start, Middle, and End, select shapes,
patterns or types, and colours for the bar.
3. Click the Text tab and choose the type of information you want to print next
to your new Gantt bar
4. Click OK.

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Click the Gridlines command and choose Gridlines to

display the Gridline dialog box. You can change the
display of the vertical lines for the current date and
project finish date line, etc:

Click the Layout command to display the Layout dialog box where you
can change how Links are displayed as well as the bar height, etc:

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Editing Tasks using the Gantt Chart

One method of editing tasks is to change them on the Gantt Chart using the mouse
and dragging:

1. Positioning the pointer at the beginning of a bar will change the pointer to a %
sign and dragging with the mouse to the left will update the percentage
complete of the task.
2. If the pointer is placed in the centre of the bar it will change to a four-way
arrow pointer. It is then possible to drag the bar to the left or right. A label will
appear informing you of what you are doing:

If you change a date that then causes a conflict, the Planning Wizard dialog
box will alert you of the problem:

3. The duration of the task can be changed by changing the length of the bar. If
the pointer is positioned at the right end of the bar it will change into a right
pointing arrow. You can then drag to change the length of the bar.

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Using Network Diagrams

To see the Network Diagram, on the View tab of the Ribbon click Network Diagram

Note: The Descriptive Network Diagram view is identical to the Network Diagram
view, except for the size, and the detail of the boxes that represent tasks. The boxes
on the Descriptive Network Diagram view are larger and can contain labels for the
data elements in the box. These larger boxes take up more space, and thus fewer
boxes fit on a printed page.

To display the Descriptive Network Diagram view, click the Other Views command
on the View tab, select More Views and then select the Descriptive Network
Diagram:

Network Diagrams (the PERT Chart principle)

The term PERT is derived from Programme Evaluation and Review Technique which
was invented for the management of Projects by paper based systems. The
NETWORK DIAGRAM which has evolved from the PERT Chart is a diagrammatic
view of the tasks where the position of the task and the lines linking them together
represent the detailed steps that comprise the project. The Network Diagram view
displays tasks and task dependencies in a network or flowchart format. A box
(sometimes called a node) represents each task, and a line connecting two boxes
represents the dependency between the two tasks.

It is possible to create a new project in the Network diagram or modify an existing

project by adding and linking tasks.

 To create a new task, in an empty part of the Network diagram drag a

rectangle shape with your mouse – a new node will appear ready for you to
type in the details

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 To create a new task that is linked to an existing task, click the existing task
and drag with your mouse to an empty part of the diagram -– a new node
will appear ready for you to type in the details.

The Network Box (or Node)

A Network box consists of five fields, as illustrated below. The Task Name, Task ID,
Scheduled Start Date, Scheduled Finished Date, and Task Duration are the default
fields in the Network box. The Task Name field is white because it is currently ready
for user input.

Task ID
Task Name

Task Duration
Scheduled
Start Date
Scheduled Resource
Finish Date

Change how the nodes are displayed

Note: By default, the network diagram shows critical tasks in red and displays one
diagonal line through a task that is in progress and crossed diagonal lines through a
completed task.

On the Format tab, click Box Styles.

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1. In the Style settings for list, click the task category whose content and
appearance you want to change.
2. Choose a different Data template – which changes what data is displayed on
the node:

3. Under Border, choose the shape, colour, width, and gridline options to create
the look you want.
4. Under Background, choose the required colour and pattern.
5. Click OK

Adjust the diagram layout

Depending on the structure of your project, the number of summary tasks and
subtasks and the number and types of task links, the Network Diagram boxes may
not be arranged as you expected. You can modify the layout by applying different
box arrangements, adjusting various layout parameters, and applying one of two
different link styles:
On the Format tab, click Layout.

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1. Under Box Layout, in the Arrangement list, click how you want the boxes to be
arranged.
2. For rows and columns, specify alignment, spacing, height, and width in the
corresponding boxes.
3. To space boxes evenly, click Fixed in the Height and Width boxes.

Note: If you can't arrange Network Diagram boxes the way you want, you may want
to position them manually: Click Allow manual box positioning, click OK, and then
drag the boxes to the location you want.

Change the link line style

If you have many tasks that are linked to a predecessor or task, the link lines can
overlap and be difficult to read in the Network Diagram view. You can change the
style of the link lines and arrange them how you want. You can also display task
dependency labels on the link lines.

On the Format tab, click Layout:

 To display link lines as straight lines between predecessor and successor task
boxes, under Link style, click Straight.
 To display link lines as horizontal and vertical line segments connected at
right angles between predecessor and successor task boxes, under Link style,
click Rectilinear.
 To display labels on link lines identifying the task dependency and any lead
or lag time under Link style, select the Show link labels check box.
 To display link lines with arrows indicating the predecessor and successor of
tasks, under Link style, select the Show arrows check box.

The Network Diagram in a combination view

A combination view contains two views. The view in the bottom pane shows
detailed information about the tasks or resources you select in the view in the top

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pane. For example, you can have the Gantt Chart view in the top pane and the Task
Form view in the bottom pane. When you select a task in the upper view, the Task
Form view displays detailed information about that task. The same applies to
Network Diagrams.

In the illustration below the selected task is shown in detail in the lower pane where
the Task Usage view is displayed:

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To split the screen

1. On the View tab of the ribbon check the Details box
2. Click the drop down arrow to choose the Detail you wish to display.

Note: to remove the split, uncheck the Details box.

Navigating the Network Diagram

The table below summarises how to move around the Network Diagram with your
keyboard and with your mouse.

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Movement Keys Mouse

To a different NETWORK box Arrow keys Click the NETWORK box
Next field in NETWORK box TAB or Click the field
ENTER
Previous field in NETWORK box SHIFT+TAB Click the field
or SHIFT+ENTER
Page up or page down PAGE UP On the vertical scroll bar,
or PAGE DOWN click the gray area above or
below the scroll box
Page to the left or right CTRL+PAGE UP On the horizontal scroll bar,
or click the gray area on the left
CTRL+PAGE or right of the scroll box to
DOWN scroll left or right in
increments
To upper-left NETWORK box in HOME
project
To lower-right NETWORK box END
in project
To upper-left NETWORK box CTRL+HOME
on screen
To lower-right NETWORK box CTRL+END
on screen

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More about Tables

Much of the data the system holds can be entered and/or viewed in a table format.

Project has predefined sets of columns (called tables) which display specific
information. To apply a different table to a sheet view, click the View tab, click
Tables, and then select the table you want to apply:

Inserting columns
It is possible to add/remove columns from any of the tables, for example if you
widen the divider bar on the Gantt Chart you will see that the last column is set to
Add New Column:

Click Add New Column to see a list of possible columns you can insert:

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Tip: You can also right click any existing column heading and choose to Insert a
Column.

Remove (hide) columns

 Click the column heading and press delete on the keyboard – you will never
delete the column, you are simply hiding it from the view.
 Click undo to immediately undo this action – or insert the column using the
steps above.

Modifying (or editing) an existing Table using the Table Definition

Dialog Box
On the View tab of the Ribbon, select Tables – More tables:

Select from this list the one you want to change/modify and click Edit.

The Table Definition dialog box shows a list of the fields (columns) that make up the
table. It is possible to change the width of an existing column, the alignment, or the
column title as well as inserting and deleting columns:

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 Position the pointer at the required position and click the Insert
[Row/Column] button. A space will appear and the new field can be selected
from the drop down list
 To remove a field, point to it and press the Delete button.

Creating a New Table

New Tables can be created by selecting the New button from the More Tables
dialog box.

The structure of the table is built up by selecting the fields in the appropriate order.

Tip: Check the box Show in menu so that it is easy to apply your new table.

Formatting tables
Click the Text Styles command to display the Text Styles dialog box

1. From the Item to Change drop down list choose the item (for
example Summary Tasks)

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2. Choose the required Font, Size, Color, etc

3. Click OK

Applying Filters
A filter is used to screen out unwanted tasks for a particular view to identify a
particular aspect of the current state of the project, for example the filter can be set
to show the tasks that make up the Critical Path.

As with tables there are different filters for tasks and resources and depending on
the current view the appropriate list of filters will be shown for the selection.

1. Select the view you want to filter (eg Gantt Chart, Resource Sheet, etc)
2. Select the View tab of the Ribbon
3. Click the drop down arrow of the Filter command and choose the required Filter

4. Remove the filter by choosing [No Filter]

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Using AutoFilters
In addition to standard filters Project provides AutoFilters, visible in any sheet view
where ach column in a sheet view has its own AutoFilter indicated by the drop down
arrow on each of the column headings:

When you choose an option from the AutoFilter drop down arrows, Project displays
only those tasks or resources that match the criteria - selecting an AutoFilter does
not delete information from your project, but simply hides information from your
view.

Let's say you're reviewing your project tasks and only want to view those tasks that
take more than one week to complete:

Click the AutoFilter arrow in the Duration field

1. Choose Filters – choose 1 week or longer:

Project now displays only those tasks that will take more than 1 week to complete
and Notice that the column heading for the Duration field has a filter icon,

indicating that an AutoFilter is in use

By selecting AutoFilters for more than one column, you can narrow the information
even further. For instance, by setting the AutoFilter for the Duration field to greater
than 1 week and setting an AutoFilter in the Resource Name field for a particular

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person, you can view only those tasks assigned to that person that take more than 1
week to complete.

To clear a filter, click the filter icon on the column heading and choose Clear Filter
from…

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AutoFilters are specific to each column, allowing you to pick from any of the data in
that column. For example, when you click the AutoFilter arrow for the Resource
Name field, you see a list of all the resources in your current project and you can
multi select as many of the resources as you like.

Tip: Creating custom and interactive filters is explained in the advanced course.

Exercise: Working with Tables and Filters

1. Open the project file Software Development with baseline_trackingV2.mpp
2. From the View tab, select Other Views and select Task Sheet.
3. From the View tab, click the Tables command and examine the different tables
available
4. From the View, Tables command choose More Tables
5. Select the Entry table and click Copy
6. Name this new table myEntry and click the option to show in menu
7. Add the Notes column and the % Complete column to the bottom of the list of
fields
8. Click OK and click Apply to view the result
9. View the Resource Sheet
10. Apply the Export table
11. Examine the different built in filters (available on the View tab)
12. Examine the different AutoFilters
13. Close the project without saving the changes

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WBS Codes and Viewing a WBS

What is a work breakdown structure code?

Work breakdown structure (WBS) codes are alphanumeric codes that identify each
task's unique place in the outline structure of your project. There are two types of
WBS codes in Microsoft Project.

1. Outline numbers. Outline numbers are the simplest type of WBS code; Microsoft
Project calculates outline numbers for each task based on the outline structure of
the task list. Outline numbers consist of numbers only, and you can't edit them, but
they change automatically when you move a task up or down in the task list or
indent or outdent tasks.

2. Custom Codes. The second type of WBS code is a custom code that you define.
You can define one set of custom WBS codes per project and display it in the WBS
field. Each level of the WBS code represents an outline level in the task list. But
unlike outline numbers, the levels of the code can be represented as uppercase or
lowercase letters, numbers, or characters (a combination of uppercase and
lowercase letters and numbers), depending on which you specify for each level in
the code mask when you create the WBS code. You can choose whether to
automatically calculate custom WBS codes for new tasks and whether to allow
duplicate WBS codes for different tasks.

Displaying outline numbers

On the Format tab of the ribbon, click the option to display outline numbers:

The numbers are displayed in the Task Name column:

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Displaying the WBS column

To make working with WBS codes easy, you can add the WBS column to a sheet
view. In the example below the WBS has been added to the Task sheet and given a
custom name:

Right click the Task Name column heading

1. Choose WBS
2. To change the name of the column, right click the column heading and choose
Field Settings where you can type your preferred column title:

The automatic WBS code is based on the task IDs and indentation level:

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Why use Custom WBS Codes

The task IDs give you your basic structure of the project. The WBS codes are a
further hierarchical way of organising, viewing and tracking tasks based on the WBS
coding system. The WBS takes account of summary tasks as shown in the previous
section. But what happens if you need to view your project’s hierarchy in a certain
way that is separate to the basic (chronological) order. For example, your financial
department might dictate a certain hierarchical structure based on an accounting
system. Or, you may wish to have a standard WBS system across a company’s range
of projects. A company WBS standard.

In the example below, the project has been allocated a WBS with the prefix PURCH
to use as a custom WBS coding, perhaps for the accounts department, acting like a
custom purchase code ordered according to task hierarchy.

Create a custom WBS code

If your organisation or client requires a particular work breakdown structure (WBS)

code format, you can define a sequence for each level of the WBS code by using a
custom code mask. Microsoft Project uses the code mask to assign WBS codes to
tasks depending on their places in the hierarchy of the project's outline:
On the Project tab, click WBS, and then click Define Code:

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1. To specify a project code prefix that distinguishes the tasks in this project from
tasks in other projects, type a prefix in the Project Code Prefix box.
2. Note: If you work with multiple projects consolidated in a master project or
often have projects with links to external tasks, adding a project code prefix can
help you distinguish tasks from different projects.
3. To specify the code string for first-level tasks, in the first row in the Sequence
column, click the type of character you want to use for this level.

o Click Numbers (ordered) to show a numerical WBS code for this level.
o Click Uppercase Letters (ordered) to show uppercase alphabetical WBS
codes (for example A, B, and C for the first three summary tasks in the
project).
o Click Lowercase Letters (ordered) to show lowercase alphabetical WBS codes
(for example a, b, and c for the first three summary tasks in the project).
o Click Characters (unordered) to show any combination of numbers and
uppercase and lowercase letters (for example, Arch1, Const1, and Insp1 and
for the first three summary tasks in the project). Choosing this option gives
you the most flexibility for entering customized WBS codes. Microsoft Project
displays an asterisk (*) in the WBS field until you type or enter a string of
characters for this level of the WBS code.
4. In the first row of the Length column, type or select a number for the maximum
number of characters in the first-level code string. For example, type 3 to make
three characters the mandatory number of characters to enter in this level of
the WBS code. The total length of a WBS code can be up to 255 characters.
5. In the first row of the Separator column, type or select a character to separate
the code string for one level from the code string for the next level. By default,
the separator character is a period.
6. To continue to specify code strings for each level, click the next row in the
Sequence column and repeat steps 3–6.

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Notes:
 You can have different separator characters between each code level.
 You can type a character other than a period, minus sign, plus sign, or slash; for
example, you can type an ampersand (&) or a number sign (#).
 If you don't want Microsoft Project to assign a WBS code each time you enter a
new task, clear the Generate WBS code for new task check box.
 If you want to use the same WBS code for different tasks, clear the Verify
uniqueness of new WBS codes check box.After you create a WBS code mask,
you will need to display the WBS field in your project task sheet by inserting the
WBS column.Renumber the custom WBS codes of tasks

If you move, delete, or rearrange tasks, you may notice that their custom WBS
codes are not in the correct sequence. You can change the WBS codes one at a
time, manually, or all at once if you need to update more than a few tasks.

 If you do not select any tasks or if only one task is selected, Microsoft Project
corrects the custom WBS codes for the entire project. If multiple tasks are
selected, the first task in the selection is not renumbered because it is used
as the reference for renumbering the other tasks.
 If you have subprojects inserted within your project and want to renumber
some or all tasks in the subproject, click Show, and then click All Subtasks. If a
subproject's tasks are not displayed, Microsoft Project doesn't renumber
them.
On the Project menu, click WBS, and then click Renumber.

11. To correct the WBS code sequence for selected adjacent tasks, click Selected
tasks. To correct the WBS code sequence for all tasks in the project, click Entire
project.

12. Click OK

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Module 6: Examining and Updating the Project

Objectives
At the end of this module you will be able to
 Use different views to amend task information
 Understand how to set and view Baseline and Interim plans
 Track tasks and update the project
 Understand the different ways that project costs are entered
and calculated

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Amending tasks
As the project progresses it is important to enter updated information to indicate
that tasks have been changed.

Note: If you are using Auto Scheduling mode, the system is dynamic in the sense
that if a single element of a task is altered that has a bearing on other elements, the
changes will be calculated and the other elements automatically updated.

MS Project has a number of different views/ways to add, delete or amend tasks:

 Task Sheet with different tables

 Task Details Form
 Using the mouse to update the Gantt Chart bars
 Network Diagram
 Resource Usage and Task Usage
 Team Planner

Using the Task Sheet

The Task Sheet is the sheet displayed on the left hand side of the Gantt Chart.
You can choose to display just the Task Sheet by choosing View, Other Views, Task
Sheet.

The Task Sheet is most useful for inserting/deleting tasks and creating the outline
(WBS). You can also double click a task to display the Task Information Dialog Box
which has options to add constraints and notes.

The default table (set of columns displayed) is the Edit Table which is a convenient
view to insert/delete and link tasks. To add/amend resource assignments in this view
use the Assign Resources command button (on the Resources tab of the ribbon) or
split the screen.

Understanding the Smart Tag Feature

 When you are using Auto Schedule mode and you assign additional
resources to a task or change the duration of a task, a green indicator and a
smart tag alert you that changes have been made. Click the tag to see the
available scheduling options.

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 The tag is only available temporarily – as soon as you make other changes to
the project the symbols disappear.

Displaying different tables

To display a different table click the View Tab and select the Tables command.

There are several built in tables that provide useful information and in particular if
you are updating the tasks with the amount of work completed you should use the
Tracking table which allows you to update the following:

Act. Start: The actual date the task started.

Act. Finish:The actual date the task was completed.
% Comp.: If the task is started but not finished, the percentage of the work
completed.
Phys. % Comp.: The amount of ‘Physical’ work complete.
Act Dur.: The actual number of time periods that have been spent so far.
Rem. Dur.: The number of time periods left, calculated from the planned or
scheduled length less the actual duration.
Act. Cost: The value of calculated from the time periods completed and the cost
of each resource assigned to the task.
Act. Work: A measure of the work completed in hours calculated from the actual
duration and units of each resource.

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Using the Task Details Form

Click the View Tab, chose more views, Tasks Details Form.

Right click the form to choose an alternative display – for example Work details
allows you to update the amount of planned work, overtime work, actual work
completed and remaining work still to be done:

Tip: Click the Next button to go to the next task or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl F
to display the Find dialog box and use this to search for specific tasks:

The Task Details Form is useful for managing resource work:

To add a resource:
1. If the task is Auto Scheduled, decide whether this should be ‘effort driven’

 if the additional resource shares the existing work and therefore the
duration is shortened then Effort driven should be ticked

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 if the additional resource is doing extra work on the task and the
duration should therefore remain the same or even get longer, then
un-tick the Effort driven option.
2. Choose the resource name from the drop down list

3. Optionally type the number of hours work and overtime required

4. Click OK

To remove a resource:

1. If the task is Auto Scheduled, decide whether this should be ‘effort driven’

 if removing the resource means the work still needs to be done then
Effort driven should be ticked

 if removing the resource means that the work allocated to that

resource is no longer required, then un-tick the Effort driven option.

2. Select the resource name and press Delete on the keyboard.

3. Click OK

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Using the Mouse on the Gantt Chart to update task progress

You can quickly change the task data using the mouse:

Updating the % complete

% % Complete symbol

Positioning the pointer at the beginning of a bar will change the pointer to a % sign
and if the left button is pressed and the symbol dragged to the right, a box will
appear showing the amount of "percentage complete" that has been added (as
shown above). This information will then be updated throughout the project and
critical path (if appropriate).

Changing duration and moving the task

If the pointer is placed in the centre of a task bar the cursor will change to a
rectangle with left and right arrows. If the left button is held down with this cursor
symbol you can drag the bar to the left or right in time, the changing dates will be
shown and, as before, the system will be updated with the new information. Use this
method (illustrated below) to move the task to a new time frame.

Move symbol

The duration of the task can be changed by changing the length of the bar. If the
pointer is positioned at the right end of the bar it will change into a right pointing
arrow. If the left button is held down with this cursor symbol you can change the
length of the bar and the respective change in duration is shown in a box. Use this
method (illustrated below) to extend or shorten the duration of the task.

Drag symbol

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Using the Network Diagram

The Network Diagram is also a useful view for adding, deleting and linking tasks.

Creating a new task

To create a new node (task) place the mouse cursor near the desired new position,
hold down the left button and drag out a rectangle. This action creates a new task
and the new task at this early stage (no task name, duration or anything) will appear
in the task sheet as a new ‘empty’ task.

To enter the details of the new task, select the task and type in the relevant fields.
Alternatively, double click the task to display the Task Information Dialog Box and
use this to complete the information.

Deleting a task
Select the task and press Delete on the keyboard.

Linking tasks by working with nodes

Links between tasks are created by placing the pointer in the middle of one task and
dragging to another task. This creates a Finish to Start dependency between the
tasks and the node will move on the screen.

A link can be changed or deleted by double clicking the link line to display the Task
Dependency dialog box:

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Resource Usage and Task Usage views

The Usage views are useful for quickly adjusting the amount of work a resource
needs to do and the dates when the work needs to be done.

 With the Task Usage view, resources are grouped under the tasks to which
they are assigned:

 With the Resource Usage view, tasks are grouped under the resources
assigned to them:

You can change the total work value for a resource assignment by entering a new
value in the Work column

Double click a task to display the Assignment Information dialog box and use this to:
 apply a built in work contour
 apply a different cost table

 Change the Start and Finish dates of that particular resource assignment

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Note: if you change the contour, an indicator representing the contour pattern
appears in the Indicators field next to the assigned resource:

Team Planner
The Team Planner is a new view in Project that helps you view and manage your
resources. To see the Team Planner, click the third view button on the status bar:

 In this view you can see resources who are allocated because they are
coloured red and you can see tasks that have not yet been assigned.
 To change when resources are working, simply drag and drop the tasks.

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Displaying the Critical Path

When amending tasks and resource allocations it is useful to see the critical/non-
critical tasks and slack - on the Format tab, click the options for Critical Tasks and
Slack:

Using Resource Levelling

You can use Resource Levelling to manage over allocations.
On the Resource tab you can choose to level specific resource or all resources:

Choose Levelling options to change how this feature works:

 Select 'Automatic' if you always want over allocation to be eliminated

automatically (the default is manual).
 Choose to level only within available slack if you do not want the completion
date of the project to be affected.
 The Levelling order allows you to choose which tasks are delayed first –
Standard means that the system will consider predecessor relationships,
slack, dates, and priority to decide where the delays will be placed; whereas

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Priority, Standard means that the manual priority that you set for a task is the
most important criterion.

Understanding baseline and interim plans

Tracking is the process of comparing what actually happens during your project to
what should happen or should have happened. In order to track your project you
need to first save a baseline plan so that you can compare planned values against
actual data.

A baseline is a group of nearly 20 primary reference points (in five categories: start
dates, finish dates, durations, work, and cost) that you record. As the project
progresses, you can set additional baselines (to a total of 11 for each project) to help
measure changes in the plan. For example, if your project has several phases, you
can save a separate baseline at the end of each phase, to compare planned values
against actual data.

Baseline information that consistently differs from current data may indicate that
your original plan is no longer accurate, possibly because the scope needs review or
because the nature of the project has changed. If project stakeholders agree that
the difference warrants it, you can modify or rework the baseline at any time during
the project. You may find that setting multiple baselines is especially useful for long
projects or for projects in which the baseline is rendered irrelevant by significant
changes to scheduled tasks or costs.

An interim plan is a set of current project data that you save after the project begins
and that you can compare against the baseline to assess project progress. An
interim plan saves only two kinds of information: the current start dates and finish
dates for tasks. You can set up to 10 interim plans for a project.

Saving the first Baseline Plan

1. Click the Project tab
2. Click the Set Baseline command
3. Select Set Baseline
4. Click OK

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Tip: Rather than re-base lining your entire project, you can set a baseline plan for
specific tasks, such as tasks you add to your original plan.

1. In the Gantt Chart, select the specific tasks

2. From the Project tab, select Set Baseline – Set Baseline
3. Select the option for Selected tasks
4. Click OK.

Tip: You can clear the baseline at any time:

1. From the Project tab, click the Set Baseline command
2. Choose Clear Baseline
3. If necessary choose the baseline that you want to clear
4. Click OK.

Tip: You can re save a baseline at any time:

1. From the Project tab, click the Set Baseline command
2. Choose Set Baseline
3. If necessary choose the baseline that you want to resave
4. Click OK.
5. Click Yes when prompted that you are overwriting data:

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Set another baseline

If changes to your plan occur while your project is underway, you may find it helpful
to save a second set of baseline data, rather than updating your existing saved data.

1. Click the Project tab

2. Click the Set Baseline command
3. Select Set Baseline
4. From the Baseline drop down list, select the baseline you want (for example
to save a second baseline choose Baseline 1)
5. Click OK

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Set an interim plan

Note: Interim plans store only start and finish date information and do not save
work or cost data.

1. On the Project tab, click the Set Baseline command and click Set Baseline
2. Click Set interim plan
3. In the Copy box, click the start and finish or baseline values that you want to
save
4. In the Into box, click the name of the interim plan into which you want to
copy the values.

View project baseline information

After you set a baseline for the entire project, you can view the baseline data side-
by-side with the current planned data, the actual data, and the variance.

1. On the Project tab, click Project Information.

2. Click Statistics:

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Compare baseline and scheduled information

 To view variance information in a sheet view, on the View tab, select Tables,
and then click Variance.

The Variance table shows start and finish dates for both scheduled
information and baseline information, making it possible to evaluate your
prediction of how the project would progress (baseline) by comparing that
prediction with how the project is in fact progressing (actual).

 To view variance information visually, click the View tab, click the lower half
of the Gantt Chart command button and choose Tracking Gantt.

The baseline appears on the Gantt chart as grey bars underneath each of the
existing bars and the % complete is displayed. By default the initial baseline
data is displayed and if you wish to see a different baseline, from the Format
tab click the Baseline command and choose the Baseline you wish to display.
:

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 To view multiple baselines, click the View tab, click Other Views, More Views
and chose Multiple Baselines Gantt:

Note: The Multiple Baselines Gantt view shows the first three baselines
(Baseline, Baseline1, and Baseline2).

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Tracking and Updatinsks Effectively

As work on your project progresses, you can update the plan with the actual start
and finish dates, actual and remaining duration, current percent complete or
amount of work that a resource has done.

Quickly updating tasks as % complete

If you have tasks in your project that have been completed as scheduled, you can
quickly update them using the % complete buttons on the Tasks tab of the ribbon:

Quickly marking tasks on track

Select the tasks and click

Quickly updating your project to a specific date

1. On the Project tab, click the Update Project command button
2. Click the drop down box to choose the required date
3. Click OK

Note: if you don't specify a date, Project uses the current date.

For those tasks that are before the Update date select one of the following:
 Set 0% - 100% Complete. For those tasks that should be in progress
at the Update date, the % Complete value will be set in proportion to
the Duration and respective dates.

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 Set 0% or 100% Complete. If this option is selected where the task

should be (or is) in progress, no percentage complete values will be
added.

Reschedule uncompleted work

This option can be used to change the start date of those tasks that should have
started but have slipped. The revised start date becomes the Update Date.

Reschedule uncompleted
work to start after
OPTION.

Using the Update Task form

On the Tasks tab, click the drop down arrow next to the Mark on Track command
and click Update Tasks:

Use the form to fill in any of the following:

 The actual % complete

 The date the task actually started
 The actual duration
 The remaining duration
 The date the task actually finished

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Note: It is not necessary to complete all the field – for any fields not completed the
system will calculate the revised data from the entries made.

USING THE TRACKING TABLE

The Tracking table is useful if you are updating the tasks. Click the View Tab on the
ribbon, select the Tables command and choose Tracking. You can type information
into the following columns:

Act. Start: The actual date the task started.

Act. Finish:The actual date the task was completed.
% Comp.: If the task is started but not finished, the percentage of the work
completed.
Phys. % Comp.: The amount of ‘Physical’ work complete.
Act Dur.: The actual number of time periods that have been spent so far.
Rem. Dur.: The number of time periods left, calculated from the planned or
scheduled length less the actual duration.
Act. Cost: This value is calculated from the cost of the resources allocated to the
task, together with any fixed costs. If the task is marked 100%
complete you can overtype this value with the actual cost paid.
Act. Work: A measure of the work completed in hours calculated from the actual
duration and units of each resource.

Using the Resource Usage view

On the View tab, click
Right click and choose to display Actual Work
Fill in the actual work completed by each resource on each task:

Tip: You can zoom the view so that you can fill in the information on a
daily/weekly/monthly basis.

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Exercise: Updating the Holiday project

1. Open the 5 - Holiday Home Update.MPP project
2. Baseline the project
3. Determine a date approximately a third through the project at which the
early tasks can be updated and on the Project tab, click the Status Date
command and type in this date

4. Complete the following table to define which tasks will be updated and what
happened to them:

Task Name Actual Actual % Actual Remaining

Start Date End Date Com Duration Duration
Travel to France

Start searching for

plot

View all available

plots over time

Make offer on
suitable plot

Pay deposit for plot

Have deeds
checked

5. Using the Tracking table, update the tasks from the data in the table above.
6. View the Tracking Gantt and check for problems.
7. Close the Project do NOT save the changes.

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Viewing Progress Lines

A Progress line is a visual representation of the progress of your project. For a given
progress date, Microsoft Project draws a progress line connecting in-progress tasks,
thereby creating a graph on the Gantt Chart with peaks pointing to the left for work
that is behind schedule and peaks pointing to the right for work that is ahead of
schedule. The distance of a peak from the vertical line indicates the degree to which
the task is ahead of or behind schedule at the progress date.

To view Progress Lines

1. Right click the Gantt Chart and choose Progress Lines from the shortcut menu:

2. Click the Dates and Intervals tab and select the display options:

 To always display the current progress line, select the Always display current
progress line check box, and then click At project status date or At current
date to indicate where you want the progress line drawn.
 To display a progress line at specific time intervals, select the Display
progress lines at recurring intervals check box, click Daily, Weekly, or Monthly
to specify a time interval, and then click the options you want.
 To begin progress lines at the beginning of the project, under Begin at, click
Project start; otherwise, click the date option and then type or select the date
on which you want the progress lines to start.
 To display a progress line on a specific date, select the Display selected
progress lines check box, and then type or select the dates for which you
want progress lines displayed. To delete a date for which you have set
progress lines, select it, and then click Delete.
 To show progress compared with a baseline plan, under Display progress
lines in relation to, click Baseline plan.

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Exercise: Show the Project Progress Line

1. Open the 5 - Holiday Home Update.MPP project
2. Baseline the project
3. On the Project tab, select Update Project.
4. Set the Update work as complete through field to 5/11/
5. Click OK.
6. Click OK to planning wizard
7. Right click the Gantt Chart and choose Progress Lines
8. Select the option to display at project status date.

Your project should look similar to the following:

Project
Progress Line

9. Double click the progress line and on the Line Styles tab choose a different Line
Color and click OK:

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Understanding project costs

Costs are an important aspect of project scheduling and control. Project provides
for several types of costs. By using Project, you can enter and track the following
types of costs:
Rate-based, a cost that is calculated based on the pay rates that are specified for a
resource and the amount of work that is performed by that resource.
Per-use, a cost that is incurred either once each time that a resource is used, or
once for each complete task that the resource is assigned to.
Fixed, a cost that is set for a task and not for a resource. A fixed cost does not
change, regardless of task or the work performed on the task by a resource.
Cost resource, a resource that allows you to accumulate one-time or periodic costs
that belong to a task. Cost resources might include airfare and accommodation. This
is typically a one-time cost per task, although there can be several separate entries
for this cost over the life of a task.

Notes
 More than one type of cost can be entered for a single work resource. For
example, you might enter an hourly rate for the resource's work, but also a
per-use cost for the travel time or other expenses.
 The various cost types operate in differing ways, depending upon whether
the resource is defined as work, material or cost. For work resources, the rate
is applied per unit of time. For material resources and cost resources, the
rate is applied per other specified units (such as tons, yards, or the units of a
selected currency).
 When creating resources in the Resource Sheet, you can specify when the
costs accrue. Project prorates costs by default and calculates cost accrual
based on the percentage of the task completed, distributing the accrual over
the whole duration of the task. However, you can also have costs accrue
either at the start of a task (if you have a lump-sum amount that is payable
at the start), or at the end of the task (if you are holding payment until the
work is finished).

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Rate-based costs
 Rate based costs are entered on the resource sheet in the Standard and
Overtime Rate columns.
 Rate-based resource costs are costs of work resources, such as people or
rental equipment, to which you assign standard and (if appropriate) overtime
rates. The rates can be on an hourly, daily, weekly or yearly basis. When you
assign a resource to a task, Project calculates the total resource cost by using
the specified resource rates and the time (or duration) that it takes to
accomplish the task.
 Project does not automatically calculate additional hours as overtime work,
unless you specifically assign the additional hours as overtime. Because work
always represents the total amount of work completed, the amount of
overtime work is included in, not added to, the total amount of work. For
example, if a person is scheduled to work 40 hours over four days, consisting
of 8 hours of regular work and 2 hours of overtime work per day, you assign
10 hours of work per day, and then designate 2 hours of those 10 as
overtime work.
 Rate-based material costs are the costs of consumable material resources,
such as building materials or supplies, to which you assign standard rates
(but typically not rates calculated per hour). To assign costs for material
resources, you set the rate per unit of material, such as a cost per metre, litre
or unit. When you assign a material resource to a task, Project calculates
material cost totals by multiplying the specified material resource rate by the
number of material units used to complete the task.
 You can establish up to five different cost rate tables for each resource - so
that if a resource charges separate rates for separate types of work, you can
cover this. For example, if a carpenter charges a higher rate for finish work
than for framing, you can apply one cost rate table to the finish work
assignment and another to the framing assignment.
 In each cost rate table, there are up to 25 rows that you can use to enter
future rate changes (such as pay rate increases or material cost changes). For
each rate change, you specify the date that the change takes effect. For
example, if you know that a resource will receive a pay increase in six
months, you can set Project to automatically start using the new rate at that
time.

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To view/amend different cost rates for a resource, double click a resource to display
the Resource Information dialog box and enter the information on the Cost tab:

To allocate a different cost table to a task, double click the task in the Resource
Usage and chose the required table:

Per-use costs
 Per-use costs are entered on the resource sheet in the Cost/Use column.

 Per-use costs are one-time fees for the use of a resource, such as
equipment. Per-use costs never depend on the amount of work done.
Instead, they are one-time costs that are incurred each time the resource is
used. Although a per-use cost for a work resource depends on the number
of assignment units used, a per-use cost for a material resource is applied
only once. For example, a per-use delivery cost of £100 for a material
resource like cement is applied only once per delivery, whether 10 tons of
cement are delivered or 100 tons.

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Fixed costs
 You set fixed costs in a task view (such as a Gantt Chart) by applying the
appropriate Cost table, and then typing the cost amount in the Fixed Cost
column.
 Fixed costs are costs for a task that remain constant regardless of the task
duration, the amount of work performed by the resource, and the number of
assignment units. For example, if a carpenter is a rate-based resource (that is,
if he or she is paid hourly or daily) and is scheduled to complete a task in five
days but actually takes seven days to complete it, the carpenter is paid more
than was budgeted. If the carpenter is paid a fixed cost for the work,
however, the cost remains the same, no matter how long the task takes to
complete.
 You can assign fixed costs to a task to which rate-based resource costs are
also assigned.

Cost resources
 Cost resources (such as travel or accommodation) are created as a type of
resource in the Resource Sheet.

 Cost resources are used when you want to apply (to a single task) multiple
separate miscellaneous costs that aren't changed by the amount of work
performed on the task. For example, an executive working on a new project
proposal might have three separate cost resources applied to him or her:
one for airfare, one for food expenses, and one for hotel room expenses. In
this way, several "fixed" costs can be applied to a single task. Unlike with work
resources and material resources, cost rates cannot be applied to cost
resources.

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 After you create the cost resource, you assign it to tasks using the Assign
Resources dialog box. It is at this point that you type in the amount:

Exercise: Adding costs

1. Open the Holiday Home Update.MPP project.
2. Apply the cost table to the Gantt Chart view
3. Select the Build Swimming Pool task.
4. In the Fixed Cost field, type 5000.
5. In the Resource Sheet create a cost resource called accommodation
6. Assign the accommodation cost resource to task View all available plots over
time and type the value of 900

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Creating a budget

Creating a budget by using a bottom-up method

In a bottom-up approach, base rates or per-use costs for resources, and fixed costs
or cost resources for individual tasks are estimated and then Project calculates totals
for the entire project.
1. Enter the tasks and durations on the Gantt chart
2. Enter the resources with appropriate type and pay rates on the Resource
sheet
3. Assign resources to the tasks (Gantt Chart and the Assign Resources dialog
box)
4. Display the Cost table
5. Enter any fixed costs
6. View the calculated costs
(tip: display the Project Summary Task to see the total cost of the whole
project)

Project calculates the total estimated costs - if this total is not in alignment with your
budget, you must adjust pay rates, resource assignments, and so forth.
After you refine the estimated costs, you can save a baseline plan. The baseline plan
is a snapshot of your schedule at the time that you save the baseline and includes
information about tasks, resources, and assignments, thereby establishing a budget
for the project.
With a budget in place, you can compare actual expenditures against the amounts
that you planned to spend and then make any necessary adjustments to stay within
the budget. Project calculates the task's cost based on the project's progress. When
a task is marked 100% complete you can enter specific costs, if needed.

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Creating a budget by using a top-down method

The top-down approach allows you to allocate sums of money to the project
summary task rather than to individual resources/tasks.
 Create budget resources that represent the overall budget for the project:
 Enter the resource on the resource sheet and define it as a cost resource
 Double click the resource and click the option Budget:

 Assign the budget resources to the project summary task.

On the Gantt Chart make sure the Project Summary Task is displayed
Use the Assign Resources Dialog Box to assign the budget resource
 Enter values for the budget resources.
In the Task Usage View insert the Budget Cost Column and type the value

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Viewing total resource costs

Apply the cost table to the Resource Usage View:

The total cost for each resource is displayed together with the cost of that resource
for each task

Note: right click on the right hand side of the view to display cost information across
the timeline

Viewing total task costs

Apply the cost table to the Task Usage View:

The total cost for each task is displayed and broken down by each resource on that
task.

Note: right click on the right hand side of the view to display cost information across
the timeline

Reducing project costs

There are a number of ways to reduce costs:

1. Reduce the standard/overtime rate paid to a resource

2. Reduce the duration of the task
3. Where possible avoid scheduling any overtime.
4. Use cheaper resources
5. Cut the scope of the project – delete tasks

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Note: Baseline your project before you make any of these changes so that you can
see the impact on the costs and schedule.

Project Deliverables
Overview of Project Deliverables

A deliverable is a tangible, verifiable outcome of work done to produce a product or

a service. To be verifiable, the deliverable must meet predetermined standards for
its completion, such as design specifications for a product (like a new car) or a
checklist of steps that is completed as part of a service (like maintenance of factory
machinery).

Deliverables have stakeholders. Stakeholders who receive the finished product or

service are external, such as another team that depends on the deliverable to do
their own work or a company's customers. And stakeholders who work on the
deliverable directly are internal, such as a project manager and team members. The
stakeholders must accept the finished state of the deliverable.

Creating a schedule focused on deliverables

A project may have only one deliverable or it can have many deliverables. You can
organise your project's tasks around the deliverables in several ways:

 Divide each deliverable into a separate phase of the project, and use a
milestone that represents both the completion of the deliverable and
phase simultaneously. Each deliverable can be linked to a separate phase
of the project. For example, a project to construct a building may have
one phase with a deliverable of "finish exterior of building," and the
deliverable for a later phase may be "landscaping complete."
 Group similar deliverables or deliverables with the same stakeholders in a
phase. This method allows you to schedule a team to work on a project
until the deliverable is handed off. Then they can move on to other
projects. For example, all routine maintenance tasks can be organized in
one phase of the project corresponding to the dates they need to be
performed. The maintenance engineers can be assigned to multiple
projects containing the different maintenance jobs they are assigned to.
 Group deliverables worked on during the same time period in phases
spanning that time period. This is useful for projects where tradeoffs can
be made in the scope and quality of the deliverable in order to meet a
fixed finish date. For example, if conversion of a factory production line
must be completed by the date the first product is delivered to suppliers,

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there may be phases for each month leading up to the finish date
containing the tasks that must be started or completed during that month.
So that slipped tasks don't affect the overall progress of the project, tasks
that are not finished by the end of the phase are often completed
separately after the team has moved on to the next phase.

Project Server and Deliverable Fields

Deliverables is a well known project management term, but it is also a new feature
in Project Professional if you are using Project Server and have created a workspace
for the project.

Note: This training course does not cover Project Server: the brief notes given here
are for background information.

Deliverables provides the ability to publish key dates to a SharePoint site and for
others to consume these keys dates within their project plan. This feature helps you
to manage cross project dependencies. A project manager can define deliverables
within their project plan using Project Professional and have the dates automatically
published to a Deliverable SharePoint list within the Project’s workspace. This allows
other project managers to take dependencies on the published deliverables within
their own Project Plans. When there is a change with a deliverable, such as a change
in the finish date, all the project managers who have taken a dependency on the
deliverable get informed of the change with the deliverable when they open their
project plan. Deliverables provide a way to loosely tie projects together.

This diagram illustrates deliverables at a high level:

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When a project manager creates a deliverable or a dependency on a deliverable

they have the option to link it to a task. When a deliverable or dependency is linked
to a task, it shows an icon beside the task name and displays bars on the Gantt
chart. It is important to note that the dates of the task are not tightly coupled with
the dates of the deliverable. This is to allow the project manager to work with
his/her schedule without altering the dates of the deliverable.

Since the deliverables are published to a SharePoint list, there are many built in
benefits. Users can easily setup alerts, create RSS feeds, add additional columns, etc.
It is important to note that if you change a deliverable from the SharePoint List, it
will give the PM the option to sync the change next time they open their project in
Project Professional.

You can insert any of the following columns into the Task Sheet:

 Deliverable Type indicates whether the current task has an associated

deliverable, and whether that deliverable is produced by the current task or
produced by a separate project or task upon which the current task is
dependent.
 Deliverable Name displays the name or title of the associated deliverable.
 Deliverable Start displays the scheduled start date of the associated
deliverable.
 Deliverable Finish displays the scheduled finish date of the associated
deliverable.
 Deliverable GUID displays the unique identification code of the associated
deliverable.

Note: These are calculated columns only – the information cannot be edited here.

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Module 7: Printing and Reporting

Objectives
At the end of this module you will be able to
 Change the print settings
 Print different views
 Print project reports

Printing project views

 You can print most project views, but you cannot print split screen views.
 Printing of the Gantt Chart is WYSISYG – change the zoom of the view and
the columns displayed to control what is printed.
 When you print the Gantt Chart the TimeLine is NOT printed.

Viewing and changing the print settings

Click the File tab and choose Print:

From this screen you can change from Landscape to Portrait Orientation:

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And you can change the paper size:

Click the Settings link to choose to print notes, etc:

Or, if you prefer to use the dialog box available in previous versions of Project, click
the Page Setup link.

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In the dialog box the following tabs can be selected: -

Page: Choose orientation and scaling.

Margins: Set the margins and borders.
Header: Control how the header section will be printed.
Footer Control how the footer section will be printed.
Legend: Control how the legend is printed
View: Choose number of columns, print notes, etc.

Add a header, footer, or legend to a view

 On the File tab, choose Print and click the Page Setup link.
 On the Header, Footer, or Legend tab, click the Left, Center, or Right tab.

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 In the text box, type or paste text, add project information, or insert or paste
a graphic:
 To add page numbers, click Insert Page Number , Insert Total Page
Count , or both.
 To add the current date or time, click Insert Current Date , Insert
Current Time , or both.
 To add the file name, click Insert File Name .
 To add a graphic, click Insert Picture .
 If required, select the text that you want to format, click Format Text Font
, and then select the formatting options that you want.
 To add project-specific information, select the information that you want
in the General and Project fields boxes, and then click Add for each entry.
Repeat this step to add more project information.
Note: You can create multiple-line headers, footers, and legends. At the end of the
first line of text or information, press ENTER. Headers can have up to five lines of
information. Footers and legends can have up to three lines.

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Exercise: Change the print settings

1. Open the Holiday Home.MPP project (created earlier) and ensure you are
viewing the Gantt Chart.
2. Click the File tab, choose Print and click the Page Setup link.
3. On the Footer tab type your name in the left section, press Enter and click the
Date button:

4. On the View tab select the options to Print all sheet columns and to Print notes:

5. Click OK to preview the project on the right hand side of the Print screen:

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Print preview

Tip: Use the buttons at the bottom right of the print preview screen to view the
other pages:

If you want to print the project click the Print command button –
this will print to your default printer

You can change the printer and printer options is required:

6. To return to the Gantt Chart view, click the Tasks tab on the ribbon.

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Reports
Project has a number of pre-defined reports based on some principal types which
can be used directly or changed as required. Alternatively completely new reports
can be created.

On the Project tab click Reports to display the Reports dialog box:

Overview: Summarises the most significant project information,

including numbers of tasks and resources, task and
schedule status, costs, start and finish dates, and so
on.
Current Activities: Displays information about top-level tasks for the
entire project. Includes summary tasks and task
notes.
Costs: Shows critical tasks for the entire project. Includes
summary and successor tasks and task notes.
Assignments: Shows project milestones. Includes summary tasks
and task notes.
Workload: Shows working and nonworking times for resources
for the entire project duration.
Custom: Create a new report.

Double click the required category to see the available reports, for example:

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Double click a report to see it displayed in the new print preview screen:

Editing Reports
You can edit any of the existing reports and change the filter or detail of information
displayed:

1. On the Project tab of the ribbon, click Reports

2. Double click the required report category
3. Select a report and click Edit: the options you see depends on the report you
have chosen:

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With the Should Have Started

Tasks report you can change
the period, the table and the
filter.

With the Working Days report you

can only change the text
formatting.

Visual Reports
Visual reports enable you to view your project's data in PivotTable reports in
Microsoft Office Excel, and PivotDiagram views in Microsoft Office Visio Professional
2007.

On the Project tab click the Visual Reports command to display the Visual
Reports dialog box:

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The report templates are divided into six categories:

Task Usage category

Name Type Description

Cash Flow Report Excel Use this report to view a bar graph with cost and cumulative cost
amounts illustrated over time.

Earned Value Over Time Excel Use this report to view a chart that plots AC (actual cost of work
Report performed), planned value (budgeted cost of work scheduled), and
earned value (budgeted cost of work performed) over time.

Resource Usage category

Name Type Description

Cash Flow Report Visio Use this report to view a diagram that shows planned and actual costs
for your project over time. Costs are broken down by resource type
(work, material, and cost). An indicator shows if planned costs exceed
baseline costs.

Resource Availability Report Visio Use this report to view a diagram that shows the work and remaining
availability for your project's resources, broken down by resource type
(work, material, and cost). A red flag is displayed next to each
resource that is overallocated.

Resource Cost Summary Excel Use this report to view a pie chart that illustrates the division of
Report resource cost between the three resource types: cost, material, and
work.

Resource Work Availability Excel Use this report to view a bar graph with total capacity, work, and
Report remaining availability for work resources illustrated over time.

Resource Work Summary Excel Use this report to view a bar graph with total resource capacity, work,
Report remaining availability, and actual work illustrated in work units.

Assignment Usage category

Name Type Description

Baseline Cost Report Excel Use this report to view a bar graph with baseline cost, planned cost,
and actual cost for your project illustrated across tasks.

Baseline Report Visio Use this report to view a diagram of your project broken down by
quarter, then by task. This report compares planned work and cost to
baseline work and cost. Indicators are used to show when planned work
exceeds baseline work, and when planned cost exceeds baseline cost.

Baseline Work Report Excel Use this report to view a bar graph with baseline work, planned work,
and actual work for your project illustrated across tasks.

Budget Cost Report Excel Use this report to view a bar graph with budget cost, baseline cost,
planned cost, and actual cost illustrated over time.

Budget Work Report Excel Use this report to view a bar graph with budget work, baseline work,
planned work, and actual work illustrated over time.

Task, Resource, and Assignment Summary categories

Category Name Type Description

Task Critical Visio Use this report to view a diagram showing the work and remaining work
Summary Tasks for both critical and non-critical tasks. The data bar indicates the percent

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Status of work complete.

Report

Task Task Status Visio Use this report to view a diagram of the work and percent of work
Summary Report complete for tasks in your project, with symbols indicating when baseline
work exceeds work, when baseline work equals work, and when work
exceeds baseline work. The data bar indicates the percent of work
complete.

Resource Resource Excel Use this report to view a bar graph with remaining work and actual work
Summary Remaining for each work resource, illustrated in work units.
Work
Report

Assignment Resource Visio Use this report to view a diagram of the work and cost values for each of
Summary Status your project's resources. The percent of work complete is indicated by
Report the shading in each of the boxes on the diagram. The shading gets
darker as the resource nears completion of the assigned work.

Create a visual report by using a template

1. Select the report

2. Click View to generate the report and display it in Excel or Visio.

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What You Can Print

Project Overview
To Print Use
The number of tasks and resources, the project Project Summary report
cost, the total amount of work, and the project (Overview reports)
start and finish dates.
A list of the highest-level summary tasks showing Top-Level Tasks report
the scheduled start and finish dates, the (Overview reports)
percentage completed the cost, and the work.
A list of project phases (summary tasks) and Gantt Chart view,
durations and a Gantt bar chart showing Entry table, and
summary tasks. Summary tasks filter
A list of milestone tasks sorted by start date. Milestones report
(Overview reports)
Working and non-working time in your schedule. Working Days report
(Overview reports)

Task Information
To Print Use
A list of tasks and durations and a Gantt bar Gantt Chart view,
chart showing tasks, durations, task relationships, Entry table
and assigned resources.
Scheduled tasks in a calendar format. Calendar view

A list of tasks showing assigned resources and Task Usage report

the amount of work assigned to each resource (Workload reports).
per week.
A list of tasks showing start and finish dates and Task Sheet view,
assigned resources. Entry table
.
A list of critical tasks showing the scheduled start Critical Tasks report
and finish dates and the predecessors and (Overview reports).
successors of each task.
A flow chart, or network diagram, showing all Network diagram view.
tasks and task relationships.

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Cost information
To print Use
A summary of resource costs. Resource Sheet view,
Cost table

Cost information broken down by task and Crosstab report with tasks selected
resource over time. under Row, Cost selected under
Column, and With Resource
Assignments selected in Crosstab
Report dialog box.
A list of planned and actual resource costs. Resource sheet view and
Cost table.
The cost of each task per week, along with the Weekly Cash Flow report
total cost of all tasks per week and the total cost (Cost reports).
of each task.
A list of resources whose costs are going to Overbudget Resources report
exceed the baseline cost. (Cost reports).
A graph showing cumulative cost per resource Resource Graph view with
over the life of the project. Cumulative Cost chosen from
Details submenu on Format menu.
A list of tasks showing whether you are ahead of Earned Value report
or behind schedule as compared with the actual (Cost reports).
costs incurred.
A list of tasks showing the budgeted cost of each Budget report
task and the variance between budgeted costs (Cost reports).
and current costs.
A list of tasks whose costs are going to exceed Overbudget Tasks report
the baseline cost. (Cost reports).

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 Information about resource usage

To print Use
A list showing detailed work information for each Resource Sheet view,
resource. Work Table

A list of resources showing the tasks to which Resource report

each resource is assigned and the amount of (Assignment reports).
work assigned to each resource per week.
A list of resources showing their assigned tasks, Who Does What report
the work scheduled for each task, the start and (Assignment reports).
finish dates, and additional resource information.
A list of resources showing their assigned tasks Who Does What report
and the daily work scheduled for each task. (Assignment reports).
A list showing resource use over time, along with Resource Usage view,
the cost, the work, and the pay rate of each Summary table.
resource.
A graph showing the amount of work assigned Resource Graph view.
to each resource over time.
A resource's tasks, broken down by week. Weekly To-Do List report
(Assignment reports).
A list of over allocated resources and the tasks to Over allocated Resources report
which they are assigned. (Assignment reports).

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Information that shows progress

To print Use
A list of tasks that are currently in progress Tasks In Progress report
showing the months in which each task occurs. (Current Activity reports).
A list of tasks showing the actual start and finish Gantt Chart view,
dates, the percentage of each task completed, Tracking table.
and the actual and remaining task durations.
A list of tasks starting within a time period that Tasks Starting Soon report
you specify. (Current Activity reports).
A list of tasks that haven't started. Un-started Tasks report
(Current Activity reports).
A list of tasks that should have started by the Should Have Started Tasks report
date you specify. (Current Activity reports).
A list of tasks showing the scheduled start and Task Sheet view,
finish dates, the baseline start and finish dates, Variance table
and the difference between scheduled and
baseline dates.
A list of the tasks that have been rescheduled to Slipping Tasks report
occur after their baseline start dates. (Current Activity reports).
A list of completed tasks. Task Sheet view,
Entry table, and
Completed Tasks filter.
A list of completed tasks showing the months in Completed Tasks report
which each task occurred (Current Activity reports).

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Reports by Report Type

To Print Use
The number of tasks and resources, the project Project Summary report
cost, the total amount of work, and the project (Overview reports)
start and finish dates.
A list of the highest-level summary tasks showing Top-Level Tasks report
the scheduled start and finish dates, the (Overview reports)
percentage completed the cost, and the work.
A list of milestone tasks sorted by start date. Milestones report
(Overview reports)
Working and non-working time in your schedule. Working Days report
(Overview reports)
A list of critical tasks showing the scheduled start Critical Tasks report
and finish dates and the predecessors and (Overview reports).
successors of each task.

The cost of each task per week, along with the Weekly Cash Flow report
total cost of all tasks per week and the total cost (Cost reports).
of each task.
A list of resources whose costs are going to Overbudget Resources report
exceed the baseline cost. (Cost reports).
A list of tasks showing whether you are ahead of Earned Value report
or behind schedule as compared with the actual (Cost reports).
costs incurred.
A list of tasks showing the budgeted cost of each Budget report
task and the variance between budgeted costs (Cost reports).
and current costs.
A list of tasks whose costs are going to exceed Overbudget Tasks report
the baseline cost. (Cost reports).

A list of project phases (summary tasks) and Gantt Chart view,

durations and a Gantt bar chart showing Entry table, and
summary tasks. Summary tasks filter
A list of tasks and durations and a Gantt bar Gantt Chart view,
chart showing tasks, durations, task relationships, Entry table, and all tasks displayed
and assigned resources.
A list of tasks showing the actual start and finish Gantt Chart view,
dates, the percentage of each task completed, Tracking table,
and the actual and remaining task durations. and all tasks displayed

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

To Print Use
Scheduled tasks in a calendar format. Calendar view

A list of tasks showing start and finish dates and Task Sheet view,
assigned resources. Entry table, with all tasks displayed
A flow chart, or network diagram, showing all Network diagram view.
tasks and task relationships.

A graph showing cumulative cost per resource Resource Graph view with
over the life of the project. Cumulative Cost chosen from
Details submenu on Format menu.

A list of resources showing the tasks to which Resource report

each resource is assigned and the amount of (Assignment reports).
work assigned to each resource per week.
A list of resources showing their assigned tasks, Who Does What report
the work scheduled for each task, the start and (Assignment reports).
finish dates, and additional resource information.
A list of resources showing their assigned tasks Who Does What report
and the daily work scheduled for each task. (Assignment reports).
A resource's tasks, broken down by week. Weekly To-Do List report
(Assignment reports).
A list of over-allocated resources and the tasks to Over-allocated Resources report
which they are assigned. (Assignment reports).

A list showing detailed work information for each Resource Sheet view,
resource. Work Table, filter for a specific
resource if required.

A list showing resource use over time, along with Resource Usage view,
the cost, the work, and the pay rate of each Summary table, filter for a specific
resource. resource if required.
A graph showing the amount of work assigned Resource Graph view
to each resource over time.

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To Print Use
A summary of resource costs. Resource Sheet view,
Cost table and
filter for a specific resource if
required.

A list of tasks showing assigned resources and Task Usage report

the amount of work assigned to each resource (Workload reports).
per week.
Cost information broken down by task and Crosstab report with tasks selected
resource over time. under Row, Cost selected under
Column, and With Resource
Assignments selected in Crosstab
Report dialog box.
A list of planned and actual resource costs. Resource sheet view and
Cost table.

A list of tasks that are currently in progress Tasks In Progress report

showing the months in which each task occurs. (Current Activity reports).
A list of tasks starting within a time period that Tasks Starting Soon report
you specify. (Current Activity reports).
A list of tasks that haven't started. Un-started Tasks report
(Current Activity reports).
A list of tasks that should have started by the Should Have Started Tasks report
date you specify. (Current Activity reports).
A list of the tasks that have been rescheduled to Slipping Tasks report
occur after their baseline start dates. (Current Activity reports).
A list of completed tasks showing the months in Completed Tasks report
which each task occurred (Current Activity reports).

A list of tasks showing the scheduled start and Task Sheet view,
finish dates, the baseline start and finish dates, Variance table.
and the difference between scheduled and Filter for specific tasks if required.
baseline dates.
A list of completed tasks. Task Sheet view,
Entry table, and
Completed Tasks filter.

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Module 8: Multiple Projects and Resource Sharing

Objectives
At the end of this module you will be able to:
 Create a Resource Pool
 Share Resources from a Resource Pool
 Consolidate projects into a master project
 Use the Compare Projects tool.

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The Resource Pool

If you have resources that need to be allocated to more than one project at a time,
you can combine all of the resource information into a single file called a resource
pool.

You will then be able to schedule the work of resources across multiple projects,
identify conflicts between their assignments in different projects, and see how their
time is allocated in each project.

Before a resource pool is created, each project contains its own resource
information. Some of this information may overlap or even conflict with
information about the same resources used in other projects.
After a shared resource pool is created, the resource information in each
project comes from the single resource pool. Assignment information, as
well as cost rates and availability for all resources reside in one central
location.
It is also easier to see resource overallocations caused by conflicting
assignments in more than one project.

Each project that uses resources from the resource pool is called a sharer file. You
can use any other existing project file as a resource pool, but it is recommended
that you create a new project file just for resource information to make it easiest to
manage resource information and task assignments between sharer files and the
resource pool.
So, essentially, a resource pool is a separate project file that contains no tasks.

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Exercise: Create a resource pool from an existing project and share the
resources
1. When creating a Resource Pool from existing projects, you will need to open
each project that contains the resources you want to combine into a new
resource pool. In this exercise, open from your course data folder 6 - Training
Course.MPP
2. Create a new Project and save it with the name Resource Pool
3. Use the Switch Window command on the View to tab to display the Training
Course project

4. On the Resource tab, click Resource Pool, and then click Share Resources.

5. In the Share Resources dialog box, click Use resources, and then in the From
box, click the Resource Pool project.

(Note: The projects must be the same version () to do this)

6. Open the Brochure.mpp project

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7. View the Resource Sheet and note there are no resources entered.
8. On the Resource tab, click Resource Pool, and then click Share Resources.
9. In the Share Resources dialog box, click Use resources, and then in the From
box, click the Resource Pool project.
10. In the Gantt Chart view, use the Assign Resources dialog box to assign:
11. Jamie Price to Task 2 Design Brochure Layout
12. Julian Cook to Task 3 Create Graphics
13. Note that in the Resource Usage view, even though you have not allocated
Nick Pavey to any tasks in this project, you can see that he is allocated to the
Slide Development task (in the Training Course project):

14. Save and close all the projects.

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Updating the Resource Pool

Review and update assignments
When you open a project that has shared resources you will see the following
dialog box:

If you want to resource assignments across all shared files, choose the first option.
In the Resource Usage view you will see all the tasks that the resource is allocated
to from all the separate projects.

If you make changes to the resource assignments, when you save the project you
are prompted to also save the Resource Pool:

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Update resource availability or cost information

If you need to update resource costs or resource availability, open the resource pool
file shared by the projects in read-write mode:

Other users can only open the resource pool file read-only while you are working.

In the Resource Sheet you can change the resource costs – double click a resource
to display the Resource Information dialog box where you can the working time:

Tip: if want to update assignments across all the shared projects, chose the third
option in the Open Resource Pool dialog box. This will create a new master project
file - you will be able update all files you've authored. Other users will be able to

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work in the sharer files at the same time and they will see updated information as
you work.

Stop sharing resources (temporarily)

If your project shares resources from a resource pool or from another project file,
you can temporarily disconnect it. You will then see just the resources that are
assigned in this project.
1. Open the project file that contains the resources you are sharing.
2. In the Open Resource Pool dialog box, select the first option to Open resource
pool to see assignments across all sharer files.

3. With your project active, on the Resource tab, click Resource Pool, and then
click Share Resources.

4. In the Share Resources dialog box, click Use resources, and then in the From
box, Click Use own resources and then click OK.
5. Close all project files and save the changes.
6. Re-open your project – you will no longer be prompted to open the Resource
Pool.

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Stop sharing resources from a Resource Pool (permanently)

‘Permanently’ is meant in the sense that you no longer wish to use/share
resources from the Resource Pool and wish to actually disconnect project(s) from
the Resource Pool.

1. Open the resource pool file.

2. In the Open Resource Pool dialog box, click the second option

3. On the Resource tab, click Resource Pool, and then click Share Resources:

4. To disconnect a file, select the file or files, and then click Break Link
Note: Projects with tasks assigned to resources from the resource pool retain those
assignments (but later changes will not be updated in the resource pool). Those
projects you disconnect no longer have available other resources from the resource
pool.
5. Save and close all project files.

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Consolidating projects
A consolidated project (also known as a master project) contains one or more
inserted projects (known as subprojects). The inserted projects can retain links to
their source projects so that any changes in the consolidated project are also made
in the source files. The inserted projects may be linked to one another to create
dependencies.

You can create a consolidated project by inserting copies of individual projects at

any outline level into a single project file. With a consolidated project, you can view,
print, and change information for all the projects you're working with (and even
those projects "owned" by other project managers) as though they were a single
project.

When to use a master project and subprojects

Creating a master project and subprojects allows you to break down a large project
and delegate its parts to the appropriate people. In project management terms,
assigning subprojects in this way gives responsibility to those who do the work and
matches authority with accountability. In Microsoft Project terms, creating
subprojects within a master project helps individual project managers gain access
and control over their parts of the schedule.

To determine if you should break up a large project into a master project and
subprojects, ask the following questions:

 Is the project very large and detailed? If your project will contain more
than a few hundred tasks, it may be difficult to navigate and manipulate
as one large file. Breaking it into subprojects can keep it more
manageable because you can view each subproject individually. If some
parts of the project contain work that is broken down into more detail
than others, it may make sense to make those parts into separate
subprojects so that most users will see only a rolled up description of the
subproject, but interested parties can view it in more detail if they choose.
A single file will almost always be the faster alternative, but the ability to
focus on just a part of the project may be worth the trade off.
 What is the corporate culture? In a decentralised or distributed
environment, a master project and subprojects give workers greater
control over their own work than one centralised project file does.
 Does your company do top-down or bottom-up planning? If lower-level
managers are responsible for and know which tasks are needed on the
project, it may make more sense to allow them to plan their work and

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 Project – Intro/Intermediate Reference Guide

then consolidate their project files in a master project. If top-down

planning is the norm, you may want to reorganise the initial plan into
subprojects when it is implemented so that individual project managers or
teams have access to and control over their own schedules.
 Are you working on multiple projects? Project managers may have a set
of projects they work with all the time, whether the projects are
interrelated or not. Instead of opening them one by one, all the
subprojects are opened at once when the master project is opened. This
approach also makes it easy to generate reports on multiple projects
quickly. If the projects are interrelated, the project manager can create
task dependencies between tasks in different projects. Creating
dependencies between projects makes it easier for different project
managers to see how work by other project managers affects their
schedules.
 Are some projects subordinate to other projects? You can accurately
reflect the hierarchy of multiple projects by inserting various projects into
other files. The resulting structure of subprojects should reflect the
priorities and responsibilities of your team members as well as the
interrelationships between tasks in different areas and the overall
deadline.
 Is your project modified by several people? Ideally, one file is owned,
managed, and modified by one project manager. But often a project is
part of a larger program that upper-level managers may need to
manage. If you have such a project, your team can retain focus on their
work by viewing it as a separate file. And the project manager who
controls the master project can coordinate each subproject team's
schedule. It may even make sense to have the master project's milestones
drive each subproject team's milestones in order to keep the schedules
coordinated for a deadline. (Coordinating the milestones can be done by
creating a dependency between the milestones or by copying and pasting
the milestone tasks from the master project to each subproject.)
 Are there multiple stakeholders who care about different parts of the
project? When people want to look at different details, project managers
can put all the project files on a server and customise different views for
various stakeholders. The same project file can be used as a subproject in
different master projects to tailor the information displayed.
 Do you want the subprojects to be read-only? You can retain additional
control over parts of a project by moving tasks to a subproject and
restricting access to key people.
 Do you want to analyse the critical path for each phase as well as the
overall project? Each individual project contains a critical path.
Consolidating multiple projects into one master project file makes it easy

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to see the overall picture as multiple critical paths in the master project
while retaining separate critical paths for each subproject.

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Insert subprojects into a master project

1. Open the project that you want to become a master project – or create a new
project.
2. In the Task Name field, click the row below where you want to insert the project.

3. On the Project tab click Sub Project

4. Navigate to the drive/folder of the required project
5. Select the project and click Insert.

Tips
 To insert multiple projects, hold down CTRL and click the projects in the order
that you want to insert them.
 By default the sub project is linked – meaning any changes you make in the
master file will also be made in the individual project – you can uncheck the Link
to project option.
 To insert a project in read-only format, click the arrow on the Insert button, and
then click Insert Read-Only.

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 After you've inserted a subproject, you can show a subproject's hidden subtasks
by clicking the subtask's outline symbol, the plus sign that appears before the
subproject's name:

 When consolidating projects into a master project, resources remain in

the individual projects. You cannot assign a resource from one subproject
to another subproject.

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Compare Project Versions

If you have two versions of a project and would like to find out exactly what
changed from one version to the next, open them both in Microsoft Project and
compare them, using the following steps:

1. In Microsoft Project, open the latest version of your project

2. On the Project tab of the ribbon, click the Compare Project command and
browse to select the previous version of the project.
3. Select the required Task Table and Resource Table from the drop down lists
or choose the default Entry tables.

4. Click OK. A temporary project is created and the Compare Projects tab is
visible:

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Note: The legend explains the colour coding and indicators used:

On the ribbon, choose Resource Comparison to see any differences between the
Resource Sheets of the two projects:

Note: the tool compares the list of tasks and resources, but it does not compare
assignment information.

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Notes:

 The Compare Projects tab includes the option to filter the information

 When you are viewing the comparison report, the two projects being
compared are displayed in the bottom of the screen – these are live versions
of the project in which you can make changes if you require.
 You can save the Comparison Report so that you can refer to it later – it is
not a proper project with Gantt Bars and assignments, but simply a list of the
difference between the two compared projects.

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E&OE
STL Training reserves the right to revise this publication and make changes from
time to time in its content without notice.

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