New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2007: Creating a Project Schedule

1. New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2007: Creating a Project Schedule

2. In this tutorial you will: • Start a new project • Examine scheduling defaults • Change a project and task calendar • Enter and edit tasks, durations, and task dependencies • Enter and edit recurring tasks and milestones Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

3. In this tutorial you will: • Enter lag and lead times • View project statistics • Create and manipulate summary tasks • Develop a work breakdown structure Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

4. JLB Partners Project Goal: Network company computers to easily share resources within a time frame of three months and within a budget of $50,000. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

5. New Project & Examining Scheduling Defaults • By default, the new project file is scheduled from a project Start date • All tasks are scheduled to begin as soon as possible • Project 2007 calculates the project’s Finish date based on the • Tasks • Durations • Dependencies Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

6. Project Information Dialog Box Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

7. New Project & Examining Scheduling Defaults • When a project is scheduled from a Finish date, such as conference, all tasks are scheduled to begin as late as possible. • In order for the overall project to be started as late as possible and yet still meet the required Finish date. • It is often more efficient to wait to start a project until you really need to do work on the project instead of starting too early and wasting resources. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

8. Project Scheduled from Finish Date Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

9. The Task Information Dialog Box • The Task Information dialog box is a comprehensive collection of all of the information about each task organized into five categories represented by these tabs: • General • Predecessors • Resources • Advanced • Notes • The Task Information dialog box is another view by which you can examine and enter data about a task. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

10. Task Information Dialog Box Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

11. Constraints using Task Information • Constraint types “as soon as possible or as late as possible” determine the initial Constraint type for each task. • The initial Constraint type has a tremendous impact on the calculated start and finish dates for each task entered into the project. • Always take the time to examine the Project Information dialog box before starting a new project. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

12. Examining Project Calendars • By default, the entire project, each task, and each resource is scheduled according to the Standard calendar. • The Standard calendar specifies that Monday through Friday are working days with 8 hours of work completed each day. • Saturday and Sunday are designated as nonworking days. • Calendar can be modified to identify holidays or other nonworking days or times in which work should not be scheduled. • You can also create unique calendars for tasks and resources that do not follow the working and nonworking times specified by the Standard calendar. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

13. Creating a New Calendar Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

14. Changing the Project Calendar • The project calendar (also called the Standard calendar) is the base calendar used by Project 2007 to schedule new tasks within the project. • It specifies working time, the hours during which work can occur, by default 8am-12pm and 1pm-5pm Monday through Friday. • It also specifies nonworking time, the hours of a 24-hour day that are not specified as working time, and other global working time issues (such as a scheduled holiday). Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

15. Change Time for a Work Week Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

16. Change Working Time Dialog Box • The Legend provides the key to the shading on the calendar. • Working days appear as white • Nonworking days as light gray • Edited working hours with gray diagonal lines • If a day of the week such as Monday or Tuesday is edited, the day’s abbreviation is underlined. • If an individual day is edited, the day’s number is underlined. • Changes to the project calendar can be made at any time during the development of the project. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

17. Change Working Time Dialog Box Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

18. Creating a Task Calendar • An individual task calendar can be created for any task that does not follow the working and nonworking times specified by the project calendar. • An individual resource calendar can be created for a resource that does not follow the working and nonworking times specified by the project calendar. • By assigning a resource to a resource calendar, you allow the resource to be worked on the days and times specified by the resource calendar rather then the project calendar. • By default, all tasks and resource assignments inherit the project calendar unless you specify something else. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

19. Creating a Task Calendar Cont’d • Emily King has requested that the installation and training not disrupt the daily activities of JLB Partners. To meet this need, • You met with the staff and determined that mornings are generally used for meetings and training could also be scheduled during that time. • You create a calendar for the training tasks called Training that allows training tasks to be scheduled only between the hours of 8am-12pm. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

20. Creating a Task Calendar Cont’d • By default, all new tasks follow the Standard (Project Calendar), but you can easily apply a different calendar by using the Task Information dialog box. • It is important that you test the new calendar with a sample task to see the effects of your changes. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

21. Changing the Calendar for a Task Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

22. Entering Tasks and Durations in the Entry Table • Entering tasks and durations is probably the single most important effort in developing a useful project file. • If tasks are omitted or durations underestimated, the value of the project’s scheduling and cost information is compromised and the success of the project might be jeopardized. • The active cell is the cell that you are editing; a dark border surrounds it. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

23. Entering Tasks and Durations in the Entry Table Cont’d • When you are building a new project, your goal is to enter all of the task names and durations correctly. • If you are creating a file based on chronological tasks, you also want to enter tasks in the order in which they are to be completed. • Often you will need to change an existing task or insert, delete, or move a task. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

24. Editing Tasks and Durations in the Entry Table • Project 2007 makes it very easy to edit an existing project. • Many of the editing skills that you gained when editing a spreadsheet will apply to a project table. • To change an existing entry, you first navigate to the cell. Once there, you have several options: • Retype the entry • Edit the entry directly in the cell • Edit an entry in the Entry bar Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

25. Editing Tasks and Durations in the Entry Table Cont’d • Inserting and deleting tasks are common editing activities. • As you continue to plan the project by conducting research and meeting with management, you might find that new tasks are required. • Sometimes during project planning, you will determine that all or part of a task is no longer required and want to delete it. • Project 2007 makes deleting and editing task cells similar to performing those operations in spreadsheet software. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

26. Entering and Editing Tasksin the Entry Table Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

27. Smart Tag • If you want to delete an entire task row in Project 2007, you must select the entire row, then press the Delete key. • Project 2007 includes a Smart Tag to allow you to specify what you want to delete. • A list arrow appears when you place the pointer over the Smart Tag. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

28. Smart Tag Selection Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

29. Undo and Redo • In Project 2007, you can undo only your last action. • When you click the Undo button, it changes into a Redo button so that you can redo the action that was previously done. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

30. Copy, Paste and Move • Copying, pasting, and moving tasks are important task editing skills. • Project 2007 offers a variety of tools that you can use to accomplish these common tasks, including: • Menu bar options • Toolbar buttons • Quick keystrokes • Right-click shortcut menus Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

31. Fill Handle • If several task durations are the same, you can use either the copy and paste features to quickly enter the durations or the fill handle to populate cells. • If you have used the fill handle in Excel or another spreadsheet program, you will find it a very similar process in Project 2007. • The fill handle is a small square that appears in the lower corner of the selected cell. • When you drag a fill handle, the contents of the active cell are copied. • You can also use the fill handle to fill task names. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

32. Fill Handle Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

33. Working with Duration Units of Measure • Entering and editing durations involves understanding the units of measure available for them. • The default unit of measure is day, and therefore “day” does not need to be entered. • To use any other unit, you must type the abbreviation. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

34. Units of Measure Abbreviations Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

35. Elapsed • Elapsed refers to clock time rather than working time. • Some tasks are completed over an elapsed period of time regardless of whether the time is working or nonworking. • An example is the task “Allow paint to dry.” The paint will dry in exactly the same amount of time regardless of whether it dries on a workday, a weekend or holiday. If it takes one day to dry, the duration should be entered a 1 ed (for 1 elapsed day). Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

36. Editing Tasks and Durationsin Other Views • Anything changed in one view is automatically changed in all the other views. • You can use the View Bar to quickly switch between views. • The way data is displayed differs by view and often satisfies different communication and reporting needs as the project develops. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

37. Editing Tasks and Durations in Other Views Cont’d • Regardless of the view used, you can edit any task by double-clicking it to open its Task Information dialog box. • As you work with Project 2007, you will become more familiar with each view and learn which is the best representation of the data for different purposes. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

38. Entering Recurring Tasks • A recurring task is a task that repeats at a regular interval. • A Monday morning status meeting is a good example of a recurring task that needs to be scheduled for each week of the project. • In Project 2007, you can define a recurring task one time using the Recurring Task Information dialog box. • Project 2007 then handles the details of scheduling the task on each Monday for the entire project or for the time period you specify. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

39. Entering Recurring Tasks Cont’d • By default, Project 2007 schedules the recurring task based on the duration of the entire project. • If you want a recurring task to occur only a certain number of times or end before the project ends, you can enter that information in the Range of occurrence section. • You can also change the calendar used or the recurring task in the Calendar section. • Recurring tasks can be expanded to show all of the individual tasks within them or collapsed to one line, depending on how the user wants to view the Task Entry table and Gantt Chart. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

40. Recurring Task Information Dialog Box Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

41. Entering Milestones • A milestone is a task that marks a significant point in time or a progress checkpoint. • It has a zero duration and is therefore a symbolic task that is used mainly to communicate progress or to mark the end of a significant phase of the project. • Examples include the signing of a contract or the announcement of a new product. • Milestones can also be used to motivate project participants by recognizing accomplishments. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

42. Entering Milestones Cont’d • Completing an important deliverable, such as completing an office installation, completing training, and so on can be entered as milestones. • Many project managers identify milestones early in a project to help build momentum toward the project’s completion. • Since milestones have no duration, they are scheduled without regard to working and nonworking time. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

43. Milestones Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

44. Understanding Task Dependencies • Four task dependencies define the relationships between tasks in a project. • Finish-to-Start (FS) • Start-to-Start (SS) • Finish-to-Finish (FF) • Start-to-Finish (SF) Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

45. Task Dependencies Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

46. Understanding Task Dependencies Cont’d • By linking tasks in finish-to-start relationships, you establish the required sequence of tasks. • Project 2007 uses these relationships to set start and finish dates for each task. • The first task described in the dependency is called the predecessor task. • The second task described in the dependency type is called the successor task. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

47. Understanding Task Dependencies Cont’d • Most dependencies are Finish-to-Start (FS), meaning a certain task (the predecessor) must finish before another task (the successor) can start. • In order to use important project management techniques such as critical path analysis, you must determine task dependencies. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

48. Creating Task Dependencies • Project 2007 makes it easy to create, and remove, FS relationships between tasks by providing the Link Tasks and Unlink Tasks buttons on the Standard toolbar. • Task dependencies also can be established in the graphical views. • As you would expect, creating task dependencies affects the start and finish dates of the linked tasks. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

49. Critical Path • Changing and linking tasks also affects the critical path. • The critical path consists of the tasks that must be completed with the given schedule dates in order for the overall project to be completed in the shortest amount of time. • Project 2007 defines the critical path as consisting of those tasks that have zero slack. Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin

50. Critical Path Presentations Created by C. Hester - Microsoft Project 2007 by Bunin