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Project Management Fundamentals "It focused on the most important areas! Bravo!" |
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Microsoft
Project Tips and FAQs |
Make
the most of your Microsoft Project skills with
these great tips from Watermark Learning. Receive
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Learning Member.
Business Analysis Tips
Project
Management Tips
Influencing
Skills Tips
Professional
Development Tips
by Jim Clayton, Microsoft
Certified for Office Suite and MS Project
I suggest three ways to view the Critical
Path of your project, the three that make
the most sense to me.
First, use the “Critical
Path” filter: on the menu select
Project --> Filtered For --> Critical Path.
Or you could have used the filter menu
located in the Formatting Toolbar.
Second, use the Gantt
Chart Wizard to format the task bars RED
if the task is critical, blue if the task
is not critical: select the command for
the Gantt Chart Wizard (the last tool on
the right side of the Formatting Toolbar).
Click the command for “Next” -->
Select the “Critical Task” option
--> Click the “Finish” command
--> Click the “Format Command” -->
Click the “Exit” command. All
critical tasks now display a red bar on
the Gantt Chart.
Third, since I use the
entry table without the Gantt Chart much
of the time (also called the Task Sheet
view) I format the task name RED if it
is critical: Select “Format” --> “Text
Styles” --> Items to Change “Critical
Path” --> Change the color from Automatic
to Red --> select “OKAY” and
all critical task names are now color coded
to Red, non-critical tasks remain in black
font.
Of course, there are other methods that
you may prefer, and I wish you well with
them.
Back
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by Jim Clayton, Microsoft
Certified for Office Suite and MS Project
People frequently ask which version of
Project 2007 to purchase, so let's look
at the differences. First, there are two
versions: Microsoft Office Project Standard and
Microsoft Office Project Professional.
Microsoft Office Project Standard is
ideal for the individual user. This version
allows the user to:
- Create the project WBS
- Manage resources
- Set and modify baseline(s)
- Track actual experience
- Report pre- and post-baseline data,
and
- Customize views, tables, reports, etc.
Microsoft Office Project Professional offers
all of the features of the Standard version
plus allows the user to work with Office
Project Server 2007 and Office Project
Web Access, which provides system-wide
project management.
If you are a one-person operation, then
Microsoft Office Project Standard should
be adqueate for your needs. If you work
in an organization where you'll potentially
want share project management information,
then the Professional version is the right
one for you.
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by Jim Clayton, Microsoft
Certified for Office Suite and MS Project
When developing a project plan, it's important
to carefully define the available resources.
In this tip, I outline the steps to define
your roject's resources and describe the
basic fields involved.
You can import names from your Outlook
Contact Directory into your Project file
Resource Sheet.
-
Open your Project file
-
Display the Resource Sheet
-
Select a Resource Name or row to indicate
you want the name(s) inserted.
-
From the Menu, select: Insert -->
New Resource From --> Adress Book
-
Select the names to be added into
your Project.
-
Click the “Add” button.
- Click the “Okay” button.
The name(s) is/are added to your Resource
Sheet.
This avoids typing names. You do need
to complete the Resource Information, such
as Initials, Max Units, etc.
Back
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by Jim Clayton, Microsoft
Certified for Office Suite and MS Project
Many of my students have used Excel spreadsheets
to track projects. Consequently, most feel
right at home in the MS Project application,
especially when they see familiar column
headings such as Task Name, Duration, Start,
and Finish. The impulse is strong to populate
these columns in the same manner they would
in their spreadsheets.
But, before you manually change the Start
and Finish dates in the columns of an MS
Project document, you need to understand
how MS Project uses this data. Task Start
and FInish dates are determined by the
linkage (the dependencies) between tasks
(FS, FF, SS, SF). Therefore, if the 'finish
date' and 'projected end dates' on a given
task are different from each other, then
you need to adjust the dependencies between
these tasks.
For example, let's assume I have several
tasks that have due dates. I indicate
this information on my plan by inserting
a “deadline date” as follows:
-
Double-click on the Task Name.
-
Select the Advanted tab.
-
Enter the new date in the Deadline
Window or select the date from the
Drop-down Menu.
- A green outlined arrow will appear
on the Gantt Chart indicating a deadline
for the specific fask. (In order to see
this arrow, you must be in “Daily
View” in
the Gantt Chart.)
An advantage to using this method is that
it will not cause problems if you choose
to modify the task relationships.
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by Jim Clayton, Microsoft
Certified for Office Suite and MS Project
During class the other day, a student
asked what would be the best way to create
a task for her management activities. She
wants to set up the task so that it starts
on the first day of the project and finishes
when the project is complete. She wants
to ability to track time associated with
the task so if the project runs late or
finishes early, the end date can be adjusted
accordingly. In other words, the duration
will either increase or decrease as the
total project duration increases or decreases.
I suggested setting up the project as
a “hammock task.” You won't
find “hammock” in the help
menu, but here is how you build it:
- Create a new task and leave the duration
as 1d.
- “Select” and “Copy” the
start date cell of the first task (the “start
driver”) in your project that will
drive the start of your administrative
task.
- “Right-click” in the start
date for your administrative task.
- From the Menu, select “Paste
Special” and paste a link. Your
administrative task start date will now
be driven by the start date of your first
task (or the task you selected as the
“driver.”
- Select and copy the finish date cell
of the project's final task.
- “Right-click” in the finish
date cell of your administration task.
- Select “Paste-Special” and
then click “Paste Link.”
- You have created your Hammock Task.
Back
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by Jim Clayton, Microsoft
Certified for Office Suite and MS
Project
Q. Is it worth seeking
advanced Microsoft Certification in managing
projects using MS Project 2007, even
if your company (or its clients) doesn't
currently use Project Server?
A. Microsoft offers
two certificate programs for MS Project:
(1) #70-632:TS—Microsoft Office Project
2007, Managing Projects and (2) #70-633:TS—Microsoft
Office Project Server 2007, Managing Projects.
Receiving certification in both demonstrates
your ability to effectively manipulate
the software (client and server) and reflects
your project management style and decision-making
ability. You should seek both levels of
certification if you intend to remain active
in project management. First, you will
prove to yourself that you know how to
employ the software to your advantage in
planning, developing, tracking, and reporting.
And second, it will give you a needed edge
for career advancement.
Q. The Duration field
contains mixed value, e.g. some tasks
in hours, days, and weeks. How can I
easily convert them to one value, such
as days?
A. All versions of
MS Project contain a macro to change all
duration values to a constant of your choice.
Access this macro through the Menu Bar,
navigate to Tools > Macros > Macros...
> Format_Duration > Run. Select your
preferred duration unit from the drop-down
menu provided (Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks,
Months).
Q. How can I change
the date format in the Start and Finish
fields?
A. Using the Menu
Bar, navigate to Tools
> Options > View > Date Format.
Q. I am not connected
to Project Server. Using the client version
on my computer, can I share project information
with my Outlook calendar?
A. Not directly,
but you can export task and schedule information
into Excel and then import the data into
your version of Outlook. Using the Menu
Bar, select “Save As.” Save
as an Excel file in your desired location
and with your desired name. Create a new
map selecting task name as the data for
exporting. Open Outlook and import your
newly created Excel file into your calendar.
Project task names will appear on your
calendar.
Q. How
do I know what time of day a resource
is scheduled to work on a task
A. Using
the Menu bar, navigate to “Tools
| Options| View” and select a date
format displaying date and time.
Q. How can I display
only incomplete tasks on Gantt chart?
A. Utilize the “Incomplete
Tasks” filter. From the Menu bar
select “Project | Filtered For
| Incomplete Tasks.”
Q. Is
there a way I can compare versions of
the same project without printing and
visually inspecting them?
A. Insert
the “Compare Project Versions” toolbar.
Click on the left-most command button of
the newly inserted toolbar and following
the instructions on the opened dialogue
box.
Q. Is
there a way to convert entered durations
into a common value, e.g. hours, days,
weeks, etc?
A. Run
an existing macro. Using the Menu bar,
navigate to “Tools | Macro | Macros” and
select your preferred value in the prompt.
Back to Top |
by Jim Clayton, Microsoft Certified for Office Suite and MS Project
MS Project users can utilize any Excel
formula or function in MS Project tables.
For example, you can employ the “IF
Statement” to identify/indicate task
duration variance between base-lined duration
and actual duration.
To utilize an Excel formula or function you must utilize a “Number” field (there are 20 in versions 2003 & 2007).After inserting the field, right-click on it and select “Customize Fields.” Select the “rename” command and give the field a permanent name. Then select the “formula” command and build your function/formula. If functions and formulas are not easy for you, Project Help is helpful in determining the proper syntax. Depress the F1 key and search for “Project functions for custom fields.”
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by Jim Clayton, Microsoft
Certified for Office Suite and MS Project
New to Project 2007 is the “Task
Driver” tool. When activated, the
Task Driver displays all tasks and constraints
driving the beginning of any task you select.
This is very useful in large projects when
you need a quick review of tasks/constraints
impacting the scheduled start date of a
task.
To activate the Task Driver:
- Select the task about which you want
this information
- Click (select) the Task Driver tool
on the Standard Toolbar.The icon represents
a blue task bar with a dependency arrow
and question mark (?) above it.
Selecting that command icon inserts a
column to the left of the task sheet and
displays all factors impacting the selected
task. Back
to Top |
by Jim Clayton, Microsoft Certified for Office Suite and MS Project
Have you ever had this problem:
Say you create two tasks – Task 1.2 with a Start Date of January 17, and its duration is 2 days. Task 1.3 is linked to Task 1.2 as “finish-to-start” and has a duration of 1 day. Even though they are linked (FS), Task 1.3 has an incorrect start date of January 17. It should have a start date of January 19. Why doesn’t the (FS) dependency automatically move the second task so it begins on January 19?
Solution:
The quick way to solve this problem is to press the (F9) key. This automatically recalculates the project duration. The problem arises because calculations are set to “manual,” and they should be set the “automatic.” Navigate to Tools | Options | Calculation and set the calculation mode to “automatic”.
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