MS ProjectMS Project

Table of contentsTable of contents

Introduction Design of MS Project 3 steps to project

management Customization Steps in Planning Editing tasks Task scheduling Critical path method Pert analysis

Define Resource Resource scheduling Resource overallocation Tracking project Printing reports Working with multiple

projects Importing/exporting of

data Formatting views Customizing tables,views

and forms

Introduction to Project managementIntroduction to Project management

What is a project?Features of projectWhat is project management?Project management software(PMS)

What is a Project?What is a Project?

set of tasks or activitieswith a defined start and end datedesigned to achieve a unique short term goaland constrained by time, cost and scope and

quality

Tim

e

Scope and Quality

Resource

Project can be defined as aProject can be defined as a

Cost

Features of ProjectFeatures of Project

Projects are temporaryProject objectives are specific and measurableProjects are constrained by time, cost and scope

and quality.

Project management Project management

is a process ofplanning trackingand controlling project

MS Project helps you toMS Project helps you to

Develop a better planMakes calculated projections easy and more

reliableDetect inconsistencies and problems in the planCommunicate the plan to othersTrack progress and detect potential difficulties

Design of MS ProjectDesign of MS Project

Gantt chart viewCalendar viewNetwork diagram viewTask Usage viewResource sheet viewResource usage viewResource graph viewTracking Gantt

Views in MS Project

MS Project WindowMS Project Window

Title BarMenu BarStandardToolbar

Task pane

Status bar

Project Guide

Gantt chart viewGantt chart view

Gantt chart table

Gantt chart Timescale

Calendar viewCalendar view

Non working day

Normal Tasks

Milestone

Network diagram viewNetwork diagram view

Critical Summary task

Critical Normal task

Non Critical Normal task

Critical milestone

Task Usage viewTask Usage view

Resource

Assigned Task

Timescale

Resource sheet viewResource sheet view

Overallocated resource

Resource Usage viewResource Usage view

Resource

Assigned Task

Timescale

Resource graph viewResource graph view

Percent Overallocation

Resource

3 steps to project management 3 steps to project management

Planning projectTracking projectClosing project

Customizing MS ProjectCustomizing MS Project

Customizing toolbars and menuChanging the date formatChanging the currency formatAdjusting the Gantt chart view Formatting the timescale

Customizing Project environmentCustomizing Project environment

Click on Tools menu Click on Options button Select View tab button Select the date time format

from date format dropdown list

Change $ symbol to Rs. in Symbol text field

Select the Show outline number check box

Steps in PlanningSteps in Planning

Enter Project informationDefine a calendar for your projectCreate a list of major tasks, sub tasks and

milestones (Using WBS)Edit tasks, indent tasks, link tasks, add constraints

to tasksCreate resource list and assign resources to tasksRemove resource overallocationOptimize duration, cost and qualityDistribute the plan to other members in the project

for review.Create a final plan

Project informationProject information

There are 2 types of Project:Forward scheduled projects

This projects have a fixed start dateBackward scheduled Projects

This projects have a fixed finish date

Entering project information includes: Define start date/end date of projectSet Priority of a Project

Steps to enter Project InformationSteps to enter Project Information

Click on Project menu Select schedule from start

date from schedule from dropdown list

Enter Start date of the project in Start date field

Set the priority for the project

Note: Priority range is 0-

1000

Creating calendarCreating calendar

Project creates the schedule based on the calendar defined in the project

Types of calendarStandard24 hours Night shift

Objective: Creating a calendar for the project:To create a calendar you need to:

Set the calendar working timeAdd holidays to the calendarChange hours/day, hours/week, default start time,

default end time etc

Creating a calendarCreating a calendar Click on Tools menu Click on Change working time

button Select Standard calendar from

the drop down list Select the working days in the

week from the calendar box. Select the nondefault working

option Enter the working time in the

From and To fields Select the day which is an

holiday from calendar box Select non working time option Click on Options button

Setting Calendar optionsSetting Calendar options

Set the week start day. Set the fiscal year start Set the default start time Se the default end time Set the hours/day Set the hours/week Set the days/month

Editing tasksEditing tasks

What is WBS? Introduction to fields in task table viewTypes of task

Summary tasks, Subtasks and milestones

Inserting, copying, moving, deleting tasks Inserting notes and hyperlinks to tasks Indenting tasks

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Design Of Car

Design of Brakes Design of Engine Design of body

Chemical design Mechanical design

Fields in Gantt chart tableFields in Gantt chart table

Fields DescriptionTask ID Unique Task number

Task Indicator Indicates additional information of task

Task Name Describes information about the task or action

Duration Total duration of the task in minutes, hours, days, weeks, months,

Start date Start date of the task

Finish date End date of the task

Predecessor Task which determines start or finish of successor task

Resource Name The resource/s assigned to the task

Types Of tasksTypes Of tasks

Summary Task: The major phase of the project or a group name to collection of similar tasks is known as summary task

Sub Task (Normal): Task to which resource is assigned is a sub task

Milestone: Milestone is a decision point, check point or a major phase completion indicator in project. Milestone is a task which do not have resource assigned and has a 0 day duration.

Editing TasksEditing Tasks

Select a cell in the task name field of Gantt chart table to enter task.

Press tab key to move to the next fieldDuration is entered in months, weeks, days,

hours or minutes.E.g. 1 mo, 2 w, 3 d, 4 h, 45 m

Note: Let project enter the start date and end date for your project

Insert task: Click on Insert menu Click on insert task

Delete task: Select the entire row/s to delete Press delete key

Indenting and linking tasksIndenting and linking tasks

Indenting (Outlining) tasks: Select the sub tasks you want to indent. Click on demote

button on the Standard toolbar. After performing this operation you can observe that the task

above the indented tasks appears to be bold.

Linking Tasks: Select the tasks you want to link. E.g. task1 and task2 are to

be linked. Select the 2 tasks. Click on link button on the Standard toolbar

Unlinking tasks: Select the tasks you want to unlink. Click on unlink button on the Standard toolbar.

Note: Always indent the tasks before linking. Do not link summary task to subtask or another summary task.

Task schedulingTask scheduling

Predecessors and successors Predecessor is a task whose completion (wholly or

partly) determines the start of the successor Successor is a task which is dependent on the

completion (wholly or partly) of the predecessor. There are 4 types of relationship (links) or dependencies

between Predecessor an successor. They are as follows:

Task Dependencies Finish to start Finish to finish Start to start Start to finish

Task dependenciesTask dependencies

Task Dependency

Description Relationship Diagram

Finish to Start The finish of the predecessor determines the start of the successor

Finish to Finish The finish of the predecessor determines the finish of the successor

Start to Start The Start of the predecessor determines the Start of the successor

Start to Finish The Start of the predecessor determines the Finish of the successor

A

B

A

B

A

B

A

B

Task ConstraintsTask Constraints

Flexible constraintsAs soon as possible (ASAP)As late as possible (ALAP)Start no earlier then (SNET)Finish no earlier then (FNET)

Inflexible constraintsStart no later then (SNLT)Finish no later then (FNLT)Must start on (MSO)Must finish on (MFO)

Task ConstraintsTask Constraints

Flexible constraints As soon as possible (ASAP) As late as possible (ALAP) Start no earlier then (SNET) Finish no earlier then (FNET)

Inflexible constraints Start no later then (SNLT) Finish no later then (FNLT) Must start on (MSO) Must finish on (MFO)

There are 2 types of constraints: 1) Flexible 2) Inflexible

Flexible constraints are date constraints on tasks which allows to increase the end date of the project

Inflexible constraints are date constraints which does not allow to increase the end date of the project.

Critical Path Method (CPM)Critical Path Method (CPM)

What are critical tasks?The tasks on the longest sequence in a project whose

delay expands the project schedule are called critical tasks

What are non-critical task?The tasks whose delay does not delay the project end date

are called non-critical tasks. What is a Critical Path?

The series of tasks that must be completed on time for the project to be satisfactorily completed

What is a CPM?Critical Path Method is a technique of scheduling tasks in

a project

PERT AnalysisPERT Analysis

What is PERT?Project Evaluation and Review Technique; a variant of CPM

where the task duration time is assigned a probability of completion

Optimistic durationPessimistic durationExpected duration

ResourcesResources

What is a Resource?Types of resources

Work and Material Resource

Difference between Work resource and Material resource

Creating a resource sheet

ResourcesResources Definition: A resource is an entity which performs effort or

work on the task. There are 2 types of resources

Work Resource e.g. Man, Equipments and facilities Material Resource e.g. Cement, Petrol, Diesel, paper etc

Work Resource (WR) Material Resource (MR)

WR is reusable. It can be assigned to several tasks.

MR is non reusable. Once consumed it cannot be used in other tasks.

It requires a calendar It does not require a calendar

Resource Cost = (Cost of resource/hr) * (work hours)

Resource cost = (Cost/ unit of the Material resource) * (no. of units consumed.)

Fields in Resource Sheet TableFields in Resource Sheet Table

Fields Description

Resource Id Unique Id assigned to a resource.

Resource Indicator Symbols indicates Resource overallocation or notes indicator.

Type Describes the type of Resource i.e. Work /Material.

Material Label A label given to the material resource e.g. Petrol is a material resource and its label is liters.

Initials Abbreviation of resource name e.g. Engineers, Initial -Eng

Group Group name or department name of the resource e.g Resource A, B are belonging to Finance dept.

Max. Units Describes max no. of units that a task can be assigned

Std. Rate The cost of work/material Resource

Overtime cost The cost of the Work resource if he works more than the max. hrs/day scheduled for the resource

Cost/use One time Cost of the resource. E.g Deposit on renting a Vehicle

Accrued At Prorated – Cost calculated with work

Start- Cost calculated as soon as the work starts

End –Cost is calculated at the end

Resource schedulingResource scheduling

Work formulaWork= Duration * Units

Assigning resources to tasksTask types

Fixed units effort drivenFixed units without effort drivenFixed duration effort drivenFixed duration without effort drivenFixed work

Task types and work formula calculationsTask types and work formula calculations

Initial Change Fixed Units Result

Fixed Work Result

Fixed Duration Result

+Duration +Work -Units -Units

+Units -Duration -Duration +Work

+Work +Duration +Duration +Units

Formulas: D * U = W D * U = W D * U = W

Resource OverallocationResource Overallocation

What is resource overallocation?Example of resource overallocation Identifying resource overallocationViewing and filtering overallocationStrategies to remove resource overallocation

Resource OverallocationResource Overallocation

A resource is overallocated when it is assigned to work more hours during a given time period than it has available for work on the project.

Identifying Resource overallocationThe resource sheet, Resource Usage, and Resource

allocation views all highlight overallocated resource names by using red text.

Strategies for eliminating Resource overallocations Increase the availability of the resource during the time

period in question.Reduce the total work assigned to the resource in that time

period.

TrackingTracking

Save a baseline Select a tracking method and prepare a custom view for

tracking Incorporate actual progress information into the project Check the status of tasks Modify the project in light of tracking information Track issues related to the project Request periodic text-based assessments of general

status from key resources Publish new and changed assignments to Project Server

Tracking ViewTracking View

Act. Start date

Act. Finish date

% Duration Complete