Microsoft Project Course: Managing Projects

Project Management. Take the lead.

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Aims

Learn to develop project plans, manage project resources and learn how to report project status realistically. Whether you are a project manager, team leader or team member, this will be highly beneficial in providing a comprehensive guide to project management. Improve your productivity in planning and scheduling as you discover the improved capabilities and features of Microsoft Project.

Outcomes

1. Use project management terminology and understand its basic principles.
2. Develop a project plan incorporating tasks.
3. Create and assign project resources.
4. Resolve over-allocated project resources.
5. Display and edit projects in various views.
6. Update project progress.
7. Manage and report project costs and progress.
8. Accrue 14 PDU’s towards retaining PMP credential.

Content

Snapshot overview of project management

• What are planning best practices?
• Defining the scope of the project.
• Developing the schedule.
• Assigning resources.
• Saving the project baseline.
• Controlling the execution.
• How do we use software like Microsoft Project as a tool in projects?

Starting a project

• Components of Microsoft Project – menus, toolbars, tables, views.
• Comparison with earlier versions of Microsoft Project.
• Getting started.
• Setting the project start date.
• Setting options.
• Data entry.

The work breakdown structure

• Defining project phases, deliverables and detailed tasks.
• The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
• Summary tasks.
• Indenting tasks.
• The network view and the critical path.
• Modifying task relationships.
• Project constraints.

Adding and assigning resources

• Different types of resources.
• The project calendar.
• Entering and assigning resources.
• Resource calendars.
• Work-hour considerations.
• Managing and levelling workloads.
• ‘Effort driven’ option.

Working with project costs

• Labour, equipment, material unit and fixed costs.
• How to model each type of cost in Microsoft Project.
• Using cost rate tables for rate escalation and multiple rates per resource.
• Contingency.

Adding and assigning cost resources

• Managing different types of project cost.
• Assigning cost resources to budgets or to actual project expenditure.

Analysing the project

• Gantt Chart wizard.
• Resolving time restrictions and resource conflicts.
• Detecting resource overloading.
• Limitations of automated levelling.
• ‘What if?’ analysis.

Sorting and filtering data

• Displaying different levels of the WBS.
• Auto filtering.
• Filter options.
• Groups.
• Levels.
• Sort menu options.

Displaying project data

• Exploring views.
• Generating reports.
• Using drawing tools.

Working with data in other applications

• Importing, exporting and copying data to Word, Excel and other applications.
• Analysis wizard.
• Emailing task information.

Using the Report Writer with Excel

• Additional report features in Microsoft Project.
• Differences between in built and third party commercial report writers.

Setting the plan

• Creating a baseline plan.
• Previewing a baseline report.
• Clearing a baseline.
• Saving interim plans.

Tracking project process

• Using project tracking views and reports.
• Entering data for completed tasks.
• Progress lines.
• Earned value report.

Resource pools and multiple projects

• Working with a resource pool, sub projects and master projects.

Customising the Microsoft Project environment

• Working with views, tool bars, macros and global settings.
• Using the options box.

Intended Audience

It is recommended that you have a basic knowledge of Microsoft Windows and an understanding of how to manage files. A fundamental understanding of the principles of project management is desirable.