Microsoft Project Course: Managing Projects

Project Management. Take the lead.

Master Microsoft Project and deliver winning projects. Microsoft Project will boost your project management capabilities, helping you to schedule and cost projects, manage tasks, utilise reports, and deliver the best business intelligence.

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

Upon successful completion of this course, participants should be able to:

1. Discuss the role of Microsoft Project in the context of planning and managing projects.
2. Create, understand and use Microsoft Project schedules and plans developed both from Microsoft templates and from your own project data.
3. Develop a complete project schedule incorporating specific time estimates and resource requirements from your own workplace.
4. Develop a project timeline, budget and resource list in your Project file.
5. Show specific project milestones in your Project schedule.
6. Show stages, phases and other methods of structuring project work in Microsoft Project.
7. Use the filters and other options within Project to highlight specific aspects of the project schedule.
8. Create a baseline from your project plan to use in measuring and reporting progress and project completion.
9. Delegate tasks to project teams and contractors using a Microsoft Project plan.
10. Update a schedule to a specific date or percentage complete and to mark off tasks that are complete.
11. Use the report writer within Microsoft Project and use it to report tasks and resource data.
12. Export and import data and graphics between other Microsoft Office applications and Microsoft Project.
13. Carry out simple customisations of Microsoft Project calendars, tables and reports and to transfer those customised version to other projects.

Content

This course covers the following topics:

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.

Delivery Style

This course is presented as a practical, instructor-led computer-based training course. You will have dedicated access to a computer, so you can follow instructor training and work through in-class activities.

Additional Information

Please bring a USB flash drive to class if you would like to make a copy of your work or any relevant class materials. Alternatively, you can save these to a cloud storage space or email them to your personal email address.