LECTURE 8

Project Planning with Ms Project

2 Microsoft Project 2010 is a powerful program that helps you plan and manage a wide range of projects (or Primavera)

Ms Project is the most widely used project management software system in the business environment today

It is powerful, easy to use and available at a very reasonable price

Introduction

3MS Project Strengths

Good step-by-step tutorial for beginners

Good searchable keyword help function

Based on data entry once configured, user enters data and Project automatically:

Computes all times and costs

Optimistic, Pessimistic, Likely and PERT- expected

Identifies Critical Path, computes late & early start dates, slack

Computes % complete on a task and project level

Identifies areas of over-tasking of resources

Draws a wide ranges of charts and graphs specific to the project

Creates a wide range of reports specific to the project

VERY customizable to meet individual user needs

4 All charts, diagrams, and reports are designed to help a manager organize and track a project

All come in a standard configuration Most typically used information Easiest to read format

All are also customizable to show the most meaningful data

MS Project Strengths

5 Flexible and customizable

Designed to enhance communication

Between manager and workers

Between managers and stakeholder

A good tool to manage expectations

Charts, diagrams, tables etc can be saved in various formats for use:

On the web, in print, electronically

MS Project Strengths

6MS Project Benefits

Review Much less work for a user compared to manual/MS Excel project planning

Does most of the required calculations

Wide range of graphs, charts, reports

Very customizable, very flexible

Makes communicating project status easier expectation management

7MS Project Hazards

Review Very Automated easy to lose touch

No Risk Assessment function

Must be done in MS Excel/manually

Based on PERT/CPM but also influenced by EVM

Weighs by project/task costs, not just completion

Does not consider intangible progress that is common in Social Sciences projects

Knowledge as part of the process, not just the result

Progress as part of the process not just task completion

8Tips for Using MS Project

Know the project goal before beginning

Know the required tasks before beginning

Identify resources before beginning

Identify task relationships before beginning

Refer to the tutorial as often as needed

Refer to help section as often as needed

Keep the configuration as simple as possible

Avoid losing touch with the project

9MS Project

MS Project is only a tool it does not create or own the project it reflects the data provided

The simpler the configuration, the easier the data will be to understand, for all involved

If the plan doesnt look right, it probably isnt Check resource and task assignments/relationships

Check constraints and dependencies

Look for what has changed in a plan and follow the clues - a small unintentional change can wreak havoc

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With a good project management system in place, you

should be able to answer such questions:

1. What tasks must be performed, and in what order, to produce the deliverable of the project?

2. When should each task be performed, and what is the final deadline?

3. Who will complete these tasks?

4. How much will it cost?

5. What if some tasks are not completed as scheduled?

6. Whats the best way to communicate project details to those who have an interest in the project?

Introduction

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1. Introducing Project

2. Working with Schedule for new project

3. Creating a Task List

4. Setting up Resources & Assigning Resources to Tasks

5. Setting up Cost Resources

6. Review Project Information

7. Viewing the Critical Path

8. Tracking Progress on Tasks

9. Leveling Overallocated Resources

10.Viewing and Printing Project Status

Introduction - Steps

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Introducing Project

Quick access toolbar

Tabs

Ribbons

Groups

Commands

View label

Status bar

View shortcuts Zoom slider

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Working with new schedule

Creating a New Project Plan

1. On the Start menu, point to All Programs, click Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft Project 2010

2. Click the File tab and Click the New tab.

3. Under Available Templates, make sure that Blank project is selected, and then click the Create

4. On the Project tab, in the Properties group, click Project Information Project Information dialog box appears.

5. Set project calendar. On the Project tab, in the Properties group, click Change Working Time

6. Click OK and Save

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Working with new scheduleNew project name

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Working with new schedule

In the Start Date box, type 3/17/2015, or click the down arrow to display the calendar and select Mar 17, 2015.

Click OK to accept this start date. On the File tab, click Save.

Start date ofNew project

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Working with new schedule

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Working with new schedule

This software uses the default values: 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week, and 20 days per month.

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Entering Task Names: Type Identify target consumers, and then press the Enter key

Enter the following task names, pressing Enter after each task name: Develop draft questionnaire, Pilot test questionnaire, Review comments, Finalize questionnaire, Prepare mailing labels, Print questionnaire, Distribute questionnaire, Receive response , Input response data, Analyze data, Prepare report of findings and recommendations

Creating a Task List

The indicators in this column tell you whether a task is manually or automatically scheduled

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Creating a Task List

Your screen should look similar to the following illustration.

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Entering Durations

If you enter this abbreviation It appears like this And it means

m Min Minute

h hr Hour

d day day

w wk Week

mo mon Month

When working in MS. Project, you can use abbreviations for durations

Automatically scheduled tasks always have a duration (one day by default).

Manually scheduled tasks, however, do not initially have any duration

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Creating a Task List

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Switching Task Scheduling from Manual to Automatic

1. Select the names of tasks 1 through 13

These tasks are currently set to be manually scheduled, as indicated by the pushpin indicator in the Task Mode column.

2. On the Task tab, in the Tasks group, click Auto Schedule.

Project switches these tasks to be automatically scheduled.

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Linking Tasks

Most projects require tasks to be performed in a specific order

These two tasks have a finish-to-start relationship (also called a dependency)

Four types of task relationships.

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Switching Task Scheduling from Manual to Automatic

Indicators in the Task Mode columntell you that these tasks are nowautomatically scheduled

The formatting of automatically scheduled task bars is different from that of manually scheduled tasks

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Checking the Plans Duration

In the Timeline view, you can see the project start and finish dates

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Checking the Plans Duration

On the Project tab, in the Properties group, click Project Information.

The Project Information dialog box appears.

Finish date cannot be edited

Click StatisticsDuration information in more detail

Plans duration

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Setting Up Resources

Microsoft Project 2010 supports three types of resources

Work resources: include the people and equipment needed to complete the tasks in a project.

Cost resources: represent a financial cost associated with a task that you need to account for. Ex: categories of expenses like travel, entertainment, and so on.

Material resources: are consumables that you use up as the project proceeds.Ex: a construction project might need to track steel or concrete as it is used throughout the project.

Effective resource management is one of the most powerful advantages of using MS Project

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Setting Up Resources

On the View tab, click Resource Sheet

Enter the initial list of resourcesWhen you create a new workresource, Project assigns it 100%Max. Units by default

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Assigning Work Resources to Tasks

On the Resource tab, click Assign Resources or

Assign directly resources on the task name

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Setting Up Cost Resources

You can use a cost resource to represent a financial cost associated with a task in a project.

The sole purpose of a cost resource is to associate a particular type of cost with one or more taskssuch as travel, entertainment, or training

In the Resource Sheet, click the next empty cell in the Resource Name column.

Type Travel and press the Tab key.

In the Type field, click Cost.

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Setting Up Cost Resources

Type of cost

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Entering Fixed Costs

Fixed cost is a specific monetary amount budgeted for a task such as a setup fee, charged in addition to a per-day rental fee, for a piece of equipment, building permit

Fixed costs should accrue as follows:

Start: The entire fixed cost is scheduled for the start of the task.

End: The entire fixed cost is scheduled for the end of the task.

Prorated: The fixed cost is distributed evenly over the duration of the task. For example, if a task has a $100 fixed cost and is 75 percent complete, the project has incurred $75 against that task.

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Entering Fixed Costs

Assign a fixed cost to a task and specify its accrual method.

1. On the View tab, in the Task Views group, click Other Views, and then click Task Sheet. The Task Sheet view appears.

2. On the View tab, in the Data group, click Tables, and then click Cost.

The Cost table appears, replacing the Entry table.

3. In the Fixed Cost field for task 2, type 500, and press the Tab key.

4. In the Fixed Cost Accrual field, select End, and press Tab.

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Reviewing Project Information

Check the project plan'sessential details like duration

and cost

Project start Project finish

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Viewing the Projects Critical Path

A critical path is the series of tasks that will push out the projects end date if the tasks are delayed.

The project finish date is of great importance in most projects, If you want to shorten the duration of a project you must crashing the critical path.

One way to see the critical path is to switch to the Detail Gantt view

On the View tab, in the Task Views group, click the down arrow below the Gantt Chart button and then click More Views.

In the More Views dialog box, select Detail Gantt, and then click Apply.The project appears in the Detail Gantt view.

On the View tab,click Entire Project.

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Viewing the Projects Critical Path

Slack/float

Critical task

Non-Critical task

The Gantt bars of tasks on the critical path are formatted in red

Checking the projects critical path and, when necessary, shortening the overall project duration are important project management skills.

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Tracking Progress on Tasks

Tracking: tracking project performance and comparing it with the original plan means recording project details such as who did what work, when the work was done, and at what cost

The project manager must know how well the project team is performing and when to take corrective action

Before begin tracking progress, the level of detail should be determined:

Record project work as scheduled. This level works best if everything in the project occurs exactly as planned.

Record each tasks percentage of completion: 25, 50, 75, or 100 percent.

Record the actual start, actual finish, actual work, and actual and remaining duration for each task or assignment.

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Tracking a Project as Scheduled

The simplest approach to tracking progress is to report that the actual work is proceeding exactly as planned

On the Project tab, in the Status group, click Update Project. The Update Project dialog box appears.

Make sure the Update work as complete through option is selected. In the adjacent date box, type or select 7/10/15. Click OK.

Project records the completion percentage for the tasks that were scheduled to start before July 10

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After work has begun on a task, you can quickly record its progress as a percentage; 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%

In the Task Name column, select the name of task 3, Pilot test questionnaire. On the Task tab, in the Schedule group, click 100% Complete.

In the Task Name column, select the name of task 7. On the Task tab, in the Schedule group, click 50% Complete

Entering a Tasks Completion Percentage

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Resource leveling is the process of delaying or splitting resources work on a task to resolve an overallocation.

Resource leveling is a powerful tool, but it accomplishes only a few basic things: it delays tasks, splits tasks, and delays resource assignments. Steps:

On the View tab, in the Resource Views group, click Resource Sheet. Note that any resources names appear in red that is overallocated

On the Resource tab, in the Level group, click Leveling Options

Leveling Overallocated Resources

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Leveling Overallocated Resources

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Formatting a Network Diagram View

In traditional project management, the Network Diagram is a standard way of representing project activities and their relationships.

Tasks are represented as boxes, or nodes, and the relationships between tasks are drawn as lines connecting the nodes

This is useful if more focus on the relationships between activities rather than on their durations.

In the Task name column, click the name of task 5, Prepare mailing labels.

On the View tab, in the Task Views group, click Network Diagram.

Viewing and Printing Project Status

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Network Diagram View

Relationships between tasksare represented as arrows

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Printing Project Status

On the File tab, click Print

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Printing Project Status

On the Project tab, in the Reports group, click Reports.

The Reports dialog box appears, displaying the broad 6 categories of reports available in Project.

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Printing Project Status

Click Current, and then click Select.

The Current Activity Reports dialog box appears.

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Questions?