Microsoft® Project 2007: introductionProject management is a skill that can help you get ahead, and Project 2007 can make it easy for youto sharpen and demonstrate your project management skills. It includes tools to help you get organizedso you can effectively manage a project's scope, deadlines, costs and resources. This class coversproject management fundamentals and how to use Project 2007 to plan your projects.

LessonsIntroduction to project management1.This lesson provides the basics of managing a project using Microsoft Project2007. You'll discover how Project 2007 can help you manage project time,resources, costs and scope, plus you'll learn how to get started in Project 2007.Working with tasks2.Defining, listing, organizing and scheduling tasks are key to any project'ssuccess. In this lesson, you'll discover how to list tasks in a project, organizethem into phases and schedule them to be certain your project comes in ontime.Managing resources3.Most projects involve multiple resources. In this lesson, you'll discover how toassign people and equipment to tasks and define working times for resources toensure effective resource management.Tracking and reporting4.Once a project has been created and resources assigned, you need to track theproject and create reports. In this lesson, you'll learn how to save a baseline ofyour project, enter progress data, print your plan and generate reports.

Introduction to project managementThis lesson provides the basics of managing a project using Microsoft Project 2007. You'll discover how Project2007 can help you manage project time, resources, costs and scope, plus you'll learn how to get started inProject 2007.

 

Welcome

PMs (project managers) have a lot on their plates. They must plan, organize,and manage resources to successfully complete assignments while keepingspecific project goals and objectives in mind. Budgets, for instance, or projectscopes are traditionally under the control of a PM as much as schedulingaspects. For many PMs, the only way to balance the work is to use specialsoftware designed for project management.

Microsoft® Project 2007 is a time-honored project management program thatoffers you the ability to control project work, schedules, and finances using afairly simple interface. It also makes it easy for you to sharpen and demonstrateyour project management skills by including organizational tools to help youeffectively manage a project's scope, deadlines, costs, and resources.

This course is designed for a general business audience interested inunderstanding project management principles and working with Project2007. To get the most out of this course, you should be familiar withMicrosoft® Windows Vista® and basic computer functions.

What to expect in the course

This course covers project management essentials and how to use Project2007 to plan your projects. The four lessons in this course are described asfollows:

Lesson 1 introduces you to the basics of managing a project using Project2007. You'll discover how Project 2007 can help you manage project time,resources, costs, and scope, plus you'll learn how to get started in Project2007.Lesson 2 shows you how to list tasks in a project, organize them intophases, and schedule them to be certain your project comes in on time.Lesson 3 explains how to assign people and equipment to tasks and defineworking times for resources to ensure effective resource management.Lesson 4 focuses on how to save a baseline of your project, enter progressdata, print your plan, and generate reports.

Beyond the lessons, be sure to complete the assignments and quizzes. They'redesigned to test your new knowledge and skills and give you hands-on practicewith Project 2007.

Let's get started with the topics in Lesson 1.

 

Project management basics

Unlike many types of work in an organization, a project is a temporary venturewith a beginning and an end. Projects can involve almost any type of activity orgoal, and are typically collaborative in nature. In business, a project is oftenconsidered to be a temporary organization of related tasks in order to deliveran end result, which usually involves a business goal of some sort.

Projects typically involve the following:

TimeMoneyResourcesScope

Let's take a look at each one separately.

Time

Projects are expected to be completed in a certain amount of time; it's rare thatone is open-ended. Time frames, however, can vary wildly. Some might bevery short -- a matter of weeks or less -- and others might be very long,involving multiple phases.

For example, assume a software package must be installed throughout aninternational organization. A project manager might decide it's best to roll outthe software in stages: perhaps European Union users get the software first,with Asian users receiving it after European users have had a chance to try itout. The PM might even decide that each separate European Union countryneeds a separate time frame for the rollout, extending the entire project evenlonger.

Regardless of how a project's time frame is determined, the timing must becarefully tracked by the PM to ensure that budgets, resources, and other issuesdon't go into overruns.

Money

Budgets are major concerns for PMs. When a project doesn't come in on time,

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for example, cost overruns can go into the millions of dollars on some projects.That's a heavy burden for the PM, who's responsible for budget management.

As a result, the ability to track where money is going on a project is critical forPMs. If requests must be made for additional monies, the first thing executiveswill want to know is how the original monies were spent. Knowing that dollarswere eaten up by, say, a key resource or a testing issue can help a PM justifythe need for an increased budget.

On the flip side, coming in under budget can be a feather in the cap for a PM.It's usually only possible, however, when dollars are being tightly monitoredthrough some sort of tracking program.

Resources

There are two primary types of resources on projects: people and materials.The people can come from many different areas of an organization, whichmeans that a project manager might need to track the hours an individualspends on a project to determine the costs related to that person's work. Youmight also need to track things like skills sets or experience levels.

When you manage people on a project, you need to assign them to specifictasks, too. That means part of your role will be to assign work to teams,and tasks to individuals.

Materials can involve all kinds of things, all of which make managing materialsquite complicated. For example, you might need to know the type, brand, cost,and capacity of all equipment being used on a large project spread overseveral geographic locations.

No matter what the resource, a PM needs visibility to things like workloads,availability, and other items at all times during a project.

Scope

For project managers, understanding the scope (extent) of a project is critical.Without knowledge of the total work required to complete a project, a PM canstruggle to meet deadlines, find the right resources, and properly managecosts.

Scope creep can sometimes occur on a project -- it's the incrementalexpansion of the scope of a project through added requirements that impactthe schedule and budget.

A complete project scope, then, is necessary up front to determine how aproject will be managed and controlled. A skilled PM clearly defines projectrequirements early in the project, and communicates those effectively toeveryone else on the project. Many PMs create scope management plans thatspecify how, when, and why changes will be allowed on a project.

Next, learn how Project 2007 helps you manage projects.

 

How Project 2007 helps you manage projects

The beauty of a software program like Project 2007 is that it helps you handleall the key aspects of a project through a single interface. The following

 

sections give you an overview of project components and how Project 2007enables you to manage them effectively.

Creating and controlling project schedules

From the initial definition of a project to a final report, Project 2007 useswizards to help you plan and schedule every last detail. Integration with otherMicrosoft® Office programs also makes it simple to take information from say,Microsoft® Excel®, and drop it into your project plan.

Because Project 2007 offers custom display fields, too, you can also easilymodify toolbars, formulas, and other items for your specific needs. Throughouta project lifecycle, you can track, consolidate, and analyze information toquickly determine how the project is going and where schedules might needadjustment.

Managing finances

Project 2007 has a variety of cost enhancements designed to help you moreeffectively estimate and manage project costs. A new "Cost" resource, forinstance, improves cost estimation and tracking, whereas cost codes can helpyou map financial fields typically tracked in project accounting systems.Different types of budget reports are also available so you can perform adetailed analysis of your costs.

Assigning and tracking resources

There are often many variables involved in resource allocation. With Project2007, you can not only assign resources to the project but you can assigntasks to resources and teams, link dependent tasks, balance workloads, andperform other key actions.

Overseeing project risks and issues

No project is trouble-free. A successful PM can spot potential trouble spots,though, by anticipating and quickly responding to risks. Project 2007 hasseveral different ways to help manage risks, from a risk management planningoption to charting options such as Gantt charts that can help you quickly spotproblems in time frames and resources.

In the next section, you'll take a look at how to navigate Project 2007.

 

Getting started with Project 2007

If you've worked with Microsoft Office products before, you'll find that Project2007 follows a similar navigation system typically used in Office. Figure 1-1shows you the menu bar and default toolbars (Standard, Formatting, andProject Guide) that appear at the top of the main window.

Figure 1-1: The Project 2007 menu bar and default toolbars.

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The Project Guide toolbar in the lower-left part of the toolbar area has fourbuttons: Tasks, Resources, Track, and Report. Clicking a button opens the

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Project Guide for that particular feature, which appears along the left side of thewindow. The Project Guide asks like a wizard, walking you through steps andoffering links to related information. You can use the Project Guide toaccomplish many things, such as creating a project, adding resources, trackingthe progress of a project, generating a report, and so on. The Project Guide forworking with tasks is shown in Figure 1-2.

Figure 1-2: The Tasks Project Guide.

If the Project Guide isn't showing, do one of the following:

Select Tools > Options from the menu bar, click the Interface tab, and thencheck the Display Project Guide checkbox in the "Project Guide settings"section.Select View > Turn On Project Guide.

Changing views in Project 2007

There are several types of views you can use in Project 2007 to help you focuson different aspects of your project -- they help you visualize and work withyour data in many ways. Just select View on the menu bar and then select theview of your choice. Some of the most common views are:

Gantt Chart: Consists of a table and a bar chart so you can see both tasks ina written and graphical formatNetwork Diagram: Displays your tasks in a flowchart formatTracking Gantt: Displays your project's schedule and progress against thatschedule

Using a split view

You can review your project information in two different ways by using acombination (split) view in which the screen splits into two panes. The top panedisplays your data in one view, the bottom pane in another view. To use a splitview:

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Select Window > Split. The screen splits into two panes.1.Click anywhere in the bottom pane.2.Select the View menu, and then select the view you want to appear in3.the bottom pane.

To return to a single view, select Window > Remove Split.

Changing cell background color

One handy feature in Project 2007 is the ability to highlight cell backgrounds.This can help you quickly spot information that meets certain criteria, such asan important milestone. You can highlight individual cells (up to 10 at a time) orcategories of cells. To highlight individual cells, select the cells you want tohighlight, select Format > Font, select a new background color from the drop-down list, and then click OK.

To highlight categories of cells, select Format > Text Styles. Open the Item toChange drop-down menu and select the category of cells you want highlighted,such as Critical Tasks as shown in Figure 1-3. Select a new background coloryou want for that category, and then click OK.

Figure 1-3: Selecting a category of cells to highlight.

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Using multiple-level undo

With Project 2007, you can make multiple changes -- and undo them multipletimes. Just use the Undo button (the backward blue arrow on the Standardtoolbar) to "undo" up to 20 changes. If you need to add more levels of undo,you can increase the setting by going to Tools > Options > General. Enter thenumber of undo levels you want in the Undo levels box.

Now that you know the essentials of the Project 2007 interface, read on tolearn how to create and save projects.

 

Creating and saving projects

You can create a new project either manually or by using the Project Guide. Tocreate and save one manually, follow these steps:

 

Select File > New from the menu bar at the top of the main Project 20071.window.Click Blank Project in the left pane.2.Click in the first blank field in the Task Name column and enter a task,3.such as Create a plan.In the Duration column, use the up and down arrows to select a time4.frame for your task, such as 3 days.In the Start column, select a date. Use the current date.5.In the Finish column, note that Project 2007 has already filled in a date6.three days from now.Leave the Predecessors column blank. You'll learn what a predecessor7.is and how to add data to this column in Lesson 2.To save the file, select File > Save. In the Save As dialog box, type L1-8.Practice in the File name text box, select a location in which to saveyour file (such as a folder on your hard disk), and then click Save.

When saving your project, you can create a new folder in which to save yourprojects by clicking the New Folder button in the Save As dialog box. It'srecommended you create a special folder, such as My Projects, to hold yourfiles while working through this course.

That's it -- you've just created and saved your first project with Project 2007.

Creating a new project using the project guide

When you use the Project Guide to create a project, the Guide steps youthrough every aspect of project creation, which is a far more detailed approachthan manual creation. Because of the depth of this process, we'll just take aquick look at how a simple project is created with the Project Guide'sassistance.

First you define the project:

Select File > New.1.Click Blank Project in the New Project task pane on the left. The Project2.Guide now displays the Tasks pane.Click Define the project.3.Follow the wizard prompts to enter the estimated date your project will4.begin. For this example, use the current date. At the bottom of theProject Guide, click Continue to Step 2.Select No at the prompt to use Project Server and Project Web Access,5.and then click Continue to Step 3.Click Save and Finish.6.

The next phase is to define general working times:

In the Project Guide Tasks pane, click Define general working times.1.Using the calendar template drop-down menu, select a template that2.works best for your project. Figure 1-4 shows the 24 Hours templatebeing selected. Click Continue to Step 2.

Figure 1-4: Selecting a calendar template.

To define the work week, select specifically which days and hours apply1.to your project. Select work days by ensuring each box is checked. Tochange the working hours, select the I want to adjust the working hoursshown for one or more days of the week option, shown in the middle ofFigure 1-5. Additional options appear that let you select hours ofoperation for each work day. When you're finished, click Continue toStep 3.

Figure 1-5: Defining work days and hours of operation.

In the Set Holidays and Days Off screen, you can click the Change1.Working Time link to make adjustments to your regular work days.These changes will be incorporated into your project timeline. Whenyou're ready, click Continue to Step 4.The next screen, Define time units, lets you change the number of hours2.that make up a work day (the default is 8), number of hours in a workweek (40), and the number of days in a work month (20). Review theinformation in the Define time units screen but don't change anything.Click Continue to Step 5.Click Save and Finish. You can close the file when you're finished3.without saving it.

At this point, you would begin listing tasks in the project. As you can see, theguide gets very detailed. In a large project, you might need several days tocomplete the creation process. The guide, however, gives you a logicalapproach to the entire project and helps to ensure you don't leave outimportant elements.

Moving on

In this lesson, you learned the basics of project management and how tonavigate in Project 2007. In Lesson 2, you'll learn how to work with tasks,which are key to any project's success. Before you move on, however, take thequiz and complete the assignment for this lesson.

Assignment #1

For this assignment, you'll create a new project plan for a fictitious company named Swish HomeMakeovers, which specializes in unique renovations of any room in your house. You'll use theProject Guide in Microsoft Project 2007 to create the plan and define the days and hours ofoperation.

Follow these steps:

Select File > New from the menu bar.1.Click Blank Project in the New Project task pane on the left.2.In the Project Guide, click Define the project.3.Follow the wizard prompts to enter the estimated date your project will begin. For this4.example, use the current date. At the bottom of the Project Guide, click Continue to Step 2.Click No at the prompt to use Project Server and Project Web Access, and then click5.Continue to Step 3.Click Save and Finish.6.

Now you'll define general working times:

In the Project Guide, click Define general working times.1.Ensure the Standard calendar template is selected in the drop-down menu in the Project2.Guide, and then click Continue to Step 2.The Standard calendar template uses Monday through Friday as the work week, and 8:003.a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a one-hour lunch period for the working hours. Leave the I'll use thehours shown in the preview on the right option selected, and then click Continue to Step 3.Review the information in the Set Holidays and Days Off screen but don't change anything.4.Click Continue to Step 4.Review the information in the Define time units screen but don't change anything. The5.defaults are 8 hours per day, 40 hours per week, and 20 days per month. Click Continue toStep 5.Click Save and Finish.6.

To save your work:

Select File > Save As, type Swish Project 2007 in the File name text box, select a folder in1.which to save your file, and then click Save.Close the file and exit Project 2007.2.

In Lesson 2's assignment, you'll add tasks to your project.

 

Quiz #1Question 1:True or False: A project is a temporary organization of related tasks in order to deliver an end result.

A) TrueB) False Question 2:True or False: Projects are usually open-ended.

A) TrueB) False Question 3:Which of the following are essential components of business projects? (Check all that apply.)

A) TimeB) MoneyC) DelaysD) Resources

 Question 4:True or False: Microsoft Project 2007 enables project managers to handle key aspects of a project through asingle interface.

A) TrueB) False Question 5:True or False: The Project Guide is a wizard that helps you set up new projects.

A) TrueB) False 

Working with tasksDefining, listing, organizing and scheduling tasks are key to any project's success. In this lesson, you'll discoverhow to list tasks in a project, organize them into phases and schedule them to be certain your project comes inon time.

 

Defining tasks

Welcome back! In Lesson 1, you were introduced to the Microsoft Project 2007interface and learned how to set up a project file via the manual and guidedmethods. In Lesson 1's assignment, you set up a project file using the ProjectGuide but stopped short of adding tasks. That's where we begin this lesson.

As you use Project 2007, you'll see that the tasks you enter into it are critical.That's because tasks -- the pieces of work that must be accomplished in orderto successfully complete a project -- show you exactly what needs to be doneas well as what's actually getting done in a project.

You can list tasks in any way you choose. Some people prefer to list tasks atfairly high levels, whereas others like to show even the tiniest piece of work thatmust be accomplished. It's up to you to determine the level of detail.

When you enter a task, keep in mind that you also need to track each oneand enter progress status on them. If yours is an extremely large project,it's probably not practical to attempt to list every work item each projectteam is working on.

A more practical approach in many situations is to strike a balance betweenlisting high-level phases, tasks, subtasks, and key milestones that each teammust report on. Also, keep in mind what you truly need to know in order to keepyour project from derailing. Think about things like:

How critical is the task to the project?What's the highest level involved in the task -- will reports from that level beenough to help me effectively manage the project?How often can I actually get and enter information about the tasks I'mlisting?

Once you've made a determination about the level of comfort you need whentracking your project, you can start entering tasks into your plan. Let's move onto how you actually list tasks in Project 2007.

 

 

Listing tasks

In Lesson 1, you saw how simple it is to create and save a new project. Nowlet's take a look at some additional details surrounding tasks.

Using the changehighlighting feature

Entering tasks

When you enter tasks into your project, you're asked to provide a task name, atime frame for the task, start and finish dates (Project 2007 fills in the finishdate automatically), and whether each task is dependent on the launch orcompletion of another task.

Task names should be easy to understand, not just for you but for anyone elsereading the plan. Try to avoid using acronyms or other terms that might causeconfusion.

Project 2007 assumes that every task needs at least one day to complete.Even if a task will only take a few hours, list it as requiring a minimum of oneday. If you need more days for a task, just use the up and down arrowsprovided in the Duration column.

Based on the start date you select, Project 2007 automatically fills in the finishdate for you.

As you enter tasks, Project 2007 assigns an ID number to each task. Forexample, if you enter eight tasks, Project 2007 numbers each task starting with1 and ending with 8. You can use this ID number to track the relationshipbetween different tasks through the use of predecessors. A predecessor is atask that must start or finish before another task (the successor) can start orfinish. Predecessors indicate dependent relationships between tasks.

You can enter predecessors manually, but Project 2007 will also prompt youabout them as well. Let's walk through the steps using tasks named A, B, andC to show you how predecessors work. Follow these steps to add three tasks,one task at a time:

Create a new blank file in Project 2007 and name it Sample Project-<1.initials>.mpp. You can leave the default work days and hours ofoperation.In the first field of the Task Name column, type A and press Tab to move2.to the Duration column.Use the up and down arrows to select a time frame for your task. For3.this example, select 3 days and press Tab.In the Start column, use the current date for task A. Notice that the4.Finish date is entered automatically.Repeat steps 2 through 4 for task B, with a 2-day duration and a start5.date 3 days from today. When entering the Start date for task B, thePlanning Wizard dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2-1, asking ifyou want to link item B to item A. Select Move "B" without adding a link"and click OK. This indicates there are no dependencies between itemsA and B -- both tasks can start and finish independent of the other.

Figure 2-1: Planning Wizard dialog box.

Project 2007 has a featurecalled Change Highlightingturned on by default. This letsyou see the impact ofpotential changes to yourplan before you commit to thechange. For example, if youwere to change the finishdate of a task, the durationdate for it and other tasksmight be impacted, as well asother start and/or finishdates. Project 2007 highlightsthose specific cells so youcan quickly see everythingthat's impacted, and theGantt chart is alsoimmediately updated toreflect the change. If youdon't like what a changemight do to your plan, justclick the Undo (backwardblue arrow) button on thetoolbar.

Repeat steps 2 through 4 for task C, with a 1-day duration and a start1.date 7 days from today. When the Planning Wizard dialog box appears,select Link them. "C" will always follow "B." This creates a dependencybetween items B and C.Save your file but leave the project plan open.2.

Now take a look at the Gantt chart to the right of your tasks -- a blue line withan arrow connects tasks B and C, indicating a link (or dependency). Double-click the blue line to open the Task Dependency dialog box shown in Figure 2-2, which indicates that Task B must be completed before Task C can start.

Figure 2-2: Task Dependency dialog box.

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As you move through your project plan, you can add or delete predecessorrelationships wherever you need to:

To enter a predecessor manually, in the Predecessors column, enter the IDnumber of the task that should be linked to the task you're entering.If you need to remove one, open the Task Dependency dialog box and clickDelete. Project 2007 automatically questions your action by providing youwith prompts to continue with removal or not.

You'll learn about constraints, which are related to predecessors and taskdependencies, in the "Scheduling Tasks" section later in this lesson. Next, findout how to import tasks and indicate milestones.

 

Importing tasks and indicating milestones

Project managers often need to compile information from other sources into aproject plan. One way to do that is to import tasks. There are several ways toimport tasks into Project 2007:

Import information from another file format, such as a Microsoft Excelworksheet, a text file, or a database.Import a Microsoft Outlook task.Link or embed data from Excel.

Linking or embedding Excel data is a great way to save yourself some time. Asthe Excel source file is updated, changes are automatically included in yourproject plan, too. Here's how to link data from an Excel source document toyour project plan:

Open the Excel file that contains the data you want to use.1.Select the data you'd like to link, such as fields, cells, records, or rows.2.Click Copy.3.In your project plan (Sample Project, for example), select View > Gantt4.Chart. (You can use another view, if you want.)Click the empty Task Name field below task C.5.Select Edit > Paste Special. The Paste Special dialog box appears.6.Select the Paste Link option on the left, select Text Data in the As list as7.shown in Figure 2-3, and click OK.

 

Figure 2-3: Linking Excel data.

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The information from your Excel file appears in your project plan, as shown inFigure 2-4. In the future, you can open the linked Excel document by double-clicking any of the linked fields in Project 2007.

Figure 2-4: Linked data in Project 2007.

Importing an Outlook Task list

To import your task list from Outlook into your project plan, follow these steps:

Select Tools > Import Outlook Tasks.1.If a Microsoft Office Outlook dialog box appears asking for permission to2.continue, click Allow.In the Import Outlook Tasks dialog box in Project 2007, check the3.checkbox next to each task you want to import, as shown in Figure 2-5.Click OK.

Figure 2-5: Importing Outlook tasks.

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Each task is added to your project plan in the first open row.

Indicating milestones

Occasionally you'll have tasks you want to mark as major events for yourproject. These are called milestones. You work with milestones in your planusing Gantt Chart view. Follow these steps to turn an existing task into amilestone:

Right-click the task. (For this example, select task A.)1.Select Task Information from the shortcut menu. The Task Information2.dialog box appears.Click the Advanced tab.3.Check the Mark task as milestone checkbox, as shown in Figure 4-6,4.and then click OK.

Figure 2-6: Marking a task as a milestone.

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In the Gantt chart, the task appears with a black diamond to indicate its statusas a milestone. Next, learn how to organize tasks into phases.

 

Organizing tasks into phases

One way to make your project plan manageable is to group tasks into phases.Some people like to group tasks that share certain characteristics, whereasothers prefer to group tasks by time frame. You can organize tasks by listingevery possible task first and then grouping them, or you can list major phasesfirst, dropping tasks into each phase as you determine them. There's no right orwrong way to group tasks.

Project 2007 "thinks" in terms of hierarchies and timelines, similar to a ladderapproach to outlining all the tasks required to complete the project.

As you enter tasks with related timelines, it's simple to create phases throughthe use of summary tasks and subtasks. Once you've created a task, you justcreate subtasks for it. Here's how:

Create a subtask in the field below a primary task, and then select the1.row for the subtask when you're done entering it. For this example, let'sassume task C is a subtask of task B in your project plan -- go aheadand select row 3.

To select a row, click its ID number.

Click the Indent button, which is the green right-pointing arrow on the1.Formatting toolbar. (If you don't see the Indent button, right-click a blankarea of the toolbar and select Formatting.)

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Task C is now shown as a subtask of task B, indicated by a double black downarrow and duration bar on the task B row in the Gantt chart, as shown in Figure2-7. To remove a subtask, just select the row and then click the Outdent button(the green left-pointing arrow).

Figure 2-7: Creating subtasks.

When you create a subtask, Project 2007 automatically makes the primary taska "summary" task. You can collapse a primary (summary) task to help you viewyour plan from a very high level. When you need to see all the subtasks, youcan click the plus sign next to each summary task to expand them.

In the next section, you'll take a look at how to schedule tasks using deadlinesand constraints.

 

Scheduling tasks

Sometimes you need to adjust the start or finish dates in Project 2007 for atask. There are several ways you can apply restrictions to the way these datesare calculated. You can use:

Flexible constraints, which don't have specific dates associated with them.These are titled As Late As Possible (ALAP) or As Soon As Possible(ASAP).Semi-flexible constraints, which allow a task to finish at any time but requirean associated start or finish date. These are titled Start No Earlier Than(SNET), Start No Later Than (SNLT), Finish No Earlier Than (FNET), andFinish No Later Than (FNLT).Inflexible constraints, which use a specific date to control start and finishdates. These are titled Must Start On (MSO) and Must Finish On (MFO).

To use constraints on a task, follow these steps:

Right-click the desired task. For this example, let's use task A in your1.project plan.Select Task Information from the shortcut menu.2.Click the Advanced tab.3.Using the Constraint type list, select a constraint type. For this example,4.select Finish No Later Than.Select a constraint date about 30 days from now, as shown in Figure 2-5.8, and click OK.

Figure 2-8: Constraining tasks.

Keep track of your tasks

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If you receive a conflict prompt from Project 2007, click Continue and thenclick OK.

Setting deadlines

You might not want to lock in your schedule to a specific constraint, yet you stillmight need to set a deadline date to help you determine whether a taskfinished after its deadline. To do that, follow these steps:

Right-click the task in question. For this example, let's use task B in your1.project plan.Open the Task Information dialog box, and then click the Advanced tab.2.Open the Deadline list and select a deadline date on the calendar. For3.this example, select one day prior to the finish date.Click OK.4.Save your file.5.

Now take a look at the information column next to task B, shown in Figure 2-9.

Figure 2-9: Missed deadline indicator.

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A red diamond with a small exclamation point appears, which tells you this taskhas missed its deadline.

Moving on

In this lesson, you worked with tasks: adding them to your project plan, andorganizing and scheduling them. In Lesson 3, you'll learn how to managedifferent types of project resources. Before you move on, be sure you take thequiz and complete the assignment for this lesson.

Assignment #2

For this assignment, you'll add several tasks and dependencies to your Swish project plan.Follow these steps:

Open the Swish Project 2007.mpp file in Microsoft Project 2007.1.Enter the tasks outline in the following table. Don't link tasks other than where noted2.(Predecessors).

IDNumber

Task Duration Start Predecessors

1 Demo Customer A main floor powder room andliving room wall (north)

1 day 1/5/2009 

2 Paint/tile Customer A bath 2 days 1/6/2009 1

3 Finalize blue prints and permitting for Customer Arock wall with engineer

3 days 1/7/2009 

4 Rock in living room fireplace, Customer A 3 days 1/12/2009 3

5 Assess Customer B home and interview client 1 day 1/5/2009 

6 Research carpeting and drapery costs, CustomerB

2 days 1/6/2009 5

7 Write and submit proposal to Customer B 1 day 1/8/2009 6

Table 3-1: Tasks for the Swish project plan.

Save the file.1.

Scroll over and take a look at your Gantt chart to see how it reflects the tasks on your plan.That's it for now. In Lesson 3's assignment, you'll add resources to your project.

 

Quiz #2Question 1:True or False: Tasks are pieces of work that must be accomplished in a project.

A) TrueB) False Question 2:True or False: Microsoft Project 2007 assigns an ID number to every task.

A) TrueB) False Question 3:Which of the following are ways to import tasks into Project 2007? (Check all that apply.)

A) Import information from another file format, such as a Microsoft Excel worksheet, a text file, or adatabase.B) Import a Microsoft Outlook task.C) Add milestones.D) Link or embed data from Microsoft Excel. Question 4:True or False: Summary tasks are formed when subtasks are created.

A) TrueB) False Question 5:True or False: There are three different types of constraints you can use in Project 2007.

A) TrueB) False 

Managing resourcesMost projects involve multiple resources. In this lesson, you'll discover how to assign people and equipment totasks and define working times for resources to ensure effective resource management.

 

Exploring types of resources

Welcome back. If you worked carefully through lessons 1 and 2 and completedthe assignments, you've picked up several new Microsoft Project 2007 skills.Now you're ready to work with project resources.

In most projects, there are generally two types of resources involved: peopleand equipment. Within those two general categories, however, there are alsosubcategories.

For example, you might add employees to your project using a list of enterpriseresources -- resources that are available through and to the entire organization.With enterprise resources, a project manager can add people or materials onan as-needed basis. Plenty of resource sharing occurs with enterpriseresources, which can sometimes be tricky when scheduling tasks and projectdeadlines or milestones.

A resource is the people, equipment, or materials used to complete tasks in aproject.

Or, you might add resources to your project that are more limited -- these arecalled non-enterprise resources. It might not be as easy to get these resources,but the benefit is that once they're assigned to your project, no one else canuse them. It's far easier to manage a project with non-enterprise resourcesbecause they're dedicated to the project and you can rely on them to meetdeadlines.

Generic resources are a third type of resource. These are used when you knowyou have a specific type of staffing need -- such as programmers or engineers -- but you don't have a specific person in mind for the job. Generic resourcescan be easily replaced with enterprise resources to slot in specific names.

These types of resources are often added using Microsoft Office ProjectServer; however, you can also import resources from lists you alreadydeveloped such as in Microsoft Excel. When you use the Project Guide to addresources, it walks you through the steps of using Project Server.

Let's move on to how you actually assign resources using Project 2007.

Project server accounts

Microsoft Office ProjectServer 2007, along withMicrosoft Office Project WebAccess, let you and remoteteam members collaborateon projects by logging ontothe server and reporting thestatus of tasks. You need tocreate a Project Serveraccount before you'reallowed to connect to ProjectServer. To create an account,select Tools > EnterpriseOptions > Microsoft OfficeProject Server Accounts andfollow the prompts. ProjectServer isn't covered in depthin the lessons, so you shouldread up on this service todecide if it's something yournext project could benefitfrom.

 

Assigning human resources

You can add resources to a project plan in several different ways. One methodis manual. Other methods include adding resources from Project Server, acompany address book, or a company directory.

At this point in the course, your project plan should have several tasks in it.Now we'll assign people and materials to some of those tasks to give you anidea of how the process works.

To get started:

Open Sample Project-<initials>.mpp in Project 2007.1.

Booking types

You can assign one of twobooking types to resources."Proposing" a resourceindicates the resource isunder consideration;"committing" the resourcemeans the resource hasbeen approved. To commitresources, for example, go tothe Project Guide underResources and click Specify

When prompted to reestablish links, click OK.2.Click the Resources button on the Project Guide toolbar. The Resources3.Project Guide appears on the left side of the main window, as shown inFigure 3-1.

Figure 3-1: The Resources Project Guide.

In the Resources pane:

Click Specify people and equipment for the project.1.In the next screen, select Enter resources manually.2.

A Resource Sheet displays in the center of your window. The default view ofthis sheet includes Resource Name, Email Address, Windows User Account,Group, Standard Rate, and Overtime Rate.

You can use an expanded Resource Sheet view if you prefer: Select View >Resource Sheet to see additional columns of information, such as Cost/Use,Accrue At, and Base Calendar.

Let's go ahead and enter a human resource using the standard view. Followthese steps:

On the first row in the Resource Name column, enter a name for the1.resource. For this example, enter Lori Kane.Under Email Address, enter Lori's address of lkane@fabrikam.com.2.Leave Windows User Account blank.3.Under Group, enter Engineering.4.Under Standard Rate, enter $25/hour.5.Under Overtime Rate, enter $43/hour. Your project plan should6.resemble Figure 3-2.

Figure 3-2: Sample human resource entry.

Enlarge image

the booking types forresources. Select one ormore resources in the currentproject plan, and then clickCommit resources. A newcolumn appears in yourResource Sheet indicatingthat your selected resourcesare committed to yourproject. Click Done to returnto the next steps in theProject Guide.

Let's add one more person using the preceding steps: Benjamin Martin,bmartin@fabrikam.com, Accounting group, $23/hour standard rate, $39/hourovertime rate. After you've entered this second resource, click Done in theProject Guide pane.

Now let's assign resources. In the Project Guide:

Click Assign people and equipment to tasks.1.Click Assign resources. The Assign Resources dialog box appears.2.On the project plan, select task C (row 3).3.In the Assign Resources dialog box, select a resource name. For this4.example, select Lori Kane, as shown in Figure 3-3.

Figure 3-3: Assigning a human resource.

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Click Assign, and then click Close.1.

In the project plan, the Resource Names column should now show Lori Kanefor task C. If you can't see the column, just use your mouse pointer to expandthe plan to the right. Her name should also appear in the Gantt chart shown inFigure 3-4. Click Done at the bottom of the Project Guide and save your work.

Figure 3-4: A resource name shows up in two places in the project plan.

Enlarge image

That's the basic way to enter a human resource. Next, you'll learn how to entermaterial resources.

 

Entering material resources

To enter material resources, you'll follow some steps already used in thehuman resources section with some key differences. You need to:

Insert a Materials columnSelect a type of resourceEnter information that indicates how the material is measured

To enter material resources, follow these steps:

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In the Project Guide, click Specify people and equipment for the project.1.Select Enter resources manually.2.On the project plan, click the Email Address column header to highlight3.the entire column.Select Insert > Column from the menu bar.4.Open the Field name list, scroll down and select Type, as shown in5.Figure 3-5, and then click OK.

Figure 3-5: Specifying field names.

Highlight the Email Address header column.1.Select Insert > Column, open the Field Name list, scroll down and2.select Material Label, and then click OK.

The Type field automatically fills in with resource options: Work, Material, orCost.

Now that you've added Type and Material Label columns, you're ready to beginentering materials. Follow these steps:

In the first blank Resource Name field, enter Sheetrock.1.In the Type field, select Material.2.In the Material Label field, enter SF (square feet).3.Double-click the Standard Rate field to open the Resource Information4.dialog box.Click the Costs tab, enter 10 under Per Use Cost, and then click OK.5.In the Project Guide, click Assign people and equipment to tasks.6.Select Task Z.7.Click the Assign Resources button on the toolbar. The Assign8.Resources dialog box appears.

Select Sheetrock, and then enter 10 under Units.1.Click Assign, and then click Close.2.

Ten square feet of sheetrock should display in the Resource Names field fortask Z.

As you can see, you can add any type of material required, and then quicklyassign it to your project plan. In the next section, you'll take a look at how toschedule your tasks using deadlines and constraints.

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Assigning work to multiple teams

Often, project managers don't know at the beginning of a project which specificperson is going to perform the actual work on a task. It might be necessary toassign work to a team instead. To do that, you'll need to create a team inProject 2007, associate team names to a custom Team Name field, and thenassign team leaders and team members. The steps for doing all this are a bit

 

lengthy, but they're actually fairly simple to complete and Microsoft OfficeProject Help can walk you through them.

The caveat, however, is that assigning work to teams in the manner justdescribed is designed to work with Project Server. If you don't have access toProject Server, you have to enter individual resource names. One way aroundthis is to enter Team Leader names, and assign a set of tasks to that teamleader. Many people use this process, especially in large projects wheretracking hundreds of people and tiny tasks would be a daunting chore in and ofitself.

Regardless of how you assign the work to multiple teams, you'll want to keep aclose eye on workloads and availability to ensure the amount of work isreasonable for the team. One way to do that is to use Resource Usage viewand check for overallocated resources. Follow these steps to see your plan inthis view:

Select View > Resource Usage. The project plan is displayed in1.Resource Usage view.Select Format > Detail Styles. The Detail Styles dialog box appears.2.Scroll down, select Percent Allocation, click Show, and then click OK.3.

A Resource Leveling indicator (a yellow diamond with an exclamation point)displays next to any resources that appear to be overallocated, plus theperson's name displays in red. Figure 3-6 shows an example of anoverallocation.

Figure 3-6: Resource Usage view showing an overallocation.

Enlarge image

Although this is useful when reviewing how an individual resource is beingused, it's not necessarily useful when you've used the individual as a teamleader. To avoid confusion, just make yourself some notes about how manypeople are on that person's team, and monitor the total number of hoursrequired to complete the tasks assigned to that team. To add a note to aparticular resource, follow these steps:

Click the resource in Resource Usage view.1.Select Project > Resource Notes from the menu bar.2.Enter the details about the team, and then click OK.3.

A notes icon appears next to that resource name in your project plan. Justdouble-click the icon to see the notes wherever you see the icon.

Moving on

You've learned how to manage both human and material resources usingProject 2007. In Lesson 4, you'll learn how to track and report progress on yourproject. Before you move on, test your skills by taking the quiz and get furtherhands-on practice in Project 2007 by completing the assignment.

Assignment #3

For this assignment, you'll add some resources to your Swish project plan. Follow these steps:

Open the Swish Project 2007.mpp file in Microsoft Project 2007.1.Click the Resources button on the Project Guide toolbar.2.

In the Project Guide, click Specify people and equipment for the project.3.Select Enter resources manually.4.On the first available line, enter a name for a human resource. For this example, enter Paula5.Neves.Under Email Address, enter Paula's address of pneves@swishmakeover.com.6.Leave Windows User Account blank.7.Under Group, enter Designer.8.Under Standard Rate, enter $60/hour.9.Under Overtime Rate, enter $90/hour.10.Click Done in the Project Guide.11.Click Assign people and equipment to tasks.12.Click Assign resources.13.On the project plan, select task 3.14.In the Assign Resources dialog box, select a resource name. For this example, select Paula15.Neves (the only resource at this point).Click Assign, and then click Close.16.Review the information in the Project Guide. If you're satisfied with the assignment, click17.Done.Enter another human resource: Arlin Hanke, ahanke@swishmakeover.com, Engineer, $75/hr18.standard rate, $100/hr overtime rate. Assign Mr. Hanke to the same task as Paula Neves. Ifprompted to change the duration, choose to leave it as is.Save the file.19.Change the duration from 3 days to 1 day for task 3. Which cells become highlighted? Why?20.Undo the change.Using the skills you learned in Lesson 3, add two material resources to your project plan: 121.ton of field rock and 5 bags of cement for the Customer A fireplace. Research and enter areasonable cost per unit for each item. Assign the material resources to task 4, Rock in livingroom fireplace, Customer A.Save and close the file, and exit Project 2007.22.

In Lesson 4's assignment, you'll save a baseline of your project and print the plan.

 

Quiz #3Question 1:True or False: You can manage human and material resources using Microsoft Project 2007.

A) TrueB) False Question 2:What are the different ways resources can be added to a Project 2007 project plan? (Check all that apply.)

A) ManuallyB) Using Microsoft Office Project ServerC) Using Microsoft Exchange ServerD) Using a company address book or directory Question 3:True or False: A Resource Sheet shows you information about each resource.

A) TrueB) False Question 4:True or False: When you add a material resource, you should first add a Material Label column.

A) TrueB) False 

Tracking and reportingOnce a project has been created and resources assigned, you need to track the project and create reports. Inthis lesson, you'll learn how to save a baseline of your project, enter progress data, print your plan and generatereports.

 

Saving a baseline of your project

Welcome back. At this point in the course, you know how to create and set upa simple project plan in Microsoft Project 2007, and add tasks and resources.With those skills under your belt, let's focus on progress checking andreporting.

When you create a project plan, it's important to use your best estimates in theplan. How long various tasks will take, logical start and finish dates,approximated costs, and other aspects of a project plan should be as accurateas possible. If they aren't, you might find yourself scrambling at some point tofigure out where, when, and why things changed -- and that's a tough spot tobe in when executives are hounding you or a missed contractual obligation isstaring you in the face.

One of the best methods for tracking a project is to create a baseline of it at thebeginning of the project and/or at the end of every phase. A baseline helpsmeasure changes in a project plan by tracking multiple reference points in fivecategories:

Start datesFinish datesDurationsWorkCost estimates

You can also set additional baselines that might be specific to your project.Setting a baseline for your project is a smart way to compare planned actionsand values against actual data; it lets you quickly see if your project is derailingor staying on track.

You can set a baseline for an entire project or for specific tasks.

To get started, open your sample project file (Sample Project-<initials>.mpp) inProject 2007, and then follow these steps to set a baseline for the entireproject:

Select View > Gantt Chart.1.Select Tools > Tracking > Set Baseline. The Set Baseline dialog box2.appears.Ensure Baseline is selected in the Set baseline list.3.Under For, leave Entire Project selected and click OK.4.

Provide detailed plans

Keep your team on track byprinting agendas and projectgoals prior to meetings.

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Figure 4-1: Set Baseline dialog box.

That's it -- your baseline is set. Now let's move on to entering progressinformation.

 

Entering progress information

One way to enter progress information into your plan is to use the ProjectGuide. Click Track on the Project Guide toolbar to display the Track ProjectGuide in the left pane, and then follow these steps:

Click Prepare to track the progress of your project.1.Click No when prompted to use Project Server and Project Web Access,2.and then click Continue to Step 2.Determine which tracking method works best for you. In this example,3.let's use Always track by entering the Percent of Work Complete, whichis the default setting.Click Save and Finish.4.Click Check the progress of the project.5.

Notice that two new columns appear that you haven't seen before: StatusIndicator and % Work Complete. The Status Indicator column gives you quickinformation about task status. In the % Work Complete column, you can selecta specific task and update the task to the specific percentage completed usingthe up and down arrows.

Figure 4-2: Status Indicator and % Work Complete columns.

There's another simple method for updating progress using percent completedif you don't mind using general percentage information instead of beingspecific. First, you need to display the Tracking toolbar (select View > Toolbars

Integration with MicrosoftOutlook 2007

Did you know you can installan add-in that lets you reportyour actual work and statusof your tasks to someoneelse through Outlook 2007?You need Microsoft OfficeProject Server 2007, andthen you can use the add-into send manual or automaticupdates to anyone you want.Check Microsoft OfficeProject Help for specificinformation about the add-inand how to use it.

> Tracking).

A series of percent complete icons from 0 to 100 appear on your toolbar, asshown in Figure 4-3. Just select a task, click one of the percentage options,and Project 2007 automatically updates the plan for you.

Figure 4-3: The Tracking toolbar.

Next up is reviewing and finalizing your plan.

 

Reviewing and finalizing the plan

Now that you've set a baseline and entered progress information, you canreview and finalize your plan. To review how your plan is tracking to thebaseline plan, select View > Table: variable > Variance.

The Table menu changes depending on what's active in Project 2007.

Your plan appears on-screen and should look similar to Figure 4-4. Your tasksare all listed along with start and finish dates, then there are columns showingthe Baseline Start and Baseline Finish dates along with Start Variance andFinish Variance columns. The Gantt chart shows any variances between thetwo plans, if any.

Figure 4-4: Project 2007 makes it easy to compare baseline information againstyour actual progress.

Enlarge image

Finalizing your plan

Many project managers say that a project isn't final until every task is complete,while others say a plan is final once it's been approved by management.However, if you're in the early stages of a project, it's probably safe to assumethat changes will be made to the plan. As a result, it's a good idea to keep agood grip on your plan by using version control.

Version control is a method of finalizing a plan, at least temporarily, through thenaming of the file. When you're required to send the plan to others, clearly notethe date in the file name. Also, add your initials to it. So if you send the plan onDecember 10, 2009, and your name is John Doe, your project plan might benamed My Project 2007 example_121009_JD.mpp.

If you make multiple changes in a single day, just add "v1" or "v2" after yourinitials to help you remember which plan contains the latest possibleinformation. It might seem a bit cumbersome to use version control; however, ifyou work in a large organization or on a large project, it can get tricky trying toremember what the most recent plan was and who changed it. Version controlhelps you stay in control and manage whatever the current "final" versionhappens to be.

 

In the next section, you'll learn how to print your plan.

 

Printing a plan

You can print your plan using the standard File > Print command; however,there are other ways to print your plan. For example, you might want to printthe Calendar view of your plan.

Before you print, optimize the print job by checking your options in File > PageSetup. For example, use Landscape instead of Portrait to fit more columns ona page.

To print a particular view of your plan, follow these steps:

Select View.1.Select the view you want to print in, such as Calendar.2.Select File > Print Preview. Review the file layout in preview mode, as3.shown in Figure 4-5, to be sure it's what you want.

Figure 4-5: Print Preview mode.

Enlarge image

Click Print, and then click OK in the Print dialog box.1.Click Close to exit Print Preview, if necessary.2.

Now let's take a look at various reports you might need throughout yourproject.

 

 

Printing reports

Besides printing the basic project plan, you'll often need to print variousreports. There are six different types of report categories you can print reportsfrom depending on your needs. To access the report categories:

Click Report on the Project Guide toolbar.1.In the Project Guide, click Select a view or report.2.Click Create a project report.3.Click Display Reports. The Reports window appears, as shown in Figure4.4-6.

Visual reports

You can display yourproject's information in agraphic format usingMicrosoft Excel andMicrosoft® Visio®. Thesekinds of visual reports areoften more effective whenyou need to presentinformation from your projectplan to others; people learn in

Figure 4-6: Project 2007 report categories.

Enlarge image

Overview reports

With Overview reports, you can print reports reflecting a summary of the entireproject, top-level tasks, critical tasks, milestones, and/or working days. Theidea is to create a report that offers general information about one of theseareas so you and others have a high-level understanding of the project and itsstatus.

Current activities

If you need to know the specific status of tasks on your project, print a CurrentActivities report of some sort. Those include Unstarted Tasks, Tasks StartingSoon, Tasks in Progress, Completed Tasks, Should Have Started Tasks, andSlipping Tasks.

Costs

There are five different Costs reports you can print: Cash Flow, Budget,Overbudget Tasks, Overbudget Resources, and Earned Value. Each one helpsyou see how your project's actual costs compare to budgeted costs.

Assignments

When you need to understand what human resources are doing, create anAssignments report. There are four: Who Does What, Who Does What When,To-do List, and Overallocated Resources.

Workload

You can quickly check on task usage and resource usage using reports in theWorkload category. A helpful aspect to the Workload reports is that you canchange time increments to reflect specific pay periods, too.

Custom

If the above reports don't fit your needs, you can develop your own customreports using a variety of filters and information.

To print most reports, just select the report category of your choice, clickSelect, select a report, click Select, and then click Print in the Print Preview

different ways and manypeople learn better when theycan see information in avisual format. The bonus tousing Excel or Visio toproduce visual reports is thatyou can customize the reportto display specific fields andeasily change how the reportdisplays.

window.

Moving on

In this lesson, you learned how to track and report progress on your project, aswell as review your plan and print various aspects of it. At this point, you knowenough about Project 2007 to start using it effectively for your next project.There are, of course, more detailed actions you can perform in Project 2007,which are explained in the Help feature and on Microsoft Office Online. Beforeyou leave the class, however, don't forget to take the quiz and complete theassignment.

Assignment #4

For this assignment, you'll save a baseline of your project and then print the plan inGantt Chart view. Follow these steps:

In Microsoft Project 2007, locate and open Swish Project 2007.mpp.1.Select View > Gantt Chart.2.Select Tools > Tracking > Set Baseline.3.In the Set Baseline dialog box, ensure Baseline is selected under Set Baseline.4.Under For, leave Entire Project selected and click OK.5.Select View > Task Usage.6.Select File > Print Preview.7.Click Print, and then click OK.8.Switch to Gantt chart view and print the project plan again.9.Use the Report feature to select and view at least five different reports. You don't10.have to print them unless you want hard copies.Close the file and exit Project 2007.11.

 

Quiz #4Question 1:True or False: A baseline helps measure changes in a project plan.

A) TrueB) False Question 2:True or False: You can set a baseline for an entire project or for specific, multiple tasks.

A) TrueB) False Question 3:True or False: You can quickly enter tracking information by using the Tracking toolbar.

A) TrueB) False Question 4:True or False: Current Activities is a type of report category.

A) TrueB) False Question 5:True or False: You should use version control on your project plan.

A) TrueB) False 

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