© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Project 2000: Module II

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 2: Evaluating and Adjusting Time Factors

Objectives Identify slack Adjust the critical path Decrease task duration

Identifying Slack Slack – the amount of time a task can be delayed before it affects the start date of another task or the finish date of the project as a whole –Free slack – the amount of time you can delay a task without delaying the start date of other tasks –Total slack – the amount of time you can delay a task without affecting the project finish date You can identify slack by viewing the Free Slack and Total Slack columns in the Schedule table

Adjusting the Critical Path Critical task – a task that contains zero total slack time and must be completed on time in order for the project to finish on schedule Critical path – the sequence of tasks that ends on the latest finish date When the last task on the critical path is completed, the project is completed Project recalculates the critical path every time you change task data

Identifying the Critical Path Identify the critical path to determine the tasks to which you should give the most attention in your effort to shorten a project schedule You can display critical tasks in red to distinguish them from non-critical tasks in: –Detail Gantt view –Tracking Gantt view –Gantt Chart view

Formatting the Gantt Chart You can customize the Gantt bar chart to format the critical path display Use the GanttChartWizard to modify the appearance of the Gantt bars for critical tasks To format the Gantt chart: –Click on the GanttChartWizard button in the Formatting toolbar –Step through the series of dialog boxes to complete the formatting process

Filtering Projects to Show Critical Tasks Apply a standard filter to your schedule to display only critical tasks To filter projects to show critical tasks: –Display the Filter drop-down list –Click on Critical After filtering critical tasks, you can sort them by duration from longest to shortest to determine where to put your efforts into shortening the critical path

Changing the Critical Path You can shorten the critical path by: –Deleting tasks –Combining tasks –Decreasing the duration of tasks

Decreasing Task Duration Decrease the duration of a task by: –Decreasing the work required to complete the task –Adding additional resources to increase resource effort on the task –Assigning overtime work Use Task Entry view to view, add and edit detailed information about the duration, work and assigned resources for a selected task

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 3: Evaluating and Adjusting Resources

Objectives Identify overallocated resources Resolve resource overallocation Modify resource calendars

Identifying Overallocated Resources Overallocated resource – a resource that is scheduled for more hours than are available on the calendar the resource uses The Resource Sheet displays overallocated resources in red, but does not show why, when or on which tasks resources are overallocated Use Resource Allocation view to display overallocated resources and their tasks at the same time to determine the cause of the overallocations

Resolving Resource Overallocation To resolve resource overallocation: –Assign the resource part-time status for specific tasks –Delay a task that has total slack so that the resource assigned to it will not also be assigned to an overlapping task –Split tasks that do not require the resource to work on the task for its entire duration into separate Gantt bars

Resolving Resource Overallocation (cont’d) To resolve resource overallocation (cont’d): –Apply work contours to reflect how work is performed Work contour – a shape that reflects how scheduled work for an assignment is distributed across time –Use resource leveling Leveling – a process of automatically delaying or splitting tasks in order to resolve resource overallocations

Modifying Resource Calendars When you assign a resource to a task, the resource’s work schedule (calendar) is determined by the project calendar or the base calendar assigned to the resource Resource calendar – a calendar that stores the working and nonworking times for an individual resource To modify a resource calendar: –Display the Change Working Time dialog box or the General tab of the Resource Information dialog box –Select the resource –Adjust the working and nonworking times as necessary

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 4: Evaluating and Adjusting Costs

Objectives Display costs Reduce costs Manage cash flow

Displaying Costs To display costs for your entire project: –Display the Project Information dialog box –Click on Statistics… to display the Project Statistics dialog box To display costs for individual tasks: –Display Gantt Chart view –Click on View, Table:Entry, Cost –Drag the divider bar to the right to display the Total Cost column

Reducing Costs To reduce project costs: –Replace some resources with less expensive resources, where possible –Reschedule work by combining tasks to avoid multiple per-use costs, where possible

Managing Cash Flow Control cash flow by adjusting how costs are accrued—control the dates on which you pay the costs for using a resource Use the Accrue At field in the Resource Sheet to specify how costs are accrued Costs may be: –Prorated – resources are paid periodically throughout the duration of a project –Accrued at the beginning of a task –Accrued at the end of a task

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 5: Tracking Progress

Objectives Save projects with baseline plans Update project schedules Analyze performance Track costs Reschedule tasks

Saving Projects with Baseline Plans Baseline plan – the original project plan that includes start and finish dates, durations, and work and cost estimates When you save a project with a baseline plan, you can update your schedule as the project progresses and check whether the project is progressing ahead of schedule, on schedule, or behind schedule During the course of a project, you can save as many as ten interim plans, which are sets of task start and finish dates that you save at certain stages of the project Use the Save Baseline dialog box to save a baseline or interim plan for the entire project or for selected tasks

Updating Project Schedules Throughout the duration of a project, update the project schedule with actual costs, resources and start and finish dates To update task status: –Select the task in the Gantt table –Display the Update Tasks dialog box –Enter values in the appropriate fields Use the buttons in the Tracking toolbar to enter completion data for a task

Analyzing Performance Analyze project performance by comparing actual dates to baseline dates and identifying variance –Variance – the difference between baseline task or resource information and actual task or resource information Negative variance indicates slack—tasks are ahead of schedule Positive variance indicates slippage—tasks are behind schedule

Analyzing Performance (cont’d) Use the Gantt Variance table to display task start and finish variance: –A positive Start variance indicates that a task started late –A positive Finish variance indicates that a task finished late –A negative Start variance indicates that a task started early –A negative Finish variance indicates that a task finished early

Analyzing Performance (cont’d) Use the Tracking Gantt view to display a pair of bars for each project task to indicate variance: –The top (blue) bar represents the current schedule –The bottom (gray) bar represents the baseline schedule When the top (blue) bar is longer than the bottom (gray) bar, there is project slippage When the bottom (gray) bar is longer than the top (blue) bar, there is project slack

Tracking Costs To display cost variance for individual tasks: –Display Gantt Chart view –Click on View, Table:Entry, Cost to display the Gantt Cost table –Drag the divider bar to the right to display the Variance column To manually enter actual costs: –Display the Task Usage view –Apply the Tracking table to the view –Enter a cost in the Act. Cost field

Tracking Costs (cont’d) You can use the Earned Value table to: –Measure the value of work performed so far –Forecast whether a task will finish under or over budget To display the Earned Value table: –Display the Task Sheet view –Click on View, Table:Entry, More Tables… –Double-click on Earned Value

Tracking Costs (cont’d) Fields in the Earned Value table: –BCWS – budgeted cost of work scheduled –BCWP – budgeted cost of work performed –ACWP – actual cost of work performed –SV – earned value schedule variance –CV – earned value cost variance –EAC – estimate at completion (currently scheduled cost of a task) –BAC – budgeted at completion (baseline cost of a task) –VAC – variance at completion (difference between baseline cost and schedule cost)

Rescheduling Tasks Reschedule work dates for tasks whose original work dates have already passed For tasks that are partially complete, Project automatically splits the task between the completed work and the remaining work –This feature may cause the task to display as a split task in the Gantt Chart Use the Update Project dialog box to reschedule tasks

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 6: Using Custom Tables, Filters and Forms

Objectives Use custom tables Use custom forms Use custom filters Use Organizer

Using Custom Tables You can create custom tables in a sheet view to display only the fields you need To create a table from scratch: –Display the More Tables dialog box –Click on New to display the Table Definition dialog box –Insert the fields that you want to display

Using Custom Tables (cont’d) To create a table based on an existing table: –Copy a pre-defined Project table –Modify the copy by adding, deleting or changing fields To modify an existing table: –Display the More Tables dialog box –Select an existing table and click on Edit You cannot reset a pre-defined table to its original configuration

Using Custom Forms Form – a dialog box you use to enter information about tasks or resources into your project To create a custom form: –Display the Customize Forms dialog box –Specify to create a task form or a resource form –Select the form you want to display –Click on Edit to edit the form, or –Click on Copy to copy the form so you can modify the copied form

Using Custom Filters Filters contain instructions called criteria that specify the conditions under which tasks or resources display in a view To create a custom filter: –Display the More Filters dialog box –Click on New to display the Filter Definition dialog box –Specify the fields and the filter criteria

Using Custom Filters (cont’d) Use flag and text fields for filtering data when you cannot create the filter you want using task or resource data –Flag field – contains a logical value (Yes or No) that you can use to filter tasks and resources –Text field – contains text that you can use to filter tasks and resources To use a flag or text field: –Insert the field into a sheet view and enter a value into the field –Use the value in the field as filter criteria

Using Organizer When you create custom tables, forms and filters, the custom elements are available only in the current project Use Organizer to share the custom elements with existing projects or with new projects To copy custom elements from one project to another: –Open both projects –Open Organizer –Copy the custom elements as desired

Using Organizer (cont’d) To copy custom elements from Project into the Global template: –Open the project that contains the custom elements –Open Organizer –Copy the custom elements to the Global template All custom elements in the Global template are available to all new projects by default

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 7: Customizing Views

Objectives Customize Gantt charts Customize network diagrams Use the Drawing toolbar Use custom views

Customizing Gantt Charts You can customize a Gantt chart by: –Changing the column headings in a Gantt table –Formatting the shape and pattern of Gantt bars –Adding progress lines To change a column heading: –Double-click on the heading to display the Column Definition dialog box –Enter a new title –Change the alignment of the title and data, or change the width of the column

Customizing Gantt Charts (cont’d) To format individual Gantt bars: –Click on Format, Bar… to display the Bar Shape tab of the Format Bar dialog box –Format the starting, middle and ending shape and color of the Gantt bar To format all Gantt bars for a category of tasks: –Click on Format, Bar Styles… to display the Bar Styles dialog box –Format the starting, middle and ending shape and color for a category of Gantt bars

Customizing Gantt Charts (cont’d) Progress line – a line that connects in-progress tasks and creates a graph on the Gantt Chart To create progress lines for a given date: –Display the Dates and Intervals tab of the Progress Lines dialog box –Turn on “Display selected progress lines” and enter the date –Specify whether you want to show progress lines in relation to the actual (current) plan or to the baseline plan

Customizing Network Diagrams You can customize network diagrams in a variety of ways, among them: –Changing box and border styles –Changing the information displayed in the network diagram To modify box and border styles: –Display the Box Styles dialog box –Specify the type of task for which you will modify the box and border style –Change the box, border and background settings

Customizing Network Diagrams (cont’d) To change the information displayed in the network diagram, modify the template for the particular task type You can create a new template, modify a copy of an existing template or directly modify a template Use the Data Template Definition dialog box to: –Select which Project fields to display in the network diagram box –Specify the font and alignment of the displayed text

Using the Drawing Toolbar Use buttons on the Drawing toolbar to add: –Lines –Arrows –Shapes –Text boxes Use the Format Drawing dialog box to format the graphic elements you created using the Drawing toolbar buttons

Using Custom Views Create a custom view to apply a specific table, group and filter to your project data all in one step You can create a custom view from scratch, modify a copy of an existing view or directly modify a view To create a custom view from scratch: –Display the More Views dialog box –Click on New to display the View Definition dialog box –Specify the screen, table, group and filter you want the custom view to use

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 8: Customizing Reports and Printed Views

Objectives Control output in printed views Customize predefined reports Create custom reports

Controlling Output in Printed Views You can print specialized views of a project by: –Filtering views for printing When you filter the data displayed in a view, you filter the data that will be printed –Adjusting timescales in printed views Use the Print dialog box to define a date range for the printed output so that only pertinent time frames of the project will print

Controlling Output in Printed Views (cont’d) You can print specialized views of a project by (cont’d): –Adding headers to printed views Header – text that displays at the top of specified pages in a print job Use the Header tab of the Page Setup dialog box to specify headers

Customizing Predefined Reports Customize Project’s predefined reports by: –Modifying the report contents to print exactly the information you need –Adjusting the timescale to control how much detail is included in the report –Formatting the report text the same way you format text in a view –Adding totals to reports either across rows or down columns

Customizing Predefined Reports (cont’d) Project contains 29 predefined reports, based on one of four report templates: –Task –Resource –Crosstab –Monthly Calendar

Creating Custom Reports Create a custom report by using one of the four report templates and specifying which tables, filters and details to use for the report To create a custom report: –Display the Custom Reports dialog box –Click on New –Double-click on the template you want to use –Use the tabs in the resultant dialog box to specify which tables, filters and details to use

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 9: Sharing Information with Other Users

Objectives Share Project information with other applications Use macros Save projects in Project 98 format

Sharing Project Information with Other Applications You can share Project information with other applications by copying and pasting text and pictures You can copy text from the sheet portion of a view into other applications To copy and paste text: –Select the text in a sheet view –Click on the Copy button in the Standard toolbar –Open the other application –Click on the Paste button in the Standard toolbar

Sharing Project Information with Other Applications (cont’d) You can copy a project view or selected view information as a picture, then paste the information into another application that supports graphic images To copy information as a picture: –Click on the Copy Picture button in the Standard toolbar to display the Copy Picture dialog box –Specify how to render the image, the rows to copy and the timescale –Open the other application –Click on the Paste button in the Standard toolbar

Recording Macros Macro – a series of commands and functions that are stored in a Visual Basic module and can be run whenever you want to perform a task To record a macro: –Display the Record Macro dialog box –Specify the name of your macro and assign a shortcut key combination –Specify where to store the macro –Click OK to turn on macro recording The macro recorder will record all your keystrokes until you turn if off by clicking on Tools, Macro, Stop Recorder

Running and Deleting Macros To run or play a macro: –Display the Macros dialog box and double-click on the macro name, or –Press the macro shortcut key combination To stop a macro while it is running: –Press CTRL+BREAK To delete a macro: –Display the Macros dialog box –Select the macro you want to delete –Click on Delete, then click on Yes

Saving Projects in Project 98 Format Save your projects in Project 98 format for users who use Project 98 Not all features in Project 2000 are supported in Project 98 so some information may be lost To save a project in Project 98 format: –Click on File, Save As… to display the Save As dialog box –Display the “Save as type” drop-down list –Click on Microsoft Project 98 (*.mpp) –Click on Save –Select the appropriate option in the “Saving to Microsoft Project 98 format” dialog box

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Lesson 10: Working with Consolidated Projects

Objectives Create consolidated projects Update consolidated projects Use templates

Creating Consolidated Projects Consolidated file – a file that contains one or more inserted project files A consolidated project is called a master project when it is used to show a hierarchy among multiple related projects Inserted projects are called subprojects Subprojects can be subordinate to the master project or to other subprojects

Consolidating Files To consolidate files: –Open an existing or a new project –Insert subprojects into the open project file When you insert a subproject into a master project, Project creates a link between the source file and the inserted file Because the source file and inserted file are linked, changes you make to one are automatically reflected in the other

Creating Links in Consolidated Files To link tasks in a consolidated file: –Select the tasks you want to link –Click on the Link Tasks button in the Standard toolbar To link subproject tasks to one another or to master project tasks, display the schedule detail for the subproject As you link tasks, Project may adjust Task ID numbers in the Gantt table

Updating Consolidated Projects You can update consolidated projects by a variety of ways, among them: –Viewing multiple critical paths By default, Project displays one critical path for a project You can specify to display multiple critical paths in a project that contains independent sequences of tasks –Modifying the task list –Setting baseline dates

Creating Templates Template – a copy of a typical set of tasks and other information that you use as a starting point for new projects To create a template from an existing project: –Display the Save As dialog box –Display the “Save as type” drop-down list –Click on Template (*.mpt), then click on Save to display the Save As Template dialog box –Specify the data you want to exclude from template, then click on Save

Using and Deleting Templates To create a new project based on a template: –Click on File, New… to display the New dialog box –Double-click on the template you want to use –Complete the Project Information dialog box To delete a template: –Display the Open dialog box, then specify to display templates –Navigate to the Templates folder –Select the template you want to delete –Click on Delete, then click on Yes

© 2002 ComputerPREP, Inc. All rights reserved. Appendix A: Using and Customizing Project Central

Objectives Connect Project to Project Central Track projects with Project Central Communicate project information Customize Project Central

Connecting Project to Project Central Microsoft Project Central is a workgroup tool that allows users to exchange information about Microsoft Project projects –Workgroup – a group of users who share information electronically Use the Workgroup tab of the Options dialog box to create an account for yourself in Project Central and connect it with Project Workgroup members access Project Central through a Web browser

Tracking Projects with Project Central Use Project Central to track projects by: –Assigning tasks to resources –Viewing messages you send to and receive from your resources –Delegating tasks to resources –Recording task status as work progresses –Receiving updated project information from resources

Communicating Project Information Communicate with those involved in a project to keep them informed of a project’s status by: –Sending Schedule Note messages –Adding a hyperlink to a task to attach additional information, such as a document, Web site or graphic –Copying a picture of a view to post project information on the Internet or an intranet for people who are not monitoring the project through Project Central

Customizing Project Central Customize Project Central features to better meet your needs by: –Setting AutoAccept rules for resources that enable you to accept messages without prior approval –Creating user accounts manually to add new users to the Project Central User List –Creating and modifying views and categories to group and filter project information as desired

Customizing Project Central (cont’d) Customize Project Central features to better meet your needs by (cont’d): –Setting security options to specify how Project Central users are authenticated and the required length of passwords –Formatting Gantt charts to modify the way Gantt chart elements display in Project Central