1. New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2007: Tracking Progress and Closing the Project

2. In this tutorial you will:
Set a baseline and create an interim plan.
Review baseline, interim, actual, and scheduled dates.
Work with the Variance and Tracking tables.
Update and split tasks.
Analyze variance, slack, and slippage.
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3. In this tutorial you will:
Create a custom table.
Use the Detail and Tracking Gantt Chart to track progress.
Create a custom view and a custom report.
Add progress lines.
Close a project.
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4. Working with a Baseline
A baseline is a record of the scheduled dates and costs for each task of a project at a particular point in time.
The baseline records 20 primary reference points in five categories:
Start dates
Finish dates
Durations
Work
Cost
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5. Working with a Baseline Cont’d
Set additional baselines to a total of 11 for each project.
Help measure changes in the project plan.
Save a separate baseline at the end of each phase to compare planned values against actual data.
Baseline information is available in several table views.
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6. Save Baseline Dialog Box
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Variance
A variance is when the baseline data and actual data differ.
It is a good practice to monitor variance and compare actual data with the baseline data on a regular basis.
The variance information will serve as a guide to better estimate project costs and dates.
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Variance Cont’d
Baseline dates and costs are used to calculate the variance.
The formula for calculating variance is Variance = Current (date) – Baseline (date).
Projects ahead of schedule have a negative variance.
Projects behind schedule have a positive variance.
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Variance Table
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Interim Plan
An interim plan is a set of start and finish dates that you can save periodically as your project progresses.
Interim plans save projected start and finish dates for the chosen tasks, but not cost information.
Project 2007 allows you to save a maximum of 10 interim plans.
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Tracking Progress
Record all of the actual progress entries based on progress documentation.
Enter up-to-date progress information.
Verify that actual versus planned reports are accurate.
Identify the project Start date.
Understanding the various dates (both project dates and task dates) is essential to successfully tracking progress in a project.
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12. Tracking Progress Cont’d
The Project Statistics dialog box is a valuable overall summary of the date, duration, work, and cost information for a project in progress.
Use a tracking form that records each resource’s actual progress for each task in the project.
It is important to track on a daily or weekly basis.
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13. Buttons on the Tracking Toolbar
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14. Project Statistics Dialog Box with Baseline Data
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15. Understanding the Tracking Table
If you see an error in the scheduled duration change the duration in the Tracking table.
Use the Tracking toolbar to help productively update several actual fields simultaneously.
Quickly report project progress by using the Tracking toolbar.
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Tracking Table
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Updating Tasks
Using the Update as Scheduled button records only actual data for tasks scheduled before the Status date.
You can’t update actual values for a task “as scheduled” that is scheduled in the future.
Use Percent Complete buttons to indicate progress for tasks ahead of schedule.
Use the Tracking table to enter the specific progress dates, duration, cost, or work data.
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18. Updated Tasks that are ahead of Schedule
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19. Creating an Interim Plan
An interim plan is a set of start and finish dates that you can save periodically as your project progresses.
Compare baseline or current information to determine project progress.
The interim plan does not save duration, work, or cost values, but rather only start and finish dates.
Save up to 10 interim plans for a project.
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20. Reviewing Interim Plan Information
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21. Conflicts and the Planning Wizard
The planning wizard warns against scheduling conflicts.
Project 2007 allows actual entries to override logic and does not track logic errors.
If the warning in the planning wizard is overridden, you will not be reminded of the conflict in logic again.
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Planning Wizard
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Rescheduling Tasks
Project 2007 provides the Reschedule Work button to reschedule tasks that should have been finished but are not completed.
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24. Comparing Calculation Options
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Updating a Project
The business needs and the availability of the progress information determine how often you update progress.
The preference can be up to you or management.
It is a good idea to keep to the schedule and update the project accordingly.
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26. Methods for Updating a Project
Update progress using the Update Tasks dialog box.
Update actual progress on a project by using the Gantt Chart itself.
Update a project by using the Update Project dialog box.
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Updating a Project
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Tracking Costs
Cost tracking is how you determine if the project is staying close to budget or not.
Project 2007 tracks the costs for the tasks, resources, and assignments.
As you update the progress of tasks, actual costs are automatically calculated.
Total costs are the calculated costs of a project, task, resource, or assignment for the duration of a project.
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Tracking Costs Cont’d
Total costs include actual fixed costs.
Fixed costs are costs associated with the task but are neither specific nor driven by any particular resource.
Fixed costs are inherent to the task itself.
Timephased costs are task, resource, or assignment costs that are distributed over time.
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Calculating Costs
Cost variances are calculated by Project 2007.
By default, Project 2007 automatically calculates actual cost values as you update project progress.
You can clear the actual costs that are always calculated within the Options dialog box.
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31. Creating a Custom Table
Develop as many unique tables as you need to communicate the information during a project.
Preserve the default tables that Project 2007 provides.
Task tables can be applied only to Task sheets.
Resource tables can be applied only to Resource sheets.
An estimated 200 different fields of information are available for each task and resource.
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Custom Tables
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Custom Views
A custom view is any view that is saved with a name and differs from the default views that Project 2007 provides.
Custom views can contain a set of fields in a particular view, grouping, and/or a filter.
Add a button for a new custom view in the View Bar.
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Creating a Custom View
Create a custom view through the View option on the menu bar.
Edit or copy a custom view just as you edit or copy a Project 2007 view.
Use the Organizer dialog box to delete a custom view, copy a view or make a view available for every project.
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Creating a Custom View
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Custom View Applies
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37. Examine Slack and Slippage
The Detail Gantt Chart shows total slack and slippage.
Total slack (also called total float) is the amount of time that a task can be delayed without the delay affecting the entire project.
Free slack is the amount of time that a task can be delayed without the delay affecting any successor tasks.
If the task has no successors, free slack is the amount of time that a task can be delayed without delaying the entire project’s Finish date.
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38. Examine Slack and Slippage Cont’d
Slippage, or simply slip, is the difference between a task’s scheduled start and baseline start date or its finish date and baseline finish date.
A noncritical task can slip without affecting the project Finish date.
Recall that a noncritical task is one that has some slip.
If a noncritical task slips too much it can become critical.
It is important to track slippage on all tasks.
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39. Determining Slippage Factors
If there is slippage, that is a project falls behind schedule, below are several factors that may be responsible:
Overestimated realistic start date.
Did not apply sufficient resources.
Encountered unforeseen problems during the project.
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Tracking Gantt Chart
The Tracking Gantt Chart view allows you to compare the baseline to actual dates.
The Tracking Gantt Chart displays two task bars.
The lower bar shows baseline start and finish dates.
The upper bar shows actual start and finish dates.
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41. Tracking Gantt Chart View
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42. Slack and Deadline Dates
Apply any of a variety of constraints to a task to ensure that the task is done in a timely manner.
The deadline constraint is a flexible constraint.
The deadline constraint works well when you are trying to realistically display total slack values and yet maintain task-scheduling flexibility.
There are also inflexible constraints, such as the “Must Start On” or “Must Finish On” constraint.
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43. Creating an Interim Plan for the Entire Project
Recall that an interim plan is a set of start and finish dates that you can save periodically as your project progresses.
Compare baseline or current information with your interim plan to determine the progress of your entire project.
Insert dates from your interim plan into the custom view to help analyze the progress.
Determine which phases or time periods were realistically scheduled.
To work extensively with interim plans define custom tables and views.
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44. Reviewing the Interim Plan
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Adding Progress Lines
Progress lines give you a visual representation of all tasks that are in progress.
The lines connect the tasks to create a line chart.
Peaks that point to the left indicate work that is behind schedule.
Peaks that point to the right indicate work that is ahead of schedule.
The lines are drawn based on the percentage completion value and the status date for each task.
The Progress Lines dialog box provides options for setting preferences for the progress lines.
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46. Progress Lines on Gantt Chart
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47. Using Project Progress Reports
Project 2007 provides reports that summarize information and focus on various areas of a project.
Reports help manage and prioritize work in progress.
The Current Activities reports focus on current project date progress.
The Costs reports focus on current project costs.
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Custom Reports
Project 2007 allows you to edit any of its reports or to create an entirely new report by using the Custom report category.
A custom report can be created using any custom tables, filters, and views that you have developed.
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Report Dialog Boxes
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50. Project 2007 Reports used to Analyze a Closed Project
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Closing a Project
Closing a project means finalizing the data that is stored in the project file.
Clarify that the project is finished and the reports are final.
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Tutorial 5 Summary
Learned how to track progress for a project.
Learned how to set baselines and interim plans.
Worked with the Tracking toolbar to enter progress for tasks.
Learned the importance of establishing a current and status date.
Learned how to enter progress in many different ways using different methods.
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53. Tutorial 5 Summary Cont’d
Updated tasks that were ahead and behind schedule.
Learned how to enter the actual dates that a task began.
Learned how to enter the percent of a task that is completed as of a date.
Used the Gantt Chart to update tasks.
Learned how to track costs.
Learned how to enter a deadline constraint.
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54. Tutorial 5 Summary Cont’d
Learned how to add progress bars to the Gantt Chart.
Learned about splitting tasks and how to read slack lines.
Learned how to use a Detail Gantt Chart to assess progress.
Learned how to create custom views.
Learned how to create custom reports.
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