LECTURE 8

Project Planning with Ms Project

Introduction
Microsoft Project 2010 is a powerful program that
helps you plan and manage a wide range of
projects (or Primavera)
Ms Project is the most widely used project
management software system in the business
environment today
It is powerful, easy to use and available at a very
reasonable price

MS Project Strengths
Good step-by-step tutorial for beginners
Good searchable keyword help function
Based on data entry once configured, user enters data
and Project automatically:
Computes all times and costs
Optimistic, Pessimistic, Likely and PERT- expected

Identifies Critical Path, computes late & early start dates, slack
Computes % complete on a task and project level
Identifies areas of over-tasking of resources
Draws a wide ranges of charts and graphs specific to the project
Creates a wide range of reports specific to the project

VERY customizable to meet individual user needs

MS Project Strengths
All charts, diagrams, and reports are designed
to help a manager organize and track a project
All come in a standard configuration
Most typically used information
Easiest to read format
All are also customizable to show the most
meaningful data

MS Project Strengths
Flexible and customizable
Designed to enhance communication
Between manager and workers
Between managers and stakeholder
A good tool to manage expectations

Charts, diagrams, tables etc can be saved in

various formats for use:
On the web, in print, electronically
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MS Project Benefits
Review
Much less work for
a user compared to
manual/MS Excel project planning

Does most of the required calculations

Wide range of graphs, charts, reports
Very customizable, very flexible
Makes communicating project status easier
expectation management

MS Project Hazards
Review
Very Automated easy
to lose touch

No Risk Assessment function

Must be done in MS Excel/manually

Based on PERT/CPM but also influenced by EVM

Weighs by project/task costs, not just completion
Does not consider intangible progress that is common
in Social Sciences projects
Knowledge as part of the process, not just the result
Progress as part of the process not just task completion
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Tips for Using MS Project

Know the project goal before beginning

Know the required tasks before beginning
Identify resources before beginning
Identify task relationships before beginning
Refer to the tutorial as often as needed
Refer to help section as often as needed
Keep the configuration as simple as possible
Avoid losing touch with the project
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MS Project
MS Project is only a tool it does not create or
own the project it reflects the data provided

The simpler the configuration, the easier the

data will be to understand, for all involved

If the plan doesnt look right, it probably isnt

Check resource and task assignments/relationships
Check constraints and dependencies
Look for what has changed in a plan and follow the
clues - a small unintentional change can wreak havoc
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Introduction
With a good project management system in place, you
should be able to answer such questions:
1. What tasks must be performed, and in what order, to
produce the deliverable of the project?
2. When should each task be performed, and what is the
final deadline?
3. Who will complete these tasks?
4. How much will it cost?
5. What if some tasks are not completed as scheduled?
6. Whats the best way to communicate project details to
those who have an interest in the project?
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Introduction - Steps
1. Introducing Project
2. Working with Schedule for new project
3. Creating a Task List
4. Setting up Resources & Assigning Resources to Tasks
5. Setting up Cost Resources
6. Review Project Information
7. Viewing the Critical Path
8. Tracking Progress on Tasks
9. Leveling Overallocated Resources
10. Viewing and Printing Project Status
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Introducing Project
Quick access toolbar

Commands

Tabs
Ribbons
Groups

View label

Status bar
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View shortcuts

Zoom slider

Working with new schedule

Creating a New Project Plan
1. On the Start menu, point to All Programs, click Microsoft
Office, and then click Microsoft Project 2010
2. Click the File tab and Click the New tab.
3. Under Available Templates, make sure that Blank project
is selected, and then click the Create
4. On the Project tab, in the Properties group, click Project
Information Project Information dialog box appears.
5. Set project calendar. On the Project tab, in the Properties
group, click Change Working Time
6. Click OK and Save
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Working with new schedule

New project name

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Working with new schedule

In the Start Date box, type 3/17/2015, or click the down arrow to display the
calendar and select Mar 17, 2015.
Click OK to accept this start date. On the File tab, click Save.

Start date of
New project

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Working with new schedule

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Working with new schedule

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

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Creating a Task List

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

The indicators in this column

tell you whether a task is
manually or automatically
scheduled

Enter the following task names, pressing Enter after

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

Creating a Task List

Your screen should look similar to the following illustration.

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Entering Durations
When working in MS. Project, you can use abbreviations for durations
If you enter this abbreviation

It appears like this

And it means

Min

Minute

hr

Hour

day

day

wk

Week

mo

mon

Month

Automatically scheduled tasks always have a duration (one day

by default).
Manually scheduled tasks, however, do not initially have any
duration

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Creating a Task List

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Switching Task Scheduling from

Manual to Automatic
1. Select the names of tasks 1 through 13
These tasks are currently set to be manually scheduled,
as indicated by the pushpin indicator in the Task Mode
column.
2. On the Task tab, in the Tasks group, click Auto
Schedule.
Project switches these tasks to be automatically
scheduled.

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Linking Tasks
Most projects require tasks to be performed in a specific order
These two tasks have a finish-to-start relationship (also called a
dependency)
Four types of task relationships.

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Switching Task Scheduling from

Manual to Automatic
Indicators in the Task Mode column
tell you that these tasks are now
automatically scheduled

The formatting of automatically scheduled task

bars is different from that of manually
scheduled tasks

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Checking the Plans Duration

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

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Checking the Plans Duration

On the Project tab, in the Properties group, click Project Information.
The Project Information dialog box appears.
Click Statistics
Duration information in more detail

Plans duration

Finish date cannot be edited

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Setting Up Resources
Microsoft Project 2010 supports three types of resources
Work resources: include the people and equipment
needed to complete the tasks in a project.
Cost resources: represent a financial cost
associated with a task that you need to account for.
Ex: categories of expenses like travel, entertainment,
and so on.
Material resources: are consumables that you use
up as the project proceeds.Ex: a construction project
might need to track steel or concrete as it is used
throughout the project.
Effective resource management is one of the
most powerful advantages of using MS Project

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Setting Up Resources
On the View tab, click Resource Sheet
Enter the initial list of resources

When you create a new work

resource, Project assigns it 100%
Max. Units by default

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Assigning Work Resources to Tasks

On the Resource tab, click Assign Resources or
Assign directly resources on the task name

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Setting Up Cost Resources

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

The sole purpose of a cost resource is to associate a particular

type of cost with one or more taskssuch as travel, entertainment,
or training

In the Resource Sheet, click the next empty cell in the

Resource Name column.

Type Travel and press the Tab key.

In the Type field, click Cost.

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Setting Up Cost Resources

Type of cost

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Entering Fixed Costs

Fixed cost is a specific monetary amount budgeted for a task
such as a setup fee, charged in addition to a per-day rental
fee, for a piece of equipment, building permit
Fixed costs should accrue as follows:
Start: The entire fixed cost is scheduled for the start of the
task.
End: The entire fixed cost is scheduled for the end of the
task.
Prorated: The fixed cost is distributed evenly over the
duration of the task. For example, if a task has a $100 fixed
cost and is 75 percent complete, the project has incurred $75
against that task.
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Entering Fixed Costs

Assign a fixed cost to a task and specify its accrual method.
1. On the View tab, in the Task Views group, click Other Views, and
then click Task Sheet. The Task Sheet view appears.
2. On the View tab, in the Data group, click Tables, and then click Cost.
The Cost table appears, replacing the Entry table.
3. In the Fixed Cost field for task 2, type 500, and press the Tab key.
4. In the Fixed Cost Accrual field, select End, and press Tab.

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Reviewing Project Information

Project start

Project finish

Check the project plan's

essential details like duration
and cost

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Viewing the Projects Critical Path

A critical path is the series of tasks that will push out
the projects end date if the tasks are delayed.
The project finish date is of great importance in most
projects, If you want to shorten the duration of a project
you must crashing the critical path.
One way to see the critical path is to switch to the Detail
Gantt view
On the View tab, in the Task Views group, click the
down arrow below the Gantt Chart button and then
click More Views.
In the More Views dialog box, select Detail Gantt,
and then click Apply.The project appears in the
Detail Gantt view.
On the View tab,click Entire Project.
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Viewing the Projects Critical Path

The Gantt bars of tasks on the critical path are formatted in red
Checking the projects critical path and, when necessary, shortening the
overall project duration are important project management skills.
Critical task

Slack/float

Non-Critical task

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Tracking Progress on Tasks

Tracking: tracking project performance and comparing it with the
original plan means recording project details such as who did
what work, when the work was done, and at what cost
The project manager must know how well the project team is
performing and when to take corrective action
Before begin tracking progress, the level of detail should be
determined:
Record project work as scheduled. This level works best if
everything in the project occurs exactly as planned.
Record each tasks percentage of completion: 25, 50, 75, or
100 percent.
Record the actual start, actual finish, actual work, and actual
and remaining duration for each task or assignment.
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Tracking a Project as Scheduled

The simplest approach to tracking progress is to report that the actual
work is proceeding exactly as planned
On the Project tab, in the Status group, click Update Project. The
Update Project dialog box appears.
Make sure the Update work as complete through option is selected.
In the adjacent date box, type or select 7/10/15. Click OK.
Project records the completion percentage for the tasks that were
scheduled to start before July 10

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Entering a Tasks Completion Percentage

After work has begun on a task, you can quickly record its progress as a
percentage; 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%
In the Task Name column, select the name of task 3, Pilot test
questionnaire. On the Task tab, in the Schedule group, click 100%
Complete.
In the Task Name column, select the name of task 7. On the Task tab,
in the Schedule group, click 50% Complete

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Leveling Overallocated Resources

Resource leveling is the process of delaying or splitting
resources work on a task to resolve an overallocation.
Resource leveling is a powerful tool, but it accomplishes only
a few basic things: it delays tasks, splits tasks, and delays
resource assignments. Steps:
On the View tab, in the Resource Views group, click
Resource Sheet. Note that any resources names appear
in red that is overallocated
On the Resource tab, in the Level group, click Leveling
Options

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Leveling Overallocated Resources

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Viewing and Printing Project Status

Formatting a Network Diagram View
In traditional project management, the Network Diagram is a
standard way of representing project activities and their
relationships.
Tasks are represented as boxes, or nodes, and the
relationships between tasks are drawn as lines connecting
the nodes
This is useful if more focus on the relationships between
activities rather than on their durations.
In the Task name column, click the name of task 5,
Prepare mailing labels.
On the View tab, in the Task Views group, click Network
Diagram.
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Network Diagram View

Relationships between tasks
are represented as arrows

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Printing Project Status

On the File tab, click Print

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Printing Project Status

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

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Printing Project Status

Click Current, and then click Select.

The Current Activity Reports dialog box appears.

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Questions?

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