ROMANIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, RESEARCH, YOUTH AND SPORT UNIVERSITY EMANUEL OF ORADEA FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

MICROSOFT PROJECT

Gabriel Tomiani Coordinator: Prof. Univ. Dr. Roger Cox

Oradea June 2011

Introduction

Projects have always been part of our lives. Whether we talk about raising a child, building a house or building a rocket, these all need a time to plan, organize and control each step that needs to be undertaken so that we can have the final product/service. Now more than ever, executives are being challenged to "do more with less" and as a result have to be judicious about where they spend their money and how they allocate resources. The best way of doing this is by using project management software. While project management skills are obviously important for project managers, interestingly the methods and tools project managers use can be helpful for everyone. Microsoft Project today clearly dominates the PC Project Management market. It is designed to assist project managers in developing plans, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing budgets and analyzing workloads.

Project, Project Management, Key Elements

A project, by definition, is a temporary activity with a starting date, specific goals and conditions, defined responsibilities, a budget, a planning, a fixed end date and multiple parties involved. Project management is the process of planning, organizing, and managing tasks and resources to accomplish a defined objective, usually within constraints on time, resources, or cost. A project plan can be simple, for example, a list of tasks and their start and finish dates written on a notepad. Or it can be complex, for example, thousands of tasks and resources and a project budget of millions of Euros. Most projects share common activities, including breaking the project into easily manageable tasks, scheduling the tasks, communicating with the team, and tracking the tasks as work progresses. All projects consist of three major phases: A. Build the plan 1. Create the project tasks list; scheduling the tasks, assign resources for each task; set up the costs of the resources and tasks. 2. Review critical paths for potential problems. A critical path is a series of linked tasks that must be done on time for the project to finish on time. If any task on a critical path is delayed, it can end up delaying the projects finish date. B. Evaluate and optimize the plan Evaluate and optimize the plan until satisfied. Before starting the project and periodically during the project, it is necessary to evaluate and adjust the project plan. Scope, resources and schedule must be considered. C. Track and manage the project 1. Monitor the progress. The update can be made by one person or a team. After the plan is updated, a review must be made to see the effect of changes. Is the project over budget? Is a team member now scheduled to work overtime? Is the project going to end late? 2. Make schedule and budget adjustments if necessary. The more successful these phases are, the greater the chance of a successful project.

Further on I will present the key elements of a project. Task A task is an activity that has a beginning and an ending. The completion of a task is important to the project's completion. Projects are made up of tasks. Resources The people, equipment, and material used to complete tasks in a project. Objective The objective is the quantifiable criteria that must be met for the project to be considered successful. Objectives must include, at least, cost, schedule, and quality measures. Unquantifiable objectives (e.g. customer satisfaction) increase the risk that the project won't meet them. Project constraint A project constraint is a factor that will limit the project management team's options. For example, a predefined budget is a constraint that may limit the team's scope, staffing, and schedule options. Cost The total scheduled cost for a task, resource, or assignment or for an entire project. This is sometimes referred to as the current cost, or budget. Schedule The schedule is the timing and sequence of tasks within a project. A schedule consists mainly of tasks, task dependencies, durations, constraints, and time-oriented project information.

The project triangle

Figure 1. The Project Triangle

If only the project's future could be foreseen. But in a way it can, if the three factors that shape every project are being well understood: Time: The time to complete the project reflected in the project schedule. Money: The project budget, based on the cost of the resources: the people, equipment, and materials required to do the tasks. Scope: The goals and tasks of the project and the work required to complete them. This trio of time, money, and scope is the project triangle. Adjusting one of these elements affects the other two. While all three elements are important, typically one will have the most influence on the project. The relationship between these elements differs in every project and determines the kinds of problems will be encounter and the solutions that can be implemented. Knowing where you're constrained or flexible makes it easier to plan and manage a project. The budget is the estimated cost of a project that you establish in Microsoft Project with your plan. For tasks, the total labor or "person-hours" required (in terms of minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months) for all resources to complete a task. For assignments, the amount of work to which a resource is assigned for a specific task. For resources, the total amount of work to which a resource is assigned for all tasks. Work is different from task duration. For example, a resource may require 32 hours of work to complete a task, but the task may be scheduled with a duration of 2 days. This indicates that more than one resource needs to be assigned to this task, namely two. Working 8 hours a day on the task, two people would complete the task in 2 days.

Seeing the needed data

There are three types of views: Charts or graphs represent information graphically. The Gantt Chart, Network Diagram, Resource Graph, and Calendar views are charts or graphs. Sheets represent information in rows and columns. Each row contains information about an individual task or resource. Each column contains a field for specific information about tasks or resources. For example: Resource Sheet. Forms represent information in a format similar to a paper form. Forms show information about only one task or resource at a time. For example: Task Form, Resource Form. Tables are a set of columns that shows specific information about tasks, resources, and assignments in a sheet view. Filters focus on specific tasks or resources. Like TV channels, each view presents a different kind of information. Tables and filters finetune the information. Just as switching channels doesn't delete them, changing views, tables, or filters may hide information, but it doesn't delete it. It's still in the database and is still updated.

How PM software schedules

How does PM software schedule a task's start and finish? It takes into account many factors, including task dependencies, constraints, and interruptions, such as holidays or vacation days. Most importantly, PM software schedules each task using the formula duration=work/resource effort, where: Duration is the actual amount of time that passes before the task is done. Work is the effort required over a period of time to do the task. Resource effort is the amount of effort resources are assigned to the task and their allocation. For example, if 3 painters work two days on a task, with an effort of 8 hours per day: The work for each resource is 16 hours: (2 days * 8 hours). The total effort of the resources is 24 hours per day: (3 painters * 8 hours). The total work for the task is 48 hours: (2 days * 8 hours * 3 painters). The duration is 2 days: 48 hours / (3 painters * 8 hours). Understanding this formula is important to understanding how changes you make to tasks affect the project schedule. Allocation is the percentage of a resource's capacity designated for a specific assignment.

Microsoft Project
Microsoft Office Project, also referred to as Microsoft Project, offers tools for more efficient project management. Microsoft Project can be used in a variety of industries including construction, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, government, retail, financial services and health care. Microsoft Project today clearly dominates the PC Project Management market. It is designed to assist project managers in developing plans, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing budgets and analyzing workloads. Other software that compete with Microsoft Project in Project Management area are Relgo Project Progress, Clarizen, DotProject, GanttProject, Genius Inside, LiquidPlanner, MicroPlanner XPert, NavalPlan, OpenProj, Open Workbench, Planner (project management), Primavera (software), Project.net, OmniPlan (Mac OSX). The main modules of Microsoft Project include project work and project teams, schedules and finances. Microsoft Project allows its users to set realistic goals for project teams and customers by creating schedules, distributing resources and managing budgets. Users gain control over their project work with the Project Guide that helps them create projects, track tasks, and report results. Additionally, contractors gain control over their resources and finances by easily assigning resources to tasks and budgets to projects. Finally, Microsoft Project comes with customizable wizard that walks users through the process of project creation, from assigning their tasks and resources to reporting the final results.

Steps in planning a project

Define Goals -> Develop Tasks -> Establish Timeframes -> Resource Availability -> Organize

Defining the Project

The objective of the project should be defined by the person/group that is going to manage the project. Tasks, start times, and deadlines must be clearly established.

Build the Plan

Set a start date -> Enter tasks/durations -> Assign resources -> Link tasks -> Fine tune the plan -> Track and Manage -> Set a baseline -> Enter actuals -> Adjust plan -> Close Project

Managing and Tracking a Project

By tracking the progress we check if the tasks are being completed on time and if any task is holding up the whole project? By managing the finances we make sure the project is going to stay within the budget.

Setting a Start Date

When opening a new Microsoft Project file, the user is automatically prompted for a start date. Setting an accurate start date will make future entries more convenient.

Figure 2. Setting the date - MS Project window

Entering Tasks and Durations

Tasks are entered in the Task Name column. Subtasks are created by indenting a task. Durations may be entered in number of working days or start and finish dates may be used

Figure 3. Entering tasks - MS Project window

Assigning Resources
A resource can be a single person, a piece of equipment, or it can represent a group, such as Firemen. Information on resources includes Availability, Costs, and Working Time. Resources are very important in accurate scheduling

Figure 4. Assigning resources - MS Project window

Linking Tasks
Some tasks require that another task be completed before it can begin. These tasks must be linked. Tasks and subtasks are linked by assigning Predecessors. A task that must start or finish before another task can start or finish. A task that cannot start or finish until another task starts or finishes. A task becomes a successor when a row number is entered in the predecessor column.

Figure 4. Linking tasks - MS Project window

Fine Tune the Plan

When all resources have been assigned and appropriate tasks are linked, the original Gantt chart will be complete. After checking to make sure tasks have been linked correctly and task durations are correct, the project is now ready to begin.

Set a Baseline
A baseline compares your original plan for the project with the actual course of the project. Here can be seen which tasks started earlier or later than planned, exceeded their original budget, took longer than planned, and so on. A baseline should be after polishing it and just before start working on the project. To track costs, cost information should be enter before creating the baseline. Still updates can easily be made to the baseline if information is missing The Baseline plan includes: Tasks (start and finish dates, duration, work, cost, splits, time phased work, and time phased cost) Resources (work, cost, time phased work and time phased cost) Assignments (start and finish dates, work, cost, time phased work, and time phased cost)

Tracking Gantt chart

A Gantt chart tracks the progress of the project. It also shows what tasks are overdue and what has been completed on time.

Figure 5. Gantt chart - MS Project window

Conclusion

While project management skills are obviously important for project managers, interestingly the methods and tools a project manager uses can be very helpful for everyone. Microsoft Project is a very powerful tool if it is used correctly. This program can save a lot of time for engineers who are interested in time, cost, etc. It automatically keeps any project organized. Some would say that MS Project is fine as much as a Swiss Army knife can be: can do many thing but not "perfect" at any.