Project Views

- Kusuma B D, T O ‘B’
 Introduction

•Understand the types, formats, and components of Project views

•What view should I use?
•How is information processed in a view?
•What can be formatted in a view?
 Introduction
Understand the types, formats, and components of Project
views

Project provides different types of views that present

project information by using different formats and
components, such as tables, filters, groups, and details. It
is important to understand the difference between these
properties.
 Types

Project uses three types of views:

task views, resource views, and
assignment views.
 Formats
Project views use several different display formats. View formats include: Gantt Chart, Network Diagram, sheet, usage, and form.
Gantt Chart views, Network Diagram views, and graph views present information graphically.

Gantt Chart views consist of a table and a bar chart.

Network Diagram views consist entirely of a chart.
Gantt Chart views display a list of your tasks on the leftmost side of the view, with a graphical representation of those tasks in bars that span a timescale on the rightmost side of the view. This format can be helpful when initially planning your
schedule, and for reviewing your schedule as the project progresses.
Network Diagram views display your tasks in a flowchart format. This format can be helpful when fine-tuning your schedule.
Graph views provide an illustration of your project's schedule and progress.
Sheet views present information in rows and columns, similar to a spreadsheet. Rows contain information about tasks or resources. Columns in Project are typically referred to as fields and you use them to enter specific information about
tasks or resources.

A sheet view resembles a spreadsheet or table of information.

Usage views list task or resource data in rows and columns on the leftmost side of the view, and show timephased data across rows and columns on the rightmost side of the view.
Form views present detailed information in a structured format about one task or resource at a time.

A form view makes it easy to enter information about specific tasks and resources.
 Components
Components
Each view is made up individual components, such as tables, filters, groups, and details. To
focus on a specific task, resource, or assignment in a view, you can display a different table
and change a filter or group. In some views, you can also change the type of data that is
displayed.
•A table is a set of fields displayed in the sheet portion of a view as columns and rows. The
default table displayed differs by view.
•A filter is a set of criteria for displaying specific tasks, resources, or assignments. The default
filter applied to a view is either tall tasks (for task views) or all resources (for resource views).
•A group displays a specific category of project information. By grouping, you can categorize
and view rolled-up tasks, resource, or assignment information in a variety of ways. No group
is applied by default.
•Details consist of closely related fields that are displayed either in columns, as in a form
view, or in tables that show information over time, as in a usage view.
Changing tables, filters, groups, or view details does not add or delete information stored in
Project, it merely presents a portion of the information in different ways.
 What view should I use?
When using the views in Project, decide what information you want to see (task, resource, or
assignment data), and then decide what format you want to use. This helps you identify which view
will best suit your needs. For example, if you want to enter resource data for your project in a
spreadsheet, choose the Resource Sheet view or the Resource Usage view. To view task information
using a bar chart along a timeline, chose the Gantt Chart view.
If a single view isn't providing you with enough detail, you might find a combination view helpful.
Combination views display two views at the same time. When you select a task or resource in the top
pane of a combination view, the view in the bottom pane shows detailed information about the
selected task or resource. For example, when you display any task view in the top pane and the
Resource Usage view in the bottom pane, the view in the bottom pane shows the resources assigned
to the tasks selected in the top pane, along with information about those resources. The resource
information shown pertains to all assigned tasks for each resource, not just to the tasks selected in the
top pane. See Split a view to learn more.
Use the following sections to learn more about the views used for task, resource, and assignment data.
•I want to view and enter task data
•I want to view and enter resource data
•I want to view and enter assignment data
 I want to view and enter task data
Task data is available for viewing in
several formats, including Gantt Chart,
Network Diagram, graph, sheet, usage,
and form formats.
The following table describes views that
display task data in Gantt Chart format.
I want to view and enter task data
View Description
Bar Rollup View summary tasks with labels for all subtasks. Use the Bar Rollup view with the
Rollup_Formatting macro to see all tasks concisely labeled on summary Gantt bars.
Detail Gantt View tasks and associated information in a sheet, and see slack and slippage for tasks over
time in a bar graph on a timescale. Use the Detail Gantt view to check how far a task can
slip without affecting other tasks.
Gantt Chart View tasks and associated information in a sheet, and see tasks and durations over time in
a bar graph on a timescale. Use the Gantt Chart view to enter and schedule a list of tasks.
This is the view that appears by default when you first start Project.
Leveling Gantt View tasks, task delays, and slack in a sheet, and the before-and-after effects of the Project
leveling feature. Use the Leveling Gantt view to check the amount of task delay caused by
leveling.
Milestone Date Rollup View summary tasks with labels for all subtasks. Use the Milestone Date Rollup view with
the Rollup_Formatting macro to see all tasks concisely labeled with milestone marks and
dates on summary Gantt bars.
Milestone Rollup View summary tasks with labels for all subtasks. Use the Milestone Rollup view with the
Rollup_Formatting macro to see all tasks concisely labeled with milestone marks on the
summary Gantt bars.
Multiple Baselines Gantt View different colored Gantt bars for the first three baselines (Baseline, Baseline1, and
Baseline2) on summary tasks and subtasks in the chart portion of the view. Use the
Multiple Baselines Gantt view to review and compare the first three baselines that you
saved for your project.
Tracking Gantt View tasks and task information in a sheet, and a chart showing a baseline and scheduled
Gantt bars for each task. Use the Tracking Gantt view to compare the baseline schedule
with the actual schedule.
 I want to view and enter task data
• In addition to Gantt Chart views, Project offers several other views for entering and evaluating
task data. The following table describes some of these views.
Format View Description
Network Diagram Descriptive Network Diagram View all tasks and task dependencies. Use the Descriptive Network Diagram view to create
and fine-tune your schedule in a flowchart format. This view is similar to the regular
Network Diagram view, but the nodes are larger and provide more detail.
Network Diagram Network Diagram Enter, edit, and review all tasks and task dependencies. Use the Network Diagram view to
create and fine-tune your schedule in a flowchart format.
Network Diagram Relationship Diagram View the predecessors and successors of a single selected task. In a large project or any
project with more complex task linking, use this task view to focus on the task
dependencies of a specific task.
Graph Calendar View tasks and durations for a specific week or range of weeks in a monthly calendar
format.
Sheet Task Sheet Enter, edit, and review task information in a spreadsheet format.
Form Task Details Form Enter, edit, and review detailed tracking and scheduling information about a selected task,
one task at a time. The grid area can show information about assigned resources,
predecessors, and successors.
Form Task Form Enter, edit, and review information about a selected task, one task at a time. The grid area
can show information about the task's assigned resources, predecessors, and successors.

Form Task Name Form Enter, edit, and review the selected task's assigned resources, predecessors, and
successors. The Task Name Form view is a simplified version of the Task Form view.
 I want to view and enter resource data
• Project provides several views for resource data, in graph, sheet, and form formats. The
following table describes some of these views.

Format View Description

Graph Resource Graph View resource allocation, cost, or work over time for a single resource or group of
resources at a time. Information is displayed in a column graph format. When used in
combination with other views, the Resource Graph view can be very useful for finding
resource overallocations.
Sheet Resource Sheet Enter, edit, and review resource information in a spreadsheet format.
Form Resource Form Enter, edit, and review all resource, task, and schedule information about a selected
resource, one resource at a time. The grid area can show information about the resource's
schedule, cost, or work on assigned tasks. It is most useful when used as part of a
combination view.
Form Resource Name Form Enter, edit, and review the selected resource's schedule information about a selected
resource, one resource at a time. The grid area can show information about the resource's
schedule, cost, or work on assigned tasks. The Resource Name Form view is a simplified
version of the Resource Form view.
 I want to view and enter assignment data
• Assignment data is entered in views that use the usage format. The following table describes
these views.

View Description
Task Usage Review, enter, and edit assignments by task. In the sheet portion of the
Task Usage view, each task is listed with the assigned resources indented
beneath it. In the timesheet portion of the view, information such as work
or costs for the task and the assignment is listed according to the
timescale, for example, by day or by week.
Resource Usage Review, enter, and edit assignments by resource. In the sheet portion of
the Resource Usage view, each resource is listed with all associated task
assignments indented beneath it. In the timesheet portion of the view,
information such as work or costs for the resource and the assignment is
listed according to the timescale, for example, by week or month.
How is information processed in a view?
Views display information that Project calculates and enters for you in
calculated fields. For example, Project automatically displays the start date
in the Start field for each task. Furthermore, Project updates the information
it calculates as you change related project information. You can edit
calculated information in some cases.
You can track the impact of changes to your project data by using change
highlighting. When change highlighting is turned on, after a change is made
to your project data, the cells containing data that are impacted by that
change are shaded a different color. If the changes aren't desirable for your
project, you can easily undo them and restore the previous data.
You can also shade the background of specific cells manually, or configure
Project to automatically shade the backgrounds of cells that meet certain
criteria.
 Introduction

Types
Formats
Components
 Baseline
•Setting a Project Baseline
•Changing Start and Finish Dates
•Comparing Plan vs. Actual
•Re-Baselining a Project Plan
•Editing a Project Baseline
 Baseline
• SETTING A PROJECT BASELINE
• Start with a simple Microsoft Project plan that does not have a baseline set. To verify that the project hasn't been baselined yet, click on Add New Column:
•
 Baseline
• Add both the Baseline Start and Baseline Finish fields to your project plan:
• Initially, all of these fields will have a value of "NA". That's normal, since the baseline hasn't
been established yet
Baseline
To set the baseline, go to the Project tab, and choose Set Baseline:
•When the Set Baseline window appears,
you'll have some choices about how you want
to set the baseline. Initially, just take the
defaults, setting your baseline schedule in the
"Baseline" fields that have been preselected:
•
•By default, Microsoft Project will set your
baseline in the standard "Baseline" fields, and
will baseline your entire project. If you prefer
to use a different pair of fields to store your
baseline, or if you wish to only baseline a
portion of your project, that can be
configured on this screen.
 • CHANGING START AND FINISH DATES
• By definition, when you change the start and finish dates of tasks in your project plan, the baseline will not change. Let's try changing the duration of "Task D"
from 45 days to 60 days:
•
• All of the cells highlighted in light blue have just changed as a result of the change in duration. The finish date of "Task D" has changed, as have both the start
and finish dates of "Milestone E" which depended on the finish date of "Task D". The "Phase 2" summary task also changes, due to the shift in its subtasks.
• Notice, however, that none of the baseline fields are highlighted. Even though the project schedule has undergone significant changes, the baseline remains the
same, helping us preserve the history of how the project schedule looked originally.
COMPARING PLAN VS. ACTUAL
By default, Microsoft Project doesn't display baseline information:
 • If you want to show baselines in the Microsoft Project Gantt chart, here's how:
• Right-click anywhere in the Microsoft Project Gantt chart, and then choose Show/Hide Bar Styles > Baseline. In this example, we'll select the first version of the baseline, called Baseline:
•
• If you don't like the way that baselines are drawn in Microsoft Project, OnePager Pro will give you more flexibility to show plan vs. actual using the same baseline data that you've already set up Microsoft Project. If you don't already have
OnePager Pro, you can download a free trial and try it with your Microsoft Project plan.
• Here's an example of how the same baseline information looks in OnePager Pro:
•
 • RE-BASELINING A PROJECT PLAN

• Some people would argue that you should never re-baseline your project plan. After all, a baseline is a baseline, so if you truly want to compare plan to actual, you should leave the baseline alone once it's been set.

• However, there are some cases where re-baselining a project plan is appropriate:

• The project was paused or cancelled, and then restarted at a later date

• Significant changes to requirements, resources, or budget have taken place, and it's necessary to reschedule the project based on the new constraints

• In these circumstances, it's OK to re-baseline the project plan, but we recommend leaving the original baseline alone, and tracking the new baseline in a different set of Microsoft Project fields. To do this:

• Go to Project > Set Baseline:

•
In this example, our original baseline used the "Baseline" fields, so our new baseline will use "Baseline 1" instead.
 • EDITING A PROJECT BASELINE
• The baseline of your Microsoft Project plan is merely a pair of start and finish fields that are a copy of your regular start and finish fields at a given point in time. If you ever need to make adjustments to your baseline, you can edit these fields
just like you can edit your regular start and finish fields:
•