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Essentials for Using Microsoft Office Project 2007

Essentials for Using Microsoft Office Project 2007. Kristin Hanley, PMP Project Solutions Group. Agenda. Why Is Project 2007 Essential? How can Project 2007 play a significant role in your success? Planning Essentials: Set up plans quickly and easily using Project 2007

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Essentials for Using Microsoft Office Project 2007

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  1. Essentials for Using Microsoft Office Project 2007 Kristin Hanley, PMP Project Solutions Group

  2. Agenda • Why Is Project 2007 Essential? • How can Project 2007 play a significant role in your success? • Planning Essentials: • Set up plans quickly and easily using Project 2007 • Communicating Essentials: • Keeping project stakeholders informed and aligned with Project 2007 • Tracking Essentials: • Flexibly track and analyze your projects with powerful 2007 tools • Questions and Answers

  3. What’s New in Project 2007? • Multi-level Undo • Unlimited levels of Undo • Easy-to-use drop-down list of Undo actions • Show Change Highlighting • Highlights impact of changes to your plan • Visible indicators allows for quick and easy analysis • Task Drivers • Investigate the controlling factors of a task in your plan for better management and control • Browse up or down the chain of factors in an easy to use window much like the project guide

  4. What’s New in Project 2007 (cont’d)? • Improved Reporting • New Report menu item makes it easy to generate reports in a variety of different formats • Easy-to-use visual reports to move data to Excel or Visio • New Cost Resources & Budgeting • New resource type enabling planned and actual costs to be defined by the task • Better support integration with accounting systems • Enables cost resources to be added to project summary tasks to define budgets at project level • Improved Calendars • Define named calendar exceptions (i.e. holiday names) and recurring exceptions • Supports Hijri (Arabic) calendar • Improved and Enhanced Views • Calendar view enhanced with Outlook look and feel with improved navigation, grouping and filtering • More colors, 3-D texturing, cell background formatting

  5. Improved Business Results

  6. What is a project? A Temporary Endeavor Undertaken to Create a Unique Product or Service PMBOK

  7. Why is Project Management Important? • Align activities to achieve your organizational goals • Clearly define project activities vs. daily ongoing tasks • More adaptable to changes and customer demands • More effective focus on deliverables • Doing more with less – more efficient resource utilization • Provides a better approach on dealing with unique, temporary, and complex endeavors • Better able to deal with scope, time and resource constraints

  8. Constraints Projects Have to Live By Project 2007 Planning Your Constraints with Project 2007 as the Enabler

  9. What makes a project fail? • Project goals are not known or understood in specific and measurable terms • Not enough detail in the project plans, leading to insufficient time allocated to achieve goals and inadequate budget and/or other resources • No risk analysis • Scope creep • Lack of buy-in

  10. Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail The bottom line on failed projects: • 51% of all projects come in over budget or run past the original deadline* • 15% of projects fail altogether • $55 billion wasted on failed projects in U.S. alone! Can your business afford the cost of failed projects? *Source: The Standish Group, CHAOS Chronicles, 2003

  11. Typical Complaints About Planning: • Around here I do not have time to plan • You know management wants results not plans • I do not know where to begin • I know the theory, but around here I never get a chance to exercise it • I know Microsoft Project can help but I have just never been given the proper training to use it effectively

  12. Remember The ROI • For every minute you spend doing effective planning with Project 2007, you will obtain a five minute saving during execution • Once you realize the benefit of planning with Project 2007 there is no going back

  13. How Do I Get Started? • Define the project start date • Apply project calendars that match how we work on a project • Moving around the default Gantt chart view • Quickly change the timescale

  14. Formatting and Printing Gantt Charts • Adjust the size of the Gantt Chart pane by moving the Horizontal Split Bar right or left

  15. Formatting and Printing Gantt Charts • Adjust the timescale by clicking on the Zoom-In and Zoom-Out icons.

  16. Formatting and Printing Gantt Charts • Change or remove text in the Gantt Chart using the Bar Styles window.

  17. Formatting and Printing Gantt Charts • Change or create shapes in the Gantt Chart using the Bar Styles window.

  18. Formatting and Printing Gantt Charts • Add pictures, drawings or logos to your Gantt Chart by inserting or pasting objects.

  19. Formatting and Printing Gantt Charts • Reduce the complexity and number of rows by collapsing the WBS to only show summary rows using Show Outline Level.

  20. Formatting and Printing Gantt Charts • Print the entire Gantt Chart view by adjusting the number of pages with Fit To and the Print All Columns options in the Page Setup window.

  21. Formatting and Printing Gantt Charts • Copy the Gantt Chart (or any other view) to another application like Word or PowerPoint by using the Copy Picture icon.

  22. Demo - Easily Enter Phases, Tasks and Milestones • Bring in plans from Excel • Automatically turn on a Project Summary Task • Automatically turn on the outline number codes • Use the indent/outdent key to create different outline levels • Use the Show Outline button to expand/collapse the plan • Easily insert, delete or move tasks

  23. Demo – How Do I Estimate Duration? • Estimating duration in terms of working days • Minutes, hours, days, weeks • Time vs. elapsed time (em) • Enter duration estimates directly into the duration column • Using task information dialogue box • Use the split screen to enter duration

  24. Demo – How Do I Set Task Dependencies? • Easily use the link and unlink tools • Enter directly into the predecessor column • Use the split screen view to add lag • Change from Finish to Start to Start to Start • Easily determine the controlling factors of your task

  25. Demo – How Do I Assign Resources • Set-up a resource pool • Assign resources in the Resource Name column • Use the powerful, easy to use Assign Resource tool

  26. PM’s Spend Significant Time Communicating – A Key to Success • As the number of people involved in the project increases, the number of potential communication channels increases. • The following formula represents the number of potential communication channels that may exist: n(n-1)/2 • 5 people = 10 channels • 10 people = 45 channels • 20 people = 190 channels

  27. Demo - How Do I Apply Different Views? • Use the View bar • Use Calendar View • Use Network Diagram • Apply the Task Usage View • Apply the Resource Usage View • Create various split screen views such as with a resource graph

  28. Demo –How Do I Use Different Tables? • Using the default Entry table • Change from one table to another • Insert or hide columns in an existing table • Move columns around by clicking and dragging

  29. Demo - How Do I Apply Filters? • Apply filters from All Tasks menu item • Filter for Milestones • Using the Date Range filter • Filter for Resources • Using the Autofilter function

  30. Demo –How Do I Use Groups? • Apply groups from the No Group menu item • Group by Milestones • Group by Critical Tasks

  31. Demo – Are There MoreReporting Capabilities? • Visual Reports • Use the “Copy Picture to Office” Wizard to communicate in other formats • Use the Save As command for different formats

  32. Project Executing & Controlling Stages • Executing processes are those that are specific to the type of project or industry • Controlling processes monitor and measure progress, taking corrective action when necessary • The Executing Processes and Controlling Processesinvolve the following: • Drive towards project goals • Manage change and its impact • Manage issues and risks • Keep the plan current and up to date • Take corrective action when necessary

  33. Process for Using Office Project 2007 • Set a Baseline • Decide what information in Office Project 2007 will be tracked and by whom • Decide how the information will be updated in Office Project 2007 • Decide the frequency of updating the plan relevant to the project • Decide how this will be communicated to various stakeholders

  34. Saving a Baseline • What? • Planned version of the project schedule • “Freezes” a copy of the original schedule • Why? • Perform comparisons and variance reports while project is in progress • When? • When plan is complete, but... • Before project starts (before tracking starts!) • How? • Tools  Tracking  Save Baseline • To rebaseline a portion of the project, choose Selected Tasks and To All Summary Tasks.

  35. Baselining/Rebaselining the Project • Saving multiple baselines is useful for taking snapshots of project performance before and after approved changes and analyze the impacts of each change over time.

  36. Tracking Progress • Collect actual information about tasks • What percentage of the task is complete? • When did the task actually start? • When did the task actually finish? • What was the actual duration? • Enter actual data into Office Project 2007 • Compare actual progress with baseline plan • Analyze the plan • Find problems • Keep on track/take corrective action

  37. Collecting & Entering Actuals • Never enter actuals in the following fields!!! • Work • Duration • Start • Finish • Cost • Always enter actuals here: • Actual Work • Actual Duration • Actual Start • Actual Finish • Actual Cost

  38. Demo – How Do I Update % Complete & Actuals • Easily mark tasks done with % Complete • Enter actuals with the Update Tasks tool from the tracking toolbar

  39. How Do I Set-up an Effective Tracking View in Office Project 2007? • Use the Tracking Gantt View to help • Apply the Variance Table • Turn on the Tracking Toolbar • Understand the Current Date

  40. Demo – Can I Analyze Change Impact and Take Corrective Action? • Apply the Slipped Tasks filter to help • Use Group By Critical at the same time as the Slipped Task filter • Modify my plan to bring it back on track • Use the notes field to keep track of changes

  41. What are the End Results? • Set up plans quickly and easily • Communicate more effectively to keep project stakeholdersinformed & aligned • Track & analyze to stay on course and resolve problems Achieve Your Goals and Meet Challenges • Define and understand project costs and compare with ROI goals • Clearly understand the impact of change in scope, time and cost • Easy to use tools to track progress and identify & resolve problems early on • Effectively manage project objectives and changing requirements to meet or exceed customer expectations • Quickly develop effective timelines and determine if they are realistic • Use templates or create phases & tasks to adhere to standards • Easily plan projects and identify constraints to obtain buy-in • Access & share the right information quickly to inform and align stakeholders • Easily identify and communicate resource types and workload needs

  42. Questions & AnswersKristin Hanleykhanley@psgus.com Andy LaGardealagarde@psgus.com www.psgus.com

  43. Thank You!

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