MICROSOFT PROJECT 2010 EXERCISE

Transcription

1 MICROSOFT PROJECT 2010 EXERCISE Copyright 2011 University of Warwick

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3 MICROSOFT PROJECT 2010 EXERCISE Introduction In MS Project there are typically several possible ways to do each desired action. This exercise will usually show you only one way to do each action, to avoid confusion. You may find the Project Help useful (called by using the '?' button), or the Tooltips. (If you let the cursor arrow rest for a short while on a tool icon a brief explanation of the tool will appear.) Starting Use the mouse and its left button to select Start, All Programs, Microsoft Office Microsoft Project Auto/Manual Scheduling The default setting is for tasks to be Manually Scheduled. This allows great flexibility for the planner. The alternative, Automatic Scheduling, allows Microsoft Project to apply rules for scheduling and sequencing. On the Status Bar at the bottom of the page click on New Tasks: Manually Scheduled and change it to New Tasks: Auto Scheduled. (If the Status bar did not show New Tasks: Manually Scheduled, then right-click on the Status Bar, Ready and on the pop-up table tick New Tasks Manually Scheduled.)

4 To Enter Tasks and Durations You are now in the Gantt chart view. Click on the first box in the 'Task Name' column. Enter the task name for the first task. Enter the task names for the rest of the project in this column. The Task Name column is wider than we need. Point to the feint vertical dividing line to the right of the Task Name heading. (A two-headed arrow appears.) Hold down the mouse button and move left to reduce the column width. To the right of 'Task Names' is the 'Duration' column. Click on the duration box for the first task and enter the number of days. Similarly enter all the other durations. To Enter Task Links We now enter the task links by dragging from task to task. Referring to the network which you have will help. Point to the middle of the first task bar. (A 4-direction arrow appears.) Press the mouse button and hold it down. (A task information label appears.) With the button held down move the pointer down to point at the next task bar. (The label becomes a link information label, and the cursor becomes 3 chain links.) Release the button. Use this method to create all the logic links required. To move right or left along the chart if necessary, click on the arrows at the bottom of the screen. Page 2

5 One way to keep all of the tasks on screen at the same time is to reduce the scale. Choose View, Entire Project If you accidentally create unrequired links, these can be deleted by selecting the two misconnected tasks on the list of tasks, then in the Task tab click the 'unlink' icon (a picture of a broken chain link). Alternatively, you can double click the left mouse button on the link and select delete in the dialogue box that appears. Make a note of the planned project duration for future reference. You can find this by choosing Project, Project Information, Statistics. Note the current duration, then choose Close To See the Precedence Diagram To see that the logic is correct we can examine the network diagram. On the left of the screen is a View Bar illustrating the choice of views. (If there is no View Bar, then right-click on the grey vertical bar labelled Gantt Chart and choose View Bar.) From the View Bar choose the Network Diagram. Use the + or in the bottom right of the screen to zoom in or out as necessary. Check that the network is correct. To remove any incorrect links in the Network view, double click the link line and on the dialogue box which appears choose Delete. To create new links use the same method as in the Gantt chart by 'dragging' the link from earlier task to later task. Page 3

6 To Allocate Resource to Tasks Return to the Gantt Chart (Use the Gantt Chart symbol on the View Bar). In the task list on the left, select the first task. (Click on it.) Then choose Resource, Assign Resource. In the dialogue box which appears click on the first 'Resource Name' box. Enter 'men' as the resource, then click on the Units box and use the arrows to say how many are needed for this task, as a percentage. (E.g. for 6 men enter 600%.) Choose Assign. Click on the next task name. Then click on the box for the number of men. Enter the number of men needed as a percentage and Assign. After men have been assigned to all the tasks, choose Close. Check that you have not by mistake altered the task durations. Page 4

7 To Show the Resource Histogram It is useful to show the resource histogram below the Gantt Chart on a split screen. To do this, choose the View tab and in the Split View area check the Details box, then change Task Form to Resource Graph. Choose Entire Project in the Zoom area to see the whole picture. Notice that the Resource Graph does not show a resolution of individual days. The histogram may be distorted by the number of days which are blocked together as shown in the Timescale The maximum number of men available has defaulted to 100%, and red indicates over allocation (shown striped here). To reset the maximum, in the Split View area change Resource Graph to Resource Sheet. In the Resource Sheet set the max. units to 600%. While in this screen we will enter some cost information. Enter 40/d as the Standard Rate (Std. Rate) and notice how MSP interprets this as 40 per day. If you need to change the currency symbol choose File, Options, Display and alter the currency. Page 5

8 Restore the screen to a Gantt Chart above a Resource Graph. To do Resource Levelling by Hand An over-allocation of men now exists. If it is not visible on the resource histogram, use the arrow to scroll to the right. Try to meet the resource limitation by delaying individual tasks manually. Decide which task to move. Click and hold on the middle of the Gantt Chart task bar and drag to left or right. If the Planning Wizard interrupts your adjustments then choose to Move the task and keep the link and then OK. You will need to zoom in to ensure that you do the moves accurately to the nearest day. What is the shortest project duration achievable within the resource limitation? (Look at Project, Project Information, Statistics.) Page 6

9 Notice that any task that has been moved has an indicator in the left column of the Gantt chart. Point at the indicator to get more information about it. To reset tasks after you have tried moving them point to the task bar and press the right mouse button to open a context sensitive menu. Choose Information, Advanced and reset the Constraint type to As soon as possible. OK To Get MS Project to do Resource Levelling Get MS Project to try to solve this problem. First, reset any tasks that have been moved manually. Reset them to start as soon as possible in the way just described in the previous section. Then choose Resource, Level All. Is the project finish date better than you achieved by hand? If you want to undo this, choose Resource, Clear Levelling, Entire Project, OK. Page 7

10 To Record the Current Plan as the Baseline To save the current plan and costs as the basis against which to compare actual performance we define the current plan and budget as the 'baseline plan'. Choose Project, Schedule, Set Baseline, Set Baseline, For Entire Project, OK. To Record Progress We want to record progress four weeks after the start (= 28 calendar days = 20 working days). To forcibly change the current date to 4 weeks forward use Project, Project Information. Click the downward arrow to the right of the Current Date box. Move the date 4 weeks forward, then choose OK Page 8

11 To record progress on the first task, task a, select it on the task list, then in the Task tab, go to the Schedule area and on the right of Mark on Track use the down arrow to select Update Tasks Record that the task started as planned but took two days longer than planned. This shows on the Gantt chart, but does not emphasise the variation from plan. To achieve this we can modify the appearance of the Gantt chart. Double click on the left mouse button in the Gantt chart area, but not on any individual bar, to bring up the Bar Styles dialogue box. Task bars are shown going From Task Start and To Task Finish. Click on this Task Start which will then show an arrow at the box end. Click on it to get a list of the acceptable alternative delimiters. Choose Baseline Start. Similarly change To Task Finish into To Baseline Finish. Click OK Page 9

12 It is now clearer that task a took two extra days. Next record that task b started with this two day delay, but recovered one of the lost days, and that tasks c and d followed on and are proceeding, with progress proportional to the time spent to date. How clearly does the Gantt chart show this? How could this be improved? Cost Performance In tracking costs MS Project will have assumed that costs are proportional to the actual durations. This can be seen by selecting View, Tables, Cost. To see the cost data may require you to move the vertical divider between the task data and the Gantt chart, or to scroll to the right in this section of the screen. Page 10

13 Suppose task b, despite finishing in less time than scheduled, cost the same as planned. What different reasons might there be for this? How can this be entered into the system? Use whatever way you decide to record this actual cost performance on task b. To review the cost performance choose View, Tables, More Tables, Earned Value, Apply. Modifying the Gantt chart To illustrate how you can customise the screens we will clarify the Gantt diagram by highlighting the critical path, by showing the float, by labelling the task bars, and by sorting the order in which the tasks are listed. Return to the previous Gantt chart view by choosing View, Table, Entry and adjusting the section divider and the zoom. Page 11

14 Point at the Gantt chart area, but not at any individual bar, and double click. The 'Bar Styles' dialogue box should appear showing a list of how different tasks and events are to be represented. Add two lines to the bottom of the list with Name Appearance Show for...tasks Critical Tasks choose a red middle bar Critical Float choose a green underline as the middle bar Noncritical From To Early finish Late finish Page 12

15 Having added these two lines, then still in the Bar Styles box, return to the top of the list of bar types and click on Task, then click the Text tab (halfway down the window) and click on the empty field next to Left. You can then use the arrow key to display a pull-down menu scroll down the list and select Name. (This change will display the name of each task at the left of each task bar.) Complete these changes with OK. To put all the critical tasks above the non critical tasks, first select all the tasks by clicking the Select All button which is the square area in the upper left corner of the tasks table, to the left of the column headings. Then choose View, Sort, Sort by the Sort dialogue box will be displayed. Page 13

16 In the Sort by field (at the top), click the arrow key to display a pull-down menu scroll down the list and select (1) Total Slack (2) Early Start, Sort. If Total Slack or Early Start are not available as Sort by options, then go to the task list. At the right side choose Add New Column for the missing variable(s). It will then become available as a Sort by option What modifications do you think would enhance the clarity and communication power of the Gantt chart? At the end of the exercise close down Microsoft Project 2010 by clicking the X in the top right corner of the screen. Choose not to save the project. Page 14