How to Get Started With Microsoft Project 2015 National Seminars Training. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this material or any part thereof in any manner.
HOW TO GET STARTED WITH MICROSOFT PROJECT Project Management Concepts in Microsoft Project The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) from the Project Management Institute (PMI) defines the following six processes used in project management: 1. Initiating 2. Planning 3. Executing 4. Monitoring 5. Controlling 6. Closing Note: Monitoring and Controlling are typically treated as one process group. While specific features of Microsoft Project may be used in the Initiating process, it is most heavily used in the final processes. Planning Defining tasks Defining dependencies Defining resources Defining budgets Executing Information distribution Quality testing Team assignments Monitoring and Controlling Creating project reports Change control Manage the schedule. Manage the budget. Manage the scope. Closing Generate project closure reports. Store the project data for future reference. 2
PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Information Types Tracked Within Microsoft Project Tasks Resources Calendars Reports 3
HOW TO GET STARTED WITH MICROSOFT PROJECT Create a Project File Create a new Project file: 1. Open Microsoft Project. 2. Click File > New. 3. Select Blank Project in the New Project pane. 4. Click File > Save. 5. Navigate to the desired storage location. 6. Provide a file name and click Save. 4
PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Set Up Project Parameters Set up basic Project parameters: 1. Click the Project menu and select Project Information. 2. Configure the following parameters: a. Start date b. Finish date c. Status date d. Schedule from e. Calendar f. Priority 5
HOW TO GET STARTED WITH MICROSOFT PROJECT Getting Help Within Microsoft Project Microsoft Project includes extensive online help. The best way to use it is contextually. Press F1 while in any dialog box and receive help for that dialog box. For example, to see help for the Project Information dialog box: 1. Open the Project Information dialog box using the instructions on the preceding page. 2. Press F1 to see the following help. 6
PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Task Entry In most projects, you will manually enter the tasks into Microsoft Project. Prepare for task entry: 1. Select View > More Views. 2. In the More Views dialog box, select the Task Sheet and click Apply. 3. You are now ready to enter tasks in the simple Task Sheet. Create a task in the Task Sheet view: 1. Enter the Task Name in the Task Name column. 2. Enter a duration in the Duration column. a. Enter a number followed by the duration type acronym. Minutes = m Hours = h Days = d Weeks = w Months = mo 3. Select the Start and Finish values. 4. Provide Predecessor information. 5. Assign the task to a resource when applicable. 7
HOW TO GET STARTED WITH MICROSOFT PROJECT Importing Tasks If you use a planning tool that can store task lists in a format usable by Microsoft Project, you can import the tasks instead of manually entering them. Tasks may be imported from any of the following sources: Excel files Access databases ODBC databases Text files Other Microsoft Project files Import Tasks or Resources From a Data Source: 1. Click File > Open. 2. Select the data source or file. 3. Use the Import Wizard to import the tasks or resources. 8
PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Using Views and Tables Views allow you to see your data represented in many different ways. To change the view, click the View menu and select the desired view or choose More Views to see all available views. To see different data within the current view, change to a different table. To change the table, select View > Table and then select the desired table or use the More Tables option to see all available tables within the project file. 9
HOW TO GET STARTED WITH MICROSOFT PROJECT Using the Microsoft Project Menus and Toolbars Several hidden gems can help you to become a master Microsoft Project user. First is the Organizer, which is accessed by selecting File > Organizer. Next is the ability to customize Visual Reports. Access Visual Reports by selecting Report > Visual Reports. To customize a report, select the report in the Visual Reports dialog box and click Edit Template. Finally, the Gantt Chart Wizard can help you design the Gantt chart you desire. You can access the Gantt Chart Wizard in Project 2013 by customizing the tabs and adding the button that is not on the ribbon by default. 10
PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Using Project Data in Other Applications You can export your Microsoft Project data for use in other applications in several ways. Export data to Excel or text files. Export data to older versions of Project. Use the Report > Copy Picture menu option. The settings in the preceding image will result in the following output: 11
HOW TO GET STARTED WITH MICROSOFT PROJECT Creating Reports Microsoft Project supports two internal report types. 1. Classic reports 2. Visual reports Classic reports are accessed using the Reports tab, which provides the following options: Visual reports depend on two external applications: Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Visio. Visual reports are available in the following categories: Task Usage Task Summary Resource Usage Resource Summary Assignment Usage Assignment Summary 12
PARTICIPANT NOTEBOOK Hidden Shortcuts When editing in a sheet view, such as the Task Sheet, the following shortcuts are available: To Do This: Cancel an entry. Clear or reset the selected field. Copy the selected data. Cut the selected data. Delete the selected data. Fill down. Display the Find dialog box. In the Find dialog box, continue to the next instance of the search results. Use the Go To command (Edit menu). Link tasks. Paste the copied or cut data. Reduce the selection to one field. Undo the last action. Unlink tasks. Press: Esc Ctrl+Delete Ctrl+C Ctrl+X Delete or Ctrl+Minus Sign (on the numeric keypad) Ctrl+D Ctrl+F or Shift+F5 Shift+F4 F5 Ctrl+F2 Ctrl+V Shift+Backspace Ctrl+Z Ctrl+Shift+F2 13
HOW TO GET STARTED WITH MICROSOFT PROJECT To quickly navigate views and windows, use these shortcuts: To Do This: Activate the Control menu. Activate the entry bar to edit text in a field. Activate the menu bar. Activate the Project Control menu. Activate the split bar. Close the program window. Display all filtered tasks or all filtered resources. Display the Column Definition dialog box. Open a new window. Reduce a selection to a single field. Reset sort order to ID order. Select a drawing object. Display task information. Display resource information. Display assignment information. Turn on or off the Add To Selection mode. Turn on or off Auto Calculate. Turn on or off the Extend Selection mode. Move left, right, up, or down to view different pages in the Print Preview window. Press: Alt+Space Bar F2 F10 or Alt Alt+Hyphen Shift+F6 Alt+F4 F3 Alt+F3 Shift+F11 Shift+Backspace Shift+F3 F6 Shift+F2 Shift+F2 Shift+F2 Shift+F8 Ctrl+F9 F8 Alt+Arrow keys 14