abridged ms project guide

8/8/2019 Abridged MS Project Guide

1/53

Setting up and using MS Project


2/53

Using this Guide

Section 1 How does MS Project Work

Section 2 Setting Up for a project

Section 3 Tasks and Relationships

Section 4 Constraints

Section 5 Resources

Section 6 Levelling

Section 7 Tracking

Section 8 Costs


3/53

provide a quick reference to common tasks

provide Best practises in using the tool

vast amount of functionality in MS project and the aim is to give aglimpse of the features that will add value to the PMs planning and

project process.

The main objective is to ensure that PMs know that

MS project is a tool that provides the answer to some questions,

It does not set the questions or run the project

If used properly can dramatically improve the speed and clarity of the

project planning process.

.


4/53

How does MS Project Work


5/53

MS Project

It is a scheduling tool that adds up and subtracts

It provides a graphical display of project data

It allows rapid planning and What Ifs

It follows rules that is set

It stores all the data to plan, record, and track project


6/53

Working

MS Project is a calculator..

Earliest

Start Time

Duration Earliest

Finish Time

Activity Description

Latest Start

Time

Slack Latest Finish

Time

It calculates every task using these formulae below Early Start + Duration = Early Finish

Early Finish Latest Finish = Slack

Latest Finish Duration = Latest Start


7/53

Forward pass Scheduling


8/53

Backward Pass Scheduling or Just in Time

Latest start for

launch is carried

back to the

predecessorsTasks with Zero Slack are said

to be Critical and form the

Critical Path.MS project

adds and subtracts up thenumbers and displays the

Critical path in RED

Tasks with Slack are said to

be Non Critical MS projectdisplays non Critical Tasks in

BLUE

Now MS Project starts from the end and works backwards


9/53

So What?.

Changing just one duration..Train Astronauts causes all the yellow boxes to

be recalculate

In fact MS Project calculates the whole plan again from start to finish and back

again.

Build Apollo is no longer on the Critical Path but Train Astronauts is

MS Project has told something significant.the Critical path has changed , now

we have to take the next step


10/53

Setting up and using MS Project


11/53

Starting a new Project File

Three basic steps to ensure

Step 1 Set the Scheduling Rules

Step 2 Create the Project Calendar

Step 3 Set the Project Information


12/53

Setup Step 1 Go to ToolsOptionsSchedule

Change default task type toFixed DurationThis will stopduration being changed if youadd more resource

Un-Check New tasks areeffort driven.this stops theduration changing if you addmore resource

Why..MS Project uses

Work=Duration x Units (ofresource)

If you fix duration then addingresource does not change theplan

The Majority of tasks are NOT

resource or effort drivenameeting does not get shorter ifyou have more peopleattend.Driving from Paris toMonte Carlo does not getshorter if you have two drivers

Of course some tasks may be truly effort driven but you can change those on a task by task basis later.. But

be carefuldoubling the effort does not always halve the time taken

Change work entryto whatever you

normally

usemost people

use Days, but youcan use whateversuits you


13/53

Setup Step 2 Go to ToolsChange Working

Time

Create a New Calendarbased on theStandardand give it a name

Edit the Calendar to reflect your workingdays and Holidays

Why..MS project uses the Calendar toschedule..the standard calendar appliesto all projects without their owncalendar.what may be good for thisproject may not be for others..also when

combining projects differences in workingtime between Standard Calendarscreated on different machines can causestrange conflicts

Do NOT adjust the hours of work unlessyou are very experienced especially afterthe start of your projectit will recalculateall the durationsMost people onlyschedule in days or parts of days it getsvery complicated if you start scheduling in

hours and whos going to track it?working hours do not generally affectthe project..but they do affect People init so more about that when we talkabout resources

Do NOT select Day titles when setting nonworking timeunless you intend notworking Mondays for eternity.nicethought but your manager may not like it

This Changesselected days to

Non Working

You can create as many Calendars as you wish for different

Countries or working practices to use later with individual tasks


14/53

Setup Step 3 Go to ProjectProject Information

Set the project Start date and set thescheduling method.From Start date is thenorm.From Finish date makes it Just inTime.Backward scheduled also known asJust Too Late because there is no room forerrors.

Current Date shouldonly be changed for

What If Modellingso

leave it alone.

Most Importantselect the Calendar

you created in Step 2

as your project

calendar.All tasks

will now use that

calendar for scheduling

You can select

different Calendars to

schedule specific tasks

on an individual

basisTasks

performed in different

countries for example


15/53

Setup Complete

Congratulations you cannow start entering Tasks andResources..

Although not required to startyou can also set a few moreoptions..

Currency

Elect to show the project Summarytask (recommended)

Show Outline number.. WBS code

Take some time looking at theother options Tabs


16/53

Tasks and Relationships


17/53

Creating Tasks

Enter the Name of the task and its Duration

Duration can be entered as h hours, d- days, w- weeks and mo- months

Duration can be planned or elapsed d ed, w ew

Planned Duration takes into account the project Calendar

Elapsed Duration takes no account of the project Calendar and is 24/7

Use Elapsed duration for third party tasks where you have no control on theirworking practices or hours.Recruit staff via agency duration 3 weeks

should be elapsed because the agency does not work to our calendar

A question mark against duration means it is an estimate

Look at the two tasks below and spot the differenceone is displayed across

Sat and Sun because those days are non workingID Task Name Duration Start

Install Server 2 days ri 30/0 /0

T S S T T S S T T S S

2 ay '03 02 Jun '03 09

ID Task Name Duration Start

Install Server 2 edays ri 30/0 /03

T S S T T S S T T S S

2 ay '03 02 Jun '03 09


18/53

Task Information

Double click on a task to get

Task Info

You can change the task type to

be effort driven if it really is

You can Assign a calendar to the

task.note default is

None.that means it uses theproject calendar by default

If you assign one then a calendar

icon will appear in the Info

column

A task deadline can be assigned

but this is NOT a constraint and

does not lock the schedulebut

Project will report when its

missed

ID Task Name Duratio tart inish Predecessor esource Name

Install erver da ri / on /

onfigure erver da ri / ri /

T T T T T

ay ' un '

arning B ode can be changed

manually but once it has been

project will not update it again

You can embed objectssuch as Docs, xls, ppt files

in Notes


19/53

More Task Information in Tables

There are over 2 fields to use about eachtaskThe good news is you dont have to usethem all!

Data is arranged in Tablesthe default is theEntry Tableeach table displays differentInformation sets

Select More Tables to get a bigger list You can also create you own tables and

customise fields to store data Specific to yourProject

The Organiser allows you toreuse table structures you

have created in other

Project Files


20/53

Creating your own tables

You can putwhatever fields youlike in a table bestto copy an existingone and give it anew name

There are 3 textfields forUser

definition.Selectthe Text Field andenter a Title suchas Departmentthat is relevant tothe data you aregoing to store

You can define,Date, Flag(Y/N),Number, Cost, Text,Start and Finish,Outline Numbers,Durations, to namea few

Shows Table

in main menu

Durations and Start andFinish fields are used forWhat If modelling andscenario building

Think how you can

enhance your project by

storing really useful

information with every

task


21/53

Creating Relationships (Dependencies)

There are four types of Relationships between Tasks

Start to Finish SF Task Finishes when predecessor Starts

Finish to Start FS - % of tasks are related this way, Starts when

predecessor Finishes

Start to Start SS Starts at the same time as predecessor

Finish to Finish FF Finishes at the same time as predecessor

A

B

D

F

E

C

H

G

FS

SF FF

SS


22/53

Lead and Lag times

A lead time is where you wish tasks to overlapExample.Task A manufacture 1 tinsof baked beans..Task B. put labels on tins You would want to start putting labels onafter say 5 % of the tins had been made you would therefore apply a 5 % lead timebetween A and B

A lag time is a pause after the finish of one task before beginning the next..Task C OrderPC.wait for delivery 1 days.Task D. PC DeliveredTask D will have a 1 d lag

Lags and leads can be expressed as duration or as a % of the Predecessor

To set a lead or lag timedouble click on the link between two tasks on the Gantt Chart andenter a value in the lag box..

A

B

D

C

1 d lag

5 % Lead

A minus -2 lag = a

lead or enter a - %


23/53

To Create a Relationship (Link) in MS

Project

Highlight the two task names and selectLink Iconif the Tasks are not next toeach otheruse the CTRL key to selectthem.

Always start with the uppermost task

Alternately place the mouse in thecentre of a task on the Gantt Chart anddrag downwardsa link icon appearsand you can drop it on the task to belinked..

AlternatelyOpen the Task informationbox and select the name of the task tolink in the Predecessors Tab

Break Links using the Break Link buttonor double click on the link in the Ganttchartand chooseDelete


24/53

Relationship problems?..

If you get this message like this whenyou create a relationship.its not anerror..It just says that there is notenough time to complete the tasksand preserve the relationship.

So What.well if you choose tocontinuewhich you should.youhave to resort to brain power toresolve the conflict

Shorten the tasksallow the

successor task to moveAdd moreresource Work longer hoursWorkharder! Its up to YOU..Project hasdone its 25%. It told you that thereis a problem that requires youraction now its your 75%reasoning that counts


25/53

Creating Summary tasks

Summary Tasks Roll up Durations and Costs and are useful for defining levels ofyour WBS

Create a Summary task by Demoting the tasks underneath it using the Indentand Outdent buttons on the Tool bar

Show the Outline Number to see WBS Code

You can go down 5 levels to the Work Package.If you need more then

perhaps your plan is too complex.Remember do not include detail that youcannot influenceClean Room.. Instead of. collect Brush, sweep from leftto right, put broom away, examine floor for specks of dust.thats overplanning. let the cleaner make their own plan!

It is not good practise to Link Summary tasks together.link the individualtasks.. if necessary create and link milestones at the Start and end of eachsummary task

ID Task Name Duration

1 Server Install 3 days?

. Install Server day

1.2 Configure Server 2 days?

. . Configure OS day

5 . . Configure pps day

W T S S T W T S S T W T S S

ay '0 0 un '0 09


26/53

Milestones

Milestones are tasks with no duration

Enter the task as normal and set duration to Zero

Milestone tasks may physically take up time. such as a contract

signing which has taken 4 hours. but it is symbolic and still has zero

duration for the purposes of the schedule

If a tasks completion is the milestone then enter a task and a separate

milestone to get the right meaning

If you are planning correctly.you will find that many of your tasks are in

some way linked to milestones..If they are not.perhaps another look

at the plan..I ask ame uration

1 Server Install 5 days?

. Install er er day

1.2 Configure Server 4 days?

4 . . onfigure day

. . onfigure pps 4 days

. . onfig omplete 0 days 05/06

M M M

May '0 0 un '0 09


27/53

Displaying the Critical pathand more

Use The Gantt Chart Wizard on the formatting toolbar to display the critical path

Select Show Critical Path when asked and then follow the wizard

MS project will display the Critical Tasks in Red and Non Critical in Blue

You may also like to display Slack for non Critical tasksTry

this..FormatBar styles

Enter a new rowcall it

Slackappearance

underline.Normal,noncriticalfro

m Early start to late finishif in

doubt copy the screenshot. You get

this. I call it the Slack Gantt

ID Task Name Duration

. . Configure S . days

. . Install UPS day

. . Configure pps days

3r t tr t r,

W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M

May ' un '

The window of opportunity for

the task is displayed

The task can be completed any time. along the blue line


28/53

Constraints


29/53

Constraints

Constraints allow you to specify a No later than, No Earlier than, ordo at aspecific time

Constraints in general are badly used only apply constraints sparingly. ManyPMs apply constraints to every task thus locking the schedule.which turns MSproject into a wall chart producer

Each time you set a constraint MS Project has less flexibility to change the

schedule

You should set constraints after you have done. planning and what ifs. andyou have allowed MS Project to move tasksand your resource plan works..Itshould be when you are ready to save your baseline for the first time

You should set Constraints for absolute events that will Not change or are

beyond your control to change You should set constraints for tasks whose time horizon does not allow them to

be moved

Remember this is a Plan.and Plans ChangeConstraints limit Change


30/53

Setting a Constraint

Select a task and open the task

Info box

As Soon as Possible is default

As Late as Possible is for JIT

Start and Finish no Later than are

flexible forward schedulingconstraints

Start and Finish no Earlier than

are used when using backward

scheduling or JIT

Must Start and Finish on are

absolute constraints

Select the most appropriate

constraint.think carefully if you

are applying what you meanand

select the constraint date

Think through

the meaning of

the constraint

as applied toyour task


31/53

Messages you get when setting a

Constraint

Cancel if you pressed the wrongbutton!

This is the opposite of what you meanto doso dont choose it

This is what you intenda constraint

will be setbut it may cause aconflict.

I didn't mean it Option

Continueyes please..

So Whatthis is not an error. itis project telling you that you now haveto take some actionIts done its25%..Now its your 75% reasoningthat counts


32/53

Resolving a Conflict

MS Project tells you about a conflict, to quantify how big the problem is.go tothe View menuTablesSchedule

The schedule table shows you the total slack for the project and the task thatyou have set the constraint on..in this case you have to find 1 day to correct theschedule

What to doShorten any task on the critical path (re-evaluation).work longer

hours or non working days..add resource to shorten the task.introduceleads. reduce lag timesapply leadership and motivate..in fact its up toyou.whatever method you can take to shorten the critical path.crashing theschedule by one day!


33/53

Resources


34/53

Resources People, Materials, and Places

Resources are defined in the project and assigned to tasks A resource can be Manpower, or a materiala place is treated as a material.

Material performs no workbut may have a cost. It is assumed that only peopleperform work

Consider with each resource you intend to use whether that resource will make atask effort driven and in particular. will it be linear..A machine working at

double speed could be expected to produce double the output but doublingthe number of consultants on a task does not necessarily produce twice theoutputit depends on skills. the problem..interaction and so on..In otherwords in most cases it is better to decide how long a task will take .manually

2 people in a meeting takes 1hour.6 people in a meeting is therefore 2Mins?..I dont think so..more like 2 hours MS Project cannot resolvelogic like this!

Most tasks do not conform to being Effort Driven by resources in a linear mannerso do NOT make the mistake of letting MS project calculate the duration


35/53


36/53

Resource Details

Email address and

Windows account forgroup working using

project Server

Overall availability FromTo

Use the Working timetab to set holidays


37/53

Resource Details (contd)

Resource Costs canbe entered andadjusted by time

Either enter theexact amount orenter a percentage

change from the lastfigure

You can put in 25different rates oneach TAB

TABs A to E allowdifferent rates to be

applied to differenttasks.For exampleTAB A for interCompany Rate, TABB for ExternalConsulting rate

Companypay Rise

Promotion!

Rate Tables are selected in the task usage view by

double clicking on the resource name against the task

to be charged


38/53

Assigning Resources

When Resources are assigned MS Project calculates the Work, andcosts generated by that resource(s) and applies the formula

Work=Duration x Units

Total Costs are calculated according to the rate tables Cost =Work xrate specific Information of the resources assigned

It is assumed that a resource works evenly across the task unless youspecify otherwise

The next time you change either the Calendar, resource units, or timebased information, MS project will calculate. either a new duration,amount of work.. or number of units

When we fixed duration and made tasks not effort driven in setting upthe project..we retained control Now adding or removing resourcewill only change the amount of Work and thus the cost. The PMthen decides what affect those changes has on duration and modifiesthem accordingly


39/53

Assigning Resource

Select the task or tasks in the Gantt chart andclick the resource icon

Select a resource or resources and .click

assign

You can assign resources how you like as

long as it is consistent.25% = 1 engineer

of their time.2 % = two engineers.or 4

engineers at timeyou decide

Material is assigned as a decimal with the

label you entered

You could even use it to suggest skillFred at

8%, John at 8 % as he is less skilled..butthis is probably too advanced for first use!

If you wish to change a resource use Replace

rather than Removeit prevents recalculation

occurring

R/D is Requested or

Demanded and is used

for group working


40/53

Modifying a Resource on a Task

Sometimes the situation you are trying to simulate is not representedcorrectly by the standard assignment

In these cases go to.View..Task Usage. And Double click on aresource assigned to a task

You can change the amountof work donehere theManager only does 1halthough assigned at 1 %all day

You can also change the ratetable for alternate costs

Work Contouring can bechanged but avoid this untilexperiencedKISS Keep itSimple.S


41/53

Levelling Resources


42/53

There are never enough resources

With a finite pool of resource, conflicts are bound to ariseMS Project tells youwhen there is a conflict by showing that a resource is over allocated..in otherwords you have used the same resource on more than one task at the sametime..

Without using MS Project we know how to resolve this.Replace the resourcewith another. Reschedule so that the tasks no longer overlap.. reduce the

allocation to 5 % on each task.the list is endlessits just called management MS Project can only help you with rescheduling the tasks.this is called

Resource levelling.

Resource Levelling can be Time Constrained or Resource Constrained.Whatdoes that mean?.

Time Constrained is when you do not wish to extend the project but work withthe available slack and if necessary add or change resources to shorten theschedule

Resource constrained is when there is No more resource available and thus theduration of the project will have to be extended to resolve conflicts

MS Project will suggest possible solutions.it will not unravel a bad plan


43/53

Levelling Resources

Here the resource Tech head has been assigned to both Installingthe UPS and the Workstation on the same day.so there is aconflict.

We choose first to Level resourceswithin the available slackyoucan see that both tasks have slack showing.MS project worksouts how much slack is available and Delays the start of InstallWorkstation by 1 day

You can check out what has been applied.Go to

ViewTables.More tables and select the Delay Table.You canmanually change the delay or even remove it as you wishso evenif it all went horribly wrong you can simply set the delays back toZeroID Task

ame Duration

1. .1 onfigure S 0. days

1. . Install UPS 1 day

1. . onfigure

pps

days

1. .

onfig omplete 0 days

1. . Install Workstation 1 day

3rd

tyContractor,

anager

ech Head

05

06

Tech Head

W T S S M T W T S S M T W T S S M

May '0 0 Jun '0 09 J

ID Task ame Duration

1.

.1 onfigure ! S 0."

days#

"

1.

.

Install UPS 1 day#

$

1.

.%

onfigure&

pps

days

' 1.

.

onfig omplete 0 days(

1.

."

Install Workstation 1 day#

3rd

tyContractor,

anager

Tech Head

05

06

Tech Head

W T ) S S M T W T ) S S M T W T ) S S M

$

May '0%

0

Jun '0%

09 J

Project has moved the task along

the slack line by1 day..if you dont

agree..put it back.. by clearing thelevelling or changing the table


44/53

Levelling Resources (contd)

Use Manual it iseasier to see what

happens

Leave these uncheckeduntil you are more

experienced!

Time Constrained..only movesnon critical tasks..uncheck it and

project will move Critical tasks aswell..providing there are no

constraints set

Takes into accounttask priorities if used

Set this to your timehorizonthere is generallyno point in levelling things

six months away

Over allocationsDayby day..Week by week

Clear all levelling..orbetween

dates.this is theOh No Im a PMget

me out of here

button!

hoose. Tools.Resource Levelling


45/53

When Levelling Messages start to appear

This is NOT a disaster..MS Project is just telling you that you master piece of

resource planning is not greatit means that within the time and constraints

currently set there is no solution that project can offer you

Back to your planyou need either more time..more resources.less

tasks..again its up to you.MS project has done its 25% and told you that you

have a problemNow you employ your 75% and figure out the

solution.modify your plan and let MS project work it out againthis time if you

resource plan is better MS project may be able to fine tune it for you

Remember..MS Project applies delays when Levelling.there is no Magic!


46/53

Tracking


47/53

Base lining

Before we can effectively track our project we mustbaseline itThis simply records a copy ofyou plans.dates costs. durations and otherdata for comparison later

You can Baseline either the whole project orselected tasks.

In a long project you may not want to baselineactivity until it falls within your time horizon

Select Tools.Tracking.Save Baseline

Save all or part of the projectand if you need tosave up to interim plans that reflect changes to the

original baseline

Now save a copy of your plan in case youaccidentally save the baseline again

Big Tip!

Do a Save Asevery time

you make major changes to

your plan..and put it in a safe

place in case you mess up the

current file..


48/53

Basic Tracking

Task Update box

Select a task and Mark it

,25,5 ,75,1 %dont bother with

63.56% who can judge exactly?

These 5 boxes are interrelatedChange

one at a time..to show actual progress

Select a task and Mark it

,25,5 ,75,1 %dont bother with

63.56% who can judge exactly?

Update all tasks up to the

time line

ID Task Name Leveling Delay

1 1 Server Install 0 edays

2 1.1 Install Server 0 edays

3 1.2 Configure Server 0 edays

4 1.2.1 Configure OS 0 edays

5 1.2.2 Install UPS 0 edays

Tech1

ead

3rd pty Contractor,Manager

Tech1

ead

W T F S S M T W T F S S M T W T F S S M

26 May ' 0 3 0 2 Jun ' 0 3 0 2 Ju

Today

Tasks completed to the right of the time line are Early,

Not completed to the left are Late

The Tracking Toolbar


49/53

Tables & Views to help you track

Variance Tablegives you schedulevariance against the baselinePositivevariance is a slippageStart variance isgreater than Finish variance shows animprovement..

Summary Table shows % complete and totalcost

Tracking Gantt shows variance againstbaseline.. shown as grey bars below each

taskI3 Task 4 ame

5 Ser6

er Install

7 Install Server

8 ConfigureSer6

er9

@ onfigure A S

B Install UPS

C @onfigure

D

pps

E @onfig @ omplete

FInstall

G

orkstation

5 B

5 00%

0

0%

0%

0%

09

0%

HT

G

T F S SH

TG

T F S SH

7 C H ay '0 8 0 7 Jun '0 8 09 Ju


50/53

Costs


51/53

Cost Basics

Costs are Planned in two ways.when resources are assigned totasks.and as fixed costs against a task

Costs are generated as work is performed..as you mark tasks% complete so the costs are recorded

Costs are ChargedAt the startat the endor prorated overthe duration of a task according to the resource that has beenassigned

When you save the baseline you record in effectyour budget


52/53

Cost Table

Cost not associatedwith resources

Your Budget

Planned work x resource

rates assigned..thischanges with your plan

Actual cost is derived from % completebutyou can edit it once task has been 1 %

completed

Not yet Spent

Install Server final cost was2 over budget, adjusted

actual after 1 % complete

Task 75% completeyoucannot edit the actual

cost....change the amountof work performed and this

figure will change

Unplanned fixed cost

creates 2 overbudget

Summary tasks roll upvariances and totals

Total Cost = Fixed costs + resource based costs


53/53

Cash Flow Views

In the Task usage view ..right click and show just coststhen a cash flow view isimmediately availableuse the zoom controls to zoom out to weekly, monthly orquarterly costsSummary tasks roll up the costs..

If you want to show revenues create tasks to concur with customer paymentsand enter a Negative Fixed cost for the task.

abridged ms project guide

Documents