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MICROSOFT PROJECT 2013 TUTORIAL
Introduction
Microsoft Project is a Windows-based project management software package. It provides the flexibility to help manage your projects, provides assistance in every phase of the project and calculates schedules and other project information. It helps to build the project plan and also helps in tracking it to its completion. Microsoft Project supports calendar controls, allocation of resources, production of network charts, Gantt charts, resource charts, calendar charts and dozens of reports. It is easy to navigate and similar to other Microsoft packages. Microsoft Project can be of substantial assistance in the management of projects. It does not produce or print a delineated work breakdown structure, although it does generate work breakdown structure numbers. Its primary advantage is its widespread use and the availability of hundreds of add-ins.
Installing Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project is available to download via Microsoft DreamSpark. When installed, it usually positions itself in the Microsoft Office folder.
Getting Started
- Click the Start button in the lower-right-hand corner of your windows taskbar, then point to All Programs , then Microsoft Office 2013 and finally click Project 2013.
- To create a new project file, select Blank Project. The new project screen exhibits below:
- A new blank project schedule appears as displayed below. In the status bar at the bottom of the screen, click New Task: Manually Scheduled , then click Auto Scheduled option from the pop-up menu that appears.
- To specify a start date, click the Project tab, then click the Project Information button. The Project Information dialog box appears, as exhibited below. In the Project Information window, enter the project start date; otherwise, by default today’s date is taken. You can schedule a project from either its start date or its finish date, but not both. The Schedule from: box is where you can specify whether you want the project scheduled from the start date or from the completion date. In the former case, tasks begin as soon as possible. In the latter case, tasks begin as late as possible. Click on the drop-down arrow associated with the Schedule from: box and select the second of the two alternatives and then select the first again. Note how the comment underneath changes. Now, click OK at the bottom of the pane.
You are placed in the Gantt view of the project. This is really a combination of two views in one. On the left, you have a table that you can change. On the right, you have the typical Gantt chart. You can move the partition between two simply by attaching the cursor to the partition edge and dragging it to the left or to the right. Dragging it to the right reveals more of the table, but lessens the amount of the Gantt chart that is in view. Dragging it to the left does just the opposite.
Note: A milestone is a task whose duration is zero days. Any task can be changed to a milestone by changing duration to zero.
You will not need to enter the durations of tasks which have subtasks subordinated below them. These tasks have their durations calculated as the sum of all the demoted task durations. Think of tasks that have subtasks as a summary of all the subtask information that is subordinate to them. Consider the following list of tasks:
No. WBS Name Duration (d) Predecessors 1 1 Analysis 27 2 1.1 Interviews 7 3 1.1.1 Management 1 1 4 1.1.2 Supervisor 2 3 5 1.1.3 Technical 2 4 6 1.1.4 Clerical 2 5 7 1.2 Anal Existing Doc 3 2 8 1.3 Synthesis 3 7 9 1.4 Functional Spec 5 6, 10 1.5 Re-estimate 1 9 11 1.6 Development Prop 4 10 12 1.7 Presentation 4 11
Note that, in the list above, Analysis duration is exactly as long as necessary to accommodate all of its subtasks and sub-subtasks. Microsoft Project will figure this out automatically. Thus, once all the subtask and sub-subtask durations are entered, Microsoft Project will compute the duration automatically of the associated task. It is not possible for the user to change this. The same can be said for subtasks when they have sub-subtasks. Again, Microsoft Project will not allow you to change the duration of a task that has subtasks.
Microsoft Project accepts durations in minutes, hours, days, weeks or months. When entering data into the Duration column, use the following designations for minutes (m), hours (h), days (d), weeks (wk), or months (mo). The default is days (d) and therefore, the “d” is optional and need not be entered when the intent is to enter durations in days. Thus, if the scheduled duration of a task is 6 days, simply press 6 and then hit Enter.
Microsoft Project has its own built-in understanding of time and it is making a lot assumptions about the way in which you work. For example, it is assuming 8- hour work days, five-day work weeks and that you do not work on Saturday or Sunday. To see this, view the project in the Calendar view by clicking the View tab then clicking the Calendar button in the Task Views group; notice the duration of the tasks and how they fall across weekends as necessary to fill up the required number of weekdays. You can change the default working time (8-hour work days, five day work weeks) by selecting the Project tab and clicking on the Change Working Time button.
Inserting Columns
You can insert columns within any table in the Gantt view. Make certain that your first task is a summary task under which all other tasks are subordinated. Include a Cost column in the entry table next to the Duration column. You can also include “major function,” “output,” and “input” columns within the entry table. To insert a new column, select one column where you want your new column to locate (to the left of the selected column) then right click and select Insert Column. A new column is inserted to the left of the selected column along with a list of columns you may choose to insert.
Showing Task Precedence
This is done to show the time-sequential relationship between two tasks. To show that a particular task can begin only when the predecessor task has completed, the two tasks must be linked. After you decide the task sequence, you can link the tasks, as follows.
- In the Task Name column, select two or more tasks that you want to link. To select more than one task, use the Ctrl button in conjunction with the left-click button on the mouse for every task selected after the first. To avoid confusion, it is best to select only a pair of tasks at a time. The first task you click on will be assumed to be the precedent task and the second task that you click on will be assumed to be the subsequent task.
- On the Task tab, in the Schedule group, click the Link Tasks button.
Microsoft Project generally links tasks as Finish-to-Start tasks, i.e., the second task begins only when the preceding task has completed. Several precedent tasks can be linked into single subsequent task, but this has to be done in pairs in which each precedent task is clicked on first, followed by a click on the subsequent task.
To link the task in Start-to-Start, Finish-to-Finish or Start-to-Finish dependency, the following steps should be followed.
- In the Task Name column, double click the task you want to link. The Task Information dialog box appears.
- Click the Predecessors tab.
- In the ID column, type the ID number of the predecessor task (this is the number on the far left column). The Type box should show the default Finish-to-Start (FS) relationship.
- Click in the Type box and then click the drop-down arrow to see the four types of dependency relationships that can be established. As indicated, the default link type is a Finish-to-Start link, that is, a link in which the succeeding task is not allowed to start until the preceding task is complete. However, Start-to-Start links and Finish-to-Finish links are also possible. In these latter cases, the analyst wants tasks to start together or finish together.
To unlink tasks, use the Unlink Tasks button on the Task tab in the Schedule group after highlighting the associated task names.
assumption in the software business because as Brooks (1975) points out in his book The Mythical Man-Month that men and months are not interchangeable unless there is no interaction between them. If you decide to split your job with another person, you will have to spend some time training the other person to do your part of the job. Then you will have to interact with the other person as the two of you together build the interfaces that are necessary between each person’s module(s). Clearly, the time is not split in half. Therefore, in the previous versions of Microsoft Project, you have to re-set the duration to the original plan. However, this assumption has been removed from Microsoft Project 2013 version so you do not have to go back and check the duration for each task.
Removing Resources from a Task
- In the Task Name column, select the task to which you have to remove a resource.
- On the Resource tab, in the Assignments group, click the Assign Resources button.
- The Assign Resources dialog box appears. In the Resource Name column, select the resource you want to remove, then click Remove.
Assigning and Managing Costs
Estimating costs and assigning them to tasks and resources helps you to develop a project budget. It also helps you to determine how closely the final project cost matches its estimated cost and helps in planning for the future.
Assigning a Rate to a Resource
Microsoft Project helps us to assign hourly or fixed rates to resources. For hourly rates, you can assign a standard rate ( Std. Rate ), which is the rate you pay a resource during normal working hours. Overtime rate ( Ovt. Rate ) is the amount you will pay the resource for any overtime that it does. To resources that charge a flat amount to do a job, you can assign a fixed cost per use ( Cost/Use ).
- On the Resource tab, click on the Team Planner button, then select Resource Sheet from the drop-down list.
- In the Std. Rate , Ovt. Rate and Cost/Use columns for the resource, type the rates that apply and press Enter.
Assigning a Fixed Cost to a Task
- On the View tab, click the Gantt Chart button in the Task Views group.
- On the View tab, click the Tables button in the Data group, and select Cost from the list.
- In the Fixed Cost column for the task, type in the cost and press Enter.
Viewing Costs
Microsoft Project provides numerous ways to examine costs associated with a project. You can:
- view the cost per task
- view the cost per resource
- view the total project cost.
Viewing the Cost per Task
The sum of individual task costs make up most if not all of the total project cost. To view the total cost of each task:
- On the View tab, click the Gantt Chart button in the Task Views group.
- On the View tab, click the Tables button in the Data group, and select Cost from the list.
- Scroll the table on the left to view the Total Cost column.
Viewing the Cost per Resource
This helps you to know the total cost of that resource for all the tasks the resource is assigned to.
- On the Resource tab, click on the Team Planner button, then select Resource Sheet from the drop-down list.
- On the View tab, click the Tables button in the Data group, and select Cost from the list.
Viewing the Total Project Cost
- On the Project tab, click the Project Information button in the Properties group.
- Click Statistics.
Determining Critical Tasks
In every project there are tasks that can delay a project if they are not completed on time and tasks that can be completed after their original finish time without affecting the project finish date. Tasks that can delay a project are called critical tasks and the ones that do not delay are called non-critical tasks.
Critical tasks make up a special path known as the critical path. The critical path is the sequence of tasks that ends on the latest finish date, i.e., the finish date of the last task in the critical path is the project finish date. The critical path is the longest path through the network and the path that determines the duration of the total project. When you shorten the schedule, the critical path has to be shortened.
There are several ways to get Microsoft Project to exhibit the critical path in red. For one, you can right click anywhere in the Gantt chart, select Show/Hide Bar Styles , and click Critical Tasks from the list of options that it gives you. Another
- Click the Link Tasks button.
The Network or PERT Chart View
To view the Network or PERT chart, click the View tab, then select the Network Diagram button in the Task Views group. The Network diagram of the above exercise is displayed below. You can adjust the display size of the diagram by left clicking anywhere in the network diagram and selecting Zoom , then adjusting the percentage as appropriate.
Printing the Required View
Microsoft Project provides many views of the project that can be printed out. As a minimum, they are the Gantt view, the Task Usage view, the Tracking Gantt view, the Network Diagram view and the Calendar view. To print the required view, select the view from the View tab, then on the File tab, select Print. Adjust your printer properties as appropriate.
Analyzing a Project
The main goals of analyzing your project plan are to:
- shorten the schedule to meet project deadline.
- distribute the work load evenly by resolving resource over allocations so that no resources are overworked
- reduce costs to a minimum to save money and complete the project within your budget.
The most important part of the plan is the schedule. By adjusting the schedule, you can schedule a task to start and finish sooner, bring in the project finish date, shrink task durations and distribute the workload more evenly. Before you analyze and adjust a task’s schedule, you need to know what factors affect its schedule. The
main factors that affect how Microsoft Project determines a task’s start and finish dates are:
- Placement. In a logically ordered set of tasks, the tasks are usually performed in the order in which they appear in the task list. For example, a task near the top of the list occurs at the beginning of the project; a task in the middle of the list occurs in the middle of the project. - Duration. Several factors affect duration, but, in general, the longer the duration you enter, the later a task finishes. Changing the duration may change the task finish date. - Task Dependencies. The type of link you establish between two tasks determines whether the successor task starts after the predecessor task is complete. By replacing one type of link with another, you can change the task’s start and finish dates and, perhaps the project end date. - Overlap and Delay. The overlap or lead-time you add between two tasks causes the successor task to begin earlier. The delay or lag time between two tasks causes the successor task to begin later. - Constraints. You can force a task to start or finish on or near a date you specify by entering a start or finish date yourself or you can change the default constraint from as soon as possible to an inflexible constraint such as Must start on or Finish no later than. It is, however, better to let Microsoft Project calculate and if the schedule changes, recalculate. - Assigned More Resources. When you assign additional resources to a task, the task duration can change. Generally, the more resources you assign to a task, the shorter its duration becomes. - Work. By changing the amount of work required to accomplish a task, you can change the task duration and thus the final date. - Task Type. By default each task is a fixed unit task. You can change the task type to fixed duration or fixed work.
Other factors that affect how a task is scheduled are the project start date, the day of the week on which it starts and whether you split a task into portions, with an interruption between each portion.
Management, 1.2.1.2 Supervisor, 1.2.1.3 Technical, and 1.2.1.4 Clerical are all sub- subtasks of subtask 1.2.1 Interviews. It will be necessary for you to demote these subtasks and sub-subtasks appropriately in Microsoft Project by use of the demotion (Indent) arrow in the Gantt chart view. Assign the following resources to the tasks:
Resource Name Task Hourly Rate Kirk Kennedy 3, 4, 9, 13, 21, 23, 29 $ Norbert Norris 5, 6, 10, 13, 14, 16, 21, 23, 29 $ Floyd Ford 11, 17, 18, 21, 23, 29 $ Frida Fisher 12, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29 $ Judy Johnson 15, 21, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 $ Ben Brown 21, 23, 29, 32, 33, 34 $
Determine the total time and total budget required to complete this project. Printout the entry table with the WBS and Cost columns added and its associated Gantt chart. Explain why (in writing) it makes sense to include a Project task at the very beginning of your list of tasks. Explain why summary tasks have no stated duration in the table above. Explain why the first subordinated task immediately below a summary task has no predecessor.
The end result of all of these tasks and assignment entries is the following:
Exercise 2
The Irving Companies are a small conglomerate specializing in health-related businesses, from wholesale planning to in-home health care and medical supplies. The company wants to replace its old legacy systems with an ERP system. The tasks required to do this are the following:
Task Duration
- Define the business case 60 days
- Specify requirements 10 days
- Select an installer/system integrator 10 days
- Select an ERP vendor 10 days
- Install the system
- Install phase 1 10 days
- Install phase 2 10 days
- Install phase 3 12 days
- Perform parameterization
- Parameterize phase 1 22 days
- Parameterize phase 2 15 days
- Parameterize phase 3 14 days
- Perform testing
- Test phase 1 of the system 20 days
- Test phase 2 of the system 20 days
- Test phase 3 of the system 30 days
- Conduct overall testing 5 days
- Conduct acceptance test 2 days
- Perform training
- Train for phase 1 cut-over 10 days
- Train for phase 2 cut-over 10 days
- Train for phase 3 cut-over 12 days
- Perform cut-over
- Perform phase 1 cut-over 2 days
- Perform phase 2 cut-over 3 days
- Perform phase 3 cut-over 4 days
- Assess performance in relation to specs 2 days
- Closeout 2 days
Implement within Microsoft Project. Determine project duration. Assume one distinct person is assigned to each of the three phases. The person assigned to phase 1 costs $75/hr, while the person assigned to phase 2 costs $95/hr and phase 3 costs $80/hr. Assume all other work is performed by the project manager at $150/hr. Determine the project overall cost. Decide what precedence relationships you will require.
Determine the critical path. Describe some ways to get it completed sooner, without adding resources. Turn in the hardcopy of the Gantt view of your project with the entry table shown and a cost column included in that table.
