Microsoft Office Project Portfolio - Term Paper Example

Running Head: MICROSOFT OFFICE PROJECT Microsoft office project Portfolio Student’s Name: Course Code: Lecture’s Name: Date of presentation: Contents Contents 2 1.Introduction to Microsoft Project Management 3 2. Terminology of MS Project 4 3. Creating a project plan timeline 5 Gantt chart 7 Critical Path 7 Network Diagrams 8 5.Creating a Resource Driven Project Plan 11 6.Application of Calendars in Maximising Resource Availability 13 7.Using Microsoft Project in Programme Management 16 8.Base planning and tracking using Microsoft Project 18 Saving a Project Baseline 18 Observing the Changes 19 9.Reporting using Microsoft Project 21 10.Additional Features of Microsoft Project 22 11.Conclusion 23 References 24 1. Introduction to Microsoft Project Management MS Office Project is application software specially developed for project management and it uses a set of actions and procedures with high power combination in planning, tracking and controlling a project through creation of tasks with timeline, controlling resources flexibility MOP 2010 supports sample projects models, tasks lists imported from other MS application such as Microsoft outlook, Microsoft Excel and also produce reports via flexible tools of application. What does MS Project do? MS Project is a tool that assists project managers. It does not implement project management on their behalf MS Project performs accurate calculations of time duration and associated costs in a project MS Project allows the evaluation of the ‘what if situations’ in order to alter project variables and evaluate the effects of the alterations prior to finalizing the feasible plan of action Once the project commences, MS Project helps in evaluation by tracking all the details you gather about the duration, task, cost and resource allocation and requirements so as to ,make relevant adjustment and meet the expected milestones MS Project assists the project manager to generate and print predefined views and reports MS Project however, does not substitute the human input in a project since it cannot do the following things: It cannot create the activities associated with a project It can carry out logical relationships between activities It cannot allocate duration of time of a given task in a project It cannot allocate resources required in a given activity in a project Note: drawing up of a detailed outline of tasks associated with a project in a logical sequence is an integral part of process planning 2. Terminology of MS Project MS project is an application of terminologies and their application. The terminologies are the same both for MS Project 2003 and MS Project 2007. The following table shows the typical terminologies used to the statement and function of MS Project 2003 and 2010. The MS Project Workspace 3. Creating a project plan timeline In order to create a timeline, one needs tasks and time duration with each task assigned the start and finish date and the apparent relationship between and among the tasks. A timeline enables a project manager to predict the future of a project, predict the expected fishing time of the project and prepare a schedule to conduct plan of time with the prepared schedule. MS Project possesses several tools that assist in viewing the timeline; Gantt chart, Network diagram. However to manage the timeline, initially, task management platform is used to enter the variables of activities, time duration and predecessors tasks. From this PERT (Project Evaluation and Review Techniques) views can be generated though the utilization of PERT charts Expert SOFTWARE available over the web. Initial Screen before adding Tasks on MS Project Adding Tasks Steps necessary in creating a project using tasks Add the activity name in the Task name field highlighted Allocate the duration of the task by using the start date and the time duration Include the relationship of the task with other tasks already defined in the project. You will need to use the links between the activities on the dialogue box created from the predecessors’ column, and also include delay time where necessary. You select the preceding activity from the task information pane indicating all the already booked tasks in the project, select the task by double clicking and then select Task Information. Task Information Dialogue Box Task relationship Means Look like this in the Gantt Chart Finish-to-finish The successor task is made to share the finishing date with the predecessor task Finish-to-start (FS) The start date of the successor task is determined by the finishing date of the predecessor Start-to-finish The finish date of the successor task is determined by the start date of the predecessor task Start-to-start Both predecessor task and successor task start at the same date In MS Project a project is divided into tasks and subtasks by use of TAB KEY to indent the tasks from the main project and sub-tasks from the main tasks. You can import a task from Microsoft Outlook by choosing Insert Group from Task Tab and then clicking on the Task. Gantt chart Gantt chart is widely used view in Microsoft Office. It makes it easy to manage tasks and check on durations and timeline limitations. It assists in listing of the tasks involved in a project, control time durations, helps to indicate the relationship between tasks (this is indicate on left hand side of the Gantt chart). Gant chart bar shows information about the tasks such as duration, relationships, and percentage progress and resource allocation. Gantt chart of Microsoft Office Project 2003 Critical Path To indicate the critical path of project on Microsoft Project 2003, you can; On the menu bar click view, select more views On the view dialogue box, select Tracking Gantt, then click on apply. Critical Activities Network Diagrams In MS Project, Network diagrams assist people to create flow chart of activities in a project (Marmel, 2010) Adding new tasks On the view tool bar click Network diagram On the Insert menu click new task In the dialogue box, type the description information in each of the field, double click on the task information box to add more information Click Outdent task to add indent task and then drag the new box. This creates a link between two tasks. Note the default order is Finish-Start. Ordinary tasks are indicated in blue and critical tasks in red. Network Diagram Task Box 4. Managing Resources Any project undertaking must involve resources both human and physical, and therefore a reasonable management of these resources is prudent for a project to succeed. Changes in resources can cause subsequent alterations to the plan and schedule of the tasks in a project, hence managing and making workable changes on resources is among the crucial items required in a project. MS Project provides for three different types of resources that are applicable in all projects: time, work and cost. Work resources enable you to set the time that a resource will take to complete the project (100% full time). For instance if you require 1 additional worker; you need to increase the duration of time beyond 100%, also if you require 5 more people working full time, you need to add 500% for the additional resource. Material resource enables you to estimate the amount of physical materials you intend to use in a project, and also the calculated cost of each material. By using cost resource application, MS Project enables the user to add a fixed cost to an activity without relating to the nature of work performed. In most cases, it is advisable to add the optimum units of a given task with the cost/use, standard rates, and auxiliary costs such as overtime rate then finally calculating the cost. Resources takes money hence they have directly implication on the final cost of a project. Therefore, in order to effectively manage a project; one should define the required resources and wisely assign specific resources to particular corresponding tasks that make up the project. To assign resources to particular activities, you first need to list all the resources on the Resources Sheet View in MS Project, including the cost of each resource and the time required to use each resource. Then, in the Gantt chart View, click on Resources Names Columns on each task and select the resources associated with the particular task. Alternatively click on Task Information Window or double click the task name, select the resource tab and finally set up the particular resources and their associated cost. The earlier option is more preferred because it is not only faster but enables one to manage the Resource Sheet View easily. Option 1: Resource sheet and types of resources Option 2: Task information and Resources tab The cost element is incorporated now in MS Project 2007 and 2010 unlike the earlier version of MS Project 2003. 5. Creating a Resource Driven Project Plan Resource Driven Tasks refers to tasks whose timeframe and durations by the their increase or reduction of the resources provided (Marmel, 2010). A Resource Driven Task can be created by use of, task type, Resource Graph, task usage chart, and resource usage. When using the Resource graph, we examine whether any resource has been over allocated, check the work capacity associated with each resource, check the time duration (for instance number of hours) allocated to that particular task and also review the cost associated with the resource. Resource Sheet Altering a task type can affect the timeline and schedule of the overall project. Tasks can be divided into three. Namely fixed units, fixed work, and fixed duration tasks. Fixed units task is the default in a typical MS Project, however on can change to whichever is applicable for a particular project by choosing the advanced tab in a the Task Information Dialogue Box as shown below. Task information and Task Type Tab Task usage view is used to show the associated cost of each resource assigned to a particular task over a specific duration of time. The task view enables one to edit both the resource and task information simultaneously, checking the frequency with which every resource is to be used and also alter the percentage of work a worker spends on a particular task by define work contours and splitting a task for the other section to run after. Finally, resource usage view enables one to edit and input information concerning the task assignment such as work allocation, work availability, cost incurred, and distribution of resources across the diverse assignments. Resource usage view also helps to check the percentage of work and costs a person incurs as estimating the duration of time by using each resource. Task Usage View 6. Application of Calendars in Maximising Resource Availability Calendar view enables users of MS Project to easily create, edit and where necessary, review the project tasks and duration. It allows one to schedule every task by specific timeframe; either in days, weeks or months. This enables people to manage the resource better by examining the ability of the resource at every point of the project life. MS Project Calendar View MS Project also enables one to change the calendar that is governing the whole project, or every resource. This application assists project managers to adopt a more efficient schedule. In order to maximize the availability of the resources, one can change the working time defined in the calendar. You will need to go to project Tab in MOP 2010, or click on Project on the menu bar. On the dialogue box, you can choose Change Working Time in the calendar. By altering the working time, you can also change the entire working time of the whole project. In MOP 2007, you will need to follow the following steps Go to Tools on Menu bar Click on Options on drop down menu On the Options dialog box alter the project timing from beginning by clicking on the Schedule tab. Calendar tab assists the project team to check working days from the calendar, and then managing the little schedules every day for proper effectiveness either the rest of project activities. To alter Overtime work for a given task, the following steps are necessary for MOP 2007. Click on the Gantt chart view Click on the particular task that you want to set the overtime In the view tab on the menu bar, click on more views on the drop down menu Select task detail form. From the Task detail form, you can make the appropriate changes. Task Details Form 7. Using Microsoft Project in Programme Management The objective of a project manager is to consolidate the resources involved in a project and also develop a mastery plan of the numerous tasks and subtasks that together make-up the project. Therefore, in order to have a wider management of the major project and the constituent sub projects, a single display on the screen can greatly assist the project manager a lot. MS Project is one such tool that can show all the tasks in a single screen for better management. In MOP 2007, you can create a sub task by following the steps below; In the Gantt chart view, click the task that you want to add the subtask On ID right click and click on new tasks Indent the task by right clicking again on the ID Fill in the subtask name and other details required such as the time duration, resource allocation and choice the appropriate relationship with the processor tasks. You can as well use same resources for several projects if you wish. This is possible through Project server via the company intranet or World Wide Web internet in situation where there is only one central manager using the Microsoft Project Professional®. The manager can categorize and save file having all the available company resources, and then calling Enterprise Resource Pool. If Microsoft Project Professional® is not available, one can classify and set a resource pool of both physical and human resources provided in an earlier project and then follow the steps highlighted below. Open project that is containing the set resource pool file and which contains the classified resources Open the project that you will be working on i.e. the one to utilize the resource pool On the resource tab, click the Resource Pool Button on the Assignments group In the MOP 2003, to link projects, you need to follow the steps below. On the menu bar, click on tools Click on the Links between Projects on the drop down menu 8. Base planning and tracking using Microsoft Project Saving a Project Baseline A baseline refers to a set of vital information in your project. This may include items such as expected starting dates of the project, expected finishing dates, and the calculated costs of resources, tasks and assignments. When a project is saved as a baseline, MS Project captures a snapshot of the current values and saves them in the project plan for future reference and comparison. In order to save a project plan as a baseline, the following steps need to be followed; Ensure first that the project plan is updated and saved On the menu bar clicks on tools tracking Save baseline Then save the project plan as baseline The Project plan gets saved but there is no indication of any alterations of Gantt chart on the window From this you can check and compare how the project plan has drifted away from the original schedule. The Gantt chart enables one to manage the tasks that require more resources to shorten the time duration, the dependencies of related tasks and their effect to the general schedule of the project. Observing the Changes To observe the alterations caused by saving a project plan as the baseline, the following steps need to be followed On the view menu, click on views and select more views Select Task Sheet and click apply Again click on view, point on table, variance and finally click on Variance The variance table gives both the baseline and columns arranged side by side for ease in comparison. With the difference in the actual and the estimated schedule, you may require to alter the actual dates of starting and finishing each task or at most the entire project. It is important to check the start and finish dates of projects prior to the alteration of predecessor activities; otherwise it might lead to the generation of erroneous Gantt chart. Tracking Gantt chart view It is also possible to update the actual work achieved in a given task, on Tables button in Tracking. This is where you can alter the actual work achieved, actual time duration as well as the actual activities carried out in any task. The display on the Gantt chart can be change, to achieve this you need click on format on the menu bar, select bar styles from the drop down menu. You can change on the dialog box among other things, the type, colour, and the pattern of the bars. 9. Reporting using Microsoft Project Reports are very crucial in any project. They help not only the project team but also other interested parties fir instance the donors to comprehend the project schedule of activities, know exactly what is happening, know the status of the project. Reports are very important tools required in making decisions. MS Office offers an easy technique of transferring the reports to other Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Visio, as well offering an easy way of printing out. There are basically two types of reports; the Visual reports and normal reports (Pyron, 1993). Visual Reports Print Reports 10. Additional Features of Microsoft Project Latest Ms Project versions have very appealing display that promotes the Fluent User Interface thus enabling the user to easily access the needed tools. These versions facilitate faster and easier copy and paste to and from other Microsoft application with the retaining of formatting. One can easily add columns and data with ease with necessarily highlighting the data particular type. For instance MS Project 2010 enables one to enjoy user- controlled scheduling and making it easy to manage your work with ease by: Allowing manual scheduling of task when all relevant information is available or automatically scheduling of the tasks based on calculated data on dates and duration Alerting the scheduler with wavy lines and thus aiding in managing of potential mistakes Identifying gaps and disparities by comparing the manually scheduled activities with respected to the generated subtasks Allowing the simplicity in planning with both active and passive activities Tools that help in gaining prior insights on problems and taking early corrective action 11. Conclusion This portfolio report on Microsoft Office 2003 goes a long way in assisting people to have better knowledge in Project planning. It has exceptionally good tools and techniques that are of great use to project managers in their quest of analyzing the puzzles that engulf most projects. References Marmel, E. (2010). Microsoft Project 2010 Bible. Indianapolis, Indiana: Wiley. Microsoft Project Professional 2003 [electronic resource] Pyron, T. (1993). Using Microsoft project for Windows. Carmel Read More