ACLM’s Project Management Training Methodology suits everyone with respect to quality training and implementation as well. Call us at +91 – 72899 89188 or drop a mail to info@aclm.in to book a FREE demo.
Under Microsoft Project Management Training you’ll learn the art of Project Scheduling, Working with Resources, Progress Tracking & Handling Multiple Project Simultaneously with very practical approach. Meet the instructor today and get more confidence on your project. ACLM’s Project Management Training can change your view towards Project Management Methodologies.
Topics Covered
Project Management Training: Part 1 -The Basics of Project Scheduling
Lesson 1 Overview and Context
Participants’ Backgrounds, Needs, and Expectations
What is a Project?
Recurring Theme 1 – Simplicity, Transparency, and No Loss of Control
Recurring Theme 2 – Effort versus Accuracy — the Asymptotic Curve
Lesson 2 Customizing the Microsoft Windows Environment
Using Windows Explorer
File Name View Options
Lesson 3 Opening MicrosoftProject and Customizing the User Interface
Verifying the Version Number and the Application of Service Releases/Service Packs
Help Facilities — Too Much? — How To Turn Off
A Tour of the Screen – Names & Definitions
Notice lateral scroll bars at the bottom of both sides of the screen
Menu Bar, Tool Bars, Icons, and the View Bar. (P2010: Ribbons)
Turning Off Personalized Menus
Customizing Tool Bars (P2003-2007) and Ribbons (P2010)
Lesson 4 Starting a New Project
Selecting a Project Start Date
Start Date versus End Date Scheduling
Entering Tasks – Observe What Project Does
Adding and Hiding Columns, and a Quick Discussion of Project‘s Data Base
Lesson 5 Durations and the Time Scale
Duration Defined
Elapsed Duration
The Time Scale — Various Ways to Manage It
The Third Timescale Level
Lesson 6 Outlining a Project
Summary Tasks and Detail Tasks (“Parent” and “Child” Tasks)
Properties of Summary Tasks
Outline Levels
The “Line Zero” Project Summary Task
Viewing Outline Numbers
WBS Numbers and Outline Numbers — Differences
Viewing Outline Levels – Preview of Filters
Lesson 7 Linking Tasks
Standard Links (FS) using the Link and Unlink Icons
Selecting Adjoining Tasks with the Shift Key
Selecting Non-Adjoining Tasks with the Control Key – The Order Matters!
Linking Graphically – Slightly Dangerous
Three Other Types of Links (SS, FF, and the bizarre SF)
Entering Links in the Task Information Box and Other Forms
Power Linking by Typing Directly into the Predecessors or Successors Columns
Linking Summary Tasks — Controversy and Confusion (“Hidden Hands”)
Lesson 8 Adding Lags to Links
Lags: Positive, Negative, and Percentage
Combining Lags with SS and FF Link Types
Documenting the Reasons for Lags with Notes
Small Negative Lags versus Large Negative Lags
An Alternative to Lags
Lesson 9 Date Constraints
Constraints Frequently Set in Error – By Typing or Pasting Dates
Eight Types of Constraints – Most of These Should be Avoided
When Constraints Conflict with Links – a Switch Determines Who Wins
When are Date Constraints OK to Use?
Documenting the Reasons for Constraints with Notes
Lesson 10 Milestones
The Purpose of Milestones – When Are They Useful?
Conflicting Definitions with Other Applications like MPM
The Milestones Filter
Lesson 11 Working with Project Tasks
The Deadline Feature
More About Notes – Capacity and the Ability to Insert Objects
Adding Hyperlinks to Tasks, and How they Compare with Notes
Recurring Tasks
Splitting Tasks
Moving Tasks Around in a Schedule – Methods and the Level Problem
Moving Columns to New Positions
To Autolink or Not To Autolink Inserted or Moved Tasks
Saving Work with Autosave, and Version Control Issues
The Language of Tasks: When Verbs, When Nouns
How Logic Flows Through an Unconstrained Schedule
How Detailed Should Schedules Be?
Lesson 12 The Critical Path
Understanding The Critical Path
Different Views that Show the Critical Path
Adding the Critical Path to the Gantt View with a Wizard
Microsoft‘s Critical Path Options in the Tool Box (Tools-Options-Calculation)
The Impact of Date Constraints on the Critical Path
The Impact of Task Progress on the Critical Path — The Different Effects of FS and SS Links
The Impact of Deadlines on the Critical Path — A Departure from the Classic Definition of “Critical”
Elapsed Durations, ALAP Tasks, and their Effect on Critical Path
Lesson 13 Filters
What Kind of Schedules Really “Need” Filters? — Large Ones!
Filters (1) – The “Show” Button is a Kind of Filter – Very Useful for Top-Down Analysis
Filters (2) – Autofilters are a Second Kind of Filter – Quick and Easy, and They Can Be Combined
Filters (3) – The Filter Box Lists All Standard and Custom Filters Available
Creating and Saving Custom Filters – Very Powerful, Very Useful for Special Views
What is a Highlight Filter?
Linking a Filter with a View
Lesson 14 Sorting and Grouping
When Would Sorting be Useful
Sorting (1) – The Quick Sort — Several Choices in the Menu
Problems and Limitations with the Quick Sort
Sorting (2) – The Full Sort — Managing the Two Check Boxes
Restoring Original Line Order with the Sort by ID Option
The “Grouping” Function
Lesson 15 Customizing Fields
Changing Field Names – 2 Ways
The View-Specific Change Technique — Double Click Column Header
The Durable Change Technique — Customizing the Field
Limiting Entries into Optional Fields with Data Validation
Adding a Formula to an Optional Field
Adding “Stoplight” Graphics to an Optional Field
Separate Customization Choices for Summary Tasks
Lesson 16 Other Views and Display Options
The Calendar View
The Network Diagram View (Formerly Called “PERT” View)
The Relationship Diagram View
Splitting the Screen, and Managing the Two Split Halves
The “Arrange All” Function — For Managing Multiple Open Projects
Lesson 17 Reports
The Standard Reports
Editing and Customizing Reports
Using the Gantt View instead of MicrosoftProject‘s Reports
Lesson 18 Adding Graphics and Multimedia Objects to the Gantt Area
Adding a Text Box
Adding Clip Art
Adding Sound and Video Objects
Lesson 19 Formatting for Printing
Wrapping Text to Handle Long Task Names
What Columns Will Appear in Print — a Big Problem Resolved
Gantt Bar Appearances – the Bar Styles Dialogue Box
Adding and Removing Text and Dates from Gantt Bars and Milestones
Link Appearances — Suppressing Links in Large Schedules
The Scaling Option – Get More Space with the Percent Scaling Tool
Building Headers with Variable Inserts
Building Footers with Variable Inserts – a Suggested Standard
Turning the Legend On and Off
The Final Setup Tab: Showing Notes, Blank Pages, Etc.
Last Look at Zooming – Where is the Print Date Range Dialogue Hidden?
Extra Polish: Adding Logos to Headers for Special Presentations
Formatting Options are Stored in Views
Lesson 20 Exporting Project Images and Data to Other Applications
Exporting Gantt Views to Word and PowerPoint with the Camera Icon
Exporting with the PrintScreen Key and ALT-PrintScreen
Exporting Data to Excel — the Outline Level Problem
Exporting Data to Access — the Choice of Power Users
Lesson 21 The Organizer
Overview of the Organizer: the 2-Library Concept
What Project Does When it Looks For a New View or Filter, etc.
Where Modifications are Saved – the Local Library
What the Global Library is (GLOBAL.MPT), and Why it is Useful
Making Custom Filters, Views, etc. Available to Other Schedules on Your Computer
Sharing Custom Filters, Views, etc. with Friends and Colleagues
More about Views – What They Contain and What They Don’t
Project Management Training: Part 2 – Working with Resources
Lesson 22 The Resource Sheet
Entering and Naming Resources – Two Ways
Maximum Availability — What it Means
Showing Availability as a Percentage or Decimal
Human Resources, Fixed Cost Items, and Material Resources
Resource Rates and Costs
Adding Resource Notes
Lesson 23 Assigning Single Resources to Tasks
Many Ways to Assign Resources
Virtues of the Resource Assignment Icon and Box
Adding a Resource at Less than its Maximum Availability
Filtering on Resources
Look at Project Total Cost as Resources are Added: The Statistics Box
Lesson 24 Assigning Multiple Resources to Tasks
Whiteboard Lecture: The Project Triangle — Relationships Among Scope, Resources, and Time
Creating a Schedule for Each Task Type, With and Without “Effort Driven”
Watch What Happens When the Second Resource is Added – Another Big Problem Clarified
Lesson 25 Special Tools for Resource Assignment and Cost Estimating
The “Usage” Views: Resource Usage and Task Usage
Resource Editing and Contours
The Concept of “Assignment”
Assignment Information Options
Five Cost Schedules
Lesson 26 Managing Resource Workloads
Viewing Resource Workloads and Task Assignments
The Resource Graph — Note Peak Units Problem Versus Total Work
Analyzing Resource Conflicts With Split Screen Views
Whiteboard Notes: The Manager’s Knowledge and Options
Replacing a Resource
Lesson 27 Resource Leveling
Definition and Overview of Leveling
Demonstration of Leveling with a Sample Schedule
Look at “Leveling Delay” in the Detail Gantt View
Leveling Options: Level Within Slack, and Other Options
Task Priority and How it Changes Leveling
Clearing Leveling – Doesn’t Always Remove Splits
Discussion: When Leveling Makes No Sense, and When it Might
Lesson 28 Working with Calendars
Using Calendars
Creating a New Base Calendar
Setting the Overall Project Calendar in Project–Project Information
Assigning Resources to Different Base Calendars
Customizing Resource Calendars
Problem: A Day for You Isn’t a Day for Me: The Options Tab Controls what a Day of Duration Means
Problem: Assign Work to a Resource when the Resource Isn’t Working (First with Fixed Duration, Then with Fixed Units)
Assigning a Calendar to a Task
Resource Availability Dates
Project Management Training: Part 3 – Tracking Progress
Lesson 29 The Baseline
Definition and Use of a Baseline
Saving a Baseline
Saving Interim Plans
Multiple Baselines — Why? When These Are Useful
Clearing a Baseline — When and Why
Comparing the Baseline to Actual Data – Available Views and Reports
Lesson 30 Tracking Progress with the Percent of Completion Method
Overview of the Percentage Method
Using the Percentage Icons
Inserting the % Completion Column
What is % Work Complete, and How Does it Differ from % Complete
Physical % Complete, and How it Differs from % Complete and % Work Complete
Summary Tasks Build Averages as Individual Tasks are Tracked
Percentages Translate to Costs in the Statistics Box and in Reports
Moving Up the Accuracy Curve — Add the Actual Start, Actual Finish, and Actual Work Columns
Still Greater Accuracy — Track the Hours by Resource, and Remaining Hours, with the Split Screen
Lesson 31 Tracking Actual Hours with the Usage Views
Overview of the Actual Hours Method
Working in the Resource Usage and Task Usage Views
Why the Plan Changes to Equal the Actuals
How the Plan Reschedules Undone Work — Depends on Task Types
Dangers of the Percentage Icons when Using the Actual Hours Method
Conclusions about the Actual Hours Method
Lesson 32 Earned Value Concepts
The Background for Earned Value
Cost Variance and Schedule Variance
Performance Indexes
The Earned Value Data Fields in MSProject
Companion Tools for Earned Value such as MPM — What Value Do They Add?
Does Anyone Use MicrosoftProject Alone for Earned Value?
Lesson 33 Progress Lines and Updating Tools
Adding Progress Lines to a Schedule
Using the “Update Tasks” Dialogue Box
Updating an Entire Project to a Status Date
Lesson 34 Issues and Problems Arising With Tracking
Partially Complete Tasks Preceding Other Partially Complete Tasks
Tasks Won’t Move Once Started
Task Splitting to Reschedule Unfinished Portions
Project Management Training: Part 4 – Working with Multiple Projects
Lesson 35 Resource Pooling
Overview of Resource Pooling
Setting Up a Resource Pool as a Separate Project File
Linking into the Pool with Tools-Resources-Share Resources Dialogue Box
The Same Dialogue Box as Seen from the Resource Pool File
Split Screen Views in the Resource Pool — Add the “Project” Column for Clarity
Lesson 36 Consolidating Projects
Consolidating the Quick Way with “New Window”
Observe the Simultaneity of the Consolidation and the Individual Project
Consolidating by Inserting Projects
The Outline Level Issue — Can’t Promote to the Top
What Happens When a File is Moved or Renamed
Lesson 37 Links Among Projects in a Consolidation
Building Links Across Project Boundaries
Note the Information in the Predecessor and Successor Fields
Revisiting the Individual Projects — the Ghost Tasks and Line Numbers
Regenerating Broken Links with the Multiple Project Dialogue Box
Who Should Attend
Project Managers
Methodologists
Team Leaders
Project Management Officials (PMOs) and
Software Engineers along with Architects.
Pre-requisites
Knowledge of Windows XP / MS-Office
Project Management Fundamentals
Adequate Knowledge of Project Handling
Basic Internet Technologies
What You Need To Bring
Notepad, pen/pencil
Laptop / Notebook
Inter connectivity for home work
Application Software
Key Takeaways
Real time project management of large projects using MS Project
MS Excel for preparing variety of reports using advanced features like Pivot Tables, Graphs, Conditional Formatting, using complex formulae.
Project Scheduling
Working with Resources
Progress Tracking and
Handling Multiple Project Simultaneously.
About Trainer
Having 15+ years of extensive experience on Project Management
Technical Leadership in MICROSOFT, THE ROYAL BANK of SCOTLAND, IBM.
Has managed many complex mission critical projects for Finance, Insurance, Healthcare, Telecom, Retails and E-Learning