Tame Microsoft Project

Tame Microsoft Project

TTMSPRJ03

Introductory and Beyond

1 Day

Course Overview

Tame Microsoft Project! is not your typical one-day Microsoft Project course. It contains all the features you need to develop and manage a schedule – but only those features. This course makes Project easy to use by focusing on the features you need and hiding the features that make Project so frustrating. How do we do this?

• Using a Project template that is pre-configured to the simplest settings.

• Adding two new tabs to the Ribbon. One tab has a step-by-step process for planning the project. The second tab simplifies managing your schedule and creating reports.

• Integrating project management tips into the course manual that explain the theory behind Microsoft Project’s features. 

This one-day instructor-led course is intended for Microsoft Project users that need to manage a schedule but will NOT be managing cost within Project. By focusing only on the SCHEDULING capabilities of Project, this course dramatically simplifies this powerful application, thus the name: Tame Microsoft Project!

In addition to the student manual, this course uses a Project Template (.mpp) and additional tabs to the Ribbon, both of which simplify the interface for the user.

Course Objectives

This skills-centric class is about 50% hands-on lab to lecture ratio.  Working in a hands-on learning environment led by our expert practitioner, attendees will:

  • Initiate an Microsoft Project plan by correctly recording Project Information and configuring the Project Calendar.
  • Create a project schedule that highlights task dependencies and the critical path.
  • Assign task responsibility to specific people or organizations.
  • Easily update task status to show whether a project is on schedule.
  • Modify a project schedule in response to changes in the project, while maintaining a record of the original plan for comparison.
  • Produce schedule reports for management and customers.

Course Prerequisites

This course is intended for Project users who need to use Microsoft Project to create schedules with clear task responsibility and to regularly update those plans with schedule progress information, but who DO NOT use the cost management or resource allocation views of Microsoft Project. The audience for this course could be people managing large or small projects, part-time teams or dedicated teams, and people who are new to Project.

Pre-Requisites

The audience for this course could be people managing large or small projects, part-time teams or dedicated teams, and people who are new to Project.

Course Agenda

Module 1: Introduction to Microsoft Project

· An Overview of Project Management Best Practices

· Project Supports the Practice of Project Management

· An Introduction to the User Interface of Microsoft Project

· Introducing the Custom Ribbon to Tame Microsoft Project!

Module 2: A Quick and Easy Overview of Managing with Project

· Create a New Project

· Enter Tasks and Task Relationships

· Define Resources

· Assign Resources and Duration to Tasks

· Baseline the Plan

· Track Project Progress with the Tame Tracker View

· Lab: Creating a Basic Project from the Tame Template

· Create a Project Plan.
· Analyze the Project Information.
· Update the project with actual schedule performance information.

Module 3: Setting up a Project

· The Steps for Setting Up a Project

· Start a New Project File from the Tame Template

· Configure the Project Calendar

· Set the Project Properties

· Lab: Enter Project Information

· Choose the project Start Date and Scheduling Method.

Module 4: Creating a work Breakdown Structure

· Guidelines for Creating a List of Tasks, or Work Breakdown Structure

· Entering and Organizing Tasks in Project

· Format the Work Breakdown Structure

· Lab: Manipulate a WBS

· Manipulate a WBS

Module 5: Identifying Task Relationships

· Determining Task Sequence

· Three Types of Task Relationships

· Methods of Creating the Finish to Start Relationship

· View the Network Diagram

· Lab: Display the Sequence

· Display the Sequence

Module 6: Defining resources within Project

· Adding a Resource Using the Resource Sheet

Module 7: Making Detailed Task Estimates

· Work Package Estimates

· Duration Estimates

· Assigning Resources to Tasks

· Assigning Tasks to Resources in the Team Planner View

· Task Types

· Lab: Assign Duration and Resources

· Assign duration and resources to each task.

Module 8: Creating an Intial Schedule

· Calculate the Schedule: The Theory Behind the Software

· Critical Path as a Management Tool

· Identifying Schedule Float

· Applying Schedule Constraints

· Defining Milestones

· Lab: Calculating an Initial Schedule

· Calculating an Initial Schedule

Module 9: Manually Schedule vs. Auto schedule

· Manual Scheduling

· Lab: Experiment with Manually Scheduled Tasks

· Experiment with Manually Scheduled Tasks

Module 10: Managing the Project

· The Project Baseline

· Visualize Progress with the Tracking Gantt View

· Record Schedule Progress Using Actual Start, Actual Finish, and % Complete

· Lab: The Baseline

· Set the Schedule Baseline

· Lab: Entering Actual Progress

· Enter Actual Progress Using the Tame Tracker View

Module 11: Formatting Output and Printing Reports

· Format the Timeline

· View Reports

· Lab: Create Reports in Project 2013

· Create Reports in Project

Course Materials

Each student will receive a Student Guide with course notes, code samples, software tutorials, diagrams and related reference materials and links (as applicable). Our courses also include step by step hands-on lab instructions and and solutions, clearly illustrated for users to complete hands-on work in class, and to revisit to review or refresh skills at any time. Students will also receive the project files (or code, if applicable) and solutions required for the hands-on work.

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