Managing Projects with Microsoft Office Project 2007

Duration: 2 days   

Introduction:

Studies have shown that the success rate of projects will increase and the ROI (Return On Investment) improves when a systematic approach to project management is adopted, especially when projects get more complex and dynamic.  This systematic approach can be facilitated by using a Project software tool like Microsoft Project which can help to manage projects in a structured and efficient manner.    This intensive 2-day hands-on basic course is designed to give project practitioners with essential skills of effectively utilizing project management software in a day-to-day business environment. Step-by-Step hands-on exercises related to actual business applications will help to reinforce concepts and features covered.   

Course Content  

Lesson 1: Overview of Project Management

• Introduction and Basic concepts of Project Management
• Project Life Cycle Phases
• 7-Step Methodology

Lesson 2: Understanding Project 2007

• Microsoft Project 2007 Interface
• Working with Menus and Toolbars
• Switching Between Views and Tables
• Understanding Task Panes
• SmartTags in MS Project 2007
• Working With Project Guide

Lesson 3: Getting Started with Project 

• Managing Your Projects with Microsoft Project
• Starting Microsoft Project
• Exploring Views
• Exploring Reports
• Creating a New Project Plan
• Setting Non-working Days
• Entering Project Properties

Lesson 4: Creating a Task List

• Entering Task 
• Estimating Durations
• Entering a Milestone
• Organising Tasks into Phases
• Linking Tasks
• Documenting Tasks
• Checking the Plan’s Duration Lesson

Lesson 5: Setting Up Resources

• Setting Up people Resources
• Setting Up Equipment Resources
• Setting Up Material Resources
• Setting up Cost Resources
• Entering Resource Pay Rates
• Adjusting Working Time for Individual Resources
• Documenting Resources

 Lesson 6: Assigning Resources to Tasks 

• Assigning Resources to Tasks
• Assigning Additional Resources to a Tasks
• Assigning Material Resources to Tasks
• Assigning Cost Resources to Tasks

Lesson 7: Formatting and Printing Your Plan

• Creating a Custom Gantt Chart View
• Drawing on a Gantt Chart
• Formatting Text in a View
• Formatting and Printing Reports

Lesson 8: Tracking Progress on Tasks

• Saving a Project Baseline
• Tracking a Project as scheduled
• Entering a Task’s Completion Percentage
• Entering Actual Values for Tasks

Lesson 9: Fine Tuning and Special Features

• Setting Task Constraints
• Viewing the Project’s Critical Path
• Interrupting Work on a Task
• Adjusting Working Time for Individual Tasks
• Entering Deadline Dates
• Entering Fixed Costs
• Entering Multiple Pay Rates for a Resource
• Fine-tuning Project Progress
• Updating a Baseline
• Identifying Tasks that Have Slipped
• Generating a Project Summary Report for Word

Lesson 10: Assignment & Exercises on Selected Project 

• Participants will be provided with a simple project outline for them to create, develop and schedule a project plan, using the knowledge they have learned. They are encouraged to use real-life projects in their workplace for this exercise.

Course Objective 

At the end of the training, the participants will be able to: 

• Gain an overview of Project Management.
• Attain a basic understanding of Microsoft Project software application and its tools and techniques.
• Apply Microsoft Project 2007 to increase efficiency and productivity in managing projects.
• Master the fundamentals of developing and scheduling a project plan, creating tasks, assigning resources, creating reports, managing dependencies and trade-offs, tracking progress, and more.

Who Should Attend  

Any personnel responsible for conceptualizing, defining, planning, implementing, monitoring and/or closing-out projects in any environment.