Planning and Monitoring Projects By Mastering MS PROJECT

Objectives

Upon completion the participants will:

Understand the definitions such as project, project management, work packages, knowledge areas, deliverables
Be able to design a project following project management principles and techniques and plan it using MS project as a tool
Understanding resources and how these can be assigned to tasks
Be able to cost activities and resources
Understand and “crash” the critical path
Be able to monitor the project

Topics

Unit 1: Introduction
The modern Era
Your self—evaluation as a Project Manager!
Our aim
Definitions
Project
Project Management
Work packages
Deliverables

Unit 1: Introduction
The modern Era
Your self—evaluation as a Project Manager!
Our aim
Definitions
Project
Project Management
Work packages
Deliverables
Resources

Project Characteristics
Project Life Cycle
Cost and resources during the life of the project
Stakeholders, Risk and Uncertainty

Unit 2:
Project Management Process and the role of project manager
Project management processes and PMBOK
• Processes
• Knowledge areas
• The Project Manager’s characteristics
Project Initiation Processes
The Project Charter
Initial statement of the project objective
Getting ready to plan a project based on a case study

Unit 3 Development of a new plan
Starting a new plan, and setting its start date
Setting nonworking days in the project calendar
Entering the plan’s title and other properties
Break down of tasks using WBS
Key points

Unit 4 Building a plan and using dependencies
Using the 4 dependencies
Defining tasks, durations and milestones
Creating summary tasks for WPs
Creating task dependencies with links
Switching task scheduling from manual to automatic
Checking the plan’s duration and finish date
Documenting tasks
Understanding Network Diagrams, Gannt Charts etc
Key points

Unit 5 Setting up resources & Costing
Definition of Resources
Adjusting working time in a resource calendar
Setting up cost resources
Documenting resources with notes
Key points

Unit 6 Assigning resources to tasks
Assigning work resources to tasks
Controlling work when adding or removing resource assignments
Assigning cost resources to tasks
Checking the plan’s duration, cost, and work
Key points

Unit 7: Critical Path & Baseline
What is a critical Path?
Methods of identifying the Critical Path
“Crashing” the critical Path
What is a baseline?
How to establish a baseline

Unit 8 Sharing information
Customizing a Gantt Chart view
Customizing a Timeline view
Customizing reports
Copying views and reports
Key points

Unit 9 Monitoring the plan
Techniques for monitoring the plan
Tracking progress with MS Project
Key points

Unit 10 Advanced scheduling techniques
See task relationships with Task Path
Adjusting task link relationships
Setting task constraints
Interrupting work on a task
Adjusting working time for individual tasks
Control task scheduling with task types
Key points

Unit 11 Fine-tuning your plan
Deadline dates
Fixed Costs (i.e. Down payments)
Recurring task
Managing the critical path
Key points

Unit 12 Levelling Resources
Examining resource allocations over time
Resolving resource overallocations manually
Leveling overallocated resources
Inactivating tasks
Key points

Unit 13 Organizing project details
Sorting Project details
Grouping Project details
Filtering Project details
Creating new tables
Creating new views
Key points

Unit 14 Tracking progress on tasks and assignments
Updating a baseline
Tracking actual and remaining values for tasks and assignments
Tracking timephased actual work for tasks and assignments
Rescheduling incomplete work

Unit 15 Viewing and reporting project status
Identifying tasks that have slipped
Examining task costs
Examining resource costs
Reporting project cost variance with a stoplight view

Unit 16 Getting your project back on track
Troubleshooting time and schedule problems
Troubleshooting cost and resource problems
Troubleshooting scope-of-work problems

Resources