MICROSOFT PROJECT(MSP)

SOFTWARE APPLICATION
FOR
PROJECT PLANNING

ANKIT GUPTA
LECTURER
CIVIL DEPARTMENT
HEWETT POLYTECHNIC LUCKNOW
 The Stages of Project
Management
• Defining the Project: Setting out the Goal and
the Objectives together with the Specification
and Limitations within which the undertaking
must be completed.
• Plan the Project: Planning of all the activities,
resources, and estimation of materials and time
scales.
• Implementation.
• Monitoring and Adjusting: Recording Actual
Progress, Revising the Schedule.
• Evaluation: Evaluation the project progresses.

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 Complete the Project Definition
(Complete the following form: )
Project Title:
Start Date:
Goal:
Objectives:
Specification:
Limitations:

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 Complete the Project Plan
(Complete the following table: )
Number Task Name Duration Predecessors Resources

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 What is Microsoft Project?
• MS Project is a tool to help you to plan projects,
manage and update project information, and
communicate the status once the project is
under way.
• The details of the project tasks and associated
resources are entered into the system as a new
project. The system will then display the data in
such a way that the relationships of the tasks
and their time scales can clearly be seen and
potential problem areas identified.
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 Understanding Project
Management
• At the heart of every project management system is
a scheduling algorithm.
• When scheduling resources and parameters are
entered into it, the scheduling algorithm produces a
project schedule that would be impossible for you
to produce manually.
• In Microsoft Project, however complex your project
may be, you can vary only information regarding
tasks or resources. The information you provide is
fed into the “Black Box” or algorithm, to provide you
with a schedule in the form of a Gantt chart,
Network Diagram Chart, or Resource Graph. In 6
summary,
The Input/Output Model

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MS Project Language: Some of these
language terms are illustrated below.

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• In the illustration above, two tasks have a
relationship. Task A is the predecessor task, and
Task B is the successor task. Both of these tasks
are considered to be non-critical because they
both have flexibility.
• Let’s focus on Task A. EA marks the earliest
possible time Task A can start. SS marks the
scheduled start time for Task A. By default, all
tasks are scheduled to start at the earliest
possible time, unless you specify otherwise. In
the example above,
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• Task A is scheduled to start later and therefore has
been delayed. SE marks the scheduled end time
for Task A, and LE marks the latest possible time
Task A can end.
• Both of these tasks have slack, the amount of time
a task can slip before it affects another task’s dates
or the project finish date.
• Free slack is the amount of time Task A can be
delayed before affecting the start time of Task B,
and total slack is the amount of time that Task A
can be delayed before affecting the finish date of
the project. The summary task summarizes Tasks 10
A
and B.
• Critical tasks, not shown above, have no slack;
therefore, delaying this type of task would mean
delaying the project.
• A critical path is a series of critical tasks. All
tasks on a critical path must be completed on
time for the project to finish on time. If one task
on a critical path is delayed, then the project is
delayed.
• In Microsoft Project, a critical path is shown on
the Gantt chart and the Network Diagram Chart
in red.
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MS Project - The Screen

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 Elements of the Default View
• The default Project view is the Gantt Chart view,
as displayed before. This view is used
extensively in Microsoft Project.
• The Gantt Chart consists of a Gantt table and a
Gantt bar chart. The divider bar separates the
two and can be repositioned to display more of
the table or more of the chart.
• The Gantt table consists of rows and columns.
Just like on a spreadsheet, the intersection of a
row and a column is called a cell.
• The Gantt bar chart graphically displays your
schedule on a time line.
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 The Tracking Gantt View

• When you initially set up your project with tasks and dates,
and then save the project with a baseline, The baseline bars
and the scheduled or actual bars are synchronized.
• However, if the start date of task slips by, say, 2 days, the red
scheduled bar will extend 2 days beyond the lower baseline
bar.
• Because the tasks are linked, the slipping of task 2 will cause
a ripple effect, making its successor tasks slip by 2 days as
well.
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 You can use the Tracking Gantt
view to:
• See how tasks progress across time and
evaluate the slippage of tasks. You can track
progress by comparing baseline and scheduled
or actual start and finish dates and by checking
the completion percentage of each task.

• Establish sequential dependencies between

tasks by linking them. When you link tasks, you
can see how a change in the duration of one
task affects the start and finish dates of other
tasks and the project finish date.
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Change the Project Start Date
• Select Project, Project Information from the
menus

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 Project progress
• Select Tools, Tracking, Update Project to see
project progress so far

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 Highlights
You can use:
• Gantt charts to show project schedules
graphically on a time scale (with scaling from
minutes to years).
• Network Diagrams to show task relationships.
• Filters to view selected information.
• Resource usage and Graph views and reports to
quickly identify resource availability and costs.

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 Views of Microsoft Project
• Calendar: Shows the view in the form of a
calendar.
• Gantt Chart: A diagrammatic view of the Tasks
and their time scale. This chart can also show
the relationship between Tasks and the Critical
Path.
• Network Diagram Chart: This view represents
each Task as a box with relevant information
within it.
• Task Usage: The Task Usage view displays
project tasks with their assigned resources
grouped underneath them.
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Views of Microsoft Project (cont.)
• Tracking Gantt: The Tracking Gantt view displays
two task bars, one on top of the other, for each
task. The lower bar shows baseline start and finish
dates, and the upper bar shows scheduled start
and finish dates.
• Resource Graph: A graphical representation of a
single resource and its utilization.
• Resource Sheet: A list of all the resources for the
project.
• Resource Usage: This is a view that shows the
use in hours per day for each resource.
• Reports: Takes you into Report Wizard.
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 The Calendar
• The Default Working Calendar is used by MS
Project to calculate all Timescales and Resource
costs. It defaults to a working day of 8 hours.
• You can create your own calendar with your own
particular times. If this is not a standard 8-hour
day you must remember to tell MS Project what
the standard day is. Each resource you add will
be based on the calendar you select when you
start your project.

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 Entering Tasks
• This is the main activity in setting up a new
project.
• The tasks which have been identified at the
Design Stage must be entered.
• The system will hold task information in a task
database, which we cannot access directly but is
used by the system whenever we view task
data.
• This is one of two databases the system uses
the other being the resource database.

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The Task Information box/Task
Sheet

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The Task sheet is a view of the selected task
with information shown in the columns as
follows: -
• ID: The Task Identification number.
• Name: The Name of the Task.
• Duration: The time the Task will take including the
time units.
• Start Date: This is the current Scheduled Start date
for the Task. Not the Planned or Actual Start.
• Finish Date: The Scheduled Finish date.
• Predecessors: The ID numbers for the preceding
Tasks that are linked to this Task.
• Resources: The names of the resources
performing or used in the Task. 25
The Task Information box/Task
Sheet (cont.)

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 The Task Form
If using the Task Form it will be possible to enter and/or view
the following:
• Name: The name of the task
• Duration: The length of time the task will take and the units
of time.
• Fixed: A check box to specify the start date to be fixed.
• Start: The scheduled start date, if this is not entered the
system will calculate it from the data entered and the
relationships defined.
• Finish: The scheduled finish date, entered or calculated as
above.
• % Complete: A measure of the completion of the Task if it
has been started.
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 Tables and descriptions
Resource Table:
• ID: The identification number of the
Resource
• Resource Name: The name of the
resource.
• Units The number of units available for
the resource.
• Work The amount of work currently
assigned to the resource.
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 Tables and descriptions (cont.)
Predecessor Table:
• ID The identification number of the Predecessor.
• Predecessor Name: The name of the
Predecessor. If this is not entered the system will
look it up using the ID number.
• Type: The relationship with the current Task
which will be FS, or SS, or FF.
• Lag The time delay between the end of the
Predecessor the start of the Successor.

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 Task Relationships
• Finish-to start (FS): The dependent task (B)
cannot begin until the task that it depends (A) on
is complete.

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 Task Relationships
• Start-to-start (SS): The dependent task (B) cannot
begin until the task that it depends (A) on begins.
The dependent task can begin anytime after the
task that it depends on begins. The SS link type
does not require that both tasks begin
simultaneously.

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 Task Relationships
• Finish-to finish (FF): The dependent task (B)
cannot be completed until the task that it
depends on (A) is completed. The dependent
task can be completed anytime after the task
that it depends on is completed. The FF link type
does not require that both tasks be completed
simultaneously.

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 Task Relationships
• Start-to finish (SF): The dependent task (B) cannot
be completed until the task that it depends on (A)
begins. The dependent task can be completed
anytime after the task that it depends on begins.
The SF link type does not require that the
dependent task be completed concurrent with the
beginning of the task on which it depends.

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 Task Relationships
• Lead: Lead time is an overlap between two tasks
that are linked by a dependency. For example, if a
task can start when its predecessor is half finished,
you can establish a finish to start dependency and
specify a lead time of 50% for the successor task.
You enter the lead time as a negative value

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 Task Relationships
• Lag: Lag time is a delay between two tasks that
are linked by a dependency. For example, if there
must be a two-day delay between the finish of one
task and the start of another, you can establish a
finish to start dependency and specify two days of
lag time for the successor task. You enter the lag
time as a positive value.

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 Defining the Summary Tasks
• Microsoft Project provides the ability to structure
the tasks by setting different levels of tasks and
grouping tasks under a summary task.
• This can be useful where the project has a
considerable number of tasks; management can
be made easier by only viewing and reporting on
the summary tasks.

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 Resources
• The management of resources is a major
feature of MS Project. It is possible to see how
each one is being used and determine the times
when they are under or over utilized.
• The system can adjust the project to eliminate
over allocation of a resource.
• You can add resources either at the end of the
Resource Sheet or between existing resources.
You can also delete unwanted resources from
the Resource Sheet.

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Define the Resources
Complete the following table for the resources
used in the Project Plan:

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• Resource Name: The name given to a
resource. It can be the name of an individual or
a type of group.
• Initials: The abbreviated name for the resource.
• Group: A resource can be placed in a group,
which can be used by a filter to show only group
members, it is also possible to use the group
name to view all members of the group together.
• Cost/Use: The cost of the resource every time it
is used.

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• Max. Units: The percentage (number) of resource
units available. This is applicable only if using a
type of resource. For example, you might have
three technicians, but you can have only one.
• Std. Rate: The standard cost of the resource per
hour, week, or month.
• Ovt. Cost: The overtime cost of the resource per
hour, week, or month.
• Accrue At: This field identifies when the cost of the
resource is added to the running total of the project.
The options are at the "Start", at the "End" or
"Prorated" which means updated at the end of each
time unit as the resource is used.
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The Resource Graph

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Viewing/change the Details of a
single Resource

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 Allocate Resources
• select a view in which a task can be selected and then
call up the Resource Assignment box using the resource
button (The head) on the Tool Bar.

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 Planned Time Scale
• When all the tasks and resources have been added
and any resource problems cleared and provided
the scheduled dates are acceptable, this marks the
completion of the design and planning stage.
• All of the data entered into the project at this time
can be considered as the base line for the project
to be managed from and measured to. Microsoft
Project will hold this data by using the Tracking,
Save Baseline command from the Tools menu.
• From this point, as the tasks are completed and the
data updated it will be possible to make
comparisons with the plan and determine how late
(or early!!!) the completion date will be and where
the problems are occurring. 45
Elements of the Network
Diagram Chart

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 Examining the Cost Factor
• When all the tasks and their associated
resources have been entered, it is possible to
view the calculated costs of the project and there
are several views that can be used. The first
view is the Task Sheet together with the Cost
Table (View, Table, Cost).
• This view will list all the tasks as originally
entered and the associated columns will contain
the cost data in terms of the Planned cost, the
Actual cost and how much has been used so far.
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 Changing the Project to Reduce
Costs
To state the obvious, there are a number of ways
the costs can be reduced as follows.
• A reduction in the cost per time period of each
resource.
• A reduction in the time a task will take to
complete.
• Where possible a reduction in the use in
overtime hours.
• View the Cost Factors: Select View, Resource
Usage then choose Format, Details.

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