Project Quick Reference Tutorial

Microsoft Quick Reference Tutorial Key Terms 2007 The Interface In a business sense, a project is an undertaking that will accomplish a specific task, such as the launch of a new product, an office party, or writing a report. Management The art of aligning resources and schedules to accomplish all of the tasks required for a project. Resource A person or thing that will be used to accomplish a task. For example, wood and carpenters would both be resources needed to build a house. Task Something that must be achieved for your project to be successful. For example, wood must be used to build a house. Constraint Constraints restrict the start and finish date of tasks. How long the task will take to complete. Units Labor needed to complete the task. If a resource is needed to complete the task, how much will be required. Title Bar (1) This tells you what program you re working in (Microsoft ) and what project (1). By default, Microsoft 2007 names unsaved projects 1, 2, and so on. Effort-driven Material driven These types of tasks will be completed by people. These types of tasks will be completed by resources. Menu Bar (2) Type a Question (3) Click any of these commands to see a list of possible options, then, click any of the options to perform that action. If you have a question, type it here! Keyboard Shortcuts Open a new project Ctrl + N Save a file Ctrl + S Open a file Ctrl + O Print a project Ctrl + P Close Alt + F4 Select All Ctrl + A Copy text Ctrl + C Cut text Ctrl + X Paste text Ctrl + V Undo last action Ctrl + Z Redo last action Ctrl + Z Find text Ctrl + F Replace text Ctrl + H New Task Insert Key Open Task Information Shift + F2 Document Controls (4) Toolbars (5, 6) Task Panes (7) Window (8) Status Bar (9) Scroll Bars (10, 11, 12) These buttons let you minimize ( ), maximize/restore ( ), or close () a certain project or the application. Toolbars have icons, which are small buttons with pictures that represent actions. When you click the button, that action will happen. For example, you could click the standard toolbar and your project would save. icon on the Task panes can display lots of different information, functional options, wizards, or links to other task panes or resources. You can navigate through task panes almost like pages in a browser. This is where you will enter your project s task information. In this image, you can see the task entry panel on the right and the Gantt chart (with dates listed at the top like a timeline) on the left. This bar can provide information on the current status of your application. Use these bars to view different parts of your window. You can use the arrows to move the view to the left or right, or drag the scroll bar to where you want it. 2005 Velsoft Courseware Inc. All rights reserved. Velsoft Quick Reference Tutorial

Entering a New Task By default, will open to the task entry screen. Just type your task name and durations in the list. abbreviations: m Minute h Hour d Day w Week mo Month y Year Calendar Types There are three types of calendars in Microsoft : calendar Resource calendar This is the main calendar that controls when tasks are worked on and when resources work on tasks. Each resource can have its own calendar to reflect its hours of availability. Fields Captured for a Baseline Tasks Start Finish Cost Assignments Start Resources Finish Cost Cost Constraint Types Name Description Type As Soon As Possible (ASAP) As Late As Possible (ALAP) Start No Earlier Than (SNET) Finish No Earlier Than (FNET) Start No Later Than (SNLT) Finish No Later Than (FNLT) Must Start On (MSO) Must Finish On (MFO) All tasks start as soon as possible if you asked to schedule from the start date. All tasks start as late as possible if you asked to schedule from the end date. Specify the earliest possible date that this task can start. Specify the earliest possible date that this task can finish. Specify the latest possible date that this task can start. Specify the latest possible date that this task can finish. Specify the date that this task must start on. Specify the date that this task must finish on. Planning Your Inflexible Inflexible Task calendar Sometimes a task will need to have its own calendar to reflect its duration; for example, if a machine will run 24 hours a day. There are also three base calendars, which are like calendar templates. Standard ing time is set Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm, with an hour (noon to 1 pm) set aside for lunch. Night Shift ing time is set Monday through Friday, 11 pm to 8 am, with an hour (3 am to 4 am) set aside for lunch. 24 hours ing time is every day and hour of the week; useful for resources (such as machines) that run constantly. Task Types Task Type Explanation If you change Fixed duration Fixed units (default task type) Fixed for these tasks will not change. This task s units will remain constant. This task s work will remain constant. recalculates Effort or material driven Units Either Units Units Either Units Effort driven Printing Your Units First, create a general outline of the project. You ll want to think about what the end result of the project will be. You ll also want to think about the general timeline, budget, and resources that you will have available. Next, create a task list. In this list you may want to specify how long each task is going to take, which tasks are going to be dependent on others, and which ones need to be broken down into sub-projects. Next, make a list of resources. Last but not least, think about your costs. You may even want to prepare a formal budget. File Print Ctrl + P Print icon ( ) on the standard toolbar Print Preview screen Page Setup dialogue Guide 2005 Velsoft Courseware Inc. All rights reserved. Velsoft Quick Reference tutorial.

Microsoft Quick Reference Tutorial 2007 Viewing the WBS Code 1. Switch to any table view. 2. Right-click a column header. 3. Click Insert Column. 4. Choose WBS for the field name. 5. Click OK. Using the Guide to Track Progress 1. Click the Track arrow. 2. Click Check the progress of the project. 3. Specify a status date. 4. Use filters and groups to gather data. Creating a Custom Filter 1. Click the menu. 2. Click Filtered For. Click More Filters. 3. Choose Task or Resource. 4. Click New. 5. Enter your criteria. 6. Click OK. Creating a Custom Toolbar 1. Right-click in a blank space beside the menu. 2. Click Customize. 3. Click the Toolbars tab. 4. Click New. 5. Enter a name for the toolbar. 6. Use the Commands tab of the Customize dialogue to add buttons to your toolbar. Status Indicators Blank Task is complete. Task is not complete, but all scheduled work has been completed by the status date. All scheduled work has not been completed by the status date. Task isn t scheduled to start until after the status date. Task Type Overview Task Type Explanation Must be Effort Driven? Fixed for these tasks will not change. No Fixed Units (Default Type) This task s units will remain constant. Fixed This task s work will remain constant. Yes No 2005 Velsoft Courseware Inc. All rights reserved. Velsoft Quick Reference Tutorial

Creating and Using Cost Resources New addition to 2007. Like a fixed cost, a cost resource has no relationship to the work required for a task or the amount of work resources applied to the task. Unlike a fixed cost, multiple cost resources can be assigned to a task. To create a cost resource: 1. Switch to Resource Sheet view. 2. Type the name for the resource. 3. Choose Cost for the resource type. To use a cost resource: 1. Switch to Gantt Chart view. 2. Select a task. 3. Click the Tools menu and click Assign Resources. 4. Choose your cost resource. 5. Enter a monetary value. Progress Line Types Interpreting Progress Lines Permanent Progress Line (circled in red) Recurring Progress Lines (circled in blue) Selected Progress Lined (circled in green) Choose to always display the current progress line, at the current date or the status date. Choose a date to have a progress line appear at every day, week, or month. Set specific dates to have progress lines appear. Right-facing peaks (in orange) Left-facing peaks (in blue) Straight line (in green) Tasks untouched by the progress line (in red) Task is ahead of schedule. Task is behind schedule. Task is on schedule. In the future, not affected by the progress line. Linking a to a Resource Pool Unlinking a from a Resource Pool 1. Open the project. 2. Open the resource pool. 3. Click the Tools menu. Choose Resource Sharing and click Share Resources. 4. Choose Use resources from... and select your file. 5. Set precedence options. Click OK. 1. Open the project. 2. Open the resource pool. 3. Click the Tools menu. Choose Resource Sharing and click Share Resources. 4. Choose Use own resources. 5. Click OK. 2005 Velsoft Courseware Inc. All rights reserved. Velsoft Quick Reference Tutorial.

Microsoft Quick Reference Tutorial 2007 Using Multiple Views Click the Window menu and click Split. Now you can choose whatever view you want for each half of the window. Creating a Visual Report 1. Click the Reports menu. 2. Click Visual Reports. 3. Choose a category. 4. Click a report. 5. Click Edit Template. Using AutoFilter You will find this command on the Standard toolbar. It adds a drop-down menu to the top of each column. You can then click the menu and click an option. Then, only the rows that match this value will be shown. Task Link Types Finish to Start (FS) Finish to Finish (FF) Start to Start (SS) Start to Finish (SF) When the predecessor task finishes, the successor task will start. When the predecessor task finishes, the successor task will finish. When the predecessor task starts, the successor task will start. When the predecessor task starts, the successor task will finish. Scheduling Overtime 1. Switch to Gantt Chart view. 2. Click the Window menu. 3. Click Split. 4. Right-click the task form. 5. Click Resource. 6. Select the task. 7. Enter the overtime work. Using Lag Time and Lead Time Lag time and lead time allow you to delay or overlap linked tasks.. Note that although scheduling overtime will decrease the duration of the task, it will increase the cost as more work is required. 2005 Velsoft Courseware Inc. All rights reserved. Velsoft Quick Reference Tutorial

Using Templates 1. Click the File menu and click New. 2. In the New task pane, click On Computer. 3. Choose your template. Using Change Highlighting This is a new feature in 2007. When you make a change to a task, other tasks that change as a result will be highlighted in blue. You can enable or disable this feature from the View menu. To enable the preview option, open the template and check Save template preview in File Properties. Contour Indicators Task Indicators Flat This is the default contour. is spread out evenly over the task duration. No indicator This task has a note attached to it. Back Loaded peaks at the end of the task duration. This task has a hyperlink attached to it. Front Loaded peaks at the beginning of the task duration. has estimated that this task will finish later than its deadline date. Double Peak peaks twice during the task. This task has an inflexible constraint. Early Peak peaks early in the task. This task has a flexible constraint. Late Peak peaks late in the task. This task has not been completed in the constraint time frame. Bell ramps up, goes to full-time, and then ramps down. Indicates a recurring task. Turtle ramps down slightly at the beginning and end of the task. Indicates a completed task. This task is an inserted project. The Equation s scheduling tools revolve around this equation: Task = Total / Resource Units If you modify a task s duration, will ask you if it is because the total work or the resource units have changed. Likewise, if you assign more or less resources, the task duration and total work will change accordingly. Remember that now features Change Highlighting, which makes it easy to see how a particular change affects other tasks. Using Task Drivers Task drivers are a new feature in 2007. To see what is driving a task, select a task, click the menu, and click Task Drivers. You will then see the Task Drivers task pane. This pane will list the factors that are affecting the start date of the selected task, including predecessor tasks and the task calendar. 2005 Velsoft Courseware Inc. All rights reserved. Velsoft Quick Reference Tutorial.

Microsoft Quick Reference Tutorial 2007 Recording a Macro Useful Visual Basic Code Snippets 1. Plan out your macro. Know what you want to do and practice the commands so you will not make mistakes when you are recording. 2. Use the Tools Macro Record New Macro option or the Record button on the Visual Basic toolbar to display the Record Macro dialogue. 3. Set up your macro name, absolute or relative references, and other options in the dialogue. Click the OK button to start recording. 4. Perform the sequence of actions or commands that you want to record as a macro. 5. Stop the recording by using the menu options or the Stop button on the Visual Basic toolbar. Declare a variable Create an alert box Add an OK button to an alert box Basic If Then statement Comments Begin the macro code End the macro code Call another macro Dim variable name As variable type MsgBox Your text here vbokonly If condition evaluates to true Then statement your text here REM your text here Sub End sub Call MacroName Using the PERT Analysis Toolbar Shows the best possible outcome for your project. Shows the expected outcome for your project. Shows the worst possible outcome for your project. Recalculates the duration based on PERT fields. Enter PERT values for the current task. Enter PERT weights for the current task. Switch to PERT Entry Sheet view. About Macro Security PERT Scenario Types Low Medium Can run any macros. Prompted to run a macro. Medium-High Macros must be signed by trusted publisher or in a trusted location to run. High Only allowed to run macros that are stored in a trusted location. By default, the trusted location for 2007 is the Global template file (Global.mpt). Optimistic Expected Pessimistic This scenario will reveal the best possible outcome for your project. This scenario will reveal the most probable outcome of your project. This is a worst case scenario, which will reveal the worst possible outcome for your project. 2005 Velsoft Courseware Inc. All rights reserved. Velsoft Quick Reference Tutorials

Earned Value Analysis Fields Abbreviation What it stands for What it shows Formula BCWS Budgeted Cost of Scheduled What should be spent on a task up to the status date. BCWP Budgeted Cost of Performed The cost of work completed on the task, according to the original budget. ACWP Budgeted Cost of Performed The sum of all costs for work performed on a task to date. N/A N/A N/A CV Cost Variance The difference between how much was budgeted for the task s work and how much the task actually cost. SV Schedule Variance The difference between how much was budgeted for the task s work and how much the task actually cost. ACWP - BCWP CV BCWP -BCWS SV CPI Cost Performance Index Ratio of budgeted cost to actual cost. BCWP ACWP EAC Estimate at Completion (also known as Forecast at Completion) s estimate of how much the task will cost when it is done. BAC Budgeted at Completion The budgeted amount that the task will cost when it is done. VAC Variance at completion Difference between actual and baseline costs at completion (BAC-EAC). SPI Schedule Performance Index Ratio of budgeted schedule to actual schedule. More than one means you re ahead of schedule; less than 1 means you re behind schedule. CV% Cost Variance Percent The difference between budgeted task cost and actual cost to date. SV% Schedule Variance Percent Percentage that you are ahead of, or behind, schedule. ACWP+(BAC-BCWP) CPI Derived from Baseline Cost field BAC - EAC VAC BCWP BCWS [(BCWP-ACWP)/BCWP] x 100 [SV/BCWM] x 100 TCPI To Complete Performance Index Ratio of work to be completed to money still budgeted. PPC Physical Percent Complete A value you can enter that will override % Complete. (BAC-BCWP) (BAC-ACWP) N/A Importing Outlook Tasks 1. Click the Tools menu. 2. Click Import Outlook Tasks. 3. Check tasks that you want to import. 4. Click OK. 5. with tasks as normal. Creating a Custom Form 1. Click the Forms button on the Custom Forms toolbar.. 2. In the Customize Forms dialogue, click New. 3. Name your form. Click OK. 4. Click the Edit menu and click Information. 5. Specify the size and position of your form. 6. Use the Item menu to add controls. 7. Save your form and exit the Custom Form Editor. 8. Use your form via the Customize Forms dialogue. 2005 Velsoft Courseware Inc. All rights reserved. Velsoft Quick Reference Tutorials.