Steps/Commands to work on Ms Project

Step	Action	Command
1.	Create Project Calendar	ToolsàChange working Time
2.	Assign Project Calendar to Project	Project àProject InformationàCalendar
3.	Assign Project Calendar to Non-working time	FormatàTime ScaleàNon Working time à Calendar
4.	List task and WBS	Use Outline toolà Indent /out dent options
5.	Give duration to the Task	Enter duration in the duration column
6.	Give Predecessor	Enter predecessors in the predecessor column
7.	Insert milestone if required	Give zero duration to all milestone
8.	View Network Diagram	Viewà Network Diagram
9.	Link the open-end activities to the milestone.
10.	Summarize the project to see critical path duration	ToolsàOptionsàViewsàShow Project Summary Task (tick the option)
11.	Customize the WBS code	Project à WBSà Define Code
12.	Create Responsibility or Department	TooàCustomize à Fields
13.	Creating Custom Filter	ProjectàFilteràMore Filters
14.	Creating Custom Groups	Projectà Group byà More groups
15.	Creating a Resource Sheet	ViewàResource Sheet
16.	Assigning Resources to Task	1. ViewàGantt Chart 2. Select the task, and click on Project àTask InformationàResources (You can double click the task to go to the task information)
17.	Check the overload of resource	ViewàResource Sheet (Red marked resources are overloaded)
18.	Level the Resources within available slack	ToolsàLevel ResourceàLevel only within available slack (tick) àLevel Now
19.	Level the Resources to increase the schedule	ToolsàLevel Resource à Level only within available slack (clear)à Level Now
20.	Save the Baseline Project	ToolsàTrackingàSave Baseline
21.	Monitor the project (Enter the % Completion)	ViewàTableàTracking
22.	View Reports	ViewàReports
23.	View Schedule	ViewàTableàSchedule
24.	View Project Cost	ViewàTableàCost
25.	View Earned Values	ViewàTableàMore TableàEarn Value
26.	View Progress Line on the Bar Chart	ToolsàTrackingàProgress Line
27.	To analyze data in excel	1.ViewàToolbarsàAnalysis (tick) 2. Click on Analyze data in Excel
28.	View Resource Graph	ViewàResource Graph
29.	View Resource Usage and Task Usage	ViewàResource Usage or Task Usage
30.	Calculate PERT Duration Estimation	1.    ViewàToolbarsàPERT Analysis (Tick) 2.    Click on PERT Entry Sheet from the tool

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project specifications for Ms Project 2003

The following specifications and limits are supported when you run Microsoft Office Project 2003 on Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP3 or Windows XP, although actual limits and performance speed depend on your computer's configuration. Note that out of memory errors may occur before you reach the listed limits.

 

1.    Tasks per project file - 1 million

2.    Resources per project - 1 million

3.    Resource units per assignment - 60,000,000 units or 6,000,000,000%

4.    Resource availability dates –100

5.    Task dependencies per project file - no limit

6.    Predecessors per task - no limit

7.    Successors per task - no limit

8.    Outline levels per project - 65,535

9.    Consolidated projects – 998

10. Open project files per consolidated project – 998

11. Sharer files connected to a resource pool - 999 (that is, maximum open project files minus 1 for the resource pool itself)

12. Open windows – 50

13. Base calendars – unlimited

14. Calendar exceptions per calendar  - 1,400

15. Printable tasks in monthly calendar - 4,000

16. Rate tables to support different pay scales and rates - 5 per resource

17. Variable rates per rate table to support rate increases and decreases – 25

 

 

18. Cost value in a currency field - 999,999,999,999.99

19. Work value - 1,666,666,667 hours

20. Assignment work values for: Work assignments - 999,999,999 minutes
Variable material assignments - 999,999,999 units

21. Fixed material assignments - 60,000,000 units

22. Cells and Gantt bars that can be directly formatted - 64,000

23. Print scaling adjustment range percentage - 10-500%

24. Page header text - 5 lines

25. Page footer text - 3 lines

26. Page legend text - 3 lines

27. Page legend text box width - 5 inches (12.7 centimeters)

28. Filter tests per filter – 40

29. Filter tests per AutoFilter - 2 per column

30. Earliest date allowed for calculation - January 1, 1984

31. Latest date allowed for calculation - December 31, 2049

32. Discontiguous selections on a sheet view – 9

33. Baselines – 11

34. Characters in a text field – 255

35. Characters in an outline code field – 255

36. Values and characters in an Enterprise Resource Multi-Value (ERMV) field - 255 values, each of 255 characters

37. Digits in a number field - 999,999,999,999.99

 

 

 

 

MS Project Terminology

 

Term	Definition
Allocation	The percentage of a resource's capacity designated for a specific assignment.
Baseline	The original plan you use to track progress during a project.
Budget	The estimated cost of a project (that is established by the baseline plan).
Constraint - As Late As Possible	Flexible - The constraint type (which also means there is no constraint) is set by default when a task is first created in a fixed finish date project.
Constraint - As Soon As Possible	Flexible - The constraint type (which means there is no constraint) is set by default when a task is first created in a fixed start date project.
Constraint - Finish No Earlier Than	Moderate Flexibility - This constraint type indicates the earliest possible date a task can begin. It can begin on or after the scheduled date.
Constraint - Finish No Later Than	Moderate Flexibility - This constraint type indicates the latest possible date a task can finish. It can finish on or before the scheduled date.
Constraint - Must Finish On	Inflexible - This constraint type indicates the exact date a task must finish. All other scheduling parameters become secondary to this requirement.
Constraint - Must Start On	Inflexible - This constraint type indicates the exact date a task must begin. All other scheduling parameters become secondary to this requirement.
Constraint - Start No Earlier Than	Moderate Flexibility - This constraint type indicates the earliest possible date a task can finish. It can finish on or after the scheduled date.
Constraint - Start No Later Than	Moderate Flexibility - This constraint type indicates the latest possible date a task can begin. It can start on or before the scheduled date.
Cost	The total scheduled cost for a task, assignment, resource or project.
Critical task	A task that must be completed on schedule for the project to finish on time.
Duration	The total calendar or clock span of actual working time required to complete a task.
Lag time	A planned time delay between tasks.
Lead time	An overlap between tasks that have a dependency; e.g. if a task can start when its predecessor is half done, you can specify a finish-to-start dependency of 50% for the successor task.
Leveling	The process of delaying or splitting certain tasks to resolve overallocation of resources.
Milestone	A reference point marking a major event in a project and used to monitor the project's progress.
Overallocation	The result of assigning more tasks to a resource than the resource can accomplish in the working time available.
Predecessor	A task that preceeds a dependent successor task.
Priority	A method of ranking the importance of tasks (default=500, higher is for higher priority).
Resources	The time, people and material used to complete tasks in a project.
Schedule	The timing or sequence of tasks within a project.
Scope	All work required, and only the work required, to complete a project successfully.
Successor	A task that is dependent upon a preceding or predecessor task.
Task	An activity that has a beginning and an end.
Task Dependency - Finish-to-Finish	Task B cannot finish until Task A finishes
Task Dependency - Finish-to-Start	Task B cannot start until Task A finishes.
Task Dependency - Start-to-Finish	Task B cannot finish until Task A starts.
Task Dependency - Start-to-Start	Task B cannot start until Task A starts.
Variance	The difference between the baseline and scheduled task or resource information.
Work	The total labor or person-hours required for all resources to complete a task. For resources, the total amount of work to which a resource is assigned for all tasks.

 

 

 

 

Best Practices in Tracking Project

Task data:		Use:
To check the start and finish dates for the project		Choose Project Information from the Project menu, and then click Statistics
To update all tasks to the current date or a status date		Choose Tracking from the Tools menu, and then click Update Project. To set a status date, pick a date in the Update work as complete through box.
To show Progress Lines for tasks		Gantt chart, and choose Tracking from the Tools menu, and then click Progress Lines.
To update task by task		Gantt Chart or Task Sheet, with Entry table applied (drag the dividing bar to the right to see all columns)
To update on a daily basis		Task Usage view, and format details to show Work, Actual Work, and Cumulative Work
Work on tasks:		Use:
To check the work on the entire project		Choose Project Information from the Project menu, and then click Statistics
To update work on a task at a topmost level		Gantt Chart or Task Sheet, with Work table applied (drag the dividing bar to the right to see all columns)
To update work on a task by resource assigned		Task Usage view, and format details to show Work, Actual Work, and Cumulative work
Cost of tasks:	Use:
To check the cost on the entire project	Choose Project Information from the Project menu, and then click Statistics
To see task costs at a topmost level	Gantt Chart or Task Sheet, with Cost table applied (drag the dividing bar to the right to see all columns)
To check Earned Value on the project
To check Earned Value per task	Gantt Chart or Task Sheet, with the Earned Value table applied (choose Table from the View menu, then click More Tables)
To check Earned Value on a daily basis	Choose the Task Usage view, then on the Format menu, click Detail Styles, and then click the Usage Details tab. In the Available fields list hold down CTRL, click the fields you want to display, and then click Show.
Resources' work:	Use:
To check a resource's productivity on the entire project	Resource Sheet with Work table applied
To check for overallocations	Resource Graph (for a graphical view) or Resource Usage view (check for work formatted in red)
To update on a daily basis	Resource Usage view, and format details to show Work and Actual Work
Resources' cost:			Use:
To check a resource's cost on the entire project			Resource Sheet with Cost table applied
To check for how much a resource is overbudget and on which tasks			Resource Usage view, with the Cost table applied
To update on a daily basis			Resource Usage view, and format details to show Cost and Actual Cost