1. A tutorial on MS Project
James Burns

2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Contract signed
Survey designed
Target market ID
Data collection
Develop presentation
Analyze results
Demographics
Presentation

3. 3 5 13 15 3 6 13 13 15 15 16 3 6 13 15

4. 14.

5. Learning Objectives Entering Tasks in the Gantt View
Task subordination
Linking of Tasks
Setting start & stop dates
Assigning resources
Calculating costs 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

6. Network Computation Process
Forward Pass – Earliest Times
Early Start (ES) – How soon can the activity start?
Early Finish (EF) – How soon can the activity finish?
Backward Pass – Latest Times
Late Start (LS) – How late can the activity start?
Late Finish (LF) – How late can the activity finish?
Slack (SL) – How long can the activity be delayed?
Critical Path (CP)– The longest path in the network which, when delayed, will delay the project

7. Forward Pass Computation
You add activity times along each path in the network (ES + Duration = EF).
You carry the early finish (EF) to the next activity where it becomes its early start (ES), unless
The next succeeding activity is a merge activity. In this case, you select the largest early finish number (EF) of all its immediate predecessor activities.

8. Backward Pass Computation
You subtract activity times along each path starting with the project end activity (LF - Duration = LS).
You carry the late start (LS) to the next preceding activity to establish its late finish (LF), unless
The next preceding activity is a burst activity. In this case, you select the smallest late start number (LS) of all its immediate successor activities to establish its late finish (LF).

9. Determining Slack
Slack for an activity is simply the difference between the LS and ES (LS – ES) or between LF and EF (LF – EF).
Slack tells us the amount of time an activity can be delayed and yet not delay the project.
When the LF = EF for the end project activity, the critical path can be identified as those activities that also have LF = EF or a slack of zero (LF – EF = 0 or LS – ES = 0).

10. Activity-On-node network

11. Critical path method network
Edit
Paper 11 D 9 2
Identify
Topic 1 A
Research
Topic 1 B 6 5
Draft
Paper 9 C 6 3
Create
Graphics 9 E 10 11 1
Final
Draft 11 G 12 1
References 9 F 10 11 1
Description
Legend ID EF LF ES SL LS
DUR
Group Term Paper

12. Forward Pass Computation
Edit
Paper 11 D 9 2
Always start at 0
EF =
ES+DUR
EF =
ES+DUR
EF =
ES+DUR
EF =
ES+DUR
Identify
Topic 1 A
Research
Topic 1 B 6 5
Draft
Paper 9 C 6 3
Create
Graphics 9 E 10 1
Final
Draft 11 G 12 1
References 9 F 10 1
Description
Legend ID EF LF ES SL LS
DUR
Group Term Paper

13. Backward Pass Computation
Description
Legend ID EF LF ES SL LS
DUR
Group Term Paper
Edit
Paper 11 D 9 2
Identify
Topic 1 A
Research
Topic 1 B 6 5
Draft
Paper 9 C 6 3
Create
Graphics 9 E 10 11 1
Final
Draft 11 G 12 1
LS =
LF - DUR
LS =
LF - DUR
LS =
LF - DUR
LS =
LF - DUR
EF=LF
References 9 F 10 11 1

14. Determining Slack CRITICAL PATH? Group Term Paper 11 D 9 2 SL =
Edit
Paper 11 D 9 2
SL =
LS – ES or
LF - EF
SL =
LS – ES or
LF - EF
SL =
LS – ES or
LF - EF
Identify
Topic 1 A
Research
Topic 1 B 6 5
Draft
Paper 9 C 6 3
Create
Graphics 9 E 10 11 1
Final
Draft 11 G 12 1
References 9 F 10 11 1
Description
Legend ID EF LF ES SL LS
DUR
CRITICAL PATH?
Group Term Paper

15. Garage Problem Compute the early, late, and slack activity times
Determine the planned project duration
Identify the critical path
What should you do if the Doors activity is going to take two extra days?

16. Garage Problem Project Duration: ______ days
Roof 3 4
Critical Path: _______________
Windows 4 1
Rough-in
Frame 7 2
Pour
Foundation 3 1
Erect
Frame 2 4
Paint 9 2
Clean-up 10 1
Doors 5 1
Door
Opener 8 1
Description
Legend ID EF LF ES SL LS
DUR
Electrical 6 3

17. Garage Problem Project Duration: ___16___ days
Roof 11 3 7 4
Critical Path: __1237910__
Windows 7 4 8 11 1 10 3
Rough-in
Frame 11 7 13 2
Pour
Foundation 3 1
Erect
Frame 3 2 7 4
Paint 13 9 15 2
Clean-up 15 10 16 1
Doors 7 5 8 11 1 10 3
Door
Opener 10 8 11 13 1 12 2
If activity 5 is going to take two extra days, you probably do not have to do any thing because this activity has three days of slack – no effect on project duration.
Description
Legend ID EF LF ES SL LS
DUR
Electrical 10 6 7 1 8 3 11

18. MS Project 2013 The Views Getting started Gantt View (default)
Network view
Resource sheet
Resource graph
Getting started
Change default to auto-scheduled

19. More Learning Objectives
Recurring tasks
STATISTICS
Zoom out/zoom in
Precedence relationships
Lags between links

20. PM Software in general

21. Popular Project Management Software Packages
CA-SuperProject
Microsoft Project
Project Scheduler
SureTrak Project Manager
Time Line
High-End Project Management Software

22. Criteria for Selecting Project Management Software
Capacity
Documentation and on-line help facilities
Ease of use
Features available
Integration with other systems 4 5 5 4 5 4 6 4 4 4

23. Additional Criteria Installation requirements Reporting capabilities
Security
Vendor Support

24. Advantages of Using Project Management Software
Accuracy
Affordability
Ease of use
Ability to handle complexity
Maintainability and modifiability
Record keeping
Speed
What-if analysis 5 7 7 5 7 5 8 5 5 5

25. Concerns about Using Project Management Software
Becoming distracted by the software
A false sense of security
Information overload
The learning curve
Over-reliance on software 6 8 8 6 8 6 9 6 6 6

26. Must start with A list of tasks Or A Work Breakdown Structure
Always make your first task a PROJECT summary task to which all other tasks are subordinate

27. Bring up MS Project Start in the Gantt View
Set for automatic scheduling
Enter task detail in the entry table to the left
Subordinate tasks appropriately
Link Tasks as appropriate

28. Project Information Box

29. Project Information Box
Can schedule from a start date or backward from a stop date
Can choose a particular calendar type—that makes assumptions about when people will be working

30. The Main Window of MS Project

31. Entering Tasks in the Gantt View
Enter Tasks into the entry table on the GANTT view
Entry table is behind the GANTT chart and works just like a spreadsheet
Can also enter tasks in the network diagram or the task usage views

32. Tables
You can choose a variety of tables to view in conjunction with the Gantt view
Entry, Cost, Schedule, Tracking, Earned value, Usage, Variance, Work, Hyperlink… are just some of the tables you can choose from
Click on View on the Menu bar and then click on Table
To view all the tables, click on More Tables…

33. Columns You can add columns to any table in the Gantt view
Click on Insert and then Columns
Select the column you want included in the table by clicking on the dropdown arrow associated with the first box and selecting the desired column name
Click on OK
That column will be included in the table to the left of the point where the selected cell appears

34. Predefined Reports
MS Project provides a number of predefined, static reports that can be displayed and printed
Click on View and the Reports
The categories are Overview, Current Activities, Costs, Assignments, Workload and Custom

35. Task subordination Use indent arrow
MS Proj has a WBS understanding and assigns a WBS code even though it does not explicitly exhibit a WBS chart

36. Linking of Tasks Select tasks to be linked
Click on the chain-link icon
Decide on precedence relationship: FS, SS, FF, SF

37. Setting start & stop dates
When you set a date in the entry table of the Gantt view, MS Project treats it as if it were a “hard” constraint
It schedules everything around such “hard” dates

38. Assigning resources
Resources have to be created before they can be assigned
You can use the “faces” icon in the Gantt view to both create and assign resources
Resources are created once they are named
Alternatively, you can create resources in the Resources Sheet view
Simply click on this “view” in the column on the left.

39. Calculating costs Fixed costs Variable costs
Enter these in the cost table
From the VIEW menu item change to the cost table
Enter fixed costs
Variable costs
Enter resource hourly rates
MS Project will calculate

40. Project Management Software Features
Budgeting and cost control
Calendars
Graphics
Importing/exporting data
Handling multiple projects and subprojects
Report generation 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

41. Project Management Software Additional Features
Resource management
Planning
Project monitoring and tracking
Scheduling
Security
Sorting and filtering
What-if analysis