Microsoft Office Project 2007 For Dummies

by Muir, Nancy C.

• ISBN13: 9780470036518
• ISBN10: 0470036516
• Edition: CD
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-03
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Create project plans that make the most of your money and time Get your projects on track, manage resources, and share information online Project 2007 helps you keep your projects on track by providing sophisticated tools for building task outlines and important timing relationships; efficiently assigning people, cost, and material resources; and keeping everyone and everything on schedule. Get an overview of the benefits of Project Server and Project Web Access for communicating with your team and managing your project online. All this on the bonus CD-ROM Tools for creating enhanced graphics and reports Strategic planning and brainstorming tools Project add-ons that improve your time reporting and tracking capabilities For details and complete system requirements, see the CD-ROM appendix. Discover how to Employ the powerful new features of Project 2007 Track down problems with Task Drivers Explore Project's new Visual Reports Get tips for saving time and money on your projects Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Author Biography

Nancy Muir has written dozens of books on topics ranging from desktop applications, project management, and distance learning, to an awardwinning book on character education for middle-schoolers. Prior to her freelance writing career, Nancy taught workshops in project management to Fortune 500 companies and was a manager in both the computer and publishing industries. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband Earl, with whom she has collaborated on three books, including Electronics Projects For Dummies.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(1)
About This Book	1	(1)
Foolish Assumptions	1	(1)
Conventions Used in This Book	2	(1)
How This Book Is Organized	2	(2)
Part I: Setting the Stage for Project	2	(1)
Part II: People Who Need People	3	(1)
Part III: Well, It Looks Good on Paper	3	(1)
Part IV: Avoiding Disaster: Staying on Track	3	(1)
Part V: Working with Enterprise Projects	3	(1)
Part VI: The Part of Tens	4	(1)
Part VII: Appendixes	4	(1)
What You're Not to Read	4	(1)
Icons Used in This Book	4	(1)
Where to Go from Here	5	(2)
Part I: Setting the Stage for Project	7	(120)
Project Management: What Is It, and Why Should You Care?	9	(26)
The ABCs of Project Management	10	(8)
The three Ts: Tasks, timing, and dependencies (well, two Ts and a D)	10	(4)
Lining up your resources	14	(2)
Spreading the news	16	(1)
Planning to keep things on track	17	(1)
The Role of the Project Manager	18	(4)
What exactly does a project manager do?	18	(1)
Understanding the dreaded triple constraint	19	(1)
Applying tried-and-true methodologies	19	(3)
From To-Do List to Hard Drive	22	(1)
Getting up to speed with Project	22	(1)
Collaborating with your project team online	23	(1)
Getting Started	23	(9)
Getting going with help from Project Guide	24	(1)
Starting from scratch	25	(5)
Starting with templates	30	(2)
Saving a Project for Posterity	32	(1)
Getting Help from Project	32	(3)
The Best-Laid Plans	35	(16)
Navigating Project	35	(4)
Changing views	35	(2)
Scrolling around	37	(2)
Getting to a specific spot in your plan	39	(1)
A Project with a View	39	(4)
Home base: Gantt Chart view	40	(1)
Going with the flow: Network Diagram view	41	(1)
Calling up Calendar view	42	(1)
Customizing Views	43	(8)
Working with view panes	44	(4)
Modifying the contents of the Network Diagram boxes	48	(3)
Mark It on Your Calendar	51	(18)
Mastering Base, Project, Resource, and Task Calendars	52	(2)
How calendars work	52	(2)
How one calendar relates to another	54	(1)
Calendar Options and Working Times	54	(4)
Setting calendar options	55	(2)
Setting exceptions to working times	57	(1)
Setting the Project calendar	58	(2)
Using Project Guide to Make Calendar Settings	60	(2)
Modifying Task Calendars	62	(1)
Making Resource Calendar Settings	63	(2)
Which resources get calendars?	63	(1)
Making the change to a resource's calendar	63	(2)
Do It Yourself: Creating a Custom Calendar Template	65	(2)
Sharing Copies of Calendars	67	(2)
A Tisket, a Task Kit	69	(24)
Tackling Your First Task	69	(9)
Identifying what makes up a task	70	(1)
Creating a task	71	(7)
You're in It for the Duration	78	(5)
Tasks come in all flavors: Identifying task type	78	(2)
Setting task duration	80	(1)
Setting tasks with no duration: Milestones	81	(1)
Showing up again and again: Recurring tasks	81	(2)
Starting and Pausing Tasks	83	(2)
Entering the task start date	84	(1)
Taking a break: Splitting tasks	84	(1)
It's Such an Effort: Effort-Driven Tasks	85	(1)
Constraints You Can Live With	86	(2)
Understanding how constraints work	86	(1)
Establishing constraints	87	(1)
Setting a deadline	88	(1)
Making a Task Note	88	(1)
Saving Your Project --- and Your Tasks	89	(2)
Task Information in Action: Planning Your Next Space Launch	91	(2)
Getting Your Outline in Line	93	(20)
Summary Tasks and Subtasks	93	(2)
Project phases	94	(1)
How many levels can you go?	95	(1)
The One-and-Only Project Summary Task	95	(2)
Structuring the Project's Outline	97	(4)
Everything but the kitchen sink: What to include	98	(2)
Building the outline	100	(1)
Moving Tasks All around Your Outline	101	(3)
The outdent-and-indent shuffle	101	(1)
Moving tasks up and down	102	(2)
Now You See It, Now You Don't: Collapsing and Expanding Tasks	104	(3)
Cracking the WBS Code	107	(6)
Displaying a WBS code	108	(1)
Customizing the code	109	(4)
Timing Is Everything	113	(14)
How Tasks Become Codependent	114	(4)
Dependent tasks: Which comes first?	114	(1)
Dependency types	115	(3)
Allowing for Murphy's Law: Lag and lead time	118	(1)
Making the Dependency Connection	118	(6)
Adding the missing (dependency) link	119	(2)
Extending your reach with external dependencies	121	(1)
Understanding that things change: Deleting dependencies	122	(2)
Just Look at All These Task Dependencies!	124	(3)
Part II: People Who Need People	127	(50)
Using Your Natural Resources	129	(18)
Resources: People, Places, and Things	130	(1)
Becoming Resource-full	130	(6)
Understanding resources	131	(2)
Resource types: Work, material, and cost	133	(1)
How resources affect task timing	134	(1)
Estimating resource requirements	135	(1)
Committed versus proposed resources	135	(1)
The Birth of a Resource	136	(2)
Creating one at a time	136	(1)
Identifying resources before you know their names	137	(1)
Resources that hang out in groups	138	(1)
Sharing Resources	138	(4)
In the swim: Drawing on resource pools	139	(1)
Importing resources from Outlook	140	(2)
Say, When Do These Guys Work?	142	(2)
Now That I've Got 'Em, How Do I Manage 'Em?	144	(3)
Acquiring the right resources	144	(1)
Balancing workload	145	(1)
Managing conflict gracefully	146	(1)
What's All This Gonna Cost?	147	(14)
Mary, Mary, How Do Your Costs Accrue?	147	(2)
It all adds up	148	(1)
When will this hit the bottom line?	149	(1)
Pay Day: Assigning Resources to Your Project	149	(4)
There's no avoiding fixed costs	149	(2)
When resources get paid per hour	151	(1)
If you use ten gallons at $2 per gallon	151	(1)
Making allowances for overtime	152	(1)
It's an Availability Thing	153	(2)
Setting availability	153	(1)
When a resource comes and goes	154	(1)
Adding It Up: How Your Settings Affect Your Budget	155	(1)
Customizing Cost Fields	156	(3)
Working with Budgets	159	(2)
Assigning Resources to Get Things Done	161	(16)
You'd Be Surprised What Assignments Can Do to Your Timing	162	(3)
Pinning down your type	162	(1)
When effort is in the driver's seat	163	(1)
Suppose task calendars prevail?	164	(1)
Finding the Right Resource	165	(3)
Needed: One good resource willing to work	165	(2)
Custom fields: It's a skill	167	(1)
A Useful Assignation	168	(5)
Determining work material and cost-resource assignment units	168	(1)
Making your assignments	168	(3)
Getting the contour that's right for you	171	(2)
Communicating an Assignment to Your Team	173	(4)
It's in the e-mail	173	(1)
Report your findings	174	(3)
Part III: Well, It Looks Good on Paper	177	(38)
Fine-Tuning Your Plan	179	(24)
Everything Filters to the Bottom Line	179	(5)
Predesigned filters	180	(1)
Putting AutoFilters to work	181	(1)
Do-it-yourself filters	182	(2)
Hanging Out in Groups	184	(3)
Applying predefined groups	184	(1)
Devising your own groups	185	(2)
Figuring Out What's Driving Your Project	187	(4)
Spotting Task Drivers	188	(1)
Undo, undo, undo	188	(1)
Highlighting changes	189	(2)
It's About Time	191	(4)
Giving yourself some slack	191	(3)
Doing it in less time	194	(1)
Getting It for Less	195	(1)
Your Resource Recourse	196	(6)
Checking resource availability	196	(2)
Deleting or modifying a resource assignment	198	(1)
Getting some help	199	(1)
Getting your resources level	200	(2)
Mixing Solutions Up	202	(1)
Making Your Project Look Good	203	(12)
Putting Your Best Foot Forward	203	(1)
Formatting Taskbars	204	(3)
Formatting Task Boxes	207	(1)
Adjusting the Layout	208	(4)
Modifying Gridlines	212	(1)
When a Picture Can Say It All	213	(2)
Part IV: Avoiding Disaster: Staying on Track	215	(102)
It All Begins with a Baseline	217	(10)
All about Baselines	217	(5)
What does a baseline look like?	218	(1)
How do I save a baseline?	218	(2)
What if I want more than one baseline?	220	(1)
How do I clear and reset a baseline?	221	(1)
In the Interim	222	(5)
Saving an interim plan	223	(1)
Clearing and resetting a plan	224	(3)
On the Right Track	227	(22)
Gathering Your Data	227	(3)
A method to your tracking madness	228	(1)
Going door to door	229	(1)
Where Does All This Information Go?	230	(3)
Doing things with the Tracking toolbar	230	(1)
For everything there is a view	231	(2)
Tracking your work for the record	233	(8)
Progress as of when?	233	(1)
Percentage complete: How to tell?	234	(2)
When did you start? When did you finish?	236	(1)
John worked three hours, Maisie worked ten	237	(2)
Uh-oh, we're into overtime	239	(1)
Specifying remaining durations	239	(1)
Entering fixed-cost updates	240	(1)
Update Project: Sweeping Changes for Dummies	241	(2)
Tracking Materials Usage	243	(1)
Tracking More Than One: Consolidated Projects	244	(5)
Consolidating projects	244	(2)
Updating consolidated projects	246	(1)
Changing linking settings	246	(3)
A Project with a View: Observing Progress	249	(14)
Look at What Tracking Did!	250	(6)
Getting an indication	250	(1)
Lines of progress	251	(4)
When worlds collide: Baseline versus actual	255	(1)
Learn by the Numbers	256	(1)
Acronym Soup: BCWP, ACWP, EAC, and CV	257	(1)
Calculations behind the Scenes	258	(5)
Going automatic or manual	258	(2)
Earned-value options	260	(1)
How many critical paths are enough?	261	(2)
You're Behind: Now What?	263	(16)
Justifying Yourself: Notes, Baselines, and Interim Plans	263	(2)
What If?	265	(5)
Sorting things out	265	(1)
Filtering	266	(2)
Examining the critical path	268	(1)
Use resource leveling one more time	268	(1)
What's driving the timing of this task?	268	(2)
Using the Analysis Toolbar	270	(2)
How Adding People or Time Affects Your Project	272	(3)
Hurry up!	272	(1)
Throwing people at the problem	272	(2)
Shifting dependencies and task timing	274	(1)
When All Else Fails	275	(2)
All the time in the world	275	(1)
And now for something completely different	276	(1)
What Does Project Have to Say About This?	277	(2)
Spreading the News: Reporting	279	(24)
Off the Rack: Standard Reports	279	(6)
What's available	280	(1)
Going with the standard	280	(1)
A standard report, with a twist	281	(4)
Crosstabs: A different animal	285	(1)
A Custom Job	285	(1)
Get a New Perspective on Data with Visual Reports	286	(3)
Getting an overview of what's available	287	(1)
Creating a Visual Report	287	(2)
Spiffing Things Up	289	(5)
Using graphics in Project	289	(3)
Formatting reports	292	(2)
Call the Printer!	294	(6)
Working with Page Setup	294	(5)
Get a preview	299	(1)
So Let's Print!	300	(3)
Getting Better All the Time	303	(14)
Learning from Your Mistakes	303	(3)
It was only an estimate	304	(1)
Debrief your team	305	(1)
Building on Your Success	306	(8)
Create a template	306	(2)
Master the Organizer	308	(2)
Handy little timesavers: Macros	310	(4)
Customizing Project Guide	314	(3)
Part V: Working with Enterprise Projects	317	(28)
Project Web Access for the Project Manager	319	(16)
Figuring Out Whether Project Web Access Is for You	320	(2)
Getting a Handle on What You Can Do with Project Web Access	322	(1)
Planning to Use Project Server and Project Web Access	323	(2)
Get a team together	323	(1)
Gather information	324	(1)
Standardize processes	324	(1)
Coordinate with IT	325	(1)
Planning for problems	325	(1)
Looking Over the Project Web Access Tools	325	(4)
Make assignments and delegate tasks	326	(1)
Track your progress	327	(1)
Figure out what's going on with status reports	328	(1)
Working with the Gang Online	329	(6)
Check resource availability and assignments	329	(1)
Build a project team	330	(2)
Request a status report	332	(1)
Share documents	332	(3)
Project Web Access for the End User	335	(10)
Seeing Project Web Access from the User's Perspective	335	(1)
Reporting Work Completed	336	(3)
Viewing Project Information	339	(1)
Setting Up Alerts and Reminders	340	(1)
Viewing Information about Other Users	341	(4)
Part VI: The Part of Tens	345	(18)
Ten Golden Rules of Project Management	347	(10)
Don't Bite Off More Than You Can Manage	347	(1)
Get Your Ducks in a Row	348	(1)
Plan for Murphy	349	(1)
Don't Put Off Until Tomorrow	350	(1)
Delegate, Delegate, Delegate!	350	(1)
CYA (Document!)	351	(1)
Keep Your Team in the Loop	352	(1)
Measure Success	352	(2)
Have a Flexible Strategy	354	(1)
Learn from Your Mistakes	355	(2)
Ten Project Management Software Products to Explore	357	(6)
DecisionEdge Chart and Report Products Enhance Project's Own Tools	358	(1)
Cobra Squeezes the Most from Cost/Earned Value	358	(1)
MindManuals Helps You Visualize Project Information	359	(1)
Innate Integrates Projects Large and Small	359	(1)
PlanView Models Your Workforce Capacity	360	(1)
Tenrox Streamlines Business Processes	360	(1)
Project KickStart Gives Your Project a Head Start	361	(1)
Project Manager's Assistant Organizes Drawings for Construction Projects	361	(1)
TeamTrack Solves Mission-Critical Issues	362	(1)
EPK-Suite Eases Portfolio Mangement Chores	362	(1)
Part VII: Appendixes	363	(2)
Appendix A: On the CD	365	(6)
System Requirements	365	(1)
Using the CD	365	(1)
What You'll Find on the CD	366	(3)
Empire Suite, from WSG System Corp	366	(1)
EPK Suite 4.1, from EPK Group, LLC	367	(1)
Milestones Professional, from Kidasa Software	367	(1)
Milestones Project Companion 2006, from Kidasa Software	367	(1)
MindManager Pro 6, from Mindjet Corporation	368	(1)
PERT Chart Expert, from Critical Tools, Inc.	368	(1)
PertMaster Project Risk, from PertMaster	368	(1)
PlanView Project Portfolio, from Plan View	368	(1)
Project KickStart, from Experience in Software	369	(1)
WBS Chart Pro, from Critical Tools, Inc.	369	(1)
Troubleshooting	369	(2)
Customer Care	370	(1)
Appendix B: Glossary	371	(8)
Index	379