Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Project 2003

by Pyron, Tim

• ISBN13: 9780789730725
• ISBN10: 0789730723
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-02-03
• Publisher: Que Publishing

Summary

This book provides readers with everything they need to make the most of Project 2003. Project 2003 helps users manage projects indepently or as part of a large organization. Business professionals can gain access into their portfolio of projects, and collaborate on the documents, issues and risks associated with those projects. Special Edition Using Office Project 2003, covers both Standard and Enterprise Project Management versions and provides direct answers about how to put a project schedule together. It is organized to follow the project cycle of initializing and developing a plan, implementing the plan, tracking progress and adjusting to changes and unforeseen events, and preparing the final reports.

Author Biography

Timothy W. Pyron, Ph.D., is an independent consultant and trainer for Microsoft Project users. His first book was Que's Using Microsoft Project 3.0 (1991), and he has revised and expanded the book for each release of Project since then. He also authored Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Project 98 in 24 Hours and Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Project 2000 in 24 Hours. His books have sold more than a quarter-million copies¿not including all the European and Asian translations. Earlier in his career, Tim was an economics professor and a professional classical musician. Tim is the lead author for this book, and in addition to his own assignments (primarily the scheduling engine chapters, tracking, and earned value analysis), he also collaborated with the other authors on the chapters they wrote or revised.

Jonathan Brandon is an engagement manager at Project Assistants, Inc., a Premier Microsoft Project Partner and Solution Provider specializing in implementation services, integration, training, and custom software development for Microsoft Project. He has extensive project management experience and is a Rational Certified Consultant trained in requirements management, project management, and object-oriented analysis and design. Jonathan can be reached at [e-mail].

Kelvin Kirby has more than 24 years experience as a project management consultant and trainer. His career affiliations include several blue-chip companies, such as Land Rover Ltd., BL Technology Ltd., The Rover Group, Jaguar Cars PLC, Amazon Computers Ltd. (now Computacenter PLC), and ECS. An M.B.A. graduate, Kelvin also has an M.Sc. in information systems and a B.Sc. in engineering. Kelvin has won the PM Times award for Project Management Excellence for the fourth year running (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003) and was recently awarded the PM Foundation's highest honor as Consultant of the Year and the PM Foundation's Fellowship Award. In 1990, Kelvin founded his own Microsoft Project consultancy company, Technology Associates International, which is now a global organization with offices around the world and clients in more than 38 countries. Technology Associates is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and one of only nine Microsoft Project Enterprise Premier Solution Providers worldwide. Kelvin was the world's first ever Microsoft Project MVP (Most Valued Professional). He is also the principal author of the recently launched (Dec 2003) ITC2 qualification in Project Management (ECPMP). Once described as the "Red Adair" of Microsoft Project, you can contact Kelvin on [phone] or via email at [e-mail].

Milestone Consulting Group provides best of breed enterprise project management (EPM) solutions based solely on the Microsoft solution for EPM. Milestone focuses on developing a complete EPM package by implementing project management best practices, defining a solution architecture, configuring and customizing the EPM environment, educating on the custom EPM environment, and integrating with other enterprise applications. Milestone's solutions help companies reduce project lifecycle time, project cost, and reuse project team best practices. Milestone is actively involved in PMI and MPUG, and pioneered the Microsoft Project Lunch and Learn series. Milestone's clients include Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 clients as well as progressive small and medium-sized businesses. More information may be obtained about Milestone by email at [e-mail]. Milestone has five contributing authors who helped in the revision of Que's Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Project 2003: Genea Mallow-Jensen, PMP, senior consultant ([e-mail]) David P. Fischer, co-founder, president, and CEO ([e-mail]) Brandon Thornton, co-founder and principal consultant ([e-mail]) Richard Courtney, principal consultant and director of medium enterprise consulting ([e-mail]) Daniel T. Renier, principal consultant and director of education ([e-mail])

Fred Oettle, Ph.D., is the director of project management training for Project Assistants, Inc. Fred is well known for consulting and software development in project management, providing project management infrastructures built around Microsoft Project and Project Central. Fred has also worked as a radio/TV announcer and as a newspaper editor. Fred founded his own general management consulting and training company, and has conducted hundreds of seminars for government and private-sector organizations. Fred can be contacted at [e-mail].

QuantumPM, LLC is a Colorado-based consulting firm specializing in high-quality project management services to the business and information technology sectors of project-oriented firms. The company's focus is improvement of organizational bottom lines through effective project and portfolio management. QPM effects change in the field through alliances with strategic partners such as the Project Management Institute and Microsoft, targeting a balance of philosophy and tools. QuantumPM is a Microsoft Premier Project Partner and a Registered Education Provider for the Project Management Institute. These partnerships allow QuantumPM to provide state-of-the-art products and services to its customers. Additionally, QuantumPM's classes provide students with PMI professional development units (PDUs), which are required to obtain/maintain PMI's Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. For more information visit http://www.QuantumPM.com. QuantumPM has four contributing authors who helped in the revision of Que's Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Project 2003: Rose Blackburn, PMP, founding partner of QuantumPM, LLC ([e-mail]) Cristian Filip, PMP, senior project manager ([e-mail]) Patty Jansen, PMP, project manager ([e-mail]) Russ Young, senior project manager ([e-mail])

Joël Séguin, PMP, is a project management information systems (PMIS) consultant. Joël started his own consulting firm, GO Project Management, Inc. (go-project.com), a Microsoft Partner, and works as a senior system integrator and business analyst for many customers from a wide variety of industries, from fashion to bulk transportation and construction and pharmaceuticals. He has more than six years of experience teaching Microsoft Office Project and project management, and is currently providing training for a few project management schools both in English and French: International Institute for Learning and Institut de Formation en Gestion de Projets. He provides free advice on newsgroups and received a Microsoft MVP award for his efforts in making Microsoft Office Project an easy system to use. Joël collaborates with the Microsoft Office Project product development team on beta testing and customer requirements for the next versions and the documentation.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Why You Should Use This Book	p. 1
Why You Should Use Microsoft Project	p. 1
What's New in Microsoft Project 2003	p. 3
Two Editions of Microsoft Project 2003	p. 3
File Compatibility	p. 3
Ease-of-Use Features	p. 4
Project Server 2003	p. 4
How This Book Is Organized	p. 5
Web Elements	p. 9
Special Features in This Book	p. 9
Visual Aids	p. 9
Keyboard Conventions	p. 10
Formatting Conventions	p. 11
Getting Started with Microsoft Project 2003
The Power of Microsoft Project 2003	p. 15
Exploring Project Management	p. 16
What Microsoft Project 2003 Can Do for You	p. 18
Some General, Common-Sense Guidelines for Project Managers	p. 19
A Checklist for Using Microsoft Project	p. 22
Project Management Scheduling Techniques	p. 24
Troubleshooting	p. 27
Learning the Basics of Microsoft Project	p. 29
Starting and Exiting Microsoft Project	p. 30
Exploring the Microsoft Project Window	p. 32
Using Learning Aids	p. 39
Introducing the Gantt Chart View	p. 43
Changing Views	p. 47
Scrolling and Selecting Data Fields	p. 48
Troubleshooting	p. 52
Setting Up a Project Document	p. 55
Supplying Information for a New Project	p. 56
Selecting the Environment Options	p. 65
Defining a Calendar of Working Time	p. 76
Troubleshooting	p. 93
Managing Project Files	p. 95
Saving and Protecting Files	p. 96
Creating and Using Templates	p. 103
Working with the Organizer and the Global File	p. 107
Troubleshooting	p. 112
Scheduling Tasks
Creating a Task List	p. 115
Approaching the Planning Process	p. 116
Entering Tasks in a Gantt Chart	p. 118
Understanding the Fields in the Task Table	p. 119
Entering Task Names	p. 123
Editing the Task List	p. 127
Using the Task Information Dialog Box to Edit Tasks	p. 131
Entering Task Duration	p. 132
Defining Milestones	p. 136
Using Recurring Tasks	p. 137
Attaching Notes to Tasks	p. 142
Attaching Hyperlinks to Tasks	p. 147
Using Other Views to Create Tasks	p. 151
Outlining the Task List	p. 154
Using Custom WBS Codes	p. 163
Using Custom Outline Numbers	p. 169
Printing the Project Task List	p. 170
Troubleshooting	p. 170
Project Extras: Letting Project Calculate Duration	p. 171
Entering Scheduling Requirements	p. 175
An Overview of Scheduling	p. 176
Understanding Dependency Links	p. 177
Entering Dependency Links	p. 185
Working with Task Constraints	p. 201
Entering Deadline Dates	p. 217
Splitting Tasks	p. 220
Creating and Using Task Calendars	p. 223
Troubleshooting	p. 226
Project Extras	p. 228
Viewing Your Schedule	p. 231
Working with the Gantt Chart View	p. 232
Adding Graphics and Text to Gantt Charts	p. 247
Working with the Calendar View	p. 258
Working with the Network Diagram View	p. 265
Troubleshooting	p. 274
Assigning Resources and Costs
Defining Resources and Costs	p. 277
Understanding How Project Uses Resources and Costs	p. 278
Understanding Resources and Costs	p. 279
Defining the Resource Pool	p. 286
Using the Resource Fields	p. 292
Setting the Automatically Add New Resources and Tasks Option	p. 308
Sorting Resources	p. 310
Grouping Resources	p. 314
Filtering Resources	p. 315
Troubleshooting	p. 318
Understanding Resource Scheduling	p. 321
Learning About Resource Scheduling	p. 322
Reviewing the Essential Components of Work Resource Assignments	p. 322
Understanding the Resource Assignment Fields	p. 324
Understanding the Work Formula	p. 330
Choosing the Task Type	p. 335
Understanding Effort-Driven Tasks	p. 338
Modifying Resource Assignments	p. 341
Understanding the Driver Resource Concept	p. 355
Calculating Task Duration with Multiple Resources Assigned	p. 357
Troubleshooting	p. 358
Assigning Resources and Costs to Tasks	p. 359
An Overview of Assigning Resources	p. 360
Selecting the Appropriate Task Settings	p. 361
Assigning Resources to Tasks	p. 365
Assigning Fixed Costs and Fixed Contract Fees	p. 396
Troubleshooting	p. 399
Resolving Resource Assignment Problems	p. 401
Understanding How Resource Overallocations Occur	p. 402
Identifying Resource Overallocations	p. 405
Strategies for Eliminating Resource Overallocations	p. 417
Eliminating Resource Overallocations Yourself	p. 421
Letting Project Level Overallocated Resources for You	p. 454
Troubleshooting	p. 463
Reviewing and Distributing the Project
Reviewing the Project Plan	p. 467
Looking at the Big Picture	p. 468
Realigning the Plan	p. 479
Finalizing the Plan	p. 486
Troubleshooting	p. 487
Printing Views and Reports	p. 489
Using the Print Commands	p. 490
Changing the Printer Setup	p. 490
Using the Project Guide Toolbar	p. 492
Printing Views	p. 493
Printing Project's Predesigned Reports	p. 514
Troubleshooting	p. 515
Tracking and Analyzing Progress
Tracking Work on a Project	p. 519
An Overview of Tracking	p. 520
Using Project Guide for Tracking	p. 521
Working with Project Baselines	p. 522
Tracking a Project's Performance and Costs	p. 528
Analyzing Progress and Revising the Schedule	p. 555
Project Management Overview	p. 556
Reviewing the Current Status of a Project	p. 557
Analyzing Performance with Earned Value Analysis	p. 575
Revising a Schedule to Complete on Time and on Budget	p. 595
Troubleshooting	p. 599
Coordinating Projects and Sharing Data
Working with Multiple Projects	p. 603
Using the Window Commands	p. 604
Displaying Tasks from Different Files in the Same Window	p. 607
Creating Subprojects and Master Projects	p. 612
Creating Links Between Tasks in Separate Projects	p. 618
Sharing Resources Among Projects	p. 621
Troubleshooting	p. 629
Exporting and Importing Project Data with Other File Formats	p. 631
Exchanging Project Data with Other Applications	p. 632
File Formats Supported by Microsoft Project 2003	p. 632
Importing Project 2003 Data from Other Project Management Applications	p. 636
Exporting Project 2003 Data to Older Versions of Microsoft Project	p. 636
Using the Import/Export Wizard	p. 637
Saving an Entire Project in a Database	p. 640
Exchanging Selected Parts of a Project with Other Formats	p. 649
Using Microsoft Project 2003 As an OLE DB Provider	p. 687
Troubleshooting	p. 689
Copying, Pasting, and Inserting Data with Other Applications	p. 691
Copying Selected Data Between Applications	p. 692
Linking Selected Data Between Applications	p. 697
Working with Objects	p. 703
Placing Objects into Microsoft Project	p. 706
Placing Project Objects into Other Applications	p. 719
Troubleshooting	p. 729
Using and Customizing the Display
Using the Standard Views, Tables, Filters, and Groups	p. 735
Exploring the Standard Views	p. 736
Exploring the Standard Tables	p. 757
Exploring the Standard Filters	p. 761
Exploring the Standard Groups	p. 770
Troubleshooting	p. 773
Formatting Views	p. 775
Using the Common Format Options in the Standard Views	p. 776
Formatting the Gantt Chart View	p. 790
Formatting the Calendar View	p. 802
Formatting the Network Diagram View	p. 807
Formatting the Task and Resource Form Views	p. 817
Formatting the Resource Graph View	p. 819
Formatting the Resource Usage View	p. 826
Formatting the Task Usage View	p. 829
Formatting the Sheet Views	p. 830
Troubleshooting	p. 830
Customizing Views, Tables, Fields, Filters, and Groups	p. 833
Creating New Views	p. 834
Using and Creating Tables	p. 840
Customizing Fields	p. 847
Creating Custom Filters	p. 859
Creating Custom Filters with AutoFilter	p. 867
Creating Custom Groups	p. 868
Organizing Views and Other Custom Elements in Project Files	p. 873
Troubleshooting	p. 875
Using and Customizing the Standard Reports	p. 877
Understanding the Standard Reports	p. 878
Customizing Reports	p. 891
Creating Reports	p. 894
Using the Common Customization Controls	p. 896
Customizing Specific Report Types	p. 899
Saving and Sharing Custom Reports	p. 918
Troubleshooting	p. 918
Customizing Toolbars, Menus, and Forms	p. 921
Altering the Behavior of Personalized Menus and Toolbars	p. 922
Customizing Toolbars	p. 925
Customizing Menu Bars	p. 941
Customizing Forms	p. 949
Troubleshooting	p. 960
Using Project Server and Project Professional
Introduction to Microsoft Office Project Server 2003	p. 965
Enterprise Project Management Using Microsoft Office Project Server 2003	p. 966
System Architecture and Requirements	p. 968
Planning for Enterprise Information Sharing	p. 970
Planning for Global Settings	p. 975
Using Enterprise Global Settings	p. 978
Enterprise Project Administration	p. 985
System Administration	p. 986
Project Web Access Administration	p. 986
Managing Views	p. 987
Building OLAP Cubes and Updating Resource Tables	p. 994
Managing Project Versions	p. 999
Database Administration and Management	p. 1001
Project Professional Administration	p. 1004
Managing the Enterprise Global Template	p. 1007
Using Enterprise Outline Codes and Custom Fields	p. 1010
Managing Enterprise Project and Resource Calendars	p. 1018
Performing Enterprise Global Backup and Restore	p. 1019
Importing Resources	p. 1021
Importing Projects	p. 1024
Enterprise Project Management	p. 1029
Using the Project Center Views	p. 1031
Using Project Center Build Team	p. 1036
Opening and Using Multiple Enterprise Projects	p. 1040
Check-in Projects from Project Center	p. 1046
Using Administrative Projects	p. 1047
Analyzing Enterprise Projects	p. 1048
Using Enterprise Templates	p. 1065
Working with Enterprise Versions	p. 1066
Working with Enterprise Project Codes	p. 1067
Enterprise Resource Management	p. 1069
An Overview of Enterprise Resource Management	p. 1070
Managing Enterprise Resources in Resource Center	p. 1072
Creating Custom Enterprise Resource Outline Code	p. 1081
Working with Enterprise Resources	p. 1090
Enterprise Collaboration	p. 1119
Introduction to Enterprise Collaboration	p. 1120
Using Project Web Access Tasks for Timesheets	p. 1122
Updating and Revising Timesheets	p. 1128
Using Project Status Reports	p. 1129
Storing Project Artifact Documents	p. 1133
Managing Risks	p. 1135
Managing Issues	p. 1137
Using Microsoft Outlook with Project Server 2003	p. 1139
Index	p. 1143
Extra Chapters on the CD-ROM
Publishing Projects on the Web	p. 1
An Overview of Project 2003's Internet Features	p. 2
Exporting Project Data to Web Pages	p. 3
Defining Import/Export Map HTML Options	p. 10
Modifying Project's HTML Templates	p. 13
Publishing Web Documents	p. 24
Troubleshooting	p. 24
Using Visual Basic with Project 2003	p. 27
Why Use Visual Basic Macros?	p. 28
Getting Started with Visual Basic Macros	p. 29
Creating a Macro That Works in Different Situations	p. 30
Fixing a Macro	p. 33
The VBE	p. 35
Working with Tasks	p. 36
Debugging Code	p. 42
The TraceDependencies Macro	p. 46
Working with Other Applications	p. 58
Working with Events	p. 62
Working with Application-Level Events	p. 63
Getting Help	p. 64
Customizing and Administering Project Server Access	p. 65
Creating and Deleting Users from Project Server	p. 66
Managing User Groups	p. 68
Project Server User Security	p. 69
Using Categories to Control Access to Project Information	p. 70
Using Security Templates	p. 70
Authentication Options	p. 72
Creating Custom Views	p. 74
Setting Features Available on a Project Server	p. 84
Adding New Menu Choices	p. 84
Windows SharePoint Services	p. 86
Customize Microsoft Project Web Access	p. 92
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