A tutorial on MS Project

James Burns

22

Learning Objectives

Entering Tasks in the Gantt View Task subordination Linking of Tasks Setting start & stop dates Assigning resources Calculating costs

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

0 3

3

3 6

5

6 13

13

13

13 15

15

15

15 16

14.

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

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.

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).

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).

Activity-On-node network

Critical path method network

Description

Legend

ID EF

LF

ES

SL

LS DUR

CreateGraphics

9 E 10

11110

1

EditPaper

11D9

1129

0

DraftPaper

9C6

0

6 3 9

ResearchTopic

1 B 6

0

1 5 6

IdentifyTopic

110

0

0 A 1

References

9 F 10

11110

1

FinalDraft

11 G 12

12111

0

Group Term Paper

Forward Pass Computation

Description

Legend

ID EF

LF

ES

SL

LS DUR

CreateGraphics

9 E 10

1

EditPaper

11D9

2

DraftPaper

9C6

3

ResearchTopic

1 B 6

5

IdentifyTopic

1

0 A 1

References

9 F 10

1

FinalDraft

11 G 12

1

Group Term Paper

Always start

at 0

EF =ES+DUR

EF =ES+DUR

EF =ES+DUR

EF =ES+DUR

Backward Pass Computation

Description

Legend

ID EF

LF

ES

SL

LS DUR

CreateGraphics

9 E 10

11110

EditPaper

11D9

1129

DraftPaper

9C6

6 3 9

ResearchTopic

1 B 6

0

1 5 6

IdentifyTopic

110

0 A 1

References

9 F 10

11110

1

FinalDraft

11 G 12

12111

Group Term Paper

EF=LFLS =

LF - DURLS =

LF - DURLS =

LF - DURLS =

LF - DUR

Determining Slack

Description

Legend

ID EF

LF

ES

SL

LS DUR

CreateGraphics

9 E 10

11110

1

EditPaper

11D9

1129

0

DraftPaper

9C6

0

6 3 9

ResearchTopic

1 B 6

0

1 5 6

IdentifyTopic

110

0

0 A 1

References

9 F 10

11110

1

FinalDraft

11 G 12

12111

0

Group Term Paper

SL =LS – ES

orLF - EF

SL =LS – ES

orLF - EF

SL =LS – ES

orLF - EF

CRITICAL PATH?

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?ID Description Predecessor Time(Days) 1 Pour Foundation None 3 2 Erect Frame 1 4 3 Roof 2 4 4 Windows 2 1 5 Doors 2 1 6 Electrical 2 3 7 Rough-in Frame 3, 4, 5, 6 2 8 Door Opener 5, 6 1 9 Paint 7, 8 2

10 Clean-up 9 1

Garage Problem

Description

Legend

ID EF

LF

ES

SL

LS DUR

Windows

4

1

Roof

3

4

Electrical

6

3

ErectFrame

2

4

PourFoundation

3

1

Doors

5

1

Paint

9

2

Rough-inFrame

7

2

DoorOpener

8

1

Clean-up

10

1

Project Duration: ______ daysCritical Path: _______________

Garage Problem

Description

Legend

ID EF

LF

ES

SL

LS DUR

Windows

7 4 8

11110

3

Roof

1137

1147

0

Electrical

1067

1

8 3 11

ErectFrame

3 2 7

0

3 4 7

PourFoundation

330

0

0 1 3

Doors

7 5 8

11110

3

Paint

13 9 15

15213

0

Rough-inFrame

11 7 13

13211

0

DoorOpener

10 8 11

13112

2

Clean-up

15 10 16

16115

0

Project Duration: ___16___ daysCritical Path:

__1237910__

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.

More Learning Objectives

Recurring tasks STATISTICS Zoom out/zoom in Precedence relationships Lags between links

PM Software in general

Popular Project Management Software Packages

• CA-SuperProject• Microsoft Project• Project Scheduler• SureTrak Project Manager• Time Line• High-End Project Management Software

4

Criteria for Selecting Project Management Software

• Capacity• Documentation and on-line help facilities• Ease of use• Features available• Integration with other systems

Additional Criteria

• Installation requirements• Reporting capabilities• Security• Vendor Support

5

Advantages of Using Project Management Software

• Accuracy• Affordability• Ease of use• Ability to handle complexity• Maintainability and modifiability• Record keeping• Speed• What-if analysis

6

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

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

Bring up MS Project

• Start in the Gantt View• Enter task detail in the entry table to the left• Subordinate tasks appropriately• Link Tasks as appropriate

Project Information Box

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

Statistics Box—by clicking Statistics

The Gantt View

• Tasks are entered within the Entry Table in the Gantt View

The Main Window of MS Project

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

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…

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

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

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

Linking of Tasks

• Select tasks to be linked• Click on the chain-link icon• Decide on precedence relationship: FS, SS,

FF, SF

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

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.

Calculating costs

• Fixed 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

33

Project Management Software Features

• Budgeting and cost control• Calendars• Email• Graphics• Importing/exporting data• Handling multiple projects and subprojects• Report generation

Project Management Software Additional Features

• Resource management• Planning• Project monitoring and tracking• Scheduling• Security• Sorting and filtering• What-if analysis