Core Training for Microsoft Project 2002

Getting Started with Microsoft Project

Starting Microsoft Project

1 To start Microsoft Project, click the Start button on the Windows taskbar, point to All Programs, and click Microsoft Project.
2 To look for information on how to complete a specific task, click in the Ask a Question box on the right side of the menu bar, type Estimating durations, and then press the ENTER key.
3 To find out how best to estimate durations, click the Goal: Estimate task durations link in the list.
4 Notice that a list of steps to follow to best estimate durations is displayed in the right pane of the Microsoft Help window, and click the Close button on the title bar of the window.
5 To take a look at the built-in templates available with Microsoft Project 2002, click the General Templates link under New from template in the New Project task pane.
6 In the Templates dialog box, click the Project Templates tab.
7 To select a specific template, click the New Business icon.
8 Click OK, and notice that a new project named New Business now appears in the Project plan window while the Project Guide pane appears on the left side of the screen.

Exploring Views and Reports

1 To display details about resources in a row-and-column format with one resource per row, click the View menu, click Resource Sheet, and notice that this view doesn't tell you anything about the tasks to which the resources are assigned.
2 To group resources according to the tasks to which they are assigned, click the View menu, click Task Usage, and notice that usage views show work assignments using a timescale.
3 To show the scheduled work values for a specific task, click the Task Name field for task 3 and click Go To Selected Task on the Standard toolbar.
4 To switch to a simpler month-at-a-glance view of the project, click the View menu and click Calendar.
5 To switch to a view that focuses on task relationships, click the View menu and click Network Diagram.
6 To display a predefined combination view that splits the project window into two synchronized views, click the View menu and click More Views.
7 In the More Views dialog box, click below the scroll box on the scroll bar, click Task Entry in the Views list, and then click the Apply button.
8 Notice that the Task Entry view is composed of the Gantt Chart in the top part of the screen and the Task Form in the bottom part, and click the Task Name field for task 4 in the Gantt Chart to view detailed information about the Identify available skills task in the Task Form.
9 To view a list of available predefined reports, click the View menu and click Reports.
10 In the Reports dialog box, click Custom and click the Select button.
11 To apply a report that presents a complete list of project tasks similar to the Entry table of a Gantt Chart, click below the scroll box on the scroll bar in the Custom Reports dialog box, click Task in the Reports list, and click the Preview button.

Creating a Project Plan

1 To start creating a project plan from scratch, click the File menu and click New.
2 In the New Project pane, click the Blank Project link under New.
3 Notice that a project is created and that the Tasks pane of the Project Guide is displayed, and click the Define the project link in the pane.
4 To set the estimated start date of the project, drag from left to right to select the contents of the Enter the estimated date your project will begin box in the Define the project pane, type 01/05/2004, and then click the Save and go to Step 2 link at the bottom of the Tasks pane.
5 When asked to specify whether you want to enable collaboration features available through the use of Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft Project Web Access, click the No option under Collaborate on your project and click the Save and go to Step 3 link at the bottom of the pane.
6 To save the project, click the Save button on the Standard toolbar.
7 In the Save As dialog box, make sure that My Documents appears in the Save in box, type Wingtip Toys Commercial in the File name box, and then click the Save button.
8 Click the Save and go to Step 4 link at the bottom of the pane.
9 To complete the Define the Project task, click the Save and Finish link at the bottom of the pane.

Setting Nonworking Days

1 To start adding a company-wide nonworking day to the project base calendar, click the Define general working times link in the Tasks pane.
2 To define the base calendar to use with the current project, make sure that Standard appears in the Select a calendar template box and click the Save and go to Step 2 link at the bottom of the pane.
3 To use the default working days and times, make sure that the I'll use the hours shown in the preview on the right option is selected and click the Save and go to Step 3 link at the bottom of the pane.
4 To add a specific day as nonworking, click the Change Working Time link.
5 In the Change Working Time dialog box, click 30 in the January 2004 calendar under Select Date(s).
6 To set the selected day as a nonworking day, click the Nonworking time option under Set selected date(s) to and click OK.
7 To verify that the change has been applied to the project calendar, click to the right of the scroll box on the horizontal scroll bar of the chart portion of the Gantt Chart view, and notice that Friday, January 30, 2004 is formatted in gray, like the weekends, to indicate nonworking time.
8 To save the changes to the project base calendar, click the Save and go to Step 4 link at the bottom of the pane.
9 Notice that the working time units are presented and should not be changed because the default working times for the project calendar were not modified, and click the Save and go to Step 5 link at the bottom of the pane.
10 To complete the Define General Working Times task, click the Save and Finish link at the bottom of the pane.