Microsoft Project 2013: Step by Step

Book description

Experience learning made easy - and quickly teach yourself how to manage the complete project life cycle with Project 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace - building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them!

  • Work with Project 2013 on your PC or touch-enabled device

  • Build and fine-tune your project plan

  • Schedule tasks and milestones, and assign resources

  • Track progress and costs, and manage variances

  • Troubleshoot delays and budget overruns

  • Customize Gantt chart views, tables, and calendars

  • Learn project-management best practices

  • Table of contents

    1. Table of Contents
    2. Introduction
      1. Who this book is for
      2. How this book is organized
      3. Download the practice files
      4. Your settings in Project
      5. Your companion ebook
      6. Get support and give feedback
        1. Errata
        2. We want to hear from you
        3. Stay in touch
    3. I. Introduction to Microsoft Project
      1. 1. Microsoft Project, project management and you
        1. Meet the Project application
        2. Meet the Project family
        3. New features in Project 2013
          1. What was new in Project 2010
          2. What was new in Project 2007
        4. You as a project manager
          1. Let’s get started!
      2. 2. A guided tour of Project
        1. The Project interface: Finding your way around
        2. The Backstage view: Managing files and setting options
        3. The ribbon and tabs: Finding the features you want
        4. Views: Working with schedule details the way you want
        5. Reports: Seeing project status in new ways
        6. Key points
    4. II. Simple Scheduling Basics
      1. 3. Starting a new plan
        1. Starting a new plan, and setting its start date
        2. Setting nonworking days in the project calendar
        3. Entering the plan’s title and other properties
        4. Key points
      2. 4. Building a task list
        1. Entering task names
        2. Entering task durations
        3. Entering a milestone task
        4. Creating summary tasks to outline the plan
        5. Creating task dependencies with links
        6. Switching task scheduling from manual to automatic
        7. Checking the plan’s duration and finish date
        8. Documenting tasks with notes and hyperlinks
        9. Key points
      3. 5. Setting up resources
        1. Entering work resource names
        2. Entering resources’ maximum capacity
        3. Entering resource pay rates
        4. Adjusting working time in a resource calendar
        5. Setting up cost resources
        6. Documenting resources with notes
        7. Key points
      4. 6. Assigning resources to tasks
        1. Assigning work resources to tasks
        2. Controlling work when adding or removing resource assignments
        3. Assigning cost resources to tasks
        4. Checking the plan’s duration, cost, and work
        5. Key points
      5. 7. Formatting and sharing your plan
        1. Customizing a Gantt chart view
        2. Customizing a Timeline view
        3. Customizing reports
        4. Copying views and reports
        5. Printing views and reports
        6. Key points
      6. 8. Tracking progress
        1. Saving a baseline of your plan
        2. Tracking a plan as scheduled through a specific date
        3. Entering a task’s completion percentage
        4. Entering actual values for tasks
        5. Key points
    5. III. Advanced Scheduling Techniques
      1. 9. Advanced task scheduling
        1. See task relationships with Task Path
        2. Adjusting task link relationships
        3. Setting task constraints
        4. Interrupting work on a task
        5. Adjusting working time for individual tasks
        6. Control task scheduling with task types
        7. Key points
      2. 10. Fine-tuning task details
        1. Entering deadline dates
        2. Entering fixed costs
        3. Setting up a recurring task
        4. Viewing the project’s critical path
        5. Scheduling summary tasks manually
        6. Key points
      3. 11. Fine-tuning resource and assignment details
        1. Setting up resource availability to apply at different times
        2. Entering multiple pay rates for a resource
        3. Setting up resource pay rates to apply at different times
        4. Setting up material resources
        5. Delaying the start of assignments
        6. Applying contours to assignments
        7. Applying different pay rates to assignments
        8. Assigning material resources to tasks
        9. Viewing resource capacity
        10. Adjusting assignments in the Team Planner view
        11. Key points
      4. 12. Fine-tuning the Project plan
        1. Examining resource allocations over time
        2. Resolving resource overallocations manually
        3. Leveling overallocated resources
        4. Checking the plan’s cost and finish date
        5. Inactivating tasks
        6. Key points
      5. 13. Organizing project details
        1. Sorting Project details
        2. Grouping Project details
        3. Filtering Project details
        4. Creating new tables
        5. Creating new views
        6. Key points
      6. 14. Tracking progress on tasks and assignments
        1. Updating a baseline
        2. Tracking actual and remaining values for tasks and assignments
        3. Tracking timephased actual work for tasks and assignments
        4. Rescheduling incomplete work
        5. Key points
      7. 15. Viewing and reporting project status
        1. Identifying tasks that have slipped
        2. Examining task costs
        3. Examining resource costs
        4. Reporting project cost variance with a stoplight view
        5. Key points
      8. 16. Getting your project back on track
        1. Troubleshooting time and schedule problems
        2. Troubleshooting cost and resource problems
        3. Troubleshooting scope-of-work problems
        4. Key points
    6. IV. In-Depth and Special Subjects
      1. 17. Applying advanced formatting and printing
        1. Formatting a Gantt chart view
        2. Formatting a Timeline view
        3. Formatting a Network Diagram view
        4. Formatting a Calendar view
        5. Printing and exporting views
        6. Key points
      2. 18. Advanced report formatting
        1. Formatting tables in a report
        2. Formatting charts in a report
        3. Creating a custom report
        4. Key points
      3. 19. Customizing Project
        1. Sharing custom elements between plans
        2. Recording macros
        3. Editing macros
        4. Customizing the ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar
        5. Key points
      4. 20. Sharing information with other programs
        1. Copying Project data to other programs
        2. Opening other file formats in Project
        3. Saving to other file formats from Project
        4. Generating visual reports with Excel and Visio
        5. Key points
      5. 21. Consolidating projects and resources
        1. Creating a resource pool
        2. Viewing assignment details in a resource pool
        3. Updating assignments in a sharer plan
        4. Updating a resource’s information in a resource pool
        5. Updating all plans’ working times in a resource pool
        6. Linking new plans to a resource pool
        7. Changing sharer plan assignments and updating a resource pool
        8. Consolidating plans
        9. Creating dependencies between plans
        10. Key points
    7. V. Appendices
      1. A. A short course in project management
        1. Understanding what defines a project
        2. The project triangle: Viewing projects in terms of time, cost, and scope
          1. Time
          2. Cost
          3. Scope
        3. Time, cost, and scope: Managing project constraints
        4. Managing your projects with Project
      2. B. Developing your project-management skills
        1. Joining a Project learning community
        2. Joining a project-management learning community
        3. Final words
      3. C. Collaborating: Project, SharePoint, and PWA
        1. Introduction to sharing your plan with SharePoint
          1. Sources for more information
        2. Introduction to team collaboration with Project Web App
          1. Sources for more information
        3. Introduction to Enterprise Project Management
          1. Sources for more information
      4. D. Using this book in a classroom
        1. Matching content to instructional needs
        2. Teaching project management with Project
    8. E. Glossary
    9. F. About the authors
      1. Acknowledgments
    10. Index
    11. About the Authors
    12. Copyright

    Product information

    • Title: Microsoft Project 2013: Step by Step
    • Author(s): Carl Chatfield and Timothy Johnson
    • Release date: March 2013
    • Publisher(s): Microsoft Press
    • ISBN: 9780735674394