Microsoft® Office Project 2007 Step by Step

Book description

Experience learning made easy—and quickly teach yourself how to manage your projects with Project 2007. With Step By Step, you set the pace—building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them!

  • Build a project plan and fine-tune the details

  • Schedule tasks, assign resources, and manage dependencies

  • Monitor progress and costs—and keep your project on track

  • Format Gantt charts and other views to communicate project data

  • Begin exploring enterprise project management systems



  • Your all-in-one learning experience includes:

  • Files for building skills and practicing the book’s lessons

  • Fully searchable eBook

  • Bonus guide to the Ribbon, the new Microsoft Office interface

  • Quick course on project management in the Appendix

  • Windows Vista Product Guide eReference—plus other resources on CD



  • For customers who purchase an ebook version of this title, instructions for downloading the CD files can be found in the ebook.

    Table of contents

    1. Information for Readers Running Windows XP
      1. Managing the Practice Files
      2. Using the Start Menu
      3. Navigating Dialog Boxes
    2. Features and Conventions of This Book
    3. Getting Help
      1. Errata & Book Support
      2. Getting Help with Project 2007
      3. More Information
      4. We Want to Hear from You
      5. Stay in Touch
    4. Using the Book’s CD
      1. What’s on the CD?
      2. Minimum System Requirements
        1. 2007 Microsoft Office System
      3. Installing the Practice Files
      4. Using the Practice Files
      5. Removing and Uninstalling the Practice Files
    5. Quick Reference
      1. 1. Getting Started with Project
      2. 2. Creating a Task List
      3. 3. Setting Up Resources
      4. 4. Assigning Resources to Tasks
      5. 5. Formatting and Printing Your Plan
      6. 6. Tracking Progress on Tasks
      7. 7. Fine-Tuning Task Details
      8. 8. Fine-Tuning Resource and Assignment Details
      9. 9. Fine-Tuning the Project Plan
      10. 10. Organizing and Formatting Project Details
      11. 11. Printing Project Information
      12. 12. Sharing Project Information with Other Programs
      13. 13. Tracking Progress on Tasks and Assignments
      14. 14. Viewing and Reporting Project Status
      15. 15. Getting Your Project Back on Track
      16. 16. Applying Advanced Formatting
      17. 17. Customizing Project
      18. 18. Measuring Performance with Earned Value Analysis
      19. 19. Consolidating Projects and Resources
    6. 1. Managing a Simple Project
      1. 1. Getting Started with Project
        1. Managing Your Projects with Project
        2. Starting Project Standard
        3. Starting Project Professional
        4. Exploring Views
        5. Exploring Reports
        6. Creating a New Project Plan
        7. Setting Nonworking Days
        8. Entering Project Properties
        9. Key Points
      2. 2. Creating a Task List
        1. Entering Tasks
        2. Estimating Durations
        3. Entering a Milestone
        4. Organizing Tasks into Phases
        5. Linking Tasks
        6. Documenting Tasks
        7. Checking the Plan’s Duration
        8. Key Points
      3. 3. Setting Up Resources
        1. Setting Up People Resources
        2. Setting Up Equipment Resources
        3. Setting Up Material Resources
        4. Setting Up Cost Resources
        5. Entering Resource Pay Rates
        6. Adjusting Working Time for Individual Resources
        7. Documenting Resources
        8. Key Points
      4. 4. Assigning Resources to Tasks
        1. Assigning Work Resources to Tasks
        2. Assigning Additional Resources to a Task
        3. Assigning Material Resources to Tasks
        4. Assigning Cost Resources to Tasks
        5. Key Points
      5. 5. Formatting and Printing Your Plan
        1. Creating a Custom Gantt Chart View
        2. Drawing on a Gantt Chart
        3. Formatting Text in a View
        4. Formatting and Printing Reports
        5. Key Points
      6. 6. Tracking Progress on Tasks
        1. Saving a Project Baseline
        2. Tracking a Project as Scheduled
        3. Entering a Task’s Completion Percentage
        4. Entering Actual Values for Tasks
        5. Key Points
    7. 2. Advanced Project Scheduling
      1. 7. Fine-Tuning Task Details
        1. Adjusting Task Relationships
        2. Setting Task Constraints
        3. Viewing the Project’s Critical Path
        4. Interrupting Work on a Task
        5. Adjusting Working Time for Individual Tasks
        6. Changing Task Types
        7. Entering Deadline Dates
        8. Entering Fixed Costs
        9. Setting Up a Recurring Task
        10. Key Points
      2. 8. Fine-Tuning Resource and Assignment Details
        1. Entering Multiple Pay Rates for a Resource
        2. Setting Up Pay Rates to Apply at Different Times
        3. Setting Up Resource Availability to Apply at Different Times
        4. Delaying the Start of Assignments
        5. Applying Contours to Assignments
        6. Applying Different Cost Rates to Assignments
        7. Entering Material Resource Consumption Rates
        8. Key Points
      3. 9. Fine-Tuning the Project Plan
        1. Examining Resource Allocations over Time
        2. Manually Resolving Resource Overallocations
        3. Leveling Overallocated Resources
        4. Examining Project Costs
        5. Checking the Project’s Finish Date
        6. Key Points
      4. 10. Organizing and Formatting Project Details
        1. Sorting Project Details
        2. Grouping Project Details
        3. Filtering Project Details
        4. Customizing Tables
        5. Customizing Views
        6. Key Points
      5. 11. Printing Project Information
        1. Printing Your Project Plan
        2. Printing Views
        3. Printing Reports
        4. Key Points
      6. 12. Sharing Project Information with Other Programs
        1. Copying and Pasting with Project
        2. Opening Other File Formats in Project
        3. Saving to Other File Formats from Project
        4. Generating a Project Summary Report for Word, PowerPoint, or Visio
        5. Generating Visual Reports with Excel and Visio
        6. Key Points
      7. 13. 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
      8. 14. 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
      9. 15. 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
    8. 3. Special Projects
      1. 16. Applying Advanced Formatting
        1. Formatting a Gantt Chart View
        2. Formatting the Network Diagram View
        3. Formatting the Calendar View
        4. Key Points
      2. 17. Customizing Project
        1. Sharing Custom Views and Other Elements Between Project Plans
        2. Recording Macros
        3. Editing Macros
        4. Customizing a Toolbar
        5. Key Points
      3. 18. Measuring Performance with Earned Value Analysis
        1. Viewing Earned Value Schedule Indicators
        2. Viewing Earned Value Cost Indicators
        3. Generating an Earned Value Visual Report
        4. Key Points
      4. 19. 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 Project Plans to a Resource Pool
        7. Opening a Sharer Plan and Updating a Resource Pool
        8. Consolidating Project Plans
        9. Creating Dependencies Between Projects
        10. Key Points
    9. 4. Introducing Project Server
      1. 20. Planning Work with Project Server
        1. Understanding the Key Pieces of Enterprise Project Management
        2. Building a New Plan from an Enterprise Template
        3. Staffing an Enterprise Project with Resources
        4. Publishing a Plan to Project Server
        5. Key Points
      2. 21. Tracking Work with Project Server
        1. Reporting Actual Work Through Project Web Access
        2. Reporting Actual Work Through Outlook
        3. Handling Actuals from Resources
        4. Keeping Stakeholders Informed
        5. Key Points
      3. 22. Managing Risks, Issues, and Documents with Project Server
        1. Managing Risks
        2. Managing Issues
        3. Managing Documents
        4. Key Points
    10. 5. 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. What’s Next?
        1. Joining a Project Learning Community
        2. Joining a Project Management Learning Community
        3. Final Words
    11. Glossary
    12. About the Authors
      1. Carl S. Chatfield
      2. Timothy D. Johnson
      3. Acknowledgments
    13. Choose the Right Book for You
      1. Published and Upcoming Titles
        1. Plain & Simple
        2. Step by Step
        3. Inside Out
        4. Other Titles
    14. Index
    15. About the Authors
    16. Copyright

    Product information

    • Title: Microsoft® Office Project 2007 Step by Step
    • Author(s): Carl Chatfield and Timothy Johnson
    • Release date: February 2007
    • Publisher(s): Microsoft Press
    • ISBN: 9780735623057