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Working with MSProject

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Owners of the Plan

Who owns the project plan? You do! (why? - See AMEX) There is only one version of the project plan

and you have it. Case Study #2

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MS Project Cheat Sheet

Enter project information (such as the start date, Project Name, Turn on Summary Task Set up your resources in Resource Sheet Set up your work calendar. Create tasks, choosing the scheduling method and task type settings and entering

information about durations. Create milestones (tasks with zero duration) in your project. Organize your tasks into phases, using Project's outline structure. Establish dependencies among tasks, adding constraints if appropriate. Create resources, assigning cost/rate and resource calendar information. Assign resources to tasks. Resolve resource conflicts. Review the total duration and cost of the project, making adjustments if necessary. After plan is approved - Lock the baseline

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MS Project Cheat Sheet

Enter project information (such as the start date, Project Name, Turn on Summary Task (Where and how?) File/Options/Advanced

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F/S, S/S, F/F

All tasks CAN BE linear or Some tasks can be linear or Both Some tasks can be:

– Finish/Start– Start/Start– Finish/Finish

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F/S, S/S, FF

Finish/StartWork package 2 startsafter 1 ends.

Start/StartThe work packagesSTART at the sameTime.

Finish/FinishThe work packagesFINISH at the same time.

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F/S, S/S, FF and lags

Finish/Start (FS+1W)Work package 2 startsafter 1 ends + 1 week

Start/Start (SS+1D)The work packagesSTART at the sameTime + 1 DAY

Finish/Finish(FF+1H)The work packagesFINISH at the same time + 1 hour or maybe -1hr.

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Fast Tracking and Lags

Starting one task before the predecessor is Finished is Fast Tracking

A Lag is: – F/S – 1day– S/S + 1 hour– F/F + 1 hour

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Dates

Only “1” date should be entered in a project plan (Project Start Date)*

NEVER – NEVER – NEVER enter any other date !!!

All other dates should be a result of Predecessors and successor dependencies

* Exception (e.g. training, hardware delivery, 3rd party products)

Entered dates are called CONSTRAINT DATES

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Dates (this is important)

MS Project uses three sets of dates and they are LINKED – CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER!

1. Start (aka) Scheduled Start & Finish (aka) Scheduled Finish

2. Actual Start & Finish

3. Baseline Start and Finish Also linked to these dates is % Complete NEVER NEVER NEVER enter a date manually (constraint date)

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Dates

All project dates should be a result of previous tasks. Tasks need to be linked and rely on F/S, S/S, F/F. Using Lags +/-

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Sample plan

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Sample plan

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Dates

All project dates should be a result of previous tasks.

Tasks need to be linked and rely on F/S, S/S, F/F.

Using Lags +/-

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Working with Dates in MSProject

Start/Finish (Scheduled Start/Finish) % Complete

Actual Start/Finish Baseline1 Start/Finish

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Resources

Resources need $ Resources need Units The Project Manager needs to manage the

Working Calendar (Time Off, Holidays, Vacations, etc) It affects deliverables. (a 9 hour task for Friday will take until Monday)

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Assigning Resources

Available project hours To Summary Tasks (NOT) ???? Resource Leveling Resource Usage/Resource Graphs

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Customizing MSProject

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Baselining, Locking the Baseline

Setting the Baseline protects the Project Manager

Resetting the Baseline should never be done unilaterally by the Project Manager. Should only be done with stakeholder and customer’s approval

The Baseline dates is your protection

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Metrics

Not possible w/o locking baseline SV CPI EV BCWS ACWP

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Surprise!

NO SURPRISES!!!! Everyone talks to everyone else. Your team communicates with you and you

communicate with them. You communicate with your customer Everyone knows everything NO SURPRISES!!!!

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Discussion

• What is the most important part of a project?

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My Grandson’s swing set

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Recommended reading

• Delivering Project Excellence with the Statement of Work, Michael G. Martin

• Earned Value Project Management, Fleming & Hoppelman

• The Mythical Man-month, Frederick Brooks, Jr

• Applied Software Measurement, Capers Jones

• Assessment and Control of Software Risks, Capers Jones

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Feedback

• Improvement process, please email me Joel@JSaren.com class comments.

• What did we do that you wish we spent more time on?• What did we do that you think we spent too much time on?• What didn’t we do that you wish we did do?• What did we do good?• What did we not do good?• Would you recommend this class to others?• Are there any other project management classes you would

like to take?

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Wrap up

• Thank you all for being great participants.• I am humbled and honored to be allowed to come

to this part of the world and work with you.• I am open to hearing from you. Joel@JSaren.com• Other resources:• WWW.PMI.ORG• WWW.ASAPM.ORG• WWW.PMBOULEVARD.COM • WWW.PMLINK.ORG

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Questions?