USING MS PROJECT 2010USING MS PROJECT 2010

• Project management software programs such as Microsoft Project 2010 can be used for developing the project schedule and budget, and tracking actual vs. planned progress

• We demonstrate the use of MS Project 2010 for a sample project

• Complete model found in construction.mpp on class web page

• Begin by launching MS Project 2010

M. J. Liberatore VSB 3008

MS Project 2010 Setup• Select File, Options, click on “Schedule” tab• For Calendar options for this project: “Select “All

New Projects”• For Scheduling options for this project: select

“All New Projects”• For New Tasks Created: select “Auto Scheduled” • For Duration is entered in: select “weeks”• For default task type: select “fixed duration”• make sure New tasks are effort driven is NOT

checked• Click OK when finished

MS Project 2010 Setup

Creating a Project

• Click on Project, Project Information, select 10/3/11 as the Start date, click OK

• Click on Save as, type in project name such as Demo, click OK

• Your project is saved as Demo.mpp

Creating a Project

Example Project

Task, Duration, and Immediate Predecessor Information for Construction Project IMMEDIATE DURATION

TASK DESCRIPTION PREDECESSORS (WEEKS)1 START -- 02 Excavate and Pour Footers 1 33 Pour Concrete Foundation 2 14 Erect Rough Wall & Roof 3 45 Install Siding 4 66 Install Plumbing 4 37 Install Electrical 4 48 Install Wallboard 6,7 59 Lay Flooring 8 610 Do Interior Painting 8 311 Install Interior Fixtures 9,10 312 Install Gutters & Downspouts 5 213 Do Grading & Landscaping 12 314 FINISH 11,13 0

Entering Task Information• Default view, Entry table on left, Gantt Chart on

right• You can delete the two left-most columns, “i” and

“task mode” by highlighting these columns and pressing the “delete” key (not needed by us)• Task numbers now in left-most column

• Enter task name and duration in their field• The default is weeks or “w” • “d” for days and “h” for hours can be used

• Enter predecessor task number(s) in the “Predecessors” field

• MS Project automatically gives start and finish dates based on critical path analysis

Entering Task Information

Task InformationTask InformationDouble-clicking on a task name opens the Task Information” screen

Project Charts

• The Gantt Chart view shows task linkages• Since START and FINISH are dummy activities

with 0 duration, they are milestones in MS Project (black diamonds)

Right-click on dates in the chart and then “zoom” as desired

• Change view to Network Diagram by clicking on “View” in the menu and then select “Network Diagram” (zoom as desired)

Gantt ChartGantt Chart

Network DiagramNetwork Diagram

Critical Path Analysis

• MS Project 2010 automatically computes the critical path and the earliest and latest start and finish times and slack

• Project, Project Information, Statistics shows the critical path is 26 weeks in our project

Project Critical Path LengthProject Critical Path Length

Critical Path AnalysisCritical Path Analysis

• Use the “Detail Gantt” to best display the critical path• Select “View”, “Other Views”, “More Views”,

“Detail Gantt” then “Apply”

• Use the “Schedule Table” to display all of the early and late start and finish information, along with total and free slack• Again from “View”, select “Table”, and then

“Schedule”

Schedule Table & Detail GanttSchedule Table & Detail Gantt

Critical Path Analysis

• Critical path tasks can be identified as those have zero total slack (TS) or float

• TS = LF – EF = LS – ES• The TS of only 1 task can be used if we want to be certain

about not delaying the project• Free slack (FS) of a task is the difference between the

smallest of the ES’s of the task’s immediate successors and the task’s EF.

• Using FS does not affect the start times of a task’s successors

• FS <= TS• FS of multiple tasks can be used without delaying the

project• FS is shown on the Detail Gantt

Critical Path AnalysisCritical Path Analysis

• Notice that tasks 12 and 13 both have 7 weeks of total slack

• However, if task 12 uses this slack, it is not available to task 13, so its slack is not free• Tasks 12 and 13 are linked, so delaying the start of

12 delays the start of 13 by the same amount

Summary Tasks Summary Tasks

• Summary tasks can be used to better organize a project (see constructionS.mpp)

• We add three summary tasks: Structure, Interior, and Exterior

• Structure includes current tasks 2 – 4, Interior includes 6 – 11, Exterior includes 5, 12, 13

• Example: highlight “Excavate and Pour Footers,” click on “Tasks”, click on” Summary,” enter “Structure”• Indent first three tasks under “Structure” by

highlighting them and selecting “indent” (thick green arrow going to the right)

Creating a Summary TaskCreating a Summary Task