Microsoft Project Fundamentals

Microsoft Project Standard 2021, Professional 2021, and Project Online Editions

Teresa S. Stover

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN:
  9781119821151
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781119821175
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Entreprise Applications
• Index: Computer Science

Get a firm grip on one of the most popular project management applications on the market today

In Microsoft Project Fundamentals: Microsoft Project Standard 2021, Professional 2021, and Project Online Editions, accomplished project management leader Teresa Stover delivers a hands-on introduction to Microsoft's popular project management software filled with real-world examples and plain-language guidance. The book walks you through how to plan, schedule, manage resources, track progress, and more.

In the book, you'll:

• Learn principles and best practices of project management while mastering Microsoft Project capabilities, calculations, and views
• Understand how task durations, dependencies, and date constraints power the project schedule
• Manage human, equipment, and material resources, including availability, cost, and task assignments
• Adjust the project to optimize for the project finish date, budget, and resource allocation
• Use Microsoft Project to manage waterfall or agile projects

Ideal for anyone seeking to unlock the potential of Microsoft's leading project management software for their own project work, Microsoft Project Fundamentals is an essential resource for those new to Microsoft Project and project management, as well as previous users and seasoned project professionals looking for a refresher in the latest features of the newest version of Microsoft Project.

PART I
Manage Your Projects with Microsoft Project

Lesson 1
Project Management Basics

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LESSON OBJECTIVES

• Identify a project versus an operation.
• Label the three sides of the project triangle.
• List the six project stages or processes.
• Explain project manager duties in each project process.
• Name two prevalent project management methodologies.
• Assess the project types best for the two methodologies.

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When you decide to use Microsoft Project as a key tool in managing your projects, you also want to include a solid grounding in project management principles in that toolbox.

This lesson introduces you to the basics of projects and project manager responsibilities, including project management knowledge areas. You'll see the project triangle and the processes within the project life cycle. You'll review waterfall and agile project management methodologies.

Through all this, you'll preview how Microsoft Project can assist you in your responsibilities as a skilled project manager so that you can deliver your well-scoped project on deadline and within budget.

Projects and Project Managers

So what actually characterizes a project as such, rather than other activities we do like operations or task lists? And what are the responsibilities of the project manager? Let's break them down now.

What Is a Project?

A project is a unique activity that has a distinct starting point and a distinct finishing point. Here are some examples of projects:

• Remodeling an office
• Developing a new training program
• Launching an awareness campaign
• Hosting a conference and trade show
• Designing a new product

Each of these examples are unique—the specific office being remodeled, the topic of the training program or awareness campaign, the locale and speakers involved in the conference, or the specific qualities that go into designing a new product.

None of these projects are ongoing, meaning that they each have a start and an end date. Although some projects like designing a new product or building a high rise might take several years, they proceed through different phases through those years until the project's completion.

In contrast, ongoing activities that are repeated and that don't have distinct start and finish dates are considered operations. Some examples of operations are as follows:

• Maintaining information on a website
• Running payroll twice each month
• Sending weekly e-news to customers and prospects
• Preparing packets for the monthly board of directors meeting
• Posting daily items on social media

These are routine activities that take place on an ongoing basis as part of the regular business of an organization.

Projects can become operations, or operations can be a result of finished projects. For example, after the project of developing a new training program is complete, delivering a set of classes each month can become part of the organization's regular operations.

Projects can repeat in certain ways but still not be considered an operation. For example, your organization might follow a certain project template for product development that includes research, prototyping, testing, manufacturing, marketing, and launch. Its uniqueness lies in the difference in the product under development.

Whether small, medium, or large, projects are often characterized by the following:

• A scope of work defining the project boundaries and standards
• Part- or full-time team members who are assigned to the project
• Equipment and materials earmarked for the project, if applicable
• A budget dedicated to the project
• At least one expected deliverable or outcome at the project end

What Is a Project Manager?

Some people become professional project managers as a result of strategic career planning, whether they majored in it in college or discovered it in the working world and then climbed the project management ladder. Many just get themselves assigned one day as a project manager and then must figure out what it's all about.

A project manager is the point person responsible for carrying out a project and delivering the desired outcomes—the scope of the project. As the project manager, you balance the constraints of the project budget and the deadline with the elements of the pr...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• About the Technical Editor
• Introduction
• PART I: Manage Your Projects with Microsoft Project
• PART II: Plan Your Project
• PART III: Monitor and Control Your Project
• PART IV: Close Your Project
• Appendix Answers to the Review Questions
• Index
• End User License Agreement