You’re now at the point where you can start Microsoft Project 2007 and actually create your project plan. When you create a new project file, you first decide whether you’re scheduling from a start date or finish date. You set your overall project calendar that the tasks will be scheduled against. If you like, you can attach project documentation such as your all-important scope statement and possibly other project-related documents.
To begin creating your new project plan, you start Microsoft Project and choose whether you’re creating a new project from scratch or from a template.
Note
If you haven’t installed Microsoft Project yet, refer to Appendix A, for installation details and guidelines.
To start Microsoft Project, click the Windows Start button. Point to All Programs, point to Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft Project. Microsoft Project starts (see Figure 3-1).
Note
If you’re working with enterprise projects using Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007, you might first be prompted to enter your account name to connect to Microsoft Office Project Server 2007.
Note
Depending on how you customize your setup, you might also be able to open Microsoft Project by double-clicking its icon on the Windows desktop.
The Microsoft Project workspace is called the view, and the view that appears by default when you first open Microsoft Project is the Gantt Chart. The Gantt Chart has a task table on the left side and the chart with Gantt bars on the right.
Note
For more information about working with the Gantt Chart and the other views available in Microsoft Project, see Chapter 4.
You can use this blank project file to start creating your project plan from scratch. If you prefer to do this, skip to the section titled Saving Your New Project.
You can also create a new project from a template. A template is a type of project file that contains existing project information that helps you start your project more quickly. The template usually contains a list of tasks, already sequenced and organized. The task list might be further detailed with phases, milestones, and deliverables. There might be additional task information in the template as well, such as task durations and task dependencies. You can use this task list as the basis for your project. You can add, remove, and rearrange tasks, adapting the task information as needed to correspond to your project requirements. A template can also include resource information, customized views, calendars, reports, tables, macros, option settings, and more.
The template file has an extension of .mpt, indicating that it is the Microsoft Project template file type. When you open and modify a template file, it is saved as a normal .mpp (Microsoft Project plan) file by default.
Note
For more information about file types and project file management, see Chapter 29.
Templates can be generated from the following sources:
The set of 41 templates built in to Microsoft Project. These templates reflect various types of product, service, or activity projects in different industries (see Table 3-1). Twenty-nine of these templates are new in Microsoft Project 2007. All the templates are based on widely accepted industry standards.
Table 3-1. Project Templates
Business Development
Managing incoming request for quotes (RFQ)
Marketing campaign planning
Marketing event planning and execution
New business
New product
New product launch
Product development planning
Trade show planning, execution, and wrap-up
Customer Service
Customer feedback monitoring
Customer service ramp up
Post-manufacturing customer service planning
Construction and Facilities
Commercial construction
Engineering
Home move
Office move
Residential construction
Finance and Accounting
Finance and accounting system implementation
Financial service offering launch
Preparation of an opening balance sheet at the date of transition to IFRS
General Business
Annual report preparation
External technical readiness training
Insurance claim processing
Internal readiness training
Product evaluation post launch
Strategic merger or acquisition evaluation
Vendor evaluation and consolidation
Vendor request for proposal (RFP) solicitation
Human Resources
Develop skills needs – hiring plan – hiring forecast
Evaluating offshoring strategy for HR functions
Human resources information system implementation
Performance reviews
Information Technology
Electronic government (e-gov) project
Infrastructure deployment
Security infrastructure
Software development
Software localization
MSF Application development
Standards and Process
Project office
ISO 9001 management review
Six Sigma DMAIC cycle
SOX compliance and technology options
Any previous projects you have saved as project template files.
Note
For more information about using completed projects as templates, see Chapter 28.
The templates standard to project management within your specific industry. Professional organizations, standards organizations, and industry groups might have resources, possibly on their Web sites, which include such templates for use with Microsoft Project.
Templates available on Office Online. New Microsoft Project templates are continually added to the Templates page on Office Online.
Examples of the dozens of templates available on Office Online include a comprehensive hiring plan, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services deployment plan, training rollout initiative and plan, audit preparation plan, direct mail marketing campaign, and primary market research schedule.
Note
If you use the enterprise features of Microsoft Project Professional 2007, you use the enterprise global template, a different kind of template that’s set up by the project server administrator. The enterprise global template can include elements such as customized views, tables, and fields that reflect the project standards for your organization.
To create a new project from a template, follow these steps:
Click File, New.
In the New Project task pane, under Templates, click the On Computer link.
In the Templates dialog box, click the Project Templates tab (see Figure 3-2).
Click the project template you want to use and then click OK (see Figure 3-3).
The first time you choose a template, Microsoft Project might need to install it. This takes only a few moments.
If you have an existing project that you want to use as a starting point for your new project, you can simply copy and modify it for your current purposes. You will save it under a different file name, creating a completely new file. Follow these steps:
Whether you are creating a new project from scratch, from a template, or from an existing project file, your next step is to save your new project. To do this:
Click File, Save As.
In the Save As dialog box, choose the drive and folder in which you want to save the new project.
If you’re set up for enterprise project management using Microsoft Project Professional 2007 and Microsoft Project Server 2007, you’ll see the Save To Project Server dialog box instead.
In the File Name box, enter a descriptive name for your project and then click the Save button.
If you’re working with Project Server, and you want to save the project to the server, click the Save button. Depending on how your organization has set up enterprise project management standards, you might need to add information in custom enterprise fields.
If you want to save the project locally on your own computer instead, click the Save As File button.
Note
For more information about working with enterprise projects, see the section titled Creating a New Enterprise Project In Chapter 22.
Create your new project file, either from a blank project or from a template.
If necessary, click the Tasks button on the Project Guide toolbar to open the Tasks pane.
Click the Define The Project link. The Define The Project Wizard starts in the task pane.
Enter the estimated start date for your project and then click the Continue To Step 2 link at the bottom of the pane.
Specify whether you will be collaborating via Project Server and Project Web Access, and then click the Continue To Step 3 link.
In the final pane, click the Save And Finish link.
In the Tasks pane again, click the Define General Working Times link and work through the Project Working Times Wizard.
Your first scheduling decision is whether Microsoft Project should calculate the schedule of your new project from a start date or from a finish date. Often, you have a finish date in mind, but you can still schedule from the start date and then make sure you hit the targeted finish date. You’ll get more predictable results when you schedule from a start date.
For example, suppose you set up a project with 100 tasks to be scheduled from the start date. You specify task durations and sequence, link the tasks in the order they are to be done, and indicate whether any tasks have specific dates by which they must be completed. When you do not enter specific task start or finish dates, Microsoft Project schedules tasks to be done as soon as possible. Using task durations, links, and date constraints, Microsoft Project schedules the first task to start on your project start date and the remaining tasks from that point forward until the last task is completed. If that last task is done on a date that is too late for your project requirements, you can adjust the duration and sequencing, as well as the scope and resources assigned, to bring in the finish date where you need it to be.
However, you might know the project finish date but not when your project will begin because you’re receiving work from another source that could be delayed. Or the project management methodology you use might require you to schedule from a finish date.
Consider that same project of 100 tasks. In a project scheduled from the finish date, any tasks that do not require a specific date are scheduled to be done as late as possible, rather than as soon as possible. Microsoft Project schedules the last task to be finished on your project finish date and works backward from that point until the first task is started. If that first task is scheduled before the current date or too early for your project requirements, you can adjust the tasks and other aspects of the schedule.
To set up your project plan to be scheduled from the project start date, follow these steps:
Click Project, Project Information.
The Project Information dialog box appears (see Figure 3-4).
In the Start Date box, enter the project start date.
By default, the Start Date box shows today’s date.
In the Schedule From box, click Project Start Date.
Note that the date in the Project Finish Date box is grayed out so you cannot edit it. Because you have chosen to schedule from the project start date, Microsoft Project will calculate this date for you later.
To set up your project plan to be scheduled from the project finish date, follow these steps:
Click Project, Project Information.
In the Schedule From box, click Project Finish Date.
In the Finish Date box, enter the project finish date.
The date in the Project Start Date box is grayed out so you cannot edit it. Because you have chosen to schedule from the project finish date, Microsoft Project will calculate this date for you later.
With the project calendar, you establish the working days and times for your project and its tasks. The project calendar also becomes the default calendar for any resources working on your project. The project calendar indicates when your organization typically works on project tasks and when it’s off work. By setting your project calendar, you’re establishing one of the fundamental methods for scheduling the tasks in your project.
You choose a base calendar to become your project calendar. You can create your own base calendar, or you can choose one of the three base calendars that comes with Microsoft Project. A base calendar is rather like a calendar template that you can apply to a set of resources, a set of tasks, or the project as a whole. Table 3-2 describes the working days and times specified in the base calendars provided by Microsoft Project.
Table 3-2. Base Calendars
Standard | Working time is set to Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., with an hour off for lunch between noon and 1:00 P.M. each day. This is the default base calendar used for the project, for tasks, and for resources. |
Night Shift | Working time is set to an 11:00 P.M. until 8:00 A.M. night shift, five days a week, with an hour off for lunch from 3:00 A.M. until 4:00 A.M. each morning. This base calendar is generally used for resources who work a graveyard shift. It can also be used for projects that are carried out only during the night shift. |
24 Hours | Working time is set to midnight until midnight seven days a week; that is, work never stops. This base calendar is typically used for projects in a manufacturing situation, for example, which might run two or three back-to-back shifts every day of the week. |
If you’re using the Standard base calendar as your project calendar, you don’t need to do much—the Standard calendar is the project calendar by default. If you want to use a different base calendar, you must select it as your project calendar. Follow these steps:
Click Project, Project Information.
In the Calendar box, select the name of the base calendar.
Click OK.
You can use any of the three base calendars (Standard, Night Shift, or 24 Hours) as the basis for the project calendar, resource calendars, or task calendars. In fact, you could use all three within the same project. For example, you might apply the Standard calendar to the project as a whole, the Night Shift calendar to a certain group of resources, and the 24 Hours calendar to tasks being carried out by automated equipment.
Note
For more information about the task calendar, see the section titled Working with Task Calendars in Chapter 5. For more information about the resource calendar, see the section titled Setting Working Times and Days Off for Work Resources in Chapter 6.
You can modify your project calendar to reflect your team’s normal working times and days off, including any holidays you’ll all be taking and other one-time calendar exceptions. You can also specify recurring exceptions in your working times calendar.
To modify the project calendar, you change the base calendar that the project calendar is using as its starting point. Any of the base calendars can be customized to reflect specialized working days and times.
As specified in Table 3-2 previously, the three base calendars that come with Microsoft Project have their default working days and times. You might apply one of these base calendars to your project for it to become the calendar on which your project is based. When you do this, your schedule is governed by the working days and times in that base calendar.
You can change the default working days and times of the normal work week. To do this, follow these steps:
Click Tools, Change Working Time.
In the For Calendar box, click the name of the base calendar you want to modify (see Figure 3-5).
Click the Work Weeks tab (see Figure 3-6).
Figure 3-6. Use the Work Weeks tab to change the default work week or to create alternate work weeks.
Notice that row 1 contains the word "[Default]" with "NA" in both the Start and Finish fields. This indicates that the default working days and times are to be used whenever an alternative work week is not scheduled.
Make sure that the Default row is selected and then click the Details button to open the Details for ‘[Default]’ dialog box (see Figure 3-7).
Figure 3-7. The work week Details dialog box shows the working days and times for the selected work week.
If you click a day of the week in the Select Day(s) box, its working times appear in the From/To table to the right. If no working times appear in the table, this indicates that the selected day is a nonworking day. Above the table, the Use Project Default Times For These Days option is selected.
In the Select Day(s) box, click the day of the week you want to change.
You can drag to select consecutive days. You can also click the first day, hold down the Shift key, and then click the last day. To select several nonadjacent days, click the first day you want to change, hold down the Ctrl key, and then click the other days.
To change the day(s) to nonworking time, click the Set Days To Nonworking Time option.
To change a nonworking day to a working day, or to change the working times of a working day, click the Set Day(s) To These Specific Working Times option. Then, in the From/To table, type the start and finish working times.
Click OK in the Details dialog box and then click OK in the Change Working Time dialog box.
Your project might need an alternative work week specified for a particular period of time. One example might be a construction company working an accelerated schedule to complete exterior work before winter. Another example might be a training project in which the default work week is used for curriculum development and testing and a different, temporary work week is used when actual training is taking place.
New in Microsoft Office Project 2007 is the ability to specify any number of alternative work weeks to make sure your project scheduling reflects such situations. To specify an alternative work week, follow these steps:
Click Tools, Change Working Time.
In the For Calendar box, click the name of the base calendar you want to modify.
Click the Work Weeks tab.
Click in the next blank row below the Default row. In the Name field, type a name for the alternative work week, for example, "Roofing Week" or "Training Week."
Click in the Start field and enter the first date that the alternative working times should be in effect.
Click in the Finish field and then enter the last date that the alternative working times should be in effect.
With the row for the new work week still selected, click the Details button.
In the Select Day(s) box, click the day(s) of the week you want to change.
To change a nonworking day to a working day, or to change the working times of a working day, click the Set Day(s) To These Specific Working Times option. Then, in the From/To table, type the start and finish working times.
To change the selected day(s) to nonworking time, click the Set Days To Nonworking Time option.
Click OK in the Details dialog box and then click OK in the Change Working Time dialog box.
To make a one-time exception to an existing base calendar, follow these steps:
Click Tools, Change Working Time.
In the For Calendar box, click the name of the base calendar you want to modify.
Click the day in the calendar thumbnail whose working times you want to change.
When you click a day in the calendar thumbnail, information about that day’s working times appear to the right. This tells you whether the day is a working or nonworking day, what the working times are, and which work week or exception and base calendar this day and calendar are based on.
Make sure the Exceptions tab is selected, click in the first available row in the Name column, and then enter the name of the calendar exception. Press Enter or Tab when finished.
Although entering a name for the exception is not required, it can be useful for distinguishing the reason for the exception. Examples might include "Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday" or "Department Offsite."
After you press Enter or Tab, the name is entered and the Start and Finish dates are entered, defaulting to the date you clicked in the thumbnail calendar.
If necessary, change the date in the Start or Finish field.
When you enter an exception for a working day, by default it changes to a nonworking day.
Note
By default, the Start and Finish dates are the same—the date selected in the thumbnail calendar. If the date of an exception is several months in the future, it’s easier to enter the date in this field rather than scroll to it in the thumbnail calendar.
Also, if the exception goes across a series of days, enter the last day of the exception in the Finish field. This can be useful for entering a two-week holiday shutdown, for example.
If the exception is a change other than switching a working day to a nonworking day, click the Details button to open the Details dialog box (see Figure 3-8).
If you’re changing working time to nonworking time, select the Nonworking Time option.
If you’re changing the working time to something other than the default, select the Nondefault Working Time option. Then, change the times in the From and To boxes as needed.
Click OK to close the Details dialog box and then click OK to close the Change Working Time dialog box.
You can set up a calendar exception to take place on a recurring pattern. For example, if you’re developing the plan for a three-year project, you’ll probably want to show that the New Year’s Day holiday exception takes place on January 1 of each year, or that the Thanksgiving holidays take place on the fourth Thursday and Friday of November each year.
In the same way, if you know that no work on the project will take place from 9:00 to 11:00 A.M. on the first Monday of every month because of the monthly divisional staff meeting, you can build that into your project’s working times calendar.
To set up a recurring calendar exception to an existing base calendar, follow these steps:
Click Tools, Change Working Time.
In the For Calendar box, click the name of the base calendar you want to modify.
Click the day in the calendar thumbnail whose working times you want to change.
On the Exceptions tab, click in the first available row in the Name column and then enter the name of the calendar exception. Press Enter or Tab when finished.
If necessary, change the dates in the Start or Finish field.
Click the Details button.
If you’re changing working time to nonworking time, select the Nonworking Time option.
If you’re changing the working time to something other than the default, select the Nondefault Working Time option. Then, change the times in the From and To boxes as needed.
Use the controls under Recurrence Pattern and Range of Recurrence to specify the details of the recurrence.
Under Recurrence Pattern, specify how often the calendar exception takes place; that is, daily, weekly, or monthly.
Specify the details of when the recurring calendar exception is to take place during that frequency, for example, every other Thursday or the first Monday of every month.
Under Range Of Recurrence, specify the number of times the recurring calendar exception is to take place or the date when the recurring calendar exception is to end.
Click OK to close the Details dialog box and then click OK to close the Change Working Time dialog box.
If you need to apply a common working schedule to your project, a group of resources, or a set of tasks and it isn’t built in to Microsoft Project already, you can create your own base calendar.
To create a new base calendar, follow these steps:
Click Tools, Change Working Time.
Click the Create New Calendar button. The Create New Base Calendar dialog box appears (see Figure 3-9).
In the Name box, type the name you want for the new base calendar, for example, Swing Shift.
Select the Create New Base Calendar option if you want to adapt your calendar from the Standard base calendar.
Select the Make A Copy Of option if you want to adapt the new calendar from a different base calendar, such as the Night Shift calendar. Click the name of the existing calendar you want to adapt and click OK.
Make the changes you want to the working days and times of individual days or of a particular day of every week, as needed.
When finished with your new base calendar, click OK.
Note
You can delete a base calendar you have created, but you cannot do it within the Change Working Time calendar. Instead, you need to use the Organizer. Click Tools, Organizer. Then click the Calendars tab. In the box on the right, you’ll see a list of base calendars used by the current project. Select the base calendar you want to delete, click the Delete button, and then click Yes. Click the Close button to dismiss the Organizer dialog box.
Note
For more information about using the Organizer, see Chapter 25.
You can make Microsoft Project the central repository for all your important project documentation. For example, you might want to attach or link your scope statement to your project plan, as well as other documents such as the needs analysis, market study, and product specifications.
To attach planning documentation to your project, the first step is to display the project summary task. Not only does the project summary task eventually provide summary date and cost information for the project as a whole, it can serve as the location for your attached or linked planning documents. To display the project summary task, follow these steps:
Click Tools, Options and then click the View tab.
Under Outline Options, select the Show Project Summary Task check box.
Click OK.
A summary task appears in Row 0 of the Gantt Chart (see Figure 3-10), adopting the name of the file as the project summary task name. If you want to change the name, click in the Task Name field for the project summary task. Edit the name in the entry field above the task sheet.
You can include planning documents created in other programs within Microsoft Project. Although this can significantly increase your file size, you’ll know that all your project information is stored in one place. To include the documents, follow these steps:
With the project summary task selected, click Task Information on the Standard toolbar and then click the Notes tab. You can also double-click the task to open the Summary Task Information dialog box.
On the Notes tab, click the Insert Object button.
In the Insert Object dialog box, select the Create From File option and then click the Browse button.
In the Browse dialog box, select the project planning document you want to attach or embed into your project file. Click the Insert button.
Back in the Insert Object dialog box again, select the Display As Icon check box (see Figure 3-11).
If the document is small, consider clearing the Display As Icon check box. Clearing this check box embeds the content of the file into your project Notes box, so you can read it directly from there.
Click OK.
The document’s icon appears in the Notes area of the Summary Task Information dialog box (see Figure 3-12).
In the Summary Task Information dialog box, click OK.
The Notes indicator appears in the Gantt Chart (see Figure 3-13).
Figure 3-13. When you store something in a Notes tab, the Notes indicator appears in the corresponding row of the Gantt Chart.
Now, whenever you need to review the document, just double-click the Notes indicator to open the Notes tab of the Summary Task Information dialog box. Then double-click the document icon.
Note
For more information about embedding, see the section titled Embedding Information in Chapter 16.
Note
In addition to attaching documents to the project summary task, you can attach documents to summary tasks and individual tasks. This can be useful when you have specifications or drawings that further define the scope of a particular sub-phase or task. You can also attach deliverables or milestone reports on milestone tasks.
Hyperlinking is another way to include planning documents with your project file. Hyperlinking is a preferred method when you want to keep your file size trimmer, and you know that your project plan and associated planning documents will always be in the same place. It’s also a very efficient method for opening associated documents quickly. To insert a hyperlink, follow these steps:
With the project summary task selected, click Insert Hyperlink on the Standard toolbar.
In the Text To Display box, type a descriptive name for the document to which you are linking, for example, Project Scope Statement.
Find and select the project planning document you want to link to your project file (see Figure 3-14).
The Hyperlink indicator appears in the Indicators field of the Gantt Chart (see Figure 3-15).
Figure 3-15. When you hyperlink a document to a task, the Hyperlink indicator appears in the corresponding row of the Gantt Chart.
Now, whenever you need to review the document, just click the Hyperlink indicator. The document opens in its own application window.
Note
In addition to hyperlinking to documents from the project summary task, you can create a hyperlink from summary tasks and individual tasks.
Note
For more information, see the section titled Hyperlinking to Documents in Other Applications in Chapter 16.
If you’re using Microsoft Office Project Professional with Microsoft Office Project Server for enterprise project management, the preferred method for keeping all project documents together is to use the document library. By setting up Microsoft Office Project Web Access with Windows SharePoint Services, you can set up and maintain a document library. This way, all your team members and other stakeholders can view the documents through their Web browsers. They can also check documents in and out, providing vital version control.
Note
For more information about setting up a document library with Windows SharePoint Services, see the section titled Controlling Project Documents in Chapter 22.