25,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
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.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 379
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022
Ähnliche
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Technical Editor
Introduction
Who Will Benefit Most from This Book
Features
PART I: Manage Your Projects with Microsoft Project
Lesson 1: Project Management Basics
Projects and Project Managers
The Project Triangle
Project Processes
Project Management Methodologies
More About Project Management
Key Terms
Review Questions
Lesson 2: Introducing Microsoft Project
How Microsoft Project Helps
Microsoft Project Solutions
Touring the Microsoft Project App
Get Help with Project
Key Terms
Review Questions
PART II: Plan Your Project
Lesson 3: Establish a Strong Foundation
Initiate the Project
Start Planning
Organize Project Plan Documents
Key Terms
Review Questions
Lesson 4: Set Up the Project and Tasks
Start a New Project Plan
Set the Project Start Date
Enter Task Names
Sequence Tasks
Organize the Task Outline
Key Terms
Review Questions
Lesson 5: Build the Schedule
Decide on Automatic Scheduling
Get to Know the Gantt Chart
Enter Task Durations
Set Milestones
Link Dependent Tasks
Schedule Sprints for an Agile Project
Identify Any Hardwired Dates
Enter Deadline Reminders
Use Project and Task Calendars
Key Terms
Review Questions
Lesson 6: Set Up Resources
Add Resources to the Plan
Enter Resource Costs
Refine Resource Unit Availability
Customize Resource Calendars
Key Terms
Review Questions
Lesson 7: Assign Resources to Tasks
Assign Work Resources to Tasks
Assign Material Resources to Tasks
Assign Cost Resources to Tasks
Review Resource Assignments
See Task Costs from Assignments
Change Assignments
Key Terms
Review Questions
Lesson 8: Check and Adjust the Project
Check the Project Finish Date
Check Costs
Check Resource Assignments
Set the Project Baseline
Key Terms
Review Questions
PART III: Monitor and Control Your Project
Lesson 9: Track Project Information
Collect Progress Information
Enter Actuals in a Waterfall Project
Update Status in an Agile Project
Respond to Changes
Key Terms
Review Questions
Lesson 10: View Project Information
See the Data You Need
Change Columns in a Sheet View
Print a View
Work with More Views
Key Terms
Review Questions
Lesson 11: Customize Project Information
Customize a Sheet View
Customize a Gantt View
Customize a Board View
Set Options and Preferences
Key Terms
Review Questions
Lesson 12: Report Project Information
Work with Reports
Work with Dashboards
Create a New Report or Dashboard
Print a Report
Key Terms
Review Questions
PART IV: Close Your Project
Lesson 13: Obtain Project Acceptance
Present the Project to the Sponsor
Secure Official Project Sign-Off
Celebrate With Your Team
Key Terms
Review Questions
Lesson 14: Retain Project History
Document Lessons Learned
Archive Project History
Key Terms
Review Questions
Appendix Answers to the Review Questions
Lesson 1. Project Management Basics
Lesson 2. Introducing Microsoft Project
Lesson 3. Establish a Strong Foundation
Lesson 4. Set Up the Project and Tasks
Lesson 5. Build the Schedule
Lesson 6. Set Up Resources
Lesson 7. Assign Resources to Tasks
Lesson 8. Check and Adjust the Project
Lesson 9. Track Project Information
Lesson 10. View Project Information
Lesson 11. Customize Project Information
Lesson 12. Report Project Information
Lesson 13. Obtain Project Acceptance
Lesson 14. Retain Project History
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 2
TABLE 2.1 Microsoft Project Editions
Chapter 5
TABLE 5.1 Constraint types
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1.1 A project triangle
FIGURE 1.2 The processes in the project life cycle
FIGURE 1.3 Bars on a Gantt chart illustrate waterfall project management.
FIGURE 1.4 An agile project uses task board views to schedule project iterat...
Chapter 2
FIGURE 2.1 A Project schedule recalculation
FIGURE 2.2 The Resource Sheet in Project
FIGURE 2.3 Task and project costs
FIGURE 2.4 The Project Overview dashboard
FIGURE 2.5 Project for the web
FIGURE 2.6 Project Online Desktop Client
FIGURE 2.7 Gantt Chart
FIGURE 2.8 Project Backstage
FIGURE 2.9 Project Options
FIGURE 2.10 The Help pane
FIGURE 2.11 The Tell Me What You Want To Do control
FIGURE 2.12 Actions and help offered
FIGURE 2.13 Feedback to Microsoft pane
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3.1 The Project summary task
FIGURE 3.2 The Project document is attached to the project file.
FIGURE 3.3 The note icon indicating the attached project file.
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4.1 The Project Home page
FIGURE 4.2 A new blank project plan
FIGURE 4.3 Project templates
FIGURE 4.4 The Project Information dialog box
FIGURE 4.5 The More Views dialog box
FIGURE 4.6 The Task Sheet view
FIGURE 4.7 The Task Information dialog box
FIGURE 4.8 New tasks in the Task Board
FIGURE 4.9 A task outline structure
FIGURE 4.10 The Outline menu
FIGURE 4.11 The Project Summary Task
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5.1 The Select All cell
FIGURE 5.2 All tasks to be automatically scheduled
FIGURE 5.3 Gantt Chart view
FIGURE 5.4 The shortcut menu from the view bar
FIGURE 5.5 The view shortcut icons
FIGURE 5.6 Task durations entered
FIGURE 5.7 Duration is added to Task Board cards.
FIGURE 5.8 A milestone task in the Gantt Chart
FIGURE 5.9 A task with a nonzero duration in the Gantt Chart.
FIGURE 5.10 Tasks linked with a Finish-to-Start dependency
FIGURE 5.11 The Task ID and Predecessor fields on the task cards
FIGURE 5.12 The Manage Sprints dialog box
FIGURE 5.13 The Sprint Planning Board
FIGURE 5.14 The constraint icon in the Indicator column
FIGURE 5.15 A deadline in the Gantt Chart
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6.1 The Resource Sheet
FIGURE 6.2 Work, material, and cost resources in the Resource Sheet
FIGURE 6.3 Cost information in the resource sheet
FIGURE 6.4 The Resource Availability table in the Resource Information dialo...
FIGURE 6.5 Base calendars in the Change Working Time dialog box
FIGURE 6.6 Customizing the default work week for a resource calendar
FIGURE 6.7 Dates for a resource calendar work week exception
FIGURE 6.8 Details for a resource calendar work week exception
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7.1 Assign Resources dialog box
FIGURE 7.2 A work resource assigned to a task
FIGURE 7.3 A material resource assigned to a task
FIGURE 7.4 Cost resources assigned to tasks
FIGURE 7.5 Assignments in Team Planner
FIGURE 7.6 Resource Usage view
FIGURE 7.7 Task Usage view
FIGURE 7.8 Resource assignments in Task Board cards
FIGURE 7.9 A Cost column added to the Task Sheet
FIGURE 7.10 Cost field in the Project Summary Task
FIGURE 7.11 Choices for adding a work resource
FIGURE 7.12 Choices after removing a work resource
FIGURE 7.13 Choices after changing a duration
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8.1 Critical path on the Tracking Gantt
FIGURE 8.2 Link type choices in the Task Information dialog box
FIGURE 8.3 Cost column added to the Task Sheet
FIGURE 8.4 Tasks sorted by highest to lowest costs
FIGURE 8.5 Cost column added to the Resource Sheet
FIGURE 8.6 Task with overallocated resource
FIGURE 8.7 A resource's overallocation shown in Team Planner
FIGURE 8.8 Set Baseline dialog box
FIGURE 8.9 Menu of available baseline fields
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9.1 Gantt bar for a task that's 50 percent complete
FIGURE 9.2 Percent complete in the Task Information dialog box
FIGURE 9.3 Update Tasks dialog box
FIGURE 9.4 The Task Sheet customized to show the baseline, scheduled, and ac...
FIGURE 9.5 Drag task cards on the Task Board to the appropriate column to in...
FIGURE 9.6 Updating status in the Task Board Sheet
FIGURE 9.7 The % Complete field added to every task card
FIGURE 9.8 Current Sprint Board
FIGURE 9.9 Sprint Planning Board
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10.1 Timescale drop-down menu
FIGURE 10.2 Full task hierarchy
FIGURE 10.3 Task list showing only Level 1 of the outline
FIGURE 10.4 Task sheet grouped by resource
FIGURE 10.5 Resource sheet with cost resources highlighted
FIGURE 10.6 Add New Column drop-down menu
FIGURE 10.7 Cost column added to the Task Sheet
FIGURE 10.8 Print window with preview and controls
FIGURE 10.9 The More Views dialog box
FIGURE 10.10 The Timeline view above the Task Board
FIGURE 10.11 The Calendar view
FIGURE 10.12 Network Diagram
FIGURE 10.13 The Resource Graph
FIGURE 10.14 Team Planner
FIGURE 10.15 The Tracking Gantt
FIGURE 10.16 The Task Entry view
FIGURE 10.17 Split view of Resource Sheet and Resource Form
FIGURE 10.18 The Task Usage view
FIGURE 10.19 The Resource Usage view
Chapter 11
FIGURE 11.1 Text Styles dialog box for a task sheet
FIGURE 11.2 Drawing drop-down menu
FIGURE 11.3 Customize Task Board Cards dialog box
FIGURE 11.4 The General tab in the Project Options dialog box
Chapter 12
FIGURE 12.1 The Resource Overview report
FIGURE 12.2 The Cost Overview dashboard
FIGURE 12.3 The New Report templates
FIGURE 12.4 Custom report with the Field List pane
FIGURE 12.5 Print window with preview and controls
Chapter 13
FIGURE 13.1 The Project Overview dashboard
FIGURE 13.2 The Cost Overview dashboard
FIGURE 13.3 Adding a note to a task
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Technical Editor
Introduction
Begin Reading
Appendix Answers to the Review Questions
Index
End User License Agreement
Pages
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
xiv
xv
xvi
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
Microsoft®Project Fundamentals
Microsoft Project Standard 2021, Professional 2021, and Project Online Editions
Teresa S. Stover
Copyright © 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
978-1-119-82115-1978-1-119-82116-8 (ebk.)978-1-119-82117-5 (ebk.)
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware the Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021950187
Trademarks: WILEY, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Cover image: © Serz72/Getty Images
Cover design: Wiley
For Mom—Song Ai Soon Remhof—and our continuing moments of joy.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks go to my ever-steady and ever-ready editorial team, including Jan Lynn, Joyce Nielsen, Barath Kumar Rajasekaran, Christine O'Connor, Devon Cajas, and Jim Minatel, along with the many others working behind the scenes. As the model of a project team at its very best, you all worked your magic to bring this book to life and make it the best it could be.
I applaud the conscientious and painstaking work of the Project team at Microsoft, past and present, for creating in Microsoft Project a brilliant tool for project managers in a variety of industries with a range of requirements.
Cheers to Bonnie Biafore for her continuing work in teaching and guiding the next generation of project managers. I value our past collaborations as well as our friendship through the years.
Tons of respect and admiration to Kate Lasky and Rebecca Stoltz for our current work at Josephine Community Library. The upcoming library construction projects will test our project management chops and will result in amazing information services and programs that will expand horizons, enrich experiences, and build community.
My highest esteem goes to all those inspirational and dedicated individuals and groups who work toward justice in our world. It's hard work, and it's slow work, but it pays off with a society that works well for everyone.
All my love and gratitude to Craig Stover, for being my voice of reason, my best friend, and my rock.
About the Author
“What a Difference a Plan Makes” could be Teresa Stover's adapted theme song. To her, planning and implementing a project—while keeping a mindful eye on the prize of the project's outcomes—creates special excitement and satisfaction.
As the technical publications supervisor for a Silicon Valley startup more than 20 years ago, Teresa came face to face with the art and science of project management. Keen to know who needed to be working on which tasks daily to meet competing deadlines on multiple projects, she discovered the power of project management.
Since then, Teresa has worked as a technical communications and project management consultant for software creators, manufacturing, business, and education. She specializes in project management for entrepreneurial startups, nonprofit organizations, and content development enterprises. She has authored or co-authored 15 books on Microsoft Project, project management, and business productivity software. Recent achievements include helping start up a new library district and serving as a nonprofit foundation's interim executive director, in both cases setting up systems and structures for organizational development and success.
Teresa lives in southern Oregon with her husband, Craig Stover, and her German Shepherd, Dante's Inferno der Wunderhund. Teresa welcomes emails from readers sent to [email protected].
About the Technical Editor
Joyce J. Nielsen has worked in the publishing industry for more than 30 years as a technical writer/editor, development editor, and project manager, specializing in Microsoft Office, Windows, Internet, and general technology content for leading educational, retail, and online publishers. She is the author or co-author of more than 50 computer books and 2,100 online articles. Joyce holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Quantitative Business Analysis from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, Indiana. She currently resides in Arizona.
Introduction
Welcome to Microsoft Project Fundamentals. You're about to embark on a journey through the basics of Microsoft Project capabilities that can help you effectively manage your projects. This book focuses on the best and easiest ways to use Project to plan, schedule, manage resources, track progress, and view and report project information. Along the way, you'll also pick up core principles of project management, like the project triangle of scope, time, and cost, as well as the five project phases or processes.
The procedures, examples, and screenshots in this book are based on Microsoft Project Online Desktop Client as implemented in October 2021. Project Online Desktop Client is part of the Microsoft “Project Plan 3” subscription for cloud-based project management solutions. If you are working with Microsoft Project Professional 2019 or 2021, the perpetual (nonsubscription) version, you should be able to follow along with this book just fine.
Who Will Benefit Most from This Book
This book is an essential resource if you're new to Microsoft Project and project management. Whether you're a student in school or a practitioner in the field, you'll find this book valuable to your project management journey.
For others of you who have used previous versions of Microsoft Project, this book can reintroduce you to the tool and its new capabilities, especially for managing agile projects as well as traditional waterfall projects.
Looking Ahead in This Book
This book consists of 14 lessons, each of which includes learning objectives, major concepts, and step-by-step procedures, key terms, and review questions to help you test and cement your new skills. The following summarizes each lesson:
Lesson 1, “Project Management Basics,” introduces the work of projects and project managers, the project triangle, the six project phases or processes, and project management methodologies, including waterfall and agile.
Lesson 2, “Introducing Microsoft Project,” explains how Microsoft Project helps manage your schedule, calculate costs, balance resources, and more. This lesson also describes the various Microsoft Project editions, and offers a tour of the application's user interface.
Lesson 3, “Establish a Strong Foundation,” covers basic best practices for initiating a new project. These include identifying the project sponsor, having your project charter authorized, defining the scope, and organizing project plan documents.
Lesson 4, “Set Up the Project and Tasks,” moves the project from the initiating to the planning process. This lesson demonstrates how to use Microsoft Project to start a new project plan, and how to enter and organize tasks in a task sheet view for a waterfall project or a task board view for an agile project.
Lesson 5, “Build the Schedule,” describes automatic versus manual scheduling and explains the Gantt Chart. The lesson walks you through entering task durations, setting milestones, linking dependent tasks, and identifying deadlines. It also shows how to schedule sprints for an agile project.
Lesson 6, “Set Up Resources,” explains the different types of project resources: human, equipment, material, and cost resources. This lesson shows how to add resources to your project plan, enter resource costs, and specify resource availability with units as well as calendars.
Lesson 7, “Assign Resources to Tasks,” steps you through assigning work, material, and cost resources to tasks. This lesson also shows how to review resource costs for a specific task, and how to add, replace, or remove resources on assignments.
Lesson 8, “Check and Adjust the Project,” systematically demonstrates how you can optimize your plan for the project finish date, for the total budget amount, and for the best use of available resources, all while fulfilling the stated project scope. This lesson also introduces the use of the project baseline.
Lesson 9, “Track Project Information,” transitions your project from the planning process to the monitoring and controlling processes, in which the project starts to be implemented. You learn how to collect and enter progress information, as well as how to adjust for inevitable changes and challenges.
Lesson 10, “View Project Information,” covers how to see the data you need by zooming, sorting, grouping, filtering, or highlighting information in a Project view. This lesson also describes how to work with columns in a sheet view and how to print a view.
Lesson 11, “Customize Project Information,” introduces basic customizing for a sheet view, a Gantt view, and a board view so you can access the information you need in your Project views. This lesson also offers a tour of some basic Project options and preferences you can set.
Lesson 12, “Report Project Information,” shows how to run a report or dashboard to share key project progress with stakeholders. The lesson also works through creating a new, custom report, as well as printing a report on paper or to a PDF file to share with others.
Lesson 13, “Obtain Project Acceptance,” shifts your project from the monitoring and controlling processes to the final closing process. This lesson specifies how to present the finished project to the sponsor and obtain final project sign-off.
Lesson 14, “Retain Project History,” describes techniques for gathering and documenting lessons learned through a final project review. This lesson also specifies best practices for archiving project history to ensure that solid information is available for people working on similar future projects.
“Appendix” contains answers to the Review Questions in each lesson.
Features
This book uses certain conventions in order to help you quickly identify important information. In particular, look for the following text segments:
In-line boxes further expand on some aspect of a topic, without interrupting the flow of the narrative.
Located throughout are small general discussions that deserve special emphasis or that have relevance beyond the immediately surrounding content. These are found in the general sidebar notes.
Instructor Materials
Instructors using this book as a text for their classes can find bonus digital content at www.wiley.com/go/microsoftprojectfundamentals. This content includes a syllabus, an assessment test, and a presentation slide deck.
Syllabus
The syllabus contains course learning objectives, topics, and a chapter reference guide. It's provided as a PDF as well as in Microsoft Word (
.docx
) format so that it can be easily customized for instructor needs.
Assessment Test Questions
The assessment test contains a subset of the questions included at the end of each lesson in this book. Instructors can use this as a pre-test and post-test for their class or adapt it for other purposes. The test questions are provided in PDF as well as in Microsoft Word (
.docx
) format.
Presentation Slide Deck
Instructors can use or adapt the robust series of presentation slides for their course lectures based on the content in this book. The deck is provided in Microsoft PowerPoint
(.pptx
) format as well as in PDF.
PART IManage Your Projects with Microsoft Project
Lesson 1Project Management Basics
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.
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 project scope. You continually check in with the team members working on their assigned project tasks, track and analyze the progress, prevent or solve any problems that arise, and report overall project progress to the project sponsor and other stakeholders.
As the project manager, you have your finger on the pulse of the overall project at any given moment. While individual team members might be working on their own specific part of the project, the project manager always sees the project as a whole and knows in what direction it is heading.
According to the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK©), a successful and well-rounded project manager functions within the following nine disciplines, or knowledge areas:
Integration management
Scope management
Schedule management
Cost management
Quality management
Resource management
Communications management
Risk management
Procurement management
Stakeholder management
The Project Triangle
Project management is a constant balancing act of managing the tension between project deadlines and costs deadlines to deliver the intended project scope. You might have heard the old saying, “Cheap, fast, or good. Pick two.” This illustrates the project triangle, which is also known as the project management triangle, triple constraint, or the iron triangle.
Suppose your project is to develop a new website. If you have a spare budget and need to launch it in two weeks, the website might be more minimal with fewer features. But if you have an ample budget and several months of development time, the site might contain all the information and features that the project sponsor wants. If your customer wants the website in two weeks and is adamant that all the information and features are included without delay, it will be more expensive.
Therefore, the two triangle sides that are non-negotiable, and the one side that's flexible, determines the constraints of your project and where your project has some “give.”
Several interpretations of the project triangle exist. One version is the triangle sided with time, cost, and quality, with scope in the center. You might see it as a project rectangle with scope, schedule, budget, and quality. Another version is a six-sided project star with scope, schedule, budget, risk, resources, and quality. Figure 1.1 illustrates the concept of a good interpretation of the project triangle with time, cost, and scope.
Depending on the interpretation, a budget can include all resources that cost money including staff, equipment, and materials. Scope might include quality.
While project managers can and do argue about the “right” project triangle, the important thing is to simply keep the model in mind as you manage your projects. Your job as project manager is to know the ranked priorities and constraints of your project and to make adjustments accordingly.
FIGURE 1.1 A project triangle
Project Processes
With its explicit start and finish dates, any project has its own life cycle. The project life cycle consists of six specific stages, or project processes. Figure 1.2 illustrates the project processes along the project life cycle.
FIGURE 1.2 The processes in the project life cycle
Initiating
Also considered preplanning or scoping, the project is conceived, its scope is defined, and a preliminary budget is drafted during the initiating process. The powers that be—that is, the customer, executive, or other project sponsor paying for the project—agree to the project objectives and requirements.
The initiating stage is also the stage when a project manager is assigned, the business case for the project is outlined, and any other stakeholders and their expectations are identified.
Planning
The project manager works during the planning process to transform the goals and constraints defined in the initiating process into a roadmap for achieving those goals, step by step and task by task. To do this, the project manager lays out the tasks in the work breakdown structure (WBS), determines the duration and dependency of those tasks, assigns resources to the tasks, and estimates costs for those resources.
This effort defines the project schedule, resource requirements, and costs with a greater degree of certainty. With its scheduling engine, resource planner, and costing formulas, Microsoft Project steps up as the project manager's key partner in this planning process.
Executing
When planning is complete and the funding and resources are secured and ready to work, the project manager can press that figurative “GO” button. This represents the start of the executing process.
The project starts and all resources begin working on their assigned tasks in the work breakdown structure. The clock is ticking and the budget is depleting. The project manager can now use Microsoft Project to track actual progress against the scheduled projections in the plan.
Monitoring and Controlling
As soon as project execution begins, the project shifts to the monitoring and controlling processes, which happen simultaneously and continually throughout the project life cycle from the start of the executing process until the closing process.
In the monitoring process, the project manager gathers information from team members and compares this information with the plan represented in Microsoft Project. Think of as if you've entered a travel destination into your vehicle's map app, and as you drive, you're watching your progress on your itinerary.
In the controlling process, the project manager makes decisions and adjustments when actual experience differs from the project plan. These adjustments are corrections to the plan to maintain the project triangle balance of time, cost, and quality within the project scope. Again, it's as if you're trying to follow your vehicle's map app, but you've run into a traffic jam or spent more money at a roadside attraction than planned. You must then adjust your travel itinerary to account for the time delay or the unexpected cost.
Closing
When the final project tasks are completed, the deliverables are submitted, and the goals are met, the project's closing process happens. The project manager deals with the final details, especially ensuring that the project sponsor accepts the project as complete.
The closing process also includes documenting processes, archiving files, and conducting a project review, or lessons learned exercise, with the project team before they all move to their next projects. This review process ensures that the project ends as it intentionally began, and that important institutional knowledge is captured to help future projects be more successful.
Project Management Methodologies
The waterfall and agile project management methodologies are two major approaches to project management. Both methods are widely used and both are supported by Microsoft Project.
Waterfall Project Management
Waterfall project management is also known as traditional project management or the Critical Path Method (CPM). This method identifies project activities into sequential phases, where each phase depends on the completion of previous phases. Progress flows mostly in one direction, like a waterfall, through the various phases (see Figure 1.3).
FIGURE 1.3 Bars on a Gantt chart illustrate waterfall project management.
More specifically, this method relies on the duration of all activities required to complete the project and the dependencies between those activities. The tasks and their dependencies create multiple paths throughout the project. The longest path is known as the critical path. If any task component on the critical path is delayed, the entire project is also delayed.
The waterfall method or CPM is typically used in manufacturing and construction—that is, in structured physical environments in which changes even early in the project are very expensive.
Agile Project Management
Agile project management is a type of iterative or incremental project management that allows for more experimentation, exploration, and discovery. Designed for the software industry, it has been adopted in other industries that center on knowledge-based (rather than physically based) creative work.
In work such as software development, the phased waterfall approach is not well suited because requirements are often loosely defined at first, or technologies in use are quickly changing.
In agile or iterative project management, the details of the entire project are not planned from the start. Instead, the plan focuses on iterations, often called sprints. After the start of the project, the iteration or sprint is planned, executed, monitored, controlled, and closed. Each one is like a mini-project within the project. A deliverable, perhaps a prototype or a section of code, is produced at the end of the iteration and offered to the customer or other project sponsor for feedback. Based on that feedback, additional iterations are planned and executed. In this way, the solution the project is seeking evolves through each sprint (see Figure 1.4).
FIGURE 1.4 An agile project uses task board views to schedule project iterations.
Although Microsoft Project was originally designed for the waterfall method, it now highlights features and views designed specifically for agile projects as well.
Other Methodologies
Although waterfall and agile are the most widely used project management methodologies and the only two discussed in this book, there are several others. Examples include critical chain, earned value management, lean project management, and benefits realization.
As the project manager, you are in the best position to determine which methodology is best for the project under consideration. This determination should be done during the initiating process, when the project scope, resources, and tools are all being defined.
When you know the nature of the project, its requirements, and the team, you'll have a better idea of the best methodology to employ for greater chances of the project's success. You might find yourself advocating for a different methodology, especially if one has been the norm or the trend in your organization but not necessarily the best choice.
More About Project Management
The more you expand your knowledge on project management principles and best practices, the more adept and effective you'll become as a project manager.
An especially valuable resource is the Project Management Institute (PMI©), a professional association for project managers. It publishes the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK©) and hosts annual conferences and other training opportunities. It administers the Project Management Professional (PMP©), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM©), and Disciplined Agile Scrum Master (DASM™) certification exams, among several others. Learn more at www.PMI.org.
Learning project management principles and how to use the tools and features in Microsoft Project go hand in hand. Together, they both can help you become a more successful project manager: one who plans deliberately, communicates well, solves problems, balances the triangle, satisfies stakeholders, closes out strong, and moves on to the next project challenge with confidence and enthusiasm.
Key Terms
agile project management
budget
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM©)
closing process
controlling process
critical path
Critical Path Method (CPM)
equipment
executing process
Disciplined Agile Scrum Master (DASM)
initiating process
knowledge areas
lessons learned
materials
monitoring process
operation
planning process
project
Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK©)
Project Management Institute (PMI©)
Project Management Professional (PMP©)
project manager
project processes
project sponsor
project triangle
resources
scope
sprints
stage
stakeholder
waterfall project management
work breakdown structure (WBS)
Review Questions
A nonprofit organization, which has worked with volunteers for many years, has decided to develop the curriculum and materials for a new quarterly volunteer-training program and then train the trainers—the various department heads—in conducting their training modules. Is this considered a project or an operation?
It's a project because although it's conducted quarterly, it will be done by different volunteers each time, and possibly by different trainers.
It's a project because developing the curriculum and materials for the new training program is a new and unique activity for the organization.
It's an operation because it's not unique to the organization, as it has been training and working with volunteers for years.
It's an operation because training will be conducted quarterly as part of regular business.
A startup technology company has just finished developing its branding and marketing materials, including the design of its e-newsletter. After conducting a pilot and making adjustments with a few test issues, the company is now writing and disseminating the e-newsletter at the first of each month. Is this a project or an operation?
It's a project because although the e-newsletters go out monthly, each one contains different content from the previous month.
It's a project because the development of the branding and marketing materials had specific start and finish dates.
It's an operation because producing the e-newsletter is an ongoing process that happens once every month with no end date.
It's an operation because producing the e-newsletter has a start date but no finish date.
The discussion in this lesson indicates that the three sides of the project triangle are time, cost, and scope. Regardless of different opinions about which elements belong where on the project triangle, what is the point that a project manager should always keep in mind?
That the budget is always the fixed element of any project, and other elements like time and scope must flex around the budget as needed
That time is always the fixed element of any project, and other elements like budget and scope must flex around the schedule as needed
That there are always two fixed elements of any project, and the third element can flex as necessary to maintain the project scope
That each project will have different priorities for time, cost, and scope, and when one of these elements changes, the other elements must flex to compensate
You're the project manager of an office remodeling project that has a limited budget and an absolutely fixed finish date of September 1. As conditions change throughout the life of the project, what adjustments can you make to the project without running out of money or jeopardizing that set finish date?
You can only reduce the project scope.
You can only adjust the budget.
You can increase the budget and extend the project finish date.
You can only extend the project finish date.
What are the first three processes in the project life cycle?
Initiating, planning, and controlling
Initiating, planning, and executing
Planning, executing, and monitoring
Planning, controlling, and monitoring
Monitoring and controlling happen at the same time in the project life cycle. What's the difference between the two processes?
Monitoring is about collecting information about project progress and comparing it against the project plan. Controlling is about adjusting the project based on that comparison.
Monitoring is about collecting status information from team members daily. Controlling is about helping team members stay on schedule.
Monitoring is about working with the appropriate Microsoft Project views. Controlling is about entering the right information in the right views.
Monitoring is about designing and generating reports for the team and stakeholders. Controlling is about watching the project schedule and budget.
What are two of the most important aspects of the closing process of a completed project?
Archiving project files and celebrating with the team
Documenting processes developed as part of the project and writing team member evaluations
Obtaining project sponsor acceptance and conducting a lessons learned meeting
Collecting all project deliverables and debriefing with your manager
You are the project manager for equipment retrofit of a manufacturing line. Which of the following project characteristics lead you to advocate for using the waterfall project management methodology?
The project requirements are very well defined before the project starts.
