Rodolfo Ambriz Mario Landa
Published jointly by J. Ross Publishing and International Institute for Learning, Inc
Table of Contents
A Message from E. LaVerne Johnson iii
International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL) iv
IIL and Microsoft: a Rich History iv
What Sets Us Apart iv
Beyond Training Courses v
Download Resource Center vi
Short Table of Contents vii
Long Table of Contents viii
What’s New in This Edition xxiv
Foreword by Dr. Harold Kerzner xxv
Acknowledgments xxvii
Introduction 1
Microsoft® Project 2013 1
What’s New in Microsoft Project 2013? 1
Is This Book for You? 5
What You Will Find in This Book 5
What You Won’t Find in This Book 6
About the Authors 7
The Lead Authors 7
The Co-author 7
The Authors’ Perspective on Scheduling 8
Why Do We Need Dynamic Schedules? 9
IIL’s Microsoft® Project and Project Server 2013 Curriculum 11
IIL’s Project “Belt” courses 11
Project White Belt® 2013 11
Project Orange Belt® 2013 11
Project Blue Belt® 2013 12
Project Black Belt® 2013 12
Microsoft EPM Role-Based Courses 12
What Are the Benefits of Certification? 13
Why Choose IIL for Your Microsoft® Project Training? 13
About This Book 15
Learning Objectives 15
Outline of This Book 16
Initiating 17
Planning 17
Executing, Monitoring, and Controlling 18
Closing 19
End of Chapter Review Questions 20
Appendix 1: Consolidated Master Schedules 20
Additional Content Available for Download 20
Case Studies Appendix 20
Advanced Topics Appendix 20
Conventions in This Book 21
Symbols and Typeface 21
Word Choice and Step Formulation 22
Screenshots and Illustrations 22
Cartoons 23
Overview 26
What is Project Management? 26
Why Project Management 27
What is a Project? 27
Examples of Projects 28
A Word About Small Projects 28
Enterprise Project Management (EPM) 28
Components of EPM 29
EPM Process Model 30
Strategic Planning for Project Management 31
Managing Individual Projects 33
Areas of Knowledge 33
Where Project 2013 Fits 33
Project Demands 33
Balance Flexibility and Discipline 34
The PM Process 35
Initiating 36
Planning 36
Executing 40
Monitoring and Controlling 40
Closing 41
Dynamic Scheduling 41
Why Do We Schedule? 41
Static Chart or Dynamic Model? 42
Recap 45
Review Questions 46
Project Management Software 48
Enterprise PM Tools 51
Microsoft Project 2013 Standard, Professional, and Pro for Office 365 51
Working with Files in Project 2013 52
File Types 52
Backwards Compatibility 53
Working with Schedules from Project 2013 Standalone 53
Project 2013 as a Relational Database Application 53
The Project 2013 Interface 54
The Ribbon 54
The Quick Access Toolbar 57
The Backstage View 57
Opening a Project File in Project 2013 58
Closing a File 60
Other Backstage Commands 61
The Project 2013 Main Screen 66
Project 2013 Views 71
Calendar View 72
Gantt Chart 75
Network Diagram 77
Task Usage 78
Tracking Gantt 79
Resource Graph 80
Resource Sheet 81
Resource Usage 82
Timeline View 82
Team Planner 83
Resource Form 84
Navigating the Views 85
To Switch Views 85
Single View Versus Combination View 85
Using Help 88
Project Help Task Pane 88
Help on Fields 90
Help with Scheduling: Planning Wizard 90
Help When Making Changes: Smart Tags 91
Help with Tasks: Task Inspector 92
Technical Specifications and Support 92
Using the Apps for Office 93
Setting Up a New Project Schedule 93
Creating a New Project Schedule 94
Describing the Project 95
Creating a New Schedule from a Project Template 97
Using a Project Template 97
Saving Changes in an Existing .mpp File 98
Saving in a New File in your Computer 99
Saving and Synching with SharePoint 100
Saving an .mpp File in OneDrive 101
Setting the Options 102
Setting the Date Order 103
Options for a New Project 104
Setting the Project Calendar 106
Hours per Day Option versus Working Time 109
Enter Business Days with Standard Working Days & Hours 109
Enter Alternate Work Weeks with Specific Working Hours 111
One-Time & Recurring Calendar Exceptions 112
Checks on Setting Up a Project 114
Review Questions 116
The Planning Processes 118
The Work Breakdown Structure 119
A WBS is Deliverable-Oriented 119
A WBS is a “Hierarchical Decomposition” 119
Organizing Your WBS 120
Phases in the WBS 122
Indented List or Organization Chart Format? 123
How to Create your WBS 124
Naming and Describing Deliverables 125
The WBS Dictionary 126
The Right Level of Detail 127
Too Little Detail? 127
Too Many Tasks? 128
Task Duration Considerations 129
Why Is the Right Level of Detail and Structure Important? 130
Characteristics of a Good WBS 131
Importance of the WBS 132
Entering WBS Tasks in Project 2013 133
Choosing the Options 133
Types of Tasks in Project 2013 134
Task Structure in Project 2013 137
Entering Tasks 138
Copy and paste 138
User-controlled Scheduling: Manual vs Auto Scheduling 138
Summary Tasks, Detail Tasks, and Milestone Tasks 139
Creating a Hierarchical WBS in Project 142
Indenting a Series of Detail Tasks 143
Outdenting Tasks 143
Indenting and Outdenting by Dragging 143
To Hide and Re-display Detail Tasks 144
To Hide All Detail Tasks 144
To Reveal the Next Level 144
To Reveal a Certain Level 144
To Reveal All Levels 144
What You Do to a Summary Task, You Do to It’s Detail Tasks 144
Outline Numbers 145
WBS Codes 145
Changing the WBS 146
Editing a Task Name 146
Status Bar 147
Inserting Multiple Tasks 148
Deleting Tasks 148
Copying or Moving Tasks 149
Locking the First Column of a Table 149
Copying Tasks 150
Moving Tasks 150
To Copy or Move a Summary Family 151
Importing Tasks 151
Importing and Exporting Tasks Using SharePoint 2013 152
Checks on the WBS for Your Project 154
Review Questions 155
The Human Tendencies in Estimating 159
“I Can’t Predict the Future!” 159
“I Am Always Off!” 160
“Can’t You Do It?” 161
“On What Date Will You Be Done?” 162
The Unknowns 162
Unknown Events: The Rolling Wave Approach 162
Unknown Resources 163
Unknown Experience and Skill Level 164
Unknown Learning Curves 164
Living Document Approach 165
Pure Work Time or Gross Work Time? 166
Buffers 169
Measure Planning and Performance? 169
Eliminate Hidden Time Buffers 170
Methods That Have Been Used To Hide Buffers 170
Why You Should Make Buffers Visible 173
Defending Visible Buffers 174
Entering Estimates in Project 2013 175
Entering Activities with Incomplete Estimates 175
Duration and Work Effort 175
Duration or Business Day Estimates Entered in the Duration Field 176
Work Effort or Person Day Estimates Entered in the Work Field 177
Calendar Days: Elapsed Time 177
Duration * Units = Work (D*U=W) 178
An Estimating Example 179
A Process for Estimating 180
Estimating: Types of Tasks 180
Choosing the Options 182
Estimated Durations in Project 2013 183
Preparing the Gantt Chart 184
Entering a Duration Estimate for Fixed Duration Tasks 185
Entering a Work Estimate for Fixed Work Tasks 186
Task Bars 188
Split and Recurring Tasks 189
Split Tasks 189
Recurring Tasks 190
Milestone Durations 192
Copying and Moving Data to Speed up the Entry of Estimates 192
Editing Fields for Multiple Tasks 192
Copying with Fill Down 193
Copying Values Using the Fill Handle 194
Copying, Moving, or Clearing Cells 195
Moving a Column 196
Copying a Column 196
Copying or Moving a Row 196
Copying Between Projects 196
Copying Cells Between Projects 197
Copying Objects Between Projects 197
Copying an Entire Project 198
Checking Estimates 198
Review Questions 200
Dependencies 202
The Principle of Dynamic Schedules 202
What Are Dependencies? 205
Why Should I Use Dependencies? 205
Choosing the Options 206
Types of Dependencies 207
Absolute Lead or Lag Time 208
Relative Lead or Lag Time 209
Multiple Predecessors and Successors 209
Choosing the Right Type of Dependency 210
Steps for Choosing the Right Type of Dependency 210
Different Applications of Dependencies 212
Decision Point Dependencies 212
Hard and Soft Dependencies 212
External Dependencies 213
Resource Dependencies 214
Entering Dependency Logic 214
Entering Dependencies in the Gantt Chart 215
Using the Planning Wizard 215
Using the Link Tool 216
Using the Mouse 217
Using the Task Information Dialog 219
Using the Task Details Form 219
Entering Dependencies in the Network Diagram 221
The Network Diagram 221
Using the Mouse to Set Dependencies 221
Using the Link Button to Set Dependencies 222
To Edit or Delete a Dependency in the Network Diagram 222
Using the Network Diagram to Display the Schedule 223
Gaining an Overview of the Network 224
Dependency Logic on Summary Tasks 225
Dependencies and Manually Scheduled Tasks 226
Checks on Dependencies 227
Is the Network of Dependencies Complete? 229
Is the Network Logic Simple Enough? 233
Understand the Task Relationships Using Task Path 234
Limitations on Dependencies 235
A Special Topic: Dynamic Links 236
Overhead Tasks 237
Hammock Tasks 238
Review Questions 240
What Are Deadlines and Schedule Constraints? 244
Deadlines 245
Entering Deadlines 245
Managing Deadlines 246
Constraints 247
Scheduling Regimes 247
Schedule Conflict 248
Types of Constraints 249
When Might You Need Constraints? 252
Types of Milestones 253
Entering and Removing Constraints in Project 2013 256
Choosing the Options 256
Entering Constraints 256
Setting Constraints Using the Task Information Dialog 257
Setting Constraints Using the Task Fields 257
Setting Constraints by Dragging Task Bars Horizontally 258
Setting Constraints by Entering Dates 259
To Check All the Scheduling Constraints 259
To Remove Constraints 260
Limitations of Constraints 260
Task Calendars 261
Creating a New Task Calendar 262
Using a Task Calendar 263
Checks on Deadlines, Constraints, and Task Calendars 264
Review Questions 266
What Is a Resource? 268
Responsible People 268
When toAdd a Resource 269
Choosing the Options 269
Types of Resources 270
Generic Resources 272
Change the View to Enter Resources 272
Resource Fields 272
Entering Resources 276
Downloading Human Resources from Your Address Book 277
Using the Active Directory to Download Resources 278
Keying in Resources Manually 279
Base Calendars and Resource Calendars 282
Creating a Base Calendar 283
Editing a Resource Calendar 284
The Max Units of a Resource 288
Resource Availability 288
Stay in Touch with Team Members to Confirm Availability 288
Temporary Availability 289
Varying Availability 290
Part-Time Availability 291
Full-Time Availability 292
Compressed Workweeks (Green Weeks) 292
Overtime Availability 294
Consolidated Resources 294
An Overview of Costs 295
Cost Situations 295
Entering Human Resource Costs 298
Entering Material Costs 299
Entering Facility and Machine Costs 300
Entering Varying Cost Rates 301
Checks on the Resources 302
Review Questions 305
What Is an Assignment? 308
Assignment-Specific Fields 308
Start and Finish 309
Max Units and Units 309
Work, Work, and Work 310
Choosing the Options 311
Improving the Entry Table for Assigning Resources 312
Types of Detail Tasks 312
Overview of Assigning Resources to Tasks 314
Assigning with the Spreadsheet/Table 315
Assigning with the Task Information Dialog 316
Assigning with the Assign Resources Dialog 317
Assigning Resources by Dragging 318
Assign Multiple Resources to Multiple Tasks 319
Check Availability Before Assigning 320
Delete an Assignment 321
Replace a Resource 322
Enter Assignment Units 323
Assigning with the Task Form View 324
Assign Resources 326
Delete an Assignment 326
Replace a Resource 326
Assigning with Team Planner View 327
Cost Management 328
Entering Costs on an Assignment 328
Variable Costs for Work Resources 328
Costs for Material Resources 329
Cost Per Use for Resources 330
Costs for Cost Resources 330
Fixed Costs for Tasks 331
Budget Costs for Budget Resources 332
Assignments on Summary Tasks 335
Assignments on Recurring Tasks 336
Multiple, Uneven Assignments 337
Changing Assignment Attributes 338
Work Contours 340
Replacing Generic Resources with Individuals 341
Assignments and Task Types 341
Three Rules for a Happy Life with Project 2013 343
Changing an Assignment 346
Changing Assignment Examples 347
Checks on Assignments 349
Review Questions 352
The Pulling Forces 356
Where Project 2013 Helps in Managing the Schedule 357
Three Approaches for Optimizing 359
Choosing the Options 360
Optimizing for Time - Techniques 361
The Critical Path Method 362
Forward Pass 364
Backward Pass 364
Calculating Total Slack 365
Calculating Free Slack 366
The Critical Path 366
Constraints and Negative Slack 367
Steps to Optimize for Time 369
Showing or Highlighting the Critical Path 370
Displaying the Total Slack 372
A Fragmented Critical Path: Possible Causes 373
Identify Tasks with Potential Time Savings 378
Schedule Compression 379
Consider Impacts on Quality, Scope, and Risk 388
Monte Carlo Simulation 389
What Is Monte Carlo Simulation? 390
Output of Monte Carlo Simulation 390
Why Do You Need Simulation? 391
Assumptions of the Critical Path Method 392
Optimizing for Time & Cost 393
Steps to Optimize for Time and Cost 393
Display the Critical Path 393
Identify Tasks with Potential Cost Savings 394
Make Changes 394
Cost Simulation 396
Optimizing for Time, Cost, and Resources 397
Steps to Optimize for Time, Cost, and Resources 398
Workload Leveling 398
Checking the Workloads: Resource Graph 399
Manually Resolve the Workloads 400
The Steps to Level Workloads Yourself 402
Have Project 2013 Level the Workloads 406
Should I Level Myself or Have Project 2013 Level? 418
How Leveling Affects the Critical Path 419
Critical Path or Resource-Critical Path? 420
The Resource-Critical Path 420
Finding the Resource-Critical Path 421
Why Should I Care About the Resource-Critical Path? 429
Methods to Optimize for Time, Cost, and Resources 434
Consider the Impacts 442
Simulation of the Resource-Critical Path 443
Checks on the Optimized Schedule 444
Optimizing Workloads 444
Optimizing Costs 444
Optimizing Time 445
Tools to Assist with Analyzing the Impact of Changes 446
Multiple Levels of Undo 446
Change Highlighting 446
Task Path 446
Task Inspector 446
Review Questions 448
The Baseline 453
Viewing the Baseline 453
Setting the First Baseline 454
Maintaining the Baseline 458
Changing the Baseline in Project 2013 459
Inactive Tasks 461
The Client Reporting Period 462
Showing Progress 463
Graphically – Tracking Gantt View 463
Mathematically 464
Updating Strategies 465
Updating Tasks 467
What Data to Collect? 467
Updating % Complete? 468
Collecting Data 469
Updating Tasks with Actual and Remaining Duration 470
Prepare the View 472
Set the Status Date 473
Set the Task Type for Tasks to Update 474
Tasks that Ran as Scheduled 476
Tasks that Are Running as Scheduled 476
Tasks That Are Running Behind 476
Tasks That Will Take Longer or Shorter 478
Tasks That Started Late or Early 478
Tasks That Finished Late or Early 479
“My Reality Is More Complex…” 480
Combination of Situations 480
Updating Out of Sequence 481
New Activities on the Fly 481
Updating Manually Scheduled Tasks 482
Updating Assignments 482
What Data to Collect? 483
Choosing the Options for an Assignments Update 484
Prepare the View 485
The Formulas Behind the Screens 488
Set the Task Type for All Tasks 488
Updating the Costs 489
Cost Updating Strategies 489
Preparing the View for Updating Costs 490
Checks on an Updated Schedule 491
Prepare the Status and Forecast Report 494
Review Questions 495
Project Communications Management 498
Choosing the Options 498
Communication Features in Project 2013 500
Using Reports and Dashboards 502
A Few Relevant Dashboards 503
Customize a Report 507
Creating New Reports 509
Use Views to Create Reports 510
Customize Fields 512
Tables 516
Filters or Highlight 519
Groups 522
Select a View 526
Sort the Records 528
Copy Views and Reports Between Projects 529
Visual Reports 530
Pre-Defined Visual Reports 530
Modifying Visual Reports 535
Define a New Visual Report 536
Saving a Cube or Database 538
One-Page Performance Reports 539
Examples of Useful or Hard-to-Get-At Reports 541
Responsibilities by Department 541
Workload Histograms 541
To-Do Lists in Calendar View 544
Formatting & Printing Reports 545
General Formatting Considerations 545
General Printing Considerations 548
Share the Schedule with Colleagues 553
Formatting & Printing the Gantt Chart View 555
Adjust Text Styles 555
Wrap Task Names 556
Adjust Column Width 556
Position the Pane Divider on a Column Split 556
View the Whole Project Timescale 557
Format the Timescale 557
Format the Task Bars 558
Reports That Include the Notes 561
Common Printing Problems and Their Fixes 562
How to Build a Macro 563
What is a macro? 563
Create a macro using the Record Macro menu option 564
Create a macro writing VBA code 565
Check Tasks Not Updated Macro 566
Checks on Reporting 569
Review Questions 571
Overview of Earned Value Management 574
The Basic Elements 576
Variances 576
Indices 577
Forecasts 577
Applying Earned Value Management with Project 2013 579
EVM and Planning 579
Scope 579
Schedule 580
Resources and Cost 580
Time-Phased Budget and Earned Value Measurement Methods 580
Performance Measurement Baseline 585
EVM Performance Analysis and Forecasting 586
The Basic Elements with Project 2013 586
Variances, Indices, and Forecasts with Project 2013 589
EVM and Quality Thresholds 592
Performance Measurement Baseline Updating 593
EVM Special Cases 593
Manually Scheduled Tasks 593
Inactive Tasks 593
No Cost Management 593
Some Tasks with Costs and Some Tasks without Costs 594
Uneven Resource Assignment and Multiple Resources 595
Information at the Middle Level of the WBS 596
Reporting EVM with Project 2013 596
Using Views as EVM Reports 596
Earned Value Report 597
Visual Report: Earned Value Over Time 597
EVM and Project 2013 Conclusions 598
Review Questions 600
Why Evaluate? 604
What to Evaluate: Project Results and Benefits 605
Comparing Baselines or Schedules 605
Comparing Results against Baseline(s) 605
Comparing Two Versions of One Project Schedule 607
Evaluation Questions 609
Creating Templates 610
Review Questions 613
Attributes of a Dynamic Project Model 616
A Model of the Project 616
Provides Valid Forecasts 616
Dynamic and Easy to Maintain 616
Tools and Best Practices Checklist 617
Copyright of the Tools and Checklist 617
Tools to Check Your Schedules 618
RCP Macro 618
Filters 618
Best Practices Checklist for Schedules 621
Background Information About the Project 622
Setting Up the Project 622
Entering Tasks 623
Entering Estimates 624
Entering Dependencies 625
Checks on Deadlines, Constraints, and Task Calendars 627
Entering Resources 628
Entering Assignments 630
Optimizing the Schedule 632
Updating the Schedule 633
Reporting 635
Earned Value Management (EVM) 636
Evaluating the Project 637
Checklist for Troubleshooting Dates in Project 2013 Schedules 638
In Closing 640
Appendix 1: Consolidated Schedules 641
Learning Objectives 641
What is a Consolidated Schedule? 641
When to Consolidate Schedules 642
Large Schedules 642
Multiple Schedules that Require Integration 643
Why Consolidate Schedules? 643
Checks to Perform before Consolidating 644
Reviewing Options and Settings 645
Creating a Consolidated Schedule 646
Consolidate with Automatic Linking of Files 646
Consolidate with Optional Linking of Files 646
Options for Consolidating Subprojects 647
Read-write or Read-only Access 647
Saving 647
Inserting New Tasks 647
Inserting Subprojects on Outline Levels 648
Maximum Number of Inserted Projects 648
Multiple Levels of Consolidation 648
Modifying the WBS to Consolidate Projects 648
Working with a Consolidated Schedule 650
Cross-Projects Dependencies 651
Setting Cross-Project Dependencies in the Master Schedule 652
Maintaining the Cross-Project Links 654
The Links Between Projects Dialog 655
Advantages & Disadvantages of Cross-Project Links 657
Do’s and Don’ts for Cross-Project Links 657
Do’s 657
Don’ts 658
Analyzing the Critical Path by Gate 659
Creating a Central Resource Pool 660
Building a Resource Pool 661
Building a Resource Pool from Existing Schedules 662
Working with a Resource Pool 662
Baselining a Master Schedule 663
Set the Sub-Schedules Baseline 664
Final Thoughts on Consolidated Schedules 665
Additional Practice 665
Index 667
What’s New in This Edition ?
1-The content of the book has been aligned with the PMBOK® Guide − Fifth Edition published by PMI®.
2-The text has been updated to reflect the 2013 release of Microsoft Project:
- The new Project 2013 features are discussed throughout and marked with a “2013” icon to make them easy to find.
- All of the screenshots were replaced to reflect Microsoft’s makeover of the Project 2013 interface with the enhanced Fluent User™ interface (Ribbon).
3-We’ve added more IIL best practices throughout the book, based on our extensive experience as project management practitioners and teachers. They are identified with a star icon and reflect the authors’ consensus about an approach, method, or technique that we believe will provide you with the best results.
4-In this edition we assume that most readers are now using either Windows 8, 7, Server 2008 r2, or 2012. There may be some slight differences for users of other operating systems, but they shouldn’t be troublesome.
5-Valuable content is now available for download.
6-The concepts in the book are aligned with the Objective Domains of the Microsoft Project 2013 Certification exam 74-343.
These Objective Domains are:
-Initializing a Project
-Creating a Task-Based Schedule
-Managing Resources and Assignments
-Tracking and Analyzing a Project
-Communicating Project Information
Foreword by Dr. Harold Kerzner :
As the project management environment increases in complexity, project scheduling tools have become, quite simply, indispensable. The rapid rate of change in economic conditions as well as the need to compete in a global marketplace have forced us to rethink the way we schedule projects. Being able to compete, and being successful at it, requires the taking of risks. And the rate at which we respond to these risks could very well dictate our competitive posture. The days of project teams working from paper charts hung on war room walls are gone. Expecting the schedule that is prepared at project initiation to be the same schedule that we have at project completion is wishful thinking. Simply stated, the factors of risk, competitiveness, global competition, and possibly the need for several breakthroughs in technology are making standard scheduling techniques outdated and unable to keep up with the needs of the business. We need the dynamic project models that only scheduling software can support: models that manage complexity, identify slippages, and support alternative scenarios — fast. Fortunately, as the complexity of our environment has increased, so has the robustness and agility of project scheduling software tools. However, this increased functionality comes at a price: a steeper learning curve, making expert instruction in tool use a critical component of our scheduling efforts.
I believe there are a number of features that distinguish the instruction offered in this book from that offered by others in the field.First, there is the skillful integration of project management theory with practical instructions on the use of the software. A solid understanding of project management principles is key to effectively harnessing the capacity Project 2013 offers. This book addresses both the principles of effective project management and the techniques for implementing those principles using Project 2013.
Another important feature of this book is its emphasis on dynamic modeling. There is thorough instruction on how to create a dynamic model in Project 2013 during project planning so that as change occurs during project execution, the schedule can be easily kept up to date and the true impact of changes quickly identified and addressed. Used properly, a dynamic model in Project 2013 will help keep your projects on course.
Other distinguishing features of this book are tools that readers can use to evaluate their own schedules:
macros, filters, and a full array of best practices for using Project 2013. In terms of the Project Management Maturity Model I’ve introduced, this book creates a common language (Level 1) that will help you establish common processes for project scheduling (Level 2). The best practices described in the book will help you move toward a singular methodology (Level 3). Then, once your organization recognizes and uses the singular methodology, you can perform benchmarking on a continuous basis (Level 4), and finally, you can evaluate the results and enhance the processes
defined in Level 3, applying continuous improvement (Level 5) with each new edition.
The IIL authors who contributed to this edition are expert project management practitioners and experienced teachers of the software. They were able to draw on literally thousands of hours spent with both real life projects and students in the classroom. Their combined experience and wisdom will provide you with the insights you need to manage your projects more effectively.
Microsoft Project helps you easily plan and control your projects. It can help you create Gantt charts, network diagrams, resource histograms, and budgets. It will provide reports tailored to your needs and help you to determine and depict the progress of your project. The strengths of the software include:
1-Ease of use for both novice and power users
2-Flexibility in scheduling and re-scheduling
3-A powerful reporting feature: you can extract almost any information from the project database and present it in concise reports
4-A project management system design that facilitates collaboration by working seamlessly with other Microsoft applications and cloud services Project 2013 is a powerful tool and, like other tools, to use it proficiently requires knowledge and skill. The software is not a magic bean that will grow a successful project by itself. Experience has taught us that a successful project results from the combination of executive support, competent project management, a committed team, and the right tools.
What’s New in Microsoft Project 2013?
Previous versions of Microsoft Project such as 2003 and 2007 included basic features for creating and managing schedules: they helped you do task creation, resource management, assignment development, progress tracking, and reporting. Project 2010 offered improvements that helped you develop your schedule control with greater flexibility and ease. Project 2013 cumulates all previous advantages with new and enhanced features that keep your projects organized, allowing users to measure and communicate progress with modern reports and streamline everyday collaboration by working seamlessly with other Microsoft applications and cloud services.
New in Project Standard 2013
Here are new and enhanced features of Project Standard 2013
1-Enhanced Fluent User Interface
Project 2013 has the same enhanced interface used in Microsoft Office 2013 and allows users to quickly start projects within an enhanced visual experience. Part of this new experience is the improved array of new project templates.
-Highlight Task Path :
This new feature facilitates the proactive discovery of task paths determined by logical dependencies and prevents potential scheduling problems.
-Enhanced Reports :
The old table-like built-in reports of previous versions have been replaced by great looking graphical reports and dashboards. The enhanced reports enable you to quickly share information and communicate progress with easily customizable reports. A guide to Getting Started is also included as part of the reports.
-Apps in the Office Store :
Powerful Apps that extend the capabilities of Project 2013 can be explored and acquired from Microsoft Partners at the Office Store.
New in Project Professional 2013
The new and enhanced features specific to Project Professional 2013 include the same described for Project Standard 2013 plus the following:
1-Enhanced Team Planner :
This is a great feature for managing your resources while visually creating the right mix of resources. In summary, with the team planner view you can:
-See at a glance where your resources are assigned, who is over-allocated, and which tasks are unassigned or unscheduled. The look and feel has been improved for better identification of potential problems.
-Enhanced drag and drop tasks to change assignments or drag unassigned tasks to resources to make planning more efficient. Time constraints won’t be added while dragging and dropping tasks in the original timeframe or by using the reassign option (right click the task).
-Level over-allocated resources automatically on a task-by-task basis using Task Inspector and see the results instantly.
-Be visually alerted to potential resource allocation issues as you update your progress.
2-Enhanced Collaboration :
Project Professional 2013 supports easy information sharing. The Backstage view contains new collaboration options, including:
-Publish the project in Project Server 2013 or Project Online (if a Project Web App Account is available)
-Create your project site or export and synchronize project details to an existing site when using Microsoft SharePoint Online or SharePoint 2013 task list. Everyone in the project team will keep connected and organized sharing the latest status, conversations, and the Project Timeline.
-Connect Project Professional 2013 with Project Server 2013 or Project Online and use all the features of a fully integrated enterprise project management (EPM) solution.
-Account management of services such as Office 365, OneDrive, Office Store or other sites.
3-Call or instant message team members from within Project :
Users of Microsoft Lync Online or Microsoft Lync 2013 will have the ability to collaborate and communicate with real time talk, instant message, file, and screen sharing.
New Project Pro for Office 365
Project Pro for Office 365 is a new version of the software that delivers Project Professional 2013 as a subscription to Office 365, the online Office suite software that allows users to stream the complete desktop client of Microsoft Project on demand—practically from anywhere. One advantage of this version is that the software is automatically kept up to date with the latest improvements.
Discontinued features in Project 2013 :
No relevant features and functionality have been discontinued in Project 2013, however, you must be aware that the standard reports evolved in a way that you won’t be able to use the old table form of these reports anymore. Instead you will have fresh built-in reports and dashboards with plenty of options and information-explained in Chapter 11.
If you skipped Project 2010, you may want to know all the features and functionality discontinued since Project 2010:
-Custom Forms. You can’t create custom forms or use any that were created in previous versions; instead you can now use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to create custom forms.
-Task splitting by double-clicking on the Split Task button. Double-clicking on Split Task in previous versions allowed you to split a task several times with just one click of the Split Task icon. In Project 2010 and 2013 you can single-click on the button to enable task splitting one time.
1-Resource availability graphs. It’s not possible to view resource availability graphs on the Assign Resources dialog box without temporarily assigning the resource to a task. You can only graph one resource at a time. The Team Planner, described in the previous section, is now the way to view, assign, modify, and fix issues with resource allocation.
2-Project Guide. This was removed in Project 2010. Instead, you can find features for setting up new projects in the Ribbon, neatly organized by tabs.
Is This Book for You?
The first edition of this book was written for Project 2000. This sixth edition retains the main characteristic that differentiates this book from other books written on Project 2013: it not only shows you how to use the Project 2013 software, but also provides real life insights and experiences from the IIL authors who are both expert project management practitioners and experienced teachers of the software. The book teaches you how to manage projects using Project 2013, instead of teaching you only how to click on features.
This book is intended for the following target groups:
1-Project managers who use Project 2013 on a day-to-day basis. This book is aimed at the novice to intermediate user of Project 2013, but we’re confident that advanced users will find it worthwhile as well, particularly if they mentor other users.
2-People who schedule and manage mainly single projects This book is aimed at people who manage a single project at a time with Project 2013. We have included a section on Master Schedules in the Appendix that will be helpful for those involved in program management, but we will not delve deeply into multi-project management issues.
This book is used as the course book in the Project Orange Belt 2013: Managing Projects with Microsoft Project 2013 course at the International Institute for Learning (IIL). (For our other Project 2013 courses, see IIL’s Microsoft Project and Project Server 2013 Curriculum later in this chapter.)
3-Students and professors at colleges and universities For effective delivery of college courses, we’ve included:
-Review questions for self-evaluation of understanding
-Start to finish exercises on an office relocation project
-Trouble shooting exercises drawn from real-life technical support
All readers have access to the Web Added Value (WAV) files for this book, which include the Case Studies appendix for the office relocation exercises and its solutions. Additionally you will find an Advanced Topics appendix that extends information on more sophisticated topics such as applying Earned Value techniques with Microsoft Project 2013.
What You Will Find in This Book
At IIL, we’ve asked thousands of our course participants what features they use, why they use them and how. We’ve captured the insights we’ve gained in this book and cover the features that will benefit you most in practice. We’ll present the Project 2013 features that will help you create effective schedules, and create them efficiently.
Many people have asked us for a good process to follow for creating schedules. The structure of the book matches the order of steps we recommend: it’s as simple as following the Short Table of Contents. The book is aimed at the busy, practicing project manager who needs to get up to speed quickly with Project 2013.
This book is entirely based on and aligned with the PMBOK® Guide – Fifth Edition, published by PMI®. It is also aligned with other related PMI standards: Practice Standard for Scheduling – Second Edition, Practice Standard for Work Breakdown Structures – Second Edition, and Practice Standard for Earned Value Management
– Second Edition. We recommend you read these standards first or at least keep them nearby, as we won’t explain the PMBOK® Guide and other PMI Standards concepts, but simply refer to them.
You may use this book as a preparation guide for passing the Microsoft Project 2013 Certification exam 74-343: Managing Projects with Microsoft Project 2013. We’ll cover the following major objectives:
-Initialize a Project
-Create a Task-Based Schedule
-Manage Resources and Assignments
-Track and Analyze a Project
-Communicate Project Information
On the Microsoft website you will find more detailed information about the exam and how to register.
This book has an attitude. It is not a complete description of the features of Project 2013. We will recommend certain features and we’ll argue against using some others. An important criterion we use for our recommendations is that the schedule you build with Project 2013 should be a good representation of your project.
In our opinion, a good schedule is a valid, dynamic model of the project:
-A model is a deliberate but smart simplification of the complex reality of the project.
-A model is valid if it reflects the reality of your project and provides reliable forecasts.
-A dynamic model updates itself when a change is entered. When one change happens in your project, ideally you should have to update only one field in the model to have a new, valid representation of your project. Changes happen often during project execution—a very busy time. Therefore, a dynamic model is a tremendous help during project execution because it helps you keep your project schedule current and useful. Hence the title of this book: Dynamic Scheduling® with Microsoft® Project 2013.
Static schedules do not maintain themselves. Some features in Project 2013 are nice to have, but create schedules that require a lot of maintenance. Therefore, we don’t recommend features that continue to need attention from you. We have found the judicious application of features to be critical in effectively using Project 2013 and thousands of our students have helped determine which are the most beneficial.
In this book we will cover one main edition of Project 2013 currently in use: Project Professional 2013 used in the default configuration for the standalone tool.
What You Won’t Find in This Book :
1-We won’t provide an explanation of all of the features in Project 2013. We have made a careful selection of features that will benefit users most when managing a single project. This book is not a complete reference on Project 2013.
-Project Server, Project Online, or SharePoint are out of the scope of this book, however, some explanations may point out some interactions to these tools that project managers need to know.
