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More About This Title Microsoft Project 2010 Project Management: Real World Skills for Certification and Beyond (Exam70-178)
English
This must-have guide to using Microsoft Project 2010 is written from a real project manager's perspective and is packed with information you can use on the job. The book explores using Project 2010 during phases of project management, reveals best practices, and walks you through project flow from planning through tracking to closure. This valuable book follows the processes defined in the PMBOK® Guide, Fourth Edition, and also provides exam prep for Microsoft's MCTS: Project 2010 certification.
- Explains Microsoft Project 2010, the leading software tool for project managers
- Shows working project managers practical ways to use Project 2010 on the job
- Delves into project planning, tracking, reporting, and project closure, and explores best practices for all phases of planning
- Reveals new software features, including tools that show what factors are affecting the schedule, a "what-if" scenario builder, and how slippages affect other aspects of the project
- Follows processes and procedures from The Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®), Fourth Edition
- Covers the skill set required for the MCTS: Microsoft Project 2010, Managing Projects certification, so you can use this book for exam prep
This valuable book follows the processes defined in the PMBOK Guide, Fourth Edition, and also provides exam prep for Microsoft's MCTS: Project 2010, Managing Projects certification.
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.
(PMBOK is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.)
English
Robert Happy, PMP, MCT, MCTS, is President and Senior Consultant of Project Management Practice, Inc., a PMI Registered Education Provider and Microsoft Certified Partner. Robert has over 17 years' project management experience. He is the author of Implementing an Effective Project Management Culture, which was presented and published at the 2001 Project Management Institute's (PMI) international symposium.
English
Introduction xxiii
Part I Getting Started the Right Way 1
Chapter 1 Project 2010 as an Enabling Tool forProject Managers 3
Why Do People Think Project Is Hard to Use? 4
Accidental or Not, Knowledge Is Important 4
Credentials Will Help Close the Gap 5
Is It Me, or Is It the Software? 6
When to Use Project 7
Projects Are Supposed to End—Really 9
Projects vs. Product Life Cycles 9
Consider the Impact 10
Strategic Importance of Project 2010 12
Strategy Drives Projects 12
Working on the Right Projects in the Right Way 13
Improving Results with a Proven, Effective Approach 15
Planning, Communicating, and Tracking 16
Proven Effective over Time 16
Summary 17
Key Terms 18
Chapter 2 Mapping the Project-Management Process Groups to Microsoft Project 2010 19
Mapping Project to Your Methodology Will Increase Effectiveness 20
An Overview of the PM Process Groups 21
Initiating Processes and Project Usage 23
Planning Processes and Project Usage 26
Executing Processes and Project Usage 30
Monitoring and Controlling Processes and Project Usage 33
Closing Processes and Project Usage 35
Summary 38
Key Terms 38
Chapter 3 Overview of Enterprise Project Management 39
What Is EPM? 40
Enterprise Project Management Overview 40
Enterprise Standards and Controls 42
EPM as a Central Repository for Resources and Projects 44
Enterprise Resource Capabilities 44
Central Repository for Projects 47
When to Consider EPM 48
Understanding Roles within EPM 50
Executives and EPM 50
Resource or Functional Managers and EPM 50
Team Members and EPM 52
Project Managers and EPM 52
Portfolio Managers and EPM 54
Mapping EPM to PMBOK 55
Summary 56
Chapter 4 Getting Started and Setting Up the Microsoft Project Environment 57
Getting Started, and Moving Around Project 58
Welcome to the Ribbon 59
The Default Gantt Chart with Timeline View 62
Other Views 64
Using Project Templates to Get Started 67
Importing Plans from Excel 69
Key Options and Settings You Need to Know About 71
Manual or Automatic Scheduling 71
Project Summary Task and Outline Number 71
Scheduling Approaches and Default Task Types 74
Other Options 79
Working with Calendars 79
Creating New Calendars 79
Controlling Conversion Factors 81
Project Start- and End-Date Options 82
Displaying the Project Start and Current Dates in a Gantt Chart 83
Summary 84
Hands-On Exercises 86
Part II Planning Essentials 89
Chapter 5 Creating and Entering the Work Breakdown Structure and Task Arrangement 91
What Is a WBS, and Why Is It Important? 92
What Is a WBS? 92
Creating a WBS, and Its Importance to Project 93
Right-Sizing Your Plan 96
Progressive Elaboration and Defining Project Phases and Milestones 97
Determining Your Project Tasks and Milestones 99
Entering Your WBS: Phases, Tasks, and Milestones 100
Getting to Know the Task Name Column 100
Outlining (Indenting and Outdenting) Tools 102
Collapse and Expand: Show Outline 106
Managing Your WBS 107
Using the WBS Coding Tool 107
Conducting What-if Scenarios with Multilevel Undo 109
Summary 111
Hands-On Exercises 112
Chapter 6 Estimating and Entering Duration or Work 115
Estimating Duration vs. Estimating Work—What’s the Difference? 116
Estimating Duration for a Project 117
Entering Duration Estimates for a Project 118
Using the Task Information Dialog Box 125
Estimating Work for a Project 126
Program Evaluation and Review Technique 127
What Is PERT? 128
Summary 130
Hands-On Exercises 131
Chapter 7 Setting Dependencies and the Critical Path 133
Setting Dependencies 134
Understanding Dependencies 134
Dependency Types 135
Dependency Scenarios and Creating Networks 136
Impact of User-Controlled (Manual) Scheduling on Dependencies 139
Setting Dependencies in Project 143
Using Constraints and Deadlines 150
Constraints 150
Deadlines 154
Understanding and Viewing the Critical Path 156
What Is the Critical Path? 157
Calculating the Critical Path 158
Viewing the Critical Path and Slack in Project 159
Summary 162
Hands-On Exercises 163
Chapter 8 Assigning Resources and Costs 167
Setting Up Your Resource Pool 168
Using the Resource Sheet View 168
Sharing Resources across Projects 178
Assigning Resources and Costs 180
Using the Resource Names Column 180
Split-Screen View and Details 181
Assign Resources Function 187
Task Information 187
Team Planner (Project Professional Only) 189
Analyzing Resource Usage and Resource Leveling 191
Analyzing Resource Utilization 191
Resource Leveling 194
Summary 199
Hands-On Exercises 201
Chapter 9 Understanding the Calculation Engine for Automatic Scheduling 203
Six Factors that Drive the Calculation of Time (Dates and Duration) for Automatic Scheduling 204
Project Start Date 204
Calendars 206
Task Constraints and Deadlines 207
Task Durations 210
Task Dependencies 210
Resource Assignments and Task Types 211
Four Factors that Affect the Calculation of Cost 212
Standard and Overtime Rates 213
Cost Per Use 214
Fixed Cost 214
Resource Assignment Level 215
Switching from Manual Scheduling to Automatic Scheduling 217
Task Level 217
Summary-Level Impact 218
Summary 222
Hands-On Exercises 223
Part III Communicating and Reporting Essentials 225
Chapter 10 Understanding Views 227
Understanding Major View Components 228
Data Group 230
Other View Commands 234
Task Views 235
Accessing Other Views from the Gantt Chart 237
Timeline View 238
Task-Usage Views 240
Network Diagram 242
Calendar View 244
Resource Views 246
Team Planner View (Project Professional) 247
Resource Sheet View 247
Resource Usage View 249
Resource Form 250
Resource Graph 251
Summary 252
Hands-On Exercises 253
Chapter 11 Using Tables and Custom Fields 255
Creating Custom Fields 256
Custom Text Fields 257
Other Custom Fields 265
Using Tables and Creating Custom Tables 267
Using Existing Tables 267
Creating Custom Tables 271
Summary 279
Hands-On Exercises 280
Chapter 12 Using Filters, Groups, and Sorts 283
Using Filters and Highlights 284
Using Predefined Filters 284
Using Highlights 287
Creating Custom Filters 288
Using Groups 291
Built-in Groups 291
Custom Groups 296
Using Sorts and Auto-filters 298
Sorts 298
Auto-Filters 299
Summary 301
Hands-On Exercises 302
Chapter 13 Creating Custom Views, Formatting, and Reporting 305
Creating Custom Views 306
Key Elements of a View 306
Creating a Custom View 307
Formatting Text and Bar Styles 311
Formatting Text Styles 311
Formatting Bar Styles 313
Sharing and Sending Project Information and Reports 318
Enhanced Copy and Paste 319
Copy Picture 320
The Organizer and the Global.MPT Template 320
SharePoint Synchronization 323
File Types 324
Visual Reports 325
Summary 327
Hands-On Exercises 328
Chapter 14 Creating Master Schedules with Inserted Projects 331
Creating Master Schedules 332
Setting Up a Master Project File 332
Setting Up Cross-Project Links 335
Cross-Project Linking Options and Showing Links Between Projects 337
Critical Path Across Projects 340
Default Settings 340
Changing the Settings 341
Reporting and Analyzing Across Projects 342
Sharing Resources Across Projects 342
Analyzing Resources Across Projects 345
Roll-Up Reports 346
Summary 348
Hands-On Exercises 349
Part IV Tracking and Analyzing Essentials 351
Chapter 15 Setting and Maintaining Baselines 353
Understanding and Setting Baselines 354
Understanding Baselines 354
Setting a Baseline 355
Viewing Baselines 356
Tracking Gantt View and the Variance Table 356
Formatting the Gantt Chart to Display the Baseline 358
Maintaining Baselines 359
Clearing a Baseline 360
Rolling-Wave Planning with Baselines 361
Adding New Tasks After a Baseline Has Been Set 362
Resetting a Baseline 363
Multiple Baselines 364
Summary 366
Hands-On Exercises 367
Chapter 16 Updating and Tracking Status 369
Understanding and Entering Percent Complete 370
Different Types of Percent Complete 370
Entering Percent Complete 373
Understanding and Entering Actuals 375
Current and Status Date 375
Using the Status Date for Automatic Updates 378
Entering Actuals 380
Summary 389
Hands-On Exercises 390
Chapter 17 Variance Analysis and Taking Corrective Action 391
Understanding Variance 392
Types of Variance 392
Viewing Variance 393
Analyzing Variance and Taking Corrective Action 398
Understanding Slippage 398
Earned-Value Analysis 402
Understanding Earned-Value Techniques and Values 402
Using Earned-Value Analysis in Project 407
Summary 409
Hands-On Exercises 410
Appendix A Microsoft’s Certification Program 411
How Do You Become Certified on Project 2010? 412
Tips for Taking a Microsoft Exam 413
Certification Objectives Map 413
Appendix B About the Companion CD 419
What You’ll Find on the CD 420
Video Walkthroughs 420
PDF of the Book 420
Adobe Reader 420
System Requirements 420
Using the CD 421
Troubleshooting 421
Customer Care 421
Index 423
