Project Management Quick Reference Guide

Project Management Quick Reference Guide
for Project 2007 |
| Before beginning a new project, an organization must determine whether the project fits its strategic goals. Executives should classify proposed projects that focus on mission-critical activities as high-priority and projects that are peripheral to organization goals as lower priority.Before work begins, an executive sponsor shouldbe identified. The organization should complete a high-level evaluation of the project’s business case, its limitations, and its technical and financial requirements. Finally, a project manager should be identified, who can then set up a project plan in Microsoft Office Project 2007.Need a more detailed guide to project management with Project 2007? Use the Project Roadmap, available on OfficeOnline. |
| 1. Create a new project file | * To create a new blank project in Project 2007, click New on the File menu. On the New Project task pane, click Blank Project. * To create a new project from a template in Project 2007, click New on the File menu. On the New Project task pane, click On computer and then click the Project Templates tab. Click the template that you want. If yourorganization stores templates on the Web, click the Enterprise Templates tab. |
| 2. Set the project start date | On the Project menu, click Project Information. In the Start date box, enter your project start date. |
| 3. Define the project calendar | On the Tools menu, click Change Working Time. Identify working and non-working days and times for your project. |
| 4. Save theproject file | On the File menu, click Save. In the File name box, type the project name.If you are publishing the project to Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, type the name of the project and include any values for custom fields that are required by your organization. |
| In the planning stage, you devise a workable scheme to accomplish the project’s goals. To do this, you identify theproject’s milestones, deliverables, and tasks. This plan can be your work breakdown structure (WBS). You develop and refine the schedule, and identify the resources required to implement the project. |
| 1. Enter tasks | On the View menu, click Gantt Chart. In the Task Name field, enter tasks. Tasks can also include summary tasks, milestones, and WBS items. |
| 2. Outline tasks | Createyour task hierarchy, including tasks and milestones under summary tasks, which can represent phases or other work divisions. Click a task (or several tasks), and then click the Indent or Outdent button on the toolbar. |
| 3. Enter durations | Click the Duration field for a task and enter a duration; for example, type 4d to indicate 4 days. To specify a milestone without a duration, type 0d.To indicate that a duration is an estimate, add a question mark; for example, type 6d?.Note Avoid entering start and finish dates for tasks. Instead, enter a duration and let Project 2007 automatically set these dates, which might change anyway as resources are assigned to tasks. |
| 4. Link tasks to show relationships | Select the tasks that you want to link, and then click the Link Tasksbutton on the toolbar. To change the default finish-to-start dependency type, double-click the line between the tasks that you want to change, and then select a task link from the Type list. |
| 5. Create deliverables | After your project is underway, you might learn that other projects depend on your project as a deliverable. On the Collaborate menu, click Manage Deliverables. Thisrequires Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007. |
| Assignments are the associations between specific tasks and the resources needed to complete them. You can assign more than one resource to a task. In addition to work resources (people), you can assign material resources (such as cement) and cost resources (such as travel) to tasks. |
| 1. Define the resource pool | On the View menu,...