Module 1 - Project Management Introduction



Module 1 - Introduction

Lesson 1.1: Introduction to Project Management 3

Lesson 1.2: Introduction to Microsoft Project 11

Lesson 1.1: Introduction to Project Management

Some Topics to be introduced in this lesson include:

1. Overview

2. Definition of a Project

3. Project Management

4. Project Managers

5. Critical Path Method (CPM)

Overview

This section provides a brief introduction to Project Management. For a thorough discussion of Project Management and related fields, see the "Project Management Body of Knowledge" (PMBOK) at the following Web site: .

Definition of a Project

The Project Management Institute defines a project as follows:

A Project is a unique undertaking with a defined starting point and duration directed at achieving defined objectives, utilizing finite or infinite resources.

The key parts of this definition:

1. A project has a unique objective.

2. A project has a definite start, duration and finish. It has a temporary rather than open-ended duration.

Some examples of projects are:

6. Building a house

7. Relocating a data center

8. Writing a book

9. Developing a software program

Project Management

Project management is the management of an organized set of activities directed toward a common goal, using specialized management structures and techniques. It includes:

Determining project objectives

What is the goal (or goals) of the project? Examples of project goals include building a bridge, relocating the MIS department to a new site or installing a new phone system. More importantly, some examples of things that are NOT projects include scheduling the usage for a training facility or scheduling engineers in a technical service department. These are not projects because they do not meet all the criteria of a project. They do not have a definitive start, finish, and duration.

Managing budgets and resources

Projects do not get done without resources to do them. To ensure successful completion of a project, it is important to estimate correctly the number of personnel and the amount of equipment needed. With this, it is important to realize the cost of the project. Some projects can be completed in a shorter time by increasing the manpower on the project. However, doing this also increases the cost. One of the project manager’s jobs is to maintain a balance between reducing costs and reducing the time to complete the project.

Reporting Progress

Reporting progress is a key to project management. It is essential that key players in a project know what is happening, and whether they are on track, behind, or ahead of schedule. By reviewing progress on a regular basis, you can try to avoid possible problems in advance. For example, if you notice that a certain task was scheduled to take 10 days to accomplish, but on day 5 only 25% of the work was finished, you could possibly re-allocate resources to that task in order to complete it on time.

Evaluating efficiency and effectiveness

During and after a project, it is important to review and analyze the performance on the project. This information can provide valuable insight into possible changes to make for future projects. For example, your project was to build a house, and one of the steps involved was landscaping. After the project is finished, you notice that it took less time to do the landscaping than you originally planned. This information could be valuable if you build another house, because you could reduce the time allocated for landscaping. By constantly reviewing the efficiency and effectiveness of your project, you can more accurately plan future projects.

Project Managers

Project managers are responsible for managing projects. They coordinate projects and related tasks, but do not usually have direct management responsibilities for resources assigned to their project. The resources involved in one project may not be the same resources involved in another project. Project managers focus only on work that is specific to their project, and are primarily task and time-constrained: “How do I ensure my project gets finished in the shortest amount of time?” is a question on every project manager’s mind each day.

Critical Path Method (CPM)

The definitions and calculations in this section assume a simple classical project consisting of a set of tasks, task dependencies, and task constraints.

A task dependency (relationship) occurs if the start or finish of one task (the successor task) depends on the start or finish of another task (the predecessor task). For example, if Task B can start when Task A finishes or later, then Task A is a predecessor of Task B with a Finish-to-Start (FS) relationship. Other relationships are SS (Start-to-Start), FF (Finish-to-Finish), and SF (Start-to-Finish). Lag or Lead (negative Lag) can be specified in a relationship to allow the successor to start later or earlier than the original plain relationship. For example, an SF relationship with negative 2 days of lag means that the successor can start 2 days before the predecessor finishes, or later.

A task constraint limits when the task can occur, independent of other tasks. For example, if a task cannot start any earlier than 1/1/98, then it would have a "Start No Earlier Than" (SNET) type of constraint with a constraint date of 1/1/98.

The Critical Path Method (CPM) is a method of calculating the total duration of a project based on a specified project start date and on the individual duration of tasks and on their dependencies. CPM also provides useful information about how far a task can slip into the future before it moves other tasks or makes the project finish later.

For a specified project start date and a set of tasks along with their dependencies and constraints, the CPM method calculates the following:

• The earliest date each task can start and finish, and the earliest date the project can finish.

• The latest date each task can start and finish, without causing the project to finish later.

• How far into the future each task can slip without causing any other task to finish later. [those statements are identical!].

• Which tasks are critical, for example, which tasks will cause the project to finish later if they slip.

Before looking at how the CPM works, here are a few related definitions from Microsoft Project Help:

|Task Dependency |A task dependency describes how a task is related to the start or finish of another task. Microsoft|

| |Project provides four task dependencies you can use to connect a series of tasks in a schedule. By |

| |using these dependencies effectively, you can modify the critical path and shorten your project |

| |schedule slack. |

|Lag Time |A delay between tasks that have a dependency. For example, if you need a two-day delay between the |

| |finish of one task and the start of another, you can establish a finish-to-start relationship and |

| |specify a two-day lag time. You enter lag time as a positive value relationship. |

|Predecessor |A task whose start or finish determines the start or finish of another task. |

|Successor |A task that cannot start or finish until another task starts or finishes. |

|Early Start |The Early Start field contains the earliest date that a task could possibly begin, based on the |

| |early start dates of predecessor and successor tasks, and other constraints. Early Start is |

| |calculated as follows: When you first create a task, its early start date is the same as the |

| |scheduled start date. As you link the task to predecessors and successors and apply any other |

| |constraints, Microsoft Project calculates the early start date as the earliest possible date this |

| |task could be started, if all predecessor and successor tasks also start on their early start |

| |dates. If there is a leveling delay on the task, this is also figured into the early start date. |

|Early Finish |The Early Finish field contains the earliest date that a task could possibly finish, based on early|

| |finish dates of predecessor and successor tasks, other constraints, and any leveling delay. |

|Late Start |The Late Start field contains the latest date that a task can start without delaying the finish of |

| |the project. This date is based on the task’s start date, as well as the late start and late finish|

| |dates of predecessor and successor tasks, and other constraints. |

|Late Finish |The Late Finish field contains the latest date that a task can finish without delaying the finish |

| |of the project. This date is based on the task’s late start date, as well as the late start and |

| |late finish dates of predecessor and successor tasks, and other constraints. |

|Critical task |A task that must be completed on schedule for the project to finish on time. If a critical task is |

| |delayed, the project completion date is also delayed. A series of critical tasks makes up a |

| |project's critical path. |

|Critical path |The series of tasks that must be completed on schedule for a project to finish on schedule. Each |

| |task on the critical path is a critical task. Most tasks in a typical project have some slack and |

| |can therefore be delayed a little without affecting the project finish date. Those tasks that |

| |cannot be delayed without affecting the project finish date are the critical tasks. As you modify |

| |tasks to resolve over allocations or other problems in your schedule, be aware of the critical |

| |tasks and that changes to them will affect your project finish date. |

|Critical Path |A project management method of calculating the total duration of a project based on individual task|

|Method (CPM) |durations and their interdependencies. |

|Slack (or Float) |The amount of time a task can slip before it affects another task's dates or the project finish |

| |date. Slack is sometimes referred to as float time. |

|Free Slack | The amount of time a task can slip before it delays another task. |

|Total Slack |The amount of time a task can slip before it delays the project finish date. When the total slack |

| |is negative, the duration for a task is too long for its successor to begin on the date required by|

| |its constraint. |

CPM produces results by doing a Forward Pass calculation followed by a Backward Pass calculation:

• Forward Pass: All tasks are calculated to start as early as possible for the specified task dependencies and constraints, and the specified project start date. The latest finishing task(s) determines the project finish date. The Early Start and Early Finish dates for each task are calculated during this pass.

• Backward Pass: All tasks are calculated to finish as late as possible for the specified task dependencies and constraints, and the project finish date calculated from the Forward pass. The Late Start and Late Finish dates are calculated for each task during this pass.

Example

A project starts on Jan 1, 1998 and every day is a working day. The four columns below are the specified task ID, Duration (in days), Predecessors, and Successors. All the relationships are FS, and there are no other constraints (like Start No Earlier Than).

|ID |Dur. |Pred. |Succ. |

|1 |2d | |3 |

|2 |4d | |3 |

|3 |3d |1,2 | |

|4 |2d | |5 |

|5 |3d |4 | |

Forward Pass:

In the table below, the cells filled with the letter "e" show how the task Early Start and Early Finish dates are calculated during the forward pass. Notice that tasks with no predecessors start at the specified project start date (Jan 1), and other tasks are scheduled as early as possible for the specified relationships. The calculated project finish date is Jan 7.

|ID |Dur. |Pred. |Succ. |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Early |Early |Free Slack|

| | | | |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6 |7 |8 |9 |Start |Finish | |

|1 |2d | |3 |E |E | | | | | | | |Jan 1 |Jan 2 |2d |

|2 |4d | |3 |E |E |E |E | | | | | |Jan 1 |Jan 4 |0d |

|3 |3d |1,2 | | | | | |E |E |E | | |Jan 5 |Jan 7 |0d |

|4 |2d | |5 |E |E | | | | | | | |Jan 1 |Jan 2 |0d |

|5 |3d |4 | | | |E |E |E | | | | |Jan 3 |Jan 5 |2d |

Backward Pass:

In the table below, the cells filled with the letter "X" show how the task Late Start and Late Finish dates are calculated during the backward pass. Notice that tasks with no successors start at the project finish date that was calculated during the forward pass (Jan 7), and that other tasks are scheduled as late as possible for the specified relationships.

|ID |Dur. |Pred. |Succ. |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Late |Late |

| | | | |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6 |7 |Start |Finish |

|1 |2d | |3 | | |X |X | | | |Jan 3 |Jan 4 |

|2 |4d | |3 |X |X |X |X | | | |Jan 1 |Jan 4 |

|3 |3d |1,2 | | | | | |X |X |X |Jan 5 |Jan 7 |

|4 |2d | |5 | | |X |X | | | |Jan 3 |Jan 4 |

|5 |3d |4 | | | | | |X |X |X |Jan 5 |Jan 7 |

A comparison of the Early and Late dates for a task is used to compute its Total Slack and to determine if the task is critical (Zero Total Slack). From the table below, you can see that the only critical tasks are task 2 and 3, and that they form a single critical path from the start to the end of the project.

|ID |Dur. |Pred. |Succ. |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Jan |Total |Critical |

| | | | |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6 |7 |Slack | |

|1 |2d | |3 |E |E | | | | | |2d |No |

| | | | | | |X |X | | | | | |

|2 |4d | |3 |E |E |E |E | | | |0d |Yes |

| | | | |X |X |X |X | | | | | |

|3 |3d |1,2 | | | | | |E |E |E |0d |Yes |

| | | | | | | | |X |X |X | | |

|4 |2d | |5 |E |E | | | | | |2d |No |

| | | | | | |X |X | | | | | |

|5 |3d |4 | | | |E |E |E | | |2d |No |

| | | | | | | | |X |X |X | | |

More complicated projects can have more than one critical path. In non-classical projects with more advanced features, a project might have no critical path. See the Scheduling module for examples.

Lesson 1.1 - Exercises

1. Which of the following best fits the definition of a single project?

A. The activities required to build a convention center.

B. The cases a law firm works on year after year.

C. A law firm preparing for a specific case.

D. Daily activities during the life of a person.

E. Creating a new video game.

2. What is the acronym and name of the procedure in which a forward pass and a backward pass are used to calculate slack?

A. DPM - Double Pass Method

B. CPM - Critical Path Method

C. FBM - Forward Backward Method

3. If the Early bar (from Early Start to Early Finish) exactly matches the Late bar (from Late Start to Late Finish), and each bar is 5 working days long, then which of the following are true (identify all correct answers):

A. The Total Slack of the task is 5d

B. The Total Slack of the task is 0d

C. The task is critical.

D. No such task can exist.

4. Is the backward pass used to calculate the Early bar or the Late bar?

Lesson 1.1 - Lab

The picture below shows a project with three tasks with no constraints. The project is scheduled from start and the relationships are all simple Finish-to-Start. A standard five day work week is used (Mon-Fri, 8am-12pm, 1pm-5pm) and each task starts at 8am and ends at 5pm.

[pic]

A. Based only on what you see in the picture above, complete the table below by filling in values for tasks T1 and T3 (without actually creating the project). Don't include the time of day with the dates.

|Name |Early Start |Early Finish |Late Start |Late Finish|Total Slack |Critical |

|T1 | | | | | | |

|T2 |8/15 |8/18 |8/15 |8/18 |0d |Yes |

|T3 | | | | | | |

B. Verify your answers by creating the above project in Microsoft Project. You'll need to set the Project Start date to 8/11/97 (by clicking Project Information from the Project menu). You'll also need to insert the appropriate columns in a task table in Microsoft Project.

Lesson 1.2: Introduction to Microsoft Project

Some Topics to be introduced in this lesson include:

10. How Microsoft Project Helps

11. New/ Improved Features

How Microsoft Project Helps

Microsoft Project makes it easy to get started even if you are new to project management software. The picture below, from the "Microsoft Project Map" on-line help topic, illustrates the evolution of a project and how Microsoft Project can help:

[pic]

Microsoft Project helps you manage projects in a variety of ways, including:

12. Ease of Use: There are helpful learning tools such as the Office Assistant and GanttChartWizard. Microsoft Project has data entry features such as in-field spinners and dropdowns, AutoCorrect, Spell Checker, and Search and Replace.

13. Scheduling: Based on the data that you enter about the tasks, constraints, relationships, resources, assignments, calendars, and so on, Microsoft Project schedules your tasks. It can also automatically spread or split tasks to solve overallocation problems.

14. Tracking: You can track actual information and progress, and compare current scheduled information against a saved baseline.

15. Reporting: There are a variety of views and reports for viewing and presenting project information.

16. Workgroup: The project manager can communicate with resources about their tasks and progress using email or a web site.

17. Import/Export: Microsoft Project can read and write to a variety of file formats.

18. Customization: Visual Basic for Applications macros can be used to build custom solutions with Microsoft Project and other applications.

New/ Improved Features

If you used previous versions of Microsoft Project, then the following list provides a quick overview of some of the new or improved features in Microsoft Project 98:

Usage Features

• Scaling for all printers (including non-postscript).

• Find and replace tool for task, resource, or usage tables.

• In-field spinner, dropdown lists, and date picker.

• Filters: New Autofilter (similar to the one in Excel) with the ability to save as a filter. Improved custom filters support grouped conditions.

• Field improvements: Increased number of custom fields such as Text1,..., Text30. New date custom fields Date1,...,Date10. Definable custom field aliases show up in field lists.

• Copy Picture: Allows a date range to be specified. Can save as GIF.

• View Navigation: New View Bar containing icons for views. View names displayed at the border of panes.

• Formatting: Rich Edit (RTF) notes. More format choices for duration labels, like d, dy, and day. Assignment units can be formatted as % or decimal.

• Web Features: Hyperlinks in dedicated fields, text-type fields like Text1, and RTF notes. Web-based application for Workgroup messaging.

• Indicator field: Contains icons that display information about tasks, resources, or assignments, such as missed constraints or over allocations.

• Usage views: Can show assignments by task or by resource. Show timephased values by period. Timephased data can be entered for some fields such as assignment scheduled and actual work.

• Assignment Information dialog: New dialog for selecting the assignment contour and rate table, and for editing assignment fields such as Start, Finish, and actuals.

• Progress Lines: New graphical "lightening bolt" can be displayed on the Gantt Chart for a quick overview of the progress of all the tasks in a project relative to a specified date, status date, or current date.

Scheduling and Costing Features:

• Resource Availability Dates: You can specify a date range restricting when a resource can work; this overrides the resource calendar.

• Variable Resource Rates: Each resource has 5 rate tables, each with up to 25 different rate periods. A rate table can be selected for each of the resource's assignments.

• Actual costs can be entered: Options Calculation tab has the new option, "Actual costs are always calculated by Microsoft Project." If unselected, then task and assignment total or timephased actual costs can be entered.

• Timephased fields: Many fields such as Work, Actual Work, and %Complete can be edited per period in a usage view.

• Earned Value fields: Calculated from timephased values; can be based off a specified Status Date.

• Assignment contouring: Predefined Flat (default), Back/Front Loaded, Double/Early/Late Peak, Bell, or Turtle. Contours can be customized (Contoured) by editing timephased values.

• New Duration, Work, Units calculations: Based on Task Types (Fixed Units, Fixed Duration, Fixed Work) and Effort Driven settings. Fixed Work allows units to be calculated when duration changes, keeping assignment work unchanged. Effort Driven keeps total Work constant as more resources are assigned.

• Scheduling from Finish: Symmetric calculations compared to Schedule From Start. ASAP and ALAP retain same definition either way. Can level now using negative Leveling Delay.

• Task Splitting: Tasks can be manually split multiple times with the mouse in a Gantt view or by entering zeroes for periods in a usage view. Leveling has an option to split remaining work.

• Resource Leveling:

Options to...

➢ Set the granularity (min, hr, day, week, mo).

➢ Specify a date range.

➢ Level assignments independently.

➢ Split remaining work for a task or assignment.

➢ Level projects that are scheduled from finish (using negative delays).

➢ Override constraints.

➢ Level the rest of a resource's assignments after an unresolvable situation.

Other improvements include:

➢ A progress indicator on the status bar is useful during lengthy leveling calculations.

➢ New Preleveled date fields allow a before/after comparison in the Leveling Gantt view.

➢ Leveling does not destroy critical path.

• Summary tasks: Actual Work and % Work Complete can be edited. The new Summary Progress "To" field in Bar Styles can be used to draw more meaningful progress bars.

• "Task Status Updates Resource Status": Works both ways now; edits to actuals changes the task % Complete.

• Actual Work Rolldown calculations: Edits to task actual work are rolled down to assignments in a timephased manner (period by period) until the assignment actuals total to the task actuals.

• Duration Calculation: Calculated in a timephased manner rather than maximum assignment Work/Units as in previous versions.

• Week Starts On: Can now be any day of the week rather than just Sun or Mon. Used by Date Picker dropdowns and timescale labels Week of year 1,...52 and Days count 7.

• Fiscal Year: There is now an option "Use starting year for FY numbering" rather than jumping a year ahead at the start of the fiscal year.

• Stop and Resume fields: Now editable.

• Soft constraints: New option "Tasks will always honor their constraints." If unchecked, then a successor task can obey its predecessor even if the successor violates its constraint (still causes negative slack).

• Multiple Critical Paths: If the new "Calculate multiple critical paths" option is selected, then tasks at outline level 1 that normally have slack to the end of the project (for example, no successors or right limiting constraint) will instead have 0 slack. Slack of child tasks are relative to the summary task; ALAP child has 0 slack and can't go or push successors past the summary task finish.

• Inserted Projects: Replace the old consolidated and subproject features. Any project can be inserted into any other project at any level.

• Cross Project Linking: Path and filename can now be specified in the predecessor field to create external links, for example, C:\Files\OtherFile.mpp\2FS+3d, or the mouse can be used to create them using inserted projects.

• Resource Pools: Improved architecture. The pool now contains all assignment information so you can see assignments across all sharers even if they are not all open. Pools can be opened as read-only so multiple users can have the project open at the same time. The new Update Resource Pool command temporarily closes the pool, reopens it with write access, updates it, closes it, and opens it again as read-only. The new Refresh Resource Pool command reads the latest updates from the pool (closes and reopens it).

Data Import/Export Features

• Maps: Provide consistent interface for importing/exporting various file types.

• Improved ODBC support: You can do a complete save including views, etc. The MPD format is a complete save to an Access database.

• Modifying data outside of Microsoft Project: Intelligent import handles inconsistencies from external modifications.

• Save to HTML: New format works with a Map to save specified fields to an HTM extension file using a default template or a customized one created using special Microsoft Project HTML codes.

• "Microsoft Excel 5.0/7.0 Pivot Table" type: Replaces the old CreateCrossTab macro.

• Analyze_Timescaled_Data macro: Exports timescaled data to Excel sheet with an option to chart.

• Global files: Can now be opened.

Visual Basic Applications Features

• Microsoft Visual Basic (Editor: Same editor as in other Office applications. The Module Editor view is gone.

• Virus Check: A warning is given when a project that contains macros is opened.

• CommandBars collection: Allows command bars (single menu bar and various toolbars) to be controlled programmatically.

Workgroup Features

19. Microsoft Outlook( Integration: Partially completed Status messages can be saved in Outlook. Unsolicited Status messages can be created in Outlook. Project file tracking events can be stored in an Outlook Journal.

20. Web Based Workgroup Messaging: The Web application Mspjhttp.exe can be placed on a Web server and used by the project manager and resources to handle workgroup messaging.

Lesson 1.2 - Exercises

1. Which of the following are new features (not just improvements) in Microsoft Project 98?

A. Scaling on postscript printers.

B. Link lines connecting predecessor and successor tasks on the Gantt Chart.

C. AutoFilter.

D. Formatting the font for selected cells in a table.

E. Rich Text formatting in the Notes tab in the task, resource, and assignment Information dialogs.

F. Task Usage view.

G. Each resource can have its own standard rate.

H. Assignment Units field for controlling work load.

I. Resource Calendars.

J. Predefined assignment contours such as Bell and Turtle.

K. Type and Effort Driven task fields.

L. Option to schedule a project from the Start or Finish.

M. Projects scheduled from Finish can be leveled.

N. Summary tasks.

O. Option for multiple critical paths.

P. Subprojects.

Q. Inserted Projects.

R. Paste Linking between projects.

S. Cross project predecessor/successor links.

T. Projects can now share resources.

U. Projects can be saved in HTML format.

V. The Organizer can be used to copy views between projects.

W. Global files can now be opened.

X. Module Editor view for editing macros.

Y. Resources can view workgroup messages using a Web browser.

Z. You can create multiple custom menu bars.

Lesson 1.2 - Lab

Lesson 1.2 - Lab 1

Use Microsoft Project online Help to locate the Microsoft Project Map that is displayed in the beginning of this lesson.

Click on each of the circled text, circled numbers and Hint boxes along the path and briefly scan the information that is displayed.

Lesson 1.2 - Lab 2

The purpose of this subjective exercise is to encourage you to think about the potential impact of the new and improved features in Microsoft Project 98.

In the New/Improved Features section of this lesson, pick out ten of the listed items that you believe are the most important. Be prepared to support your position.

If time permits, the instructor may hold an open forum for class participants to discuss their choices.

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