Project Management

• What is a Project?  What is Project Management?
• Project Management vs. Operations Management
• Skills Required by Project Managers
• Defining and Managing Scope and Assumptions
• Project Phases Common to All Projects
• Managing Time, Cost and Quality (Project Triangle)
• Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
• Project Management Certifications: Project+, PMP

Introduction to Microsoft Project

• The Role of Project Management Software
• Exploring Components of the Project Interface
• The Database: Tasks, Resources and Assignments
• Calendars and the Schedule
• Working the Gantt Chart and other Project Views
• Applying Different Tables and Forms to Views
• Set Up Different Interfaces for Different Functions
• Filtering, Sorting and Grouping Project Data

Creating New Projects

• Project Properties and Your Working Options
• Forward or Backward Scheduling
• The Role of the Project Calendar
• Creating and Working with the Task List
• Specifying Task Durations (Duration vs. Work)
• Creating Phases with Outlines and Milestones
• What is a Work Breakdown Structure?

Planning and the Schedule

• Resource Driven vs. Dependency Driven Scheduling
• Task Relationships and When to Use Them
• Relationship Types and How They Effect Scheduling
• Working Time, Elapsed Time and the Difference
• Effect of Lead Time and Lag Time on the Schedule
• Constraints, Deadlines and the Difference
• Types of Slack and the Critical Path
• When to Use Task Calendars

Working with Resources

• Resource and Cost Information
• Defining a Resource Pool for a Single Project
• Resource Types and Scheduling
• Base Calendars and Resource Availability Over Time
• Task Duration, Resource Units and Work Defined
• The Balancing Formula in the Scheduling Engine
• Fighting with the Scheduling Engine, and Winning
• Using the Right Interface for Assigning Resources
• Assigning Other Costs and Materials
• Viewing Schedule and Cost Information

Refining and Adjusting the Schedule

• Critical Tasks and the Critical Path
• Identifying and Working with Types of Slack
• Compressing and Adjusting the Project Schedule
• Compressing and Adjusting the Project Budget
• Finding and Fixes Overallocated Resources

Tracking and Staying on Track

• Baselines and Comparative Project Status Reporting
• Techniques for Recording Actual Work Completed
• Working with Variations from Plan
• Analyzing Performance and Cost
• Critical Tasks and the Critical Path

Communicating Project Status

• Customizing Project Views, Filters and Forms
• Using Standard Reports / Creating Custom Reports
• Sharing Custom Objects with Other Projects
• Understanding Global.mpt and the Organizer
• Interfacing with Other Applications

Managing Multiple Projects

• Creating and Using Project Templates
• Working with a Shared Resource Pool
• Working with Master Projects and Subprojects