Microsoft Project 98 Intro Lesson
MS ProjectDesign Samples 

1. Identify major groups of related work: phases or categories
2. Break your phases and categories in specific tasks
3. Set duration of time for tasks
4. Mark milestones in the project
5. Design a project: Home Building Project (Note)

1. Projects = a series of small schedules, called also phases or categories
2. Phases or categories = groups of related tasks
3. Tasks = individual items of work, each having a start and a finish (duration)
4. Duration = the amount of time (number of work periods) it takes to finish a task
5. Milestones = marks a major stage in a project, often the completion of a deliverable
6. Resources = perform the tasks within allocated time and cost limitations.

2. Tasks – Series of Tasks For Residential Construction:

You are project manager for Dream Homes, a small company dedicated to the custom design and construction of medium-to high priced homes. Your project is new home construction. You are building a home for Mr. and Mrs. Smith. The start date of the project is June 2, 1998 (for the sake of our example). So, the project is scheduled from the start date.

Open the file: Smith Home from the Dummies 98 folder.

Verify the start date of the project by clicking Project, Project Information on your menu bar.

In current date box: date shown is May 21, 1998.as start date. Click cancel.

Double-click the Task Name column heading. In title text box type: Dream Home Tasks. Click OK

Under Dream Home tasks enter the following tasks:

1. Customer selections (1 day duration is default)
2. Write specifications
3. Write contract
4. Signatures
5. Plans
6. Water service

7. Electrical service
8. Excavation
9. Landscaping
10. Footing/foundation
11. Inspection
12. Wood framing
13. Roofing
14. Plumbing lines
15. Furnace and A/C
16. Electrical wiring
17. Inspection
18. Wallboard
19. Stairway
20. Painting
21. Trim
22. Landscaping
23. Customer Walkthrough
24. Punch list corrections
25. Final Inspection
26. Contract closure
27. Administrative closure

Entering Duration = the time it takes to finish a task

Enter the durations under the duration heading for tasks 1-5. (All other durations have been entered for you).

Save without baseline option Smith Home. Click OK

Task Editing – Making changes to the existing task list

ü The design of the home takes place after the contract signatures: move one task
ü Water service and electrical service can be put only after the foundation has been poured: Move a group of tasks
ü The landscaping task is listed twice. We need to delete one landscaping task and change the other’s duration
ü We need to add some tasks with zero duration, specifically milestones

Select task 5 "Plans"
Drag the cursor up until it rests on the line between tasks 3 and 4 and release mouse button
Task 5 has just become task 4 and vice versa

Select anywhere on the task 7 row in the Gantt Table. Press delete key: Landscaping task is gone.
Change the duration of task 21, Landscaping to 4 days by typing 4 (Days is default duration)
Save without baseline.

Task Editing – Making changes to the existing task list continued

Milestone = Beginning or completion of a significant event or series of events in a project. You designate a milestone by entering duration of 0.

Before excavation (task 7), insert a milestone called "Contract begins"
Before Wood Framing (task 12), insert Foundation stage complete
Before Wallboard (task 19), insert Framing stage complete
Before Contract closure (task 27), insert Finishing stage complete
After Administrative closure (task 30), enter Project complete.
Save without a baseline.

Select task heading Dream Home Tasks (selects all tasks),
Click the Link Tasks button on the standard toolbar. Tasks are linked Finish to Start
Verify Project Finish Date: Click Project, Project Information: Check Finish Date.

1. Select first task "Project begins" Click the GOTO Selected Task button on the standard toolbar to see your task duration in the Gantt chart. Scroll through Gantt chart. We will unlink the tasks:
2. Select the task heading "Dream Home Tasks"
3. Click the unlink Task button on the standard toolbar. Click undo button to re-link..

ü Create Summary Tasks and subtasks by promoting and demoting tasks
ü Modify the Gantt chart timescale by zooming in and out
ü Using Outlining features, symbols and numbers

Select task 2, the Customers selection task and press Insert
Type Contract/Design

Move the cursor the beginning of the customer selection (task 3). Click and drag down to the end of the Contract begins milestone
Tasks 3 through 8 are selected
Click the indent button on the formatting toolbar

Select Excavation (task 9) and press insert

In the text box, type Foundation Stage, press Enter

Select the Foundation Stage (summary task 9)
Click the Out-dent button on the formatting toolbar

1. Select Wood Framing (Task 16), press insert and type: Framing Stage
2. Select Wallboard (Task 24), press Insert and type Finishing Stage
3. Select Contract closure (Task 34), press insert and type Close Out Stage

1. Click and drag over the tasks that follow a new summary task
2. After the group of tasks is selected, click the Indent button on the toolbar
3. Repeat for each group of sub-tasks.:

ü Select tasks 10-15 (Excavation – Foundation Stage Complete), click demote button
ü Select tasks 17-23 (Wood Framing – Framing Stage Complete), click demote button
ü Select tasks 25-33 (Wallboard-Finishing Stage Complete), click demote button
ü Select tasks 35-37 (Close Out Stage-Project Complete), click demote button

Select Foundation Stage summary task, press delete, (then cancel or use undo button to undo delete)

Collapse: Click minus box to the left of summary task
Expand: Click plus box to the left of summary tasks name: i.e. click plus box next to the Foundation Stage summary task to expand its subtasks.

ü To activate an outline option:

Choose Tools: Options click the View tab
Click to clear the Outline Symbol check box
Select the Show Outline Number check box, click OK

Choose Tools: Options click the View tab
Click the Show Outline Number check box, remove check mark,
Click to select the Outline Symbol check box, click OK

Some tasks have to begin or end on certain dates. This may be due to availability of a key consultant or limited access to equipment needed. Other tasks can just start as soon as their predecessors finish. Priorities determine the beginning and end of every task.

Constraint: a time limitation placed on a task. All linked tasks have constraints. The default is as soon as possible. (See Chapter 10, pages 158-159 Step-by-Step book).

Currently the ASAP constraint is used for all linked tasks.

The start date and time for the contract signatures (task 7) is Thu, June 18, 1998 at 11:00 AM. The actual schedule date is on July 1.

1. Double-click Signatures (task 7), Advanced tab: Shows As Soon As Possible.

2. Double-click the Signatures task; choose General tab, using drop down arrow, and change start date to 7/1/98. Click OK. Planning Wizard dialog box appears: Select 2^nd option (move the task and keep the link). Click OK. You have changed the constraint from ASAP to SNET (Start no earlier than).

After changing date to 7/1/98, constraint set:

Note: [From  Microsoft Project 98 for Dummies, by Marty Doucette. Copyright© IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.]

I  taught this lesson based on a project explained in the Dummies MS Project 98 book. The examples used in the Dummies book are very realistic and give a good and clear overview of the MS Project capabilities.