Microsoft Project The Basics

The Basics of project 

Project Management is about planning, organising and managing information.  The information can be about the things or tasks that need to be done and who or what will be used to carry them out, when are they available for this project and what will it all cost?

The project manager has to ensure that the project is running as planned within the parameters of the project.  Microsoft Project will help you to do this, but will not do it for you.

Microsoft Project is a planning and tracking tool that will allow the user to access and present information about the project quickly and in relation to any or all aspects of the project.

Microsoft Project will allow you to enter information about the tasks involved, the relationships between them, the resources allocated to particular tasks and their availability according to their calendars and will then work out a schedule for the project according to the constraints involved.  As any of the information is changed the schedule will be altered to reflect the amendments.

Information available on a project being monitored by Microsoft Project

• How long will it take?

• What will it cost?

• Which tasks are critical?

• Are enough resources available?

• Who is doing what? When?

• Is the project running to as planned?

• What happens if a particular task is delayed?

Decisions can be made with the information available and alternative scenarios can be considered if necessary
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Once the project is in progress it can be monitored  against a baseline (planned) schedule and comparisons can be made to the original schedule in relation to dates and costs involved.