Planning and Scheduling Using Microsoft Office Project 2007: Including Microsoft Project 2000 to 2003

This book is designed to teach project management professionals how to use Microsoft Project in a project environment. The book is based on Microsoft Office Project 2007 but may be used with Microsoft Project 2000, 2002 or 2003 as the book outlines the differences between the versions. This book may be used with Microsoft Project as either: a self teach book, or a userguide, or a training manual for a two day training course. The book is aimed at: project management companies in industries such as the building, construction, oil & gas, software development, government and defence who wish to run their own software training courses or provide their employees a good practical guide to using the software; training organizations who require a training manual to run their own training courses; project managers and schedulers who wish learn the software, however are unable to attend a training course. This book is designed to teach project team members in any industry how setup and use the software in a project environment and it: explains in plain English and in a logical sequence the steps required to create and maintain a schedule; highlights the sources of information and methods that should be employed to produce a realistic and useful project schedule; presents workable solutions to real day to day planning and scheduling problems and contains practical advice on how to set up the software and import data; explains some of the important difference between Microsoft Project and other scheduling software; and, includes exercises to reinforce the learning outcomes, a large number of screen dumps, numerous tips and a detailed index. It has a chapter dedicated to the new functions available in Microsoft Project 2007 and covers some of the more advanced features of the software. The book stays focused on the information required to create and update project schedules by: concentrating on the core functions required to plan and control a project; keeping the information relevant to each topic in the appropriate chapter; providing a quick reference at the start of each chapter listing the chapters topics and associated menu commands; and, providing a comprehensive index of topics.

Table of Contents:
1 Introduction 2 Creating a Project Plan 3 Creating Projects and Setting up the Software 4 Navigating Around the Screen 5 Defining Calendars 6 Adding Tasks 7 Organizing Tasks Using Outlining 8 Formatting the Display 9 Adding Task Dependencies 10 Network Diagram View 11 Constraints 12 Filters 13 Views, Tables and Details 14 Printing and Reports 15 Tracking Progress 16 Grouping Tasks, Outline Codes and WBS 17 Options 18 Creating Resources 19 Assigning Resources and Costs to Tasks 20 Resource Histograms, Tables, S-Curves & Leveling 21 Statusing Projects with Resources 22 Tools and Techniques for Scheduling 23 What Is New In Microsoft Project 24 Items Not Covered in This Book 25 Appendix 1 - Screens Used To Create Views 26 Index

About the Author :
Paul Harris holds an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering obtained in the UK and is a Certified Cost Engineer through AACEI International, a certified PRINCE2 Practitioner and Approved PRINCE2 Trainer. He has worked in the project controls industry for a number of years and has assisted many companies in a range of industries to set up and run project controls systems. His Melbourne, Australia based company, Eastwood Harris Pty Ltd, offers project controls consulting and training services world wide with a strong focus on Microsoft Project and Primavera software.

Review :
Microsoft's latest upgrade to Microsoft Project is out--and so is Paul Harris' venerable user's reference and guide. An upgrade from Harris' previous book on Microsoft(R) Project 2003, this book addresses the latest features and carry-over functions of Microsoft's latest release to the project management public. Sustaining his clear and concise manner of writing, Harris explains the basic and intermediate functions, both new and carry-over, of using Microsoft(R) Project. The book covers most available functions and features, and adds complexity gradually and palatably as the users work their way through the book's 24 detailed chapters of content and reference information. Like the MS Project 2003, 2002, and 2000 books, Harris takes some pretty complicated topics like "how duration, work, resources, and units trade-off with each other" and makes it seem like anybody can learn to use the software. Although Microsoft's style is to equip the software with different ways to reach a single result, Harris does a very good job of pointing out these various approaches to the reader easing one's learning curve. Harris' books continue to be functionally organized, not by menu item. So, if you are using the book as a reference manual or help guide, it's easy to find a particular topic since you don't have to know which menu the function is called up from--you just need to know the subject that you are looking for. The detailed index at the back is thorough and handy. Harris also provides a list of menus and related sub-menus at the beginning of most chapters for people who cannot remember how to find or use a particular function. Having used his books for several years as training manuals for my own scheduling classes, I see how effective the workshop exercises are in giving students an opportunity to practice the lessons taught by the immediately preceding text--the only way to really learn complicated software applications. Once again, Paul Harris has succeeded in explaining how to use Microsoft(R) Project 2007--not an easy feat. A. Larry Aaron CCE President, T&M Concepts Las Vegas, NV www.tandmconcepts.com An accurate and maintainable project plan is critical for project success. Paul Harris has created a book that not only introduces a very powerful Project Management tool, Microsoft Project 2007, and he also provides the steps to ensure that a plan is created that is accurate and maintainable!!. The guidance in the book stresses the importance of setting up MS Project first before entering a plan by explaining how some of the subtle and critical settings influence the use of the product. In addition, Paul has provided a single example project that is developed through a series of workshops. Each workshop includes a set of correct answers and screen shots to confirm the correct use and understanding of the way MS Project helps project managers manage their planning data. The screen shots are carefully crafted to communicate each step of the way supported by text that is clear and written for the project manager in their language. I highly recommend the book as the basis for learning Microsoft Project in a workshop training or individual study environment. Bruce McNaughton Director, Customer Driven Solutions Limited http://www.process-aide.com or http://www.processassets.com