Microsoft Project is the industry leader in project management software. Millions of project managers have successfully used Project to coordinate team activities, allocate resources, and plan projects from conception to implementation. Knowing how to make the best use of Project’s features will help you keep tabs on your project’s progress.
Understanding Resource Allocation
When you assign a resource to a certain task in Project, the program will automatically apply 100% of the person’s time to that task. In most cases, this is not what the project manager wants to do. The resource may have other routine tasks to perform in the course of their day that Project isn’t aware of. The resource may be needed by his or her manager to take on tasks outside of the project manager’s assignment. It is vital as a project manager that you have realistic assumptions about what you can and can’t assign a resource to do in a given time span and enter that information correctly into Project so that it can forecast task durations accurately. Otherwise, you run the risk of assigning an unreasonable amount of work to the resource, throwing the schedule into jeopardy.
Get Social
Every good project manager knows that communication is the most important part of their job. Fortunately, the social media explosion has made it easier than ever to keep up with the members of your team. Make sure that you schedule regular conversations in Project with your team members using the social tools allowed by your organization. Social networks are especially useful if you find yourself communicating with team members outside of business hours, when everyone is at home. Video conferences with desktop sharing are great ways to get updates on the status of various tasks within a project, and many social networks have this conferencing ability built into their website.
Hard Constraints Make Scheduling Hard
Microsoft Project will allow you to set hard constraints, such as establishing a date a task must be completed by, or a date that a resource is absolutely not available until. One common mistake that project managers make is to set up too many of these hard constraints. When hard constraints start competing with each other for the time of their assigned resources, logical fallacies can start to develop in the project plan, throwing the reliability of the plan into a tailspin. A resource may be allocated 200% on a day, or timelines may become severely disrupted.
Microsoft Project Does Not Run the Project
Ultimately, the most important thing that project managers must remember when using Microsoft Project is that it is a tool that skilled project managers use to juggle the various tasks and resources needed to complete a project. It is an easy mistake for project managers to become too dependent on Project’s calculations and to place too much value in its results. You should never let Project override common sense. If Project says a task will take a week to complete and everyone involved understands that the task should take two months, the problem isn’t with the team, but the data Project was given. Microsoft Project is a powerful tool, but it is no replacement for a talented project manager doing what he or she is trained to do.
Understanding Resource Allocation
When you assign a resource to a certain task in Project, the program will automatically apply 100% of the person’s time to that task. In most cases, this is not what the project manager wants to do. The resource may have other routine tasks to perform in the course of their day that Project isn’t aware of. The resource may be needed by his or her manager to take on tasks outside of the project manager’s assignment. It is vital as a project manager that you have realistic assumptions about what you can and can’t assign a resource to do in a given time span and enter that information correctly into Project so that it can forecast task durations accurately. Otherwise, you run the risk of assigning an unreasonable amount of work to the resource, throwing the schedule into jeopardy.
Get Social
Every good project manager knows that communication is the most important part of their job. Fortunately, the social media explosion has made it easier than ever to keep up with the members of your team. Make sure that you schedule regular conversations in Project with your team members using the social tools allowed by your organization. Social networks are especially useful if you find yourself communicating with team members outside of business hours, when everyone is at home. Video conferences with desktop sharing are great ways to get updates on the status of various tasks within a project, and many social networks have this conferencing ability built into their website.
Hard Constraints Make Scheduling Hard
Microsoft Project will allow you to set hard constraints, such as establishing a date a task must be completed by, or a date that a resource is absolutely not available until. One common mistake that project managers make is to set up too many of these hard constraints. When hard constraints start competing with each other for the time of their assigned resources, logical fallacies can start to develop in the project plan, throwing the reliability of the plan into a tailspin. A resource may be allocated 200% on a day, or timelines may become severely disrupted.
Microsoft Project Does Not Run the Project
Ultimately, the most important thing that project managers must remember when using Microsoft Project is that it is a tool that skilled project managers use to juggle the various tasks and resources needed to complete a project. It is an easy mistake for project managers to become too dependent on Project’s calculations and to place too much value in its results. You should never let Project override common sense. If Project says a task will take a week to complete and everyone involved understands that the task should take two months, the problem isn’t with the team, but the data Project was given. Microsoft Project is a powerful tool, but it is no replacement for a talented project manager doing what he or she is trained to do.
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This post was provided by Fred Trenton, a software know-it-all. He suggests taking classes to improve certain skills such as CCNA training or Microsoft Project classes. He recommends Last Minute Training for their comprehensive list of classes.
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