{"id":224,"date":"2022-03-25T18:07:34","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T18:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/chapter\/7-6-microsoft-project-tutorial\/"},"modified":"2024-12-28T20:19:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T20:19:55","slug":"7-6-microsoft-project-tutorial","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/chapter\/7-6-microsoft-project-tutorial\/","title":{"rendered":"7.6 Microsoft Project Tutorial"},"content":{"raw":"The exercise in Table 7.6.1 has the same activities, durations, and predecessors as the exercise we used to develop a network diagram. In this exercise, we have added different dependencies (not only F-S), lags (a positive number showing a delay), and leads (a negative number showing an earlier start).\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Table 7.6.1: Activities<\/caption>\r\n
Activity<\/strong><\/td>\r\nDuration (week)<\/strong><\/td>\r\nDependencies<\/strong><\/td>\r\nLag<\/strong><\/td>\r\nPredecessors<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
A<\/td>\r\n1<\/td>\r\nF-S<\/td>\r\n0<\/td>\r\n-<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
B<\/td>\r\n2<\/td>\r\nF-S<\/td>\r\n0<\/td>\r\n-<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
C<\/td>\r\n2<\/td>\r\nF-S<\/td>\r\n0<\/td>\r\nA<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
D<\/td>\r\n4<\/td>\r\nS-S<\/td>\r\n0<\/td>\r\nA<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
E<\/td>\r\n1<\/td>\r\nF-S<\/td>\r\n0<\/td>\r\nB<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
F<\/td>\r\n2<\/td>\r\nF-S<\/td>\r\n0<\/td>\r\nC, D<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
G<\/td>\r\n3<\/td>\r\nF-S<\/td>\r\n0<\/td>\r\nE<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
H<\/td>\r\n1<\/td>\r\nF-S<\/td>\r\n2 weeks<\/td>\r\nG<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
I<\/td>\r\n4<\/td>\r\nF-S<\/td>\r\n0<\/td>\r\nG<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
J<\/td>\r\n1<\/td>\r\nF-F<\/td>\r\n-1 week<\/td>\r\nF<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
K<\/td>\r\n3<\/td>\r\n\r\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0F-S for H<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0S-F for J<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

5 days for J<\/td>\r\nJ, H<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
L<\/td>\r\n4<\/td>\r\nF-S<\/td>\r\n0<\/td>\r\nI<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
M<\/td>\r\n1<\/td>\r\n\r\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0F-S for K<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0F-F for L<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

1 week for L<\/td>\r\nK, L<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

When we start a new project on Microsoft Project, checking \u201cProject Summary Task\u201d under the \u201cFormat\u201d tab is useful. MS Project gives the row number zero to the project summary task. The question mark at the end of the duration shows that the duration is estimated (Figure 7.6.1).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"624\"]\"Project Figure 7.6.1: Project Summary Task<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nBesides, just in the very beginning, it is of high importance to check \u201cCritical Tasks\u201d and \u201cSlack\u201d under the \u201cFormat\u201d tab (Figure 7.6.2). When we type the tasks (activities), the Gantt Chart will highlight the critical tasks in red and the non-critical tasks in blue.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"594\"]\"Critical Figure 7.6.2: Checked critical tasks and slack under the Format tab<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAs the durations are in weeks, we should change the settings in the Options under the \u201cFile\u201d tab. \u201cDuration is entered in\u201d is changed to \u201cWeeks\u201d (Figure 7.6.3).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"626\"]\"Changing Figure 7.6.3: Changing the duration unit<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFirst, we should type each activity in the \u201cTask Name\u201d column and durations in the \u201cDuration\u201d column. Then, we can select the predecessors from the dropdown menu in the \u201cPredecessors\u201d column (Figure 7.6.4).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"468\"]\"Selecting Figure 7.6.4: Selecting predecessors from the dropdown menu<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nWhen we finish typing all the activity predecessors, the Gantt Chart will be completed on the right side of the window (Figure 7.6.5). As indicated above, red bars show critical tasks (with zero slack) and non-critical tasks (with slacks). MS Project allows the users to change the colors of the bars.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"626\"]\"Gantt Figure 7.6.5: Gantt Chart<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFor this exercise, we are not changing the \u201cTask Mode,\u201d which is either automatically scheduled or manually scheduled (Figure 7.6.6). Project summary tasks are automatically scheduled since they adjust the duration and start and finish dates automatically when activity durations and predecessors are typed.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"226\"]\"Task Figure 7.6.6: Task mode<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nWhen we double-click a task, the \u201cTask Information\u201d window opens (Figure 7.6.7). The dependency type is \u201cFinish-to-Start (FS)\u201d as default. Now we can change dependencies as indicated in Table 7.6.1.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"975\"]\"Predecessor Figure 7.6.7: Task Information window<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nWhen we are done with predecessor types (dependencies), the predecessors with dependencies different from FS will appear in the \u201cPredecessors\u201d column for the relevant activities (Figure 7.6.8). These dependencies are shown inside a red circle in Figure 7.6.8.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"863\"]\"Predecessors Figure 7.6.8: Predecessors and dependencies<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAfter we change the dependencies, clicking \u201cRespect Links\u201d under the \u201cTask\u201d tab is important since the task mode is manually scheduled, and the new dependencies may affect the precedence relationships. As shown in Figure 7.6.9, MS Project highlights the boxes in light blue if there is a change.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"349\"]\"Microsoft Figure 7.6.9: Highlighted changes<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAs shown in Figure 7.6.10, the dependency between A and D is not FS. It is Start-to-Start (SS). Therefore, the arrow starts from the left side of A\u2019s bar on the Gantt Chart and connects to the left side of D\u2019s bar. When it is FS, the arrow starts from the right side of the predecessor and connects to the left side of the successor, as can be seen in Figure 7.6.10 between A and C.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"523\"]\"Start-to-Start Figure 7.6.10: Start-to-Start dependency<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nTo see the slacks for each activity, we can add a new column named \u201cFree Slack\u201d (Figure 7.6.11). The black underline attached to the left of Activity C in the Gantt Chart also shows the slack (Figure 7.6.10).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"371\"]\"Free Figure 7.6.11: Free Slack column<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nNow we can create an activity network diagram by selecting \u201cNetwork Diagram\u201d on the dropdown menu that appears when we click the Gantt Chart located on the far-left part of the \u201cTask\u201d tab (Figure 7.6.12).\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"222\"]\"Selecting Figure 7.6.12: Selecting network diagram<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nFigure 7.6.13 displays the network diagram in a non-collapsed format. We should scroll toward the right to see other activities.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"624\"]\"Network Figure 7.6.13: Network Diagram (Not collapsed)<\/strong>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nTo see the whole diagram without details, we should click \u201cCollapse Boxes\u201d and check \u201cStraight Links\u201d under the \u201cNetwork Diagram Tools \u2013 Format\u201d tab (Figure 7.6.14). The network diagram in MS Project illustrates the links in FS dependency. Therefore, seeing other dependencies on the Gantt Chart view is convenient.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_223\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"467\"]\"Network Figure 7.6.14: Network diagram (Collapsed)<\/strong>[\/caption]","rendered":"

The exercise in Table 7.6.1 has the same activities, durations, and predecessors as the exercise we used to develop a network diagram. In this exercise, we have added different dependencies (not only F-S), lags (a positive number showing a delay), and leads (a negative number showing an earlier start).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Table 7.6.1: Activities<\/caption>\n
Activity<\/strong><\/td>\nDuration (week)<\/strong><\/td>\nDependencies<\/strong><\/td>\nLag<\/strong><\/td>\nPredecessors<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nF-S<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
B<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nF-S<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n–<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
C<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nF-S<\/td>\n0<\/td>\nA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
D<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nS-S<\/td>\n0<\/td>\nA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
E<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nF-S<\/td>\n0<\/td>\nB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
F<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nF-S<\/td>\n0<\/td>\nC, D<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
G<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nF-S<\/td>\n0<\/td>\nE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
H<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nF-S<\/td>\n2 weeks<\/td>\nG<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nF-S<\/td>\n0<\/td>\nG<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
J<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nF-F<\/td>\n-1 week<\/td>\nF<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
K<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0F-S for H<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0S-F for J<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

5 days for J<\/td>\nJ, H<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
L<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nF-S<\/td>\n0<\/td>\nI<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
M<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0F-S for K<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0F-F for L<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

1 week for L<\/td>\nK, L<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

When we start a new project on Microsoft Project, checking \u201cProject Summary Task\u201d under the \u201cFormat\u201d tab is useful. MS Project gives the row number zero to the project summary task. The question mark at the end of the duration shows that the duration is estimated (Figure 7.6.1).<\/p>\n

\"Project
Figure 7.6.1: Project Summary Task<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Besides, just in the very beginning, it is of high importance to check \u201cCritical Tasks\u201d and \u201cSlack\u201d under the \u201cFormat\u201d tab (Figure 7.6.2). When we type the tasks (activities), the Gantt Chart will highlight the critical tasks in red and the non-critical tasks in blue.<\/p>\n

\"Critical
Figure 7.6.2: Checked critical tasks and slack under the Format tab<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the durations are in weeks, we should change the settings in the Options under the \u201cFile\u201d tab. \u201cDuration is entered in\u201d is changed to \u201cWeeks\u201d (Figure 7.6.3).<\/p>\n

\"Changing
Figure 7.6.3: Changing the duration unit<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First, we should type each activity in the \u201cTask Name\u201d column and durations in the \u201cDuration\u201d column. Then, we can select the predecessors from the dropdown menu in the \u201cPredecessors\u201d column (Figure 7.6.4).<\/p>\n

\"Selecting
Figure 7.6.4: Selecting predecessors from the dropdown menu<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we finish typing all the activity predecessors, the Gantt Chart will be completed on the right side of the window (Figure 7.6.5). As indicated above, red bars show critical tasks (with zero slack) and non-critical tasks (with slacks). MS Project allows the users to change the colors of the bars.<\/p>\n

\"Gantt
Figure 7.6.5: Gantt Chart<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For this exercise, we are not changing the \u201cTask Mode,\u201d which is either automatically scheduled or manually scheduled (Figure 7.6.6). Project summary tasks are automatically scheduled since they adjust the duration and start and finish dates automatically when activity durations and predecessors are typed.<\/p>\n

\"Task
Figure 7.6.6: Task mode<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we double-click a task, the \u201cTask Information\u201d window opens (Figure 7.6.7). The dependency type is \u201cFinish-to-Start (FS)\u201d as default. Now we can change dependencies as indicated in Table 7.6.1.<\/p>\n

\"Predecessor
Figure 7.6.7: Task Information window<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we are done with predecessor types (dependencies), the predecessors with dependencies different from FS will appear in the \u201cPredecessors\u201d column for the relevant activities (Figure 7.6.8). These dependencies are shown inside a red circle in Figure 7.6.8.<\/p>\n

\"Predecessors
Figure 7.6.8: Predecessors and dependencies<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After we change the dependencies, clicking \u201cRespect Links\u201d under the \u201cTask\u201d tab is important since the task mode is manually scheduled, and the new dependencies may affect the precedence relationships. As shown in Figure 7.6.9, MS Project highlights the boxes in light blue if there is a change.<\/p>\n

\"Microsoft
Figure 7.6.9: Highlighted changes<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As shown in Figure 7.6.10, the dependency between A and D is not FS. It is Start-to-Start (SS). Therefore, the arrow starts from the left side of A\u2019s bar on the Gantt Chart and connects to the left side of D\u2019s bar. When it is FS, the arrow starts from the right side of the predecessor and connects to the left side of the successor, as can be seen in Figure 7.6.10 between A and C.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Start-to-Start
Figure 7.6.10: Start-to-Start dependency<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To see the slacks for each activity, we can add a new column named \u201cFree Slack\u201d (Figure 7.6.11). The black underline attached to the left of Activity C in the Gantt Chart also shows the slack (Figure 7.6.10).<\/p>\n

\"Free
Figure 7.6.11: Free Slack column<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now we can create an activity network diagram by selecting \u201cNetwork Diagram\u201d on the dropdown menu that appears when we click the Gantt Chart located on the far-left part of the \u201cTask\u201d tab (Figure 7.6.12).<\/p>\n

\"Selecting
Figure 7.6.12: Selecting network diagram<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Figure 7.6.13 displays the network diagram in a non-collapsed format. We should scroll toward the right to see other activities.<\/p>\n

\"Network
Figure 7.6.13: Network Diagram (Not collapsed)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To see the whole diagram without details, we should click \u201cCollapse Boxes\u201d and check \u201cStraight Links\u201d under the \u201cNetwork Diagram Tools \u2013 Format\u201d tab (Figure 7.6.14). The network diagram in MS Project illustrates the links in FS dependency. Therefore, seeing other dependencies on the Gantt Chart view is convenient.<\/p>\n

\"Network
Figure 7.6.14: Network diagram (Collapsed)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"menu_order":7,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-224","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":175,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":829,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/224\/revisions\/829"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/175"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/224\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/projectmanagement2ndedition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}