Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION TO MS-PROJECT, PROJECT CHARTER AND WBS.................................................................. 4

1.1 INTRODUCTION TO MS-PROJECT ..........................................................................................................................4

1.1.1 Working with the Settings – Getting Started ...........................................................................................4

2 UNDERSTANDING PROJECT CHARTER TEMPLATE & DEVELOPING PROJECT CHARTER OF FYDP .................... 6

2.1 HOW TO USE THE TEMPLATE? .............................................................................................................................6

2.1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................6
2.1.2 Quality Criteria .........................................................................................................................................6
2.2 EXERCISE .........................................................................................................................................................6

3 UNDERSTANDING AND DEVELOPING WBS OF FYDP .................................................................................... 7

3.1 A BRIEF PROCESS TO CREATE WBS IN MS PROJECT.................................................................................................7

3.2 EXERCISE .........................................................................................................................................................9

4 CREATING NEW PROJECT ON MS PROJECT: GETTING FAMILIAR WITH THE SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENT ......10

4.1 PROJECT INFORMATION ....................................................................................................................................12

4.1.1 Step 1: Start Date ...................................................................................................................................12
4.1.2 Step 2: Set Up Calendar .........................................................................................................................12

5 INTRODUCTION TO DEVELOPING A GANTT CHART: LEARNING TASK MANAGEMENT; TASK FUNCTIONS; AND
TASKS LINKAGES ...............................................................................................................................................14

5.1 ENTER TASK ...................................................................................................................................................14

5.2 ENTER DURATION ...........................................................................................................................................14
5.3 ENTER TASK DURATION ....................................................................................................................................15
5.4 CREATE MILESTONES .......................................................................................................................................15
5.4.1 Method 1: Inserting a Milestone............................................................................................................15
5.4.2 Method 2: Converting a Task to a Milestone .........................................................................................16
5.5 MAKE PROJECT SUMMARY TASK VISIBLE .............................................................................................................16
5.6 LINK TASKS ....................................................................................................................................................16
5.6.1 Method 1 ...............................................................................................................................................16
5.6.2 Method 2 ...............................................................................................................................................16
5.7 SWITCHING TASK – MANUAL TO AUTOMATIC .......................................................................................................17
5.7.1 Converting Task to Automatic Schedule ................................................................................................17

6 WORKING WITH THE COSTS AND RESOURCES ...........................................................................................19

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 6.1 SETTINGS .......................................................................................................................................................19
6.2 RESOURCE TYPES ............................................................................................................................................20
6.3 WORK RESOURCE NAMES .................................................................................................................................20
6.3.1 Work Resource as Part-time ..................................................................................................................20
6.3.2 Resource Cost .........................................................................................................................................20
6.3.3 Add Notes to Resources .........................................................................................................................21
6.4 ASSIGN MATERIAL RESOURCE TO TASK ................................................................................................................22
6.4.1 Method 1 ...............................................................................................................................................22
6.5 ASSIGN COST RESOURCE TO TASKS .....................................................................................................................22

7 VIEWING THE PROJECT..............................................................................................................................24

7.1 CHECK PLAN’S DURATION .................................................................................................................................24

7.2 CHECK PLAN’S COST ........................................................................................................................................24
7.3 CHECK RESOURCE USAGE .................................................................................................................................25

8 BALANCING THE PROJECT .........................................................................................................................26

8.1 LEVEL RESOURCE ASSIGNMENTS (EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF PROJECT WORK) ..................................................................26

8.1.1 Level Resource Assignments ..................................................................................................................26

9 UPDATING THE PROJECT PROGRESS ..........................................................................................................27

9.1 QUICKLY UPDATE TASKS TO 100% COMPLETE ......................................................................................................27

9.2 UPDATE TASKS TO 100% COMPLETE FOR A SPECIFIC DATE .....................................................................................27
9.3 QUICKLY UPDATE TASKS TO SCHEDULED PERCENT COMPLETE ..................................................................................27
9.3.1 Update tasks to scheduled percent complete for the current or status date ........................................27
9.3.2 Update tasks to scheduled percent complete for a specific date...........................................................27

10 CHECKING THE PROJECT PROGRESS AND GENERATING REPORTS ...............................................................28

10.1 CREATE A BASELINE .........................................................................................................................................28

10.2 VIEW BASELINE ON GANTT CHART ......................................................................................................................28
10.3 TRACK PLAN BY SPECIFIC DATE ..........................................................................................................................28
10.4 TRACK PLAN AS % COMPLETE ............................................................................................................................29
10.5 TRACK PLAN BY ACTUAL VALUES ........................................................................................................................29
10.5.1 Task’s Actual Duration.......................................................................................................................29
10.6 ACTUAL START AND FINISH DATES ......................................................................................................................29
10.7 AVAILABLE REPORTS ........................................................................................................................................30
10.7.1 Dashboard Reports ............................................................................................................................30
10.7.2 Resource Reports ...............................................................................................................................30

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 10.7.3 Cost Reports.......................................................................................................................................31
10.7.4 Progress Reports ................................................................................................................................31

11 DEVELOPING NETWORK DIAGRAM FOR THE GIVEN PROJECT AND IDENTIFY CRITICAL ACTIVITIES ..............32

11.1 ADD A LEGEND ...............................................................................................................................................32

11.2 STYLE OF BOXES ..............................................................................................................................................32
11.3 TASK INFORMATION TO SHOW ...........................................................................................................................32

12 DEVELOPING GANTT CHART OF FYDP ........................................................................................................33

12.1 EXERCISE: ......................................................................................................................................................33

13 APPENDIX: PROJECT CHARTER TEMPLATE .................................................................................................34

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 1 Introduction to MS-Project, Project Charter and WBS
Note: A comprehensive lecture on the introduction of Project Charter and WBS (along with relevant
examples), their significance in projects, benefits, their template design and usage of the same shall be
delivered in the class by the course instructor. Both the tools shall be used by students to plan their Final
Year Design Projects (FYDP). They will be asked to submit the Charter and WBS of their FYDPs and the
documents will be attached to this workbook. The Project Charter template is discussed in Lab. 02.

1.1 Introduction to MS-Project

1.1.1 Working with the Settings – Getting Started

Step 1: File > Options > General tab > Project view > Default view.

Select “Gantt with Timeline” from the dropdown box.

Step 2: File > Options > Display tab > Show Indicators and Options Buttons For.

Check all options and change currency to “PKR” if required.

Step 3: File > Options > Schedule tab > Calendar options for this project.

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Select “Project 1” from dropdown box.

Step 4: File > Options > Schedule tab > Calendar options for this project.

Set all options from “Week starts on” to “Days per month”.

Step 5: File > Options > Schedule tab > Schedule > Show Assignment Units.

Choose “percentage” from the dropdown box.

Step 6: File > Options > Schedule tab > Calculation > Calculate Project after Each Edit.

Check the “On” button.

Step 7: File > Options > Save tab > Save projects > Save Files In this format.

Select “Project (*.mpp).”

Step 8: File > Options > Advanced tab > Edit.

Check all options.

Step 9: File > Options > Advanced tab > Display > Show Status Bar > Show Scroll Bar.

Both options, Status Bar and Scroll Bar, should be checked.

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 2 Understanding Project Charter Template & Developing Project
Charter of FYDP
2.1 How to Use the Template?
2.1.1 Introduction
The template reflects the recommended content for a Project Charter document, as described in the PMI
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide, 3rd Edition). This template provides
suggestions designed to prompt the Project Manager and help in the creation of the Project Charter
document.

Note: When the template is complete, the Project Charter document can be printed and approved. Prior to
printing, delete all [....] prompt text.

2.1.2 Quality Criteria

Once the Project Charter is completed, check the document against the following quality criteria:

1. Is the level of authority of the Project Sponsor commensurate with the anticipated size, risk and
cost of the project?
2. Is there sufficient detail to allow the appointment of an appropriate Project Manager?
3. Have the project budgets received preliminary review and approval from the executive
management team?
4. Are all the known stakeholders identified?
5. Does the Project Charter describe the “project success criteria”?

The template is given in Appendix.

2.2 Exercise
After the detailed explanation on creating Project Charter is delivered, the students shall now develop
project charters of their FYDPs, get them approved from their supervisors, either internal(s) or external or
both, and submit it to the course instructor. Upon any significant changes or revisions, they are also directed
to update the document and mention the version (or revision number).

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 3 Understanding and Developing WBS of FYDP
WBS can be created using MS Project or MS Visio. It is recommended that the students use both software
packages.

3.1 A Brief Process to Create WBS in MS Project

Step 1: File > New > Select “Blank Project”.

Step 2: In entry table rows, enter all the tasks and sub activities in the task name column.

Step 3: Leave the main tasks as they are. Select the sub-activity and press the indent task button to convert
them into the sub-activity of respective task.

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Step 4: To establish an “Outline Number” field for WBS, right-click on the column header where it is
desired to insert the field, and choose “Insert Column.” This opens the Column Definition dialogue box.

Step 5: In the Column Definition dialogue box, choose either “Outline Number” or “WBS” from the
dropdown list in the Field Name field. Click “OK” to close the Column Definition dialogue box and insert

the column.

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3.2 Exercise
After the detailed explanation is delivered on creating WBS, the students shall now develop WBS of their
FYDPs, get them approved from their supervisors, either internal(s) or external or both, and submit it to the
course instructor. Upon any significant changes or revisions, they are also directed to update the document
and mention the version (or revision number). They are advised to create WBS using MS Visio in addition
to using MS Project.

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 4 Creating New Project on MS Project: Getting Familiar with the
Software Environment
MS Project is feature rich, but project management techniques are required to drive a project effectively.
MS Project may help user in creating a schedule for the project even with the provided constraints.
However, it cannot plan for the user. As a project manager, one should be able to answer the following
specific questions as part of the planning process to develop a schedule. MS Project cannot answer these
for the user:

• What tasks need to be performed to create the deliverables of the project and in what order? This
relates to the scope of the project.
• What are the time constraints and deadlines if any, for different tasks and for the project as a whole?
This relates to the schedule of the project.
• What kind of resources (man/machine/material) are needed to perform each task?
• How much will each task cost to accomplish? This would relate to the cost of the project.
• What kind of risk do we have associated with a particular schedule for the project? This might
affect the scope, cost and time constraints of the project.

Strictly speaking, from the perspective of Project Management Methodology, a Plan and Schedule are not
the same. A plan is a detailed action-oriented, experience and knowledge-based exercise which considers
all elements of strategy, scope, cost, time, resources, quality and risk for the project.

Scheduling is the science of using mathematical calculations and logic to generate time-effective sequence
of task considering any resource and cost constraints. Schedule is part of the Plan. In Project Management
Methodology, schedule would only mean listing of a project's milestones, tasks/activities, and deliverables,
with start and finish dates. Of course, the schedule is linked with resources, budgets and dependencies.

MS Project may help in:

• visualizing the project plan in standard defined formats.

• scheduling tasks and resources consistently and effectively.
• tracking information about the work, duration and resource requirements for the project.
• generating reports to share in progress meetings.

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The following screen is the Project’s start screen. Here the user has options to open a new plan, some other
plans, and even a new plan template.

Click the Blank Project Tab. The following screen pops up.:

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The screen should have the MS Project interface displayed. The major parts of this interface are:

• Quick Access Toolbar: A customizable area where user can add the frequently used commands.
• Tabs on the Ribbon, Groups: With the release of Microsoft Office 2007 came the "Fluent User
Interface" or "Fluent UI", which replaced menus and customizable toolbars with a single "Office
menu", a miniature toolbar known as "quick-access toolbar" and what came to be known as the
ribbon having multiple tabs, each holding a toolbar bearing buttons and occasionally other controls.
Toolbar controls have heterogeneous sizes and are classified in visually distinguishable Groups.
Groups are collections of related commands. Each tab is divided into multiple groups.
• Commands: The specific features to perform actions in Project. Each tab contains several
commands. If the user points at a command, a description in a tooltip is seen.
• View Label: This appears along the left edge of the active view. Active view is the one the user
can see in the main window at a given point in time. Project includes lots of views like Gantt Chart
view, Network Diagram view, Task Usage view, etc. The View label just tells about the view one
is using currently. Project can display a single view or multiple views in separate panes.
• View Shortcuts: This lets the user switch between frequently used views in Project.
• Zoom Slider: Simply zooms the active view in or out.
• Status Bar: Displays details like the scheduling mode of new tasks (manual or automatic) and
details of filter applied to the active view.

4.1 Project Information

4.1.1 Step 1: Start Date
Project tab > Properties Group > Project Information.

A dialogue box appears. In the start date box, type the desired date format or click the down arrow to display
the calendar and select any date format of choice.

4.1.2 Step 2: Set Up Calendar

Project tab > Properties Group > Project Information.

Click the arrow on the Current Date dropdown box. A list appears containing three base calendars.

• 24 Hour: A calendar with no non-working time.

• Night Shift: Covers 11 pm to 8 an, night shifts covering all nights from Monday to Friday, with
one-hour breaks.
• Standard: Regular working hours, Monday to Friday between 8 am to 5 pm, with one hour breaks.

Select a Standard Calendar as the project Calendar.

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Further explanation regarding setting up project calendar shall be given in class.

Note: For MS Project, a task is the effort and action required to produce a particular project deliverable.
MS Project does not use the term “activity”.

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 5 Introduction to Developing a Gantt Chart: Learning Task
Management; Task Functions; and Tasks Linkages
5.1 Enter Task
In Gantt Chart View, just click a cell directly below the Task Name column. Enter the task name.

5.2 Enter Duration

User can enter task duration in terms of different dimensional units of time, namely minutes, hours, days,
weeks, and months. Abbreviations for simplicity and ease as shown in the following table can be used:

Value to be entered Abbreviation Appearance

45 minutes 45m 45 mins

2 hours 2h 2 hrs

3 days 3d 3 days

6 weeks 6w 6 weeks

2 months 2mo 2 mons

Note: It is to remember that Project default values depend on user-defined work hours. So 1 day is not
equivalent to 24 hours, but has 8 hours of work for the day. Of course, user may change these defaults
anytime.

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5.3 Enter Task Duration
In Gantt Chart View, click the cell below Duration column heading. Enter the duration.

Start and Finish dates can also be entered and MS Project will calculate the duration on its own.

Text can also be entered when the user doesn’t have a duration metric currently (Task 3 and Task 4 in the
following screenshot).

Note: In the above screenshot, Task 6 is scheduled to start on Sunday, which is a non-working day and ends
on Wednesday. So essentially, one would believe that with these 3 days Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, the
duration calculated would be 3 days. But MS Project calculates it as 4 days. So, one needs to be careful
when choosing the start date of the task. Because for any successive operation, MS Project considers that
Task 6 will take 4 days. The next time, when the start date is changed, the Finish date changes to reflect
this 4-day duration.

5.4 Create Milestones

There are two ways to insert a milestone.

5.4.1 Method 1: Inserting a Milestone

Click name of the Task where a Milestone needs to be inserted.

Task tab > Insert group > Milestone.

MS Project names the new task as <New Milestone> with zero-day duration.

Click <New Milestone> to change its name.

Milestone will appear with a rhombus symbol in the Gantt Chart View.

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5.4.2 Method 2: Converting a Task to a Milestone
Double-click a particular Task name. Task Information dialogue box opens.

Advanced tab > select option “Mark Task as Milestone”.

5.5 Make Project Summary Task Visible

The project summary task summarizes the whole project.

Gantt Chart View > Format Tab > Show/Hide > click to check Project Summary Task on.

5.6 Link Tasks

In MS Project, the first task is called a predecessor because it precedes tasks that depend on it. The
following task is called the successor because it succeeds, or follows tasks on which it is dependent. Any
task can be a predecessor for one or more successor tasks. Likewise, any task can be a successor to one or
more predecessor tasks.

There are four types of task dependencies:

• Finish to Start (FS): Finish the first floor before starting to build the second floor. Most used.
• Finish to Finish (FF): Cooking all dishes for dinner to finish on time.
• Start to Start (SS): When doing a survey, we would seek survey responses but will also start
tabulating the responses. One does not have to finish collecting survey response before starting the
tabulation.
• Start to Finish (SF): Exam preparation will end when exam begins. Least used.

In MS Project, the Task Links can be identified:

• Gantt Chart: In Gantt Chart and Network Diagram views, task relationships appear as the links
connecting tasks.
• Tables: In Tables, task ID numbers of predecessor task appear in the predecessor fields of successor
tasks.

5.6.1 Method 1
Select the two tasks to link.

Task tab > Schedule group > Link the Selected Tasks.

Task 1 and Task 2 can now be linked with any defined dependency.

5.6.2 Method 2
Double click a successor task to link. The Task information dialogue box opens.

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Click Predecessors tab. In the Table, click the empty cell below Task Name column. A drop down box
appears with all Tasks defined in the project.

Choose the predecessor task.

5.7 Switching Task – Manual to Automatic

MS Project by default sets new tasks to be manually scheduled. Scheduling is controlled in two ways:

Manual Scheduling: This is done to quickly capture some details without actually scheduling the tasks.

Automatic Scheduling: This uses the Scheduling engine in MS Project. It calculates values such as task
durations, start dates, and finish dates automatically. It takes into accounts all constraints, links and
calendars.

5.7.1 Converting Task to Automatic Schedule

5.7.1.1 Method 1
Click on Task Mode cell in the row. Then, click the down arrow to open a dropdown box and select “Auto
Scheduled.”

5.7.1.2 Method 2
Click Task > Tasks group > Auto Schedule.

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5.7.1.3 Method 3
To switch completely to Auto Schedule mode:

File > Options > Schedule.

Under scheduling options for this project select “All New Projects” from the dropdown box. Under new
tasks created, select “Auto Scheduled” from the dropdown box.

Aforementioned are some task management functions. Further discussions and more explanation shall be
given in class.

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 6 Working with the Costs and Resources
Resources are required to carry out the project tasks. They can be people, equipment, facilities, funding, or
anything (except labour) required for the completion of a project task. Optimum Resource Scheduling is
the key to successful project management.

6.1 Settings
Resources > Level > Levelling Options > Levelling Calculations.

Set to manual.

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Resources > Level > Levelling Options > Levelling calculations > Look for Overallocations.

Select “Day by Day” from dropdown box.

6.2 Resource Types

• Work resources: People and equipment to complete the tasks.
• Cost resources: Financial cost associated with a task. Travel expenses, food expenses, etc.
• Material resources: Consumables used as project proceeds. For example, paint being used while
painting a wall.

6.3 Work Resource Names

Click View tab > Resource Views group > Click Resource Sheet.

Click the cell directly below the Resource Name heading column. Enter Resources as an individual person
(Zaid, Laiba, etc.), job function or group (engineer, coordinator, typist, etc.) or as an equipment (lathe
machine, earth mover, etc.).

By default, the Max. Units field is set to 100%.

Note: Max. Units field represents the maximum capacity of a resource to work on assigned tasks. 100%
stands for 100 percent of resource’s working time is available for work on task assigned. The resource is
available full-time on each workday. If the resource gets allocated to task or tasks that would require more
than his/its work hours, the resource is over allocated and MS Project will indicate this in red formatting.

6.3.1 Work Resource as Part-time

Entering a value less than 100% in Max. Units would mean that the user expects the resource capacity to
be lower than a full-time resource. So, 50% would mean the individual works for half of the normal full
capacity, so if a normal work week is 40 hours, this equals 20-hour capacity.

6.3.2 Resource Cost

• Work resources: People and equipment to complete the tasks.
• Cost resources: Financial cost associated with a task. Travel expenses, food expenses, etc.
• Material resources: Consumables used as project proceeds. Like paint being used while painting
a wall.

Note: There is a clear difference between People and Equipment resources. People resources will have
limited work hours say 6, 8 or 12 hours. Equipment resources can have different working capacities of 2, 8
or 24 hours and could have maintenance breaks as well. Also note that it is possible multiple people
resources might be using one equipment resource, or one equipment might be accomplishing multiple tasks.

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Cost resources do not use pay rates. Remember cost per use and cost resources are two different things.
Cost resources are financial cost associated with a task, like travel expenses, food expenses, etc. The cost
value of cost resource is only assigned when the user assigns cost resource to a task.

Project calculates the cost of a task by using this formula:

Cost of Task = Work Value (in number of hours) X Resource’s Pay Rate

Click View tab > Resource Views group > Resource Sheet.

Click the cell directly below Resource Name heading column to create Resources.

Click the Std. Rate field for each resource to costs in hourly (default), daily, weekly, monthly and yearly
rates. Click the Ovt. Rate field to enter overtime rates.

6.3.3 Add Notes to Resources

Click View tab > Resource Views group > Resource Sheet.

Double-click the Resource, a Resource Information dialogue box opens.

Click on Notes tab. Here let’s enter a note for Zaid “Zaid will work part-time”.

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6.4 Assign Material Resource to Task
6.4.1 Method 1
View Tab > Gantt Chart View > Resource Name column.

Click the box below the Resource Name column for the task to assign the resource.

From the dropdown, choose the resource name. For Task 1 “PT1”, the resource “Celic” has been assigned.

Multiple resources can also be selected to work on a single task.

6.5 Assign Cost Resource to Tasks

View Tab > Gantt Chart View > Task Name column.

Double-click the Task Name. Task Information dialogue box opens.

Click the Resources tab and click the cell below the Resource Name column. Select the resource from the
dropdown list.

In the following example below, let’s choose “Travel” as cost resource and enter the cost at $800. Other
material resources can also be assigned to the same task.

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Further examples will be discussed in class along with elaboration.

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 7 Viewing the Project
After assigning resources to tasks, the user can view the cost, duration and work required for the plan to
complete.

7.1 Check Plan’s Duration

Gantt Chart View > View Tab > Split View group > Timeline checkbox.

User will be able to see the plan’s start and finish dates.

In the Gantt Chart view, user can also look at the project summary task, to note the duration, start and finish
dates of the plan.

One can switch Project Summary Task on by following these steps:

Gantt Chart View > Format Tab > Show/Hide > To check Project Summary Task on.

7.2 Check Plan’s Cost

View tab > Data group > Tables > Cost.

Cost for each task gets rolled up into summary tasks, and then ultimately to project summary task.

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7.3 Check Resource Usage
View tab > Resource Views > Resource Usage.

This will show the user the amount of usage of every resource.

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 8 Balancing the Project
8.1 Level Resource Assignments (even distribution of project work)
The user can resolve resource conflicts or overallocations by using the resource-levelling feature in MS
Project. Levelling works by delaying tasks or splitting them such that the resources that are assigned to
those tasks are no longer overloaded.

When it is levelling, MS Project does not change who is assigned to each task. It only levels the work
resources, generic resources and committed resources. It does not level the material resources, cost
resources, or proposed resources.

Note: Because of these changes to the tasks, levelling can delay the finish date of some tasks and
consequently also the project's finish date.

8.1.1 Level Resource Assignments

Resource tab > Level > Level All.

For more control over levelling, user can level selected assignments or specific individuals.

Select the tasks with overallocated resources. Then:

Resource > Level Selection.

Check the Indicator column to see which tasks have overallocated resources.

To level the workload for a specific individual and not everyone, click “Level Resource”.

• Every time the user level a project, the previous effects of levelling are cleared. To change this,
Resource > Levelling Options.
• To see the changes made to tasks by levelling, use the Levelling Gantt view.
Views > Task Views> Other Views > More Views > Levelling Gantt.
• To level within a specific time period,
Resource > Levelling Options, and then enter a From and To date.

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 9 Updating the Project Progress
9.1 Quickly Update Tasks to 100% Complete
Task tab > View > Gantt Chart.

Select the tasks in the list to update.

In the “Schedule” group click “100% Complete” (or 25%, 50%, 75% as desired).

9.2 Update Tasks to 100% Complete for a Specific Date

Task tab > View group > Gantt Chart.

Select the tasks in the list to update.

Project tab > Status > Update Project.

The Update Project dialogue box appears. Click “Update work as complete through” and then type or select
the date through which the user wants progress updated.

Note: If the user doesn't specify a date, MS Project uses the current or status date.

Click “Set 0% or 100% complete only.”

If user is updating specific tasks, click “Selected Tasks”. For updating all tasks in the project, click “Entire
Project”.

9.3 Quickly Update Tasks to Scheduled Percent Complete

9.3.1 Update tasks to scheduled percent complete for the current or status date
Task tab > View group > Gantt Chart.

Select the tasks in the list to update.

Schedule group > Mark on Track.

9.3.2 Update tasks to scheduled percent complete for a specific date

The method is same as mentioned above under the heading “Update Tasks to 100% Complete for a Specific
Date” with the exception to select “Set 0% - 100% complete” option.

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 10 Checking the Project Progress and Generating Reports
To evaluate project performance, the user needs to create a baseline against which the progress will be
compared. One needs to save the baseline once a plan is fully developed.

Note: It makes sense to save the baseline before entering any actual values such as percentage of task
completion.

10.1 Create a Baseline

Project Tab > Schedule group > Set Baseline

10.2 View Baseline on Gantt Chart

View tab > Task Views group > Gantt Chart.

Format tab > Bars and Styles group > Baseline (desired).

The user will see Baseline Gantt bars displayed together with the current Gantt bars.

10.3 Track Plan by Specific Date

If all tasks have started and are finished as scheduled, user can record this in the Update Project dialogue
box. Most of the times, a seasoned project manager understands that this isn’t true. But sometimes this
approach might be fine when the actual work and cost values generated are close enough to the baseline
schedule.

Project tab > Status group > Update Project.

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Switch on the radio button for “Update work as complete through” option, and then Set 0% -100%
complete. Select the current date.

10.4 Track Plan as % Complete

View tab > Data group > Tables > Tracking.

Now for the required Task, click the corresponding “% Comp” column and enter the required % complete.

10.5 Track Plan by Actual Values

User can enter the following actual values for the project:

• Actual Start and finish dates - Project moves the schedule accordingly.
• Task’s Actual duration - If equal or greater than schedule duration: task = 100% complete.

10.5.1 Task’s Actual Duration

View tab > Data group > Tables > Work.

The user will see the % W. Comp. (% work complete) column. This table includes Work (Scheduled work),
Actual, and Remaining columns. Click on Task to update.

Actual work is rolled up and also reflects on the summary task.

10.6 Actual Start and Finish Dates

Select task to change dates.

Task tab > Schedule group > dropdown menu for Mark on Track > Update Tasks.

Change Start or Finish field in Actual group. Actual duration field can also be filled in.

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10.7 Available Reports
MS Project comes with a set of predefined reports and dashboards to check project’s overall health or see
if individual parts are on track. User will find all of these on the “Report tab”.

10.7.1 Dashboard Reports

Report tab > Dashboards.

Report Explanation

How much work, how many tasks are completed, and what’s left to be
Burndown
done.

The current cost status of the project and its top-level tasks, showing all
Cost Overview costs and percentage of completion to help determine if the project will
stay within budget.

How much of the project is complete, upcoming milestones and tasks that
Project Overview
are past due (late tasks).

The work that has been done in the current week, the status of any
Upcoming Tasks remaining tasks that were due, and what tasks are starting in the next
week.

A work burndown for the project and the work stats. for all top-level tasks
Work Overview
to know the percentage of completion and what’s left to be done.

10.7.2 Resource Reports

Report tab > Resources.

Report Explanation

Overallocated Resources The work status for all overallocated resources, showing their actual work
and remaining work.

Resource Overview The work status of all people (work resources) who are working on the
project showing how much work is complete and what’s left to be done.

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10.7.3 Cost Reports
Report tab > Costs.

Report Explanation

Cash Flow The costs and cumulative costs per quarter for all top-level tasks.

Cost Overruns The cost variance for all top-level tasks and work resources. Also indicates
where actual costs exceed the baseline costs.

Earned Value Report Earned value, variance, and performance indices over time, comparing costs
and schedules to a baseline to determine if the project is on track.

Resource Cost Overview The cost status of work resources (people and material), showing cost details
in a table and cost distribution data in a chart.

Task Cost Overview The cost status of top-level tasks, showing cost details in a table and cost
distribution data in a chart.

10.7.4 Progress Reports

Report tab > In Progress.

Report Explanation

Critical Tasks All tightly scheduled tasks that are listed as critical on the project’s critical
path, meaning that any delay in such tasks will cause the schedule to slip.

Late Tasks All tasks that started or finished later than their scheduled start and finish
dates and that aren’t progressing as planned.

Milestone Report All tasks in the project that have milestones, showing which of them are
late, due, or completed.

Slipping Tasks All tasks in the project that are taking longer to complete than expected and
have a finish date that’s later than their baseline finish date.

If a predefined report doesn’t meet user’s needs, the user can use one of the following new report templates
to create his own project reports.

To see all report templates, Report tab > New Report.

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11 Developing Network Diagram for the Given Project and Identify
Critical Activities
A Network Diagram is a graphical way to view tasks, dependencies, and the critical path of the project.
Boxes (or nodes) represent tasks, and dependencies show up as lines that connect those boxes. User can
add a legend, customize how the boxes appear and print the Network Diagram.

View tab > Task Views > Network Diagram.

11.1 Add a Legend

File > Print > Page Setup.

Select the Legend tab and then decide how the legend must look, which pages it should show up on, and
then the desired labels.

11.2 Style of Boxes

View tab > Network Diagram > Format > Layout.

Under “Box Layout”, choose the box arrangement, alignment, spacing, height and width that work best for
the project. To space boxes evenly, select “Fixed” in the Height and Width boxes.

11.3 Task Information to Show

Click View > Network Diagram > Format > Box Styles.

In the Style settings for list, click the task to change.

Under “Border”, choose the shape, colour, width and gridline options to create the desired look.

Click a name under “Data template” to apply the changes to an existing template. To create a new template
that will use the changes, click More Templates, and then click New (to create a new template), Copy (to
base the new template on an existing one), Edit (to change a template), or Import (to import a template from
another project).

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 12 Developing Gantt Chart of FYDP
12.1 Exercise:
Students are instructed to create Gantt Charts of their FYDPs. This chart needs to be regularly updated so
that the document is used to track project progress. Once the Gantt Chart is created after a thorough
brainstorming and deliberation, the students need to update the chart besides monitoring the project. A
proper revision number must be given each time any significant change is made or information is added.

Students must develop the chart and get it approved from their project advisers, either internal(s) or external
or both. After examination of the document, it must be attached to this workbook.

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 13 Appendix: Project Charter Template

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