Book Image

Learning Microsoft Project 2019

By : Srikanth Shirodkar
Book Image

Learning Microsoft Project 2019

By: Srikanth Shirodkar

Overview of this book

Microsoft Project is one of the most popular project management tools for enterprises of all sizes thanks to its wide variety of features such as project scheduling, project budgeting, built-in templates, and reporting tools. Learning Microsoft Project 2019 will get you started with the basics and gradually guide you through the complete project life cycle. Starting with an overview of Microsoft Project 2019 and a brief introduction to project management concepts, this book will take you through the different phases of project management – initiation, planning, execution, control, and closure. You will then learn how to identify and handle problems related to scheduling, costing, resourcing, and work allocation. Understand how to use dynamic reports to create powerful, automated reports and dashboards at the click of a button. This Microsoft Project book highlights the pitfalls of overallocation and demonstrates how to avoid and resolve these issues using a wide spectrum of tools, techniques, and best practices. Finally, you will focus on executing Agile projects efficiently and get to grips with using Kanban and Scrum features. By the end of this book, you will be well-versed with Microsoft Project and have the skills you need to use it effectively in every stage of project management.
Table of Contents (32 chapters)
1
Section 1: The Iron Triangle – a Quick Primer for Project Management
3
Section 2: Project Initiation with Microsoft Project
8
Section 3: Project Planning Like a Pro!
13
Section 4: Project Execution – the Real Deal
15
Chapter 11: Overallocation – the Bane of Project Managers
18
Section 5: Monitoring and Control with Microsoft Project
23
Section 6: Project Closure with Microsoft Project
Appendix A: Using This Book as a Textbook
Appendix C: Keyboard Shortcuts
Appendix D: Glossary

Creating a new baseline

The first baseline is sacrosanct for the project as it will signify the first and best estimates for the schedule of your project. To set the baseline, go to the Project tab | Set Baseline and choose the Set Baseline option.

This opens the Set Baseline dialog box, as shown in the following screenshot:

Figure 12.4 – Set Baseline dialog box

Let's begin by understanding this important interface and what it offers to us.

The first two radio buttons indicate that you can now set either a baseline or an interim plan. You can think of the interim plan as a junior baseline for now; we will explore it later in this chapter.

Let's move on to the next set of radio buttons, under the For: label. They present the option of saving the entire project within a baseline, or just a set of selected tasks. Two further checkboxes are present, which are only relevant when you are saving a set of selected tasks. However, the first...