Microsoft Project Online is undeniably the standard project scheduling tool worldwide, but surprisingly a lot of people have no or limited training for using this desktop planning software. Part of the reason is that Microsoft Project is not formally part of the Office suite and thus couldn't maximise its functionality.
There is a common weakness for many project professionals - their lack of ability to create and use a practical project schedule. A lot of these users utilise Microsoft Project to create a schedule of tasks and some of them try to use it to assign resources. However, only few of them can use MS Project Online for tracking costs.
Here are some practical tips to get yourself well-versed with the ins and outs of Microsoft Project.
1. Plan Structure
You can use post-it notes to create high-level plans with team members and then use it to build a Microsoft Project schedule. You can utilise a hierarchal structure with stages and phases which are then divided into smaller tracks. Don't forget to add milestones on the start and end of each stage or phase.
2. Plan Detail
There is no need to mirror every individual task that your team members will do. For instance, a six-month project should be made up of tasks spread to 1 to 1o working days instead of over a few hours or weeks. So unless your project is a one-week affair, you don't need to track what your team member is scheduled to do next Wednesday afternoon at 3 pm.
3. Auto Scheduling
Keep in mind that manual scheduling is more useful if the tasks are still being scoped out or not yet agreed on or finalised. Scheduling manually will function as a sort of placeholder. But if the scope is already approved for your project, using auto scheduling is the better solution.
4. Elapsed Time
The Project Manager and the task owner can use Microsoft Project to mirror the elapsed time of the project with the actual hours worked on the task. You may agree with how long the task should be finished but the actual hours exerted on it can turn out different. The two users can use the tool to make sure that set deadline and the finish date is the same.
5. Deadline Feature
Go to a task name, double click on it to open the 'Task Information' window. Select the 'Advanced' tab. Look for the 'Deadline' option, in which you can enter a date. Your chosen deadline will show as a small green arrow on the Gantt chart, preferably at a date after the scheduled completion of your task. Now your task can get pushed out beyond the set deadline. When this happens, a red warning will appear in the first 'Indicators' column. This function will help you keep track of your commitments.
6. Link Tasks and Milestones
It's advisable to link tasks and milestones together instead of using constraints. Avoid linking between items that have different levels of hierarchy. For example, do not link a summary task to a detailed task. You should place links at the lowest level of your task hierarchy.
Going through a formal course is recommended to be able to make full use of this tool. Until then, you can make good use of these tips and make Microsoft Project Online work better for your organisation.