Tutorial 2:

Creating a Project Schedule

Lecture by:
Tuan Zamilah Binti Tuan Husain
Faculty of Business Management
2

 By default, the new project file is scheduled from a

project Start date
 All tasks are scheduled to begin as soon as possible
 Project 2010 calculates the project’s Finish date
based on the:
 Tasks
 Durations
 Dependencies

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Project Information Dialog Box
3

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Scheduling a Project from a Finish
4
Date
 When a project is scheduled from a Finish date, such
as a conference, all tasks are scheduled to begin as
late as possible.
 Project 2010 calculates the project’s Start date based
on the tasks, durations and dependencies.
 The default is for all tasks and the project to start as
late as possible.
 To schedule from a Finish Date, you apply this
setting as soon as the project is created.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Project Scheduled From Finish Date
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 The Task Information Dialog Box
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 The Task Information dialog box is a comprehensive

collection of all of the information about each task
organized into six categories:
 General
 Predecessors
 Resources
 Advanced
 Notes
 Custom Fields
 The Task Information dialog box is another view by
which you can examine and enter data about a task.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 The Task Information Dialog Box
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Constraints using Task Information
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 How the project is originally scheduled (from a Start

date or from a Finish date) determines the initial
Constraint types (as soon as possible or as late as
possible).
 The initial Constraint type has a tremendous impact
on the calculated start and finish dates for each task
entered into the project.
 Always take the time to examine the Project
Information dialog box before starting a new project.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Examining Project Calendars
9

 By default, the entire project, each task, and each resource is

scheduled according to the Standard calendar.
 The Standard calendar specifies that Monday through Friday
are working days with 8 hours of work completed each day.
 Saturday and Sunday are designated as nonworking days.
 The Calendar can be modified to identify holidays or other
nonworking days or times in which work should not be
scheduled.
 You can also create unique calendars for tasks and resources
that do not follow the working and nonworking times
specified by the Standard calendar.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Change Time for a Work Week
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Creating a Task Calendar
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 An individual task calendar can be created for any task

that does not follow the working and nonworking times
specified by the project calendar.
 An individual resource calendar can be created for a
resource that does not follow the working and
nonworking times specified by the project calendar.
 By default, all tasks and resource assignments inherit the
project calendar unless you specify something else.
New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010
 Changing the Calendar for a Task
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Applying a Task Calendar to a Task
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Entering Tasks and Durations
in the Entry Table
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 Entering tasks and durations is probably the single

most important effort in developing a useful project
file.
 If tasks are omitted or durations underestimated, the
value of the project’s scheduling and cost
information is compromised and the success of the
project might be jeopardized.
 Often you will need to change an existing task or
insert, delete, or move a task.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Editing Tasks and Durations
in the Entry Table
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 Project 2010 makes it very easy to edit an existing

project.
 Many of the editing skills that you gained when
editing a spreadsheet will apply to a project table.
 To change an existing entry, you first navigate to the
cell. Once there, you have several options:
 Retype the entry
 Edit the entry directly in the cell
 Edit an entry in the Entry bar

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Entering and Editing Tasks
in the Entry Table
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 To Delete a Task
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 If you want to delete an entire task row in Project

2010, you must select the entire row, then press the
Delete key.
 Project 2010 includes a Smart Tag to allow you to
specify what you want to delete.
 A list arrow appears when you place the pointer over
the Smart Tag.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Smart Tag Selection for Task Deletion
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Copy, Paste and Move
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 Copying, pasting, and moving tasks are important

task editing skills.
 Project 2010 offers a variety of tools that you can use
to accomplish these common tasks, including:
 Menu bar options
 Toolbar buttons
 Quick keystrokes
 Right-click shortcut menus

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Fill Handle
20

 If several task durations are the same, you can use either
the copy and paste features to quickly enter the durations
or the fill handle to populate cells.
 If you have used the fill handle in Excel or another
spreadsheet program, you will find it a very similar
process in Project 2010.
 The fill handle is a small square that appears in the lower
corner of the selected cell.
 When you drag a fill handle, the contents of the active
cell are copied.
 You can also use the fill handle to fill task names.
New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010
 Fill Handle
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Working with Duration Units of Measure
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 Entering and editing durations involves

understanding the units of measure available for
them.
 The default unit of measure is day, and therefore
“day” does not need to be entered.
 To use any other unit, you must type the
abbreviation.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Units of Measure Abbreviations
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• Elapsed refers to clock time rather than working

time.
• An example is the task “Allow paint to dry.” The
paint will dry in exactly the same amount of time
regardless of whether it dries on a workday, a
weekend or holiday. If it takes one day to dry, the
duration should be entered as “1 ed” (for 1 elapsed
day).

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Editing Tasks and Durations
in Other Views
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 Anything changed in one view is automatically

changed in all the other views.
 You can use the View Bar to quickly switch
between views.
 The way data is displayed differs by view and often
satisfies different communication and reporting
needs as the project develops.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Editing Tasks and Durations
in Other Views Cont.’d
25

 Regardless of the view used, you can edit any task by

double-clicking it to open its Task Information dialog
box.
 As you work with Project 2010, you will become
more familiar with each view and learn which is the
best representation of the data for different purposes.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Entering Recurring Tasks
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 A recurring task is a task that repeats at a regular

interval.
 A status meeting is a good example of a recurring task
that needs to be scheduled for each week or other regular
intervals in the project.
 In Project 2010, you can define a recurring task one time
using the Recurring Task Information dialog box.
 Project 2010 then handles the details of scheduling the
task at specified interval for the entire project or for the
time period you specify.
 You can also change the calendar used on the recurring
task in the Calendar section.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Recurring Task Information Dialog
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Box

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Entering Milestones
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 A milestone is a task that marks a significant point in

time or a progress checkpoint.
 It has a zero duration and is therefore a symbolic task
that is used mainly to communicate progress or to
mark the end of a significant phase of the project.
 Examples include the signing of a contract or the
announcement of a new product.
 Milestones can also be used to motivate project
participants by recognizing accomplishments.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Milestones
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Understanding Task Dependencies
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 Four task dependencies define the relationships

between tasks in a project.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Understanding Task Dependencies
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Cont..
 By linking tasks in finish-to-start relationships, you
establish the required sequence of tasks.
 Project 2010 uses these relationships to set start and
finish dates for each task.
 Most dependencies are Finish-to-Start (FS), meaning
a certain task (the predecessor) must finish before
another task (the successor) can start.
 In order to use important project management
techniques such as critical path analysis, you must
determine task dependencies.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Creating Task Dependencies
32

 Project 2010 makes it easy to create, and remove, FS

relationships between tasks by providing the Link
Tasks and Unlink Tasks buttons on the Standard
toolbar.
 Task dependencies also can be established in the
graphical views.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Creating Task Dependencies Cont.
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Slack Times
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 Total slack is the amount of time by which an

activity may be delayed from its scheduled Start date
without the delay setting back the entire project.
 Free slack is the amount of time by which an activity
may be delayed without delaying the early start of
any immediately following tasks.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Critical and Non-Critical Tasks
35

 In the Network Diagram view, the critical tasks—

tasks that are on the critical path—are displayed
within a red border.
 A task that is not on the critical path is a non-critical
task, that is, it doesn’t necessarily have to start on its
currently scheduled Start date in order for the overall
project to be completed on time.
 The Network Diagram is used mainly to view and
analyze the critical path.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Creating Dependencies using the
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Network Diagram view

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Entering Lag and Lead Times
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 When a project is scheduled from a Start date, lag

and lead times refer to an amount of time that the
second task of a relationship is moved backward
(lead) or forward (lag) in time.
 Lead time moves the second task backward in time
so that the two tasks overlap.
 Lag time is the opposite of lead time. It moves the
second task forward in time so that the tasks are
further separated.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Lag and Lead Time from Start
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Date

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Entering Lag and Lead Times Cont..
39

 Project 2010 combines the concepts of lag and lead

times into one term, lag time.
 When a project is scheduled from a Start date,
positive lag time moves the second task forward in
time.
 Positive lag time is the traditional definition of lag time in
general project management discussions.
 Negative lag time moves the second task backward
in time so that the tasks overlap.
 Negative lag time is called lead time in general project
management discussions.
New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010
 Negative and Positive Lag Time
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Check for Lag Time Effects Cont..
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 Confusing negative and positive lag times is easy,

especially when examining them for both a project
that is scheduled from a Start date and one scheduled
from a Finish date.
 Remember:
 Positive lag time always increases the amount of time
between tasks.
 Negative lag time always causes the tasks to overlap.
 This rule holds true regardless of whether the project is
scheduled from the Start date or the Finish date.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Check for Lag Time Effects
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 Once the tasks, durations, and relationships are

entered, you should check the Project Information
dialog box to verify the project’s calculated Finish
date if the project is scheduled from a Start date, or
calculated Start date if the project is scheduled from
a Finish date.
 When a project is scheduled from a Start date,
applying negative lag time to task dependencies that
are on the critical path is a common way to shorten
the critical path because it allows tasks to overlap.
New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010
 Check for Lag Time Effects Cont..
43

 When you apply negative lag time, the second task is

allowed to start before the first task is completely
finished.
 When a project is scheduled from a Finish date, all
tasks have as late as possible schedules and lag time
affects the first task rather than the second.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Lag Time From a Finish Date
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Creating a Work Breakdown Structure with
Summary Tasks
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 A very important strategy for managing projects well

is to organize the work that needs to be done in a
logical manner.
 A work breakdown structure (WBS) is an outcome-
oriented analysis of the work involved in a project
that defines the total scope of the project.
 A WBS is a foundation document in project management
because it provides the basis for planning and managing
project schedules, costs, and changes.
 The WBS provides a hierarchy, similar to an organizational
chart, to group project work logically.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Creating a Work Breakdown Structure with
Summary Tasks Cont..
46

 In order to use a WBS in Project 2010, you must

organize tasks into summary tasks (groups of tasks
that logically belong together).
 When developing a new, large project, some project
managers prefer to start with broad groupings of
summary tasks and then break them down into
smaller tasks.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Creating a Work Breakdown Structure with
Summary Tasks Cont..
47

 Planning a project by starting with broad categories

of tasks is called the top-down method of creating a
WBS.
 Other project managers prefer to list all of the
individual tasks, and then collect them into logical
groupings using the bottom-up method.
 Once you have indentified your summary tasks, you
use Outdenting and Indenting in Project 2010 to
create the summary tasks.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Outdenting and Indenting Tasks
48

 Use the Outdent button and the Indent button on the

Formatting toolbar to create your WBS.
 Outdenting moves a task to the left (a higher level in
the WBS), and indenting moves a task to the right (a
lower level in the WBS).
 Projects can have several levels in the WBS.
 Many projects have at least three levels, and some
large projects have more.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Creating a Summary Task
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Displaying Outline Numbers
50

 Tasks and subtasks are organized in an outline, with

tasks in a hierarchy, when you have created summary
tasks.
 In Project 2010, you can view built-in outline
numbers, which will display in the Task name cells
for all tasks.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Displaying Outline Numbers
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Cont..

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Project Summary Task
52

 Many Project Managers like to create a Project

Summary Task which allows them to see how the
start and finish dates change as they enter and edit
tasks, durations, and dependencies.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Project Summary Task Cont..
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Expanding and Collapsing Tasks
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 Once your project has been organized into summary

tasks, you can easily expand (show) and collapse
(hide) the individual tasks within each phase.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Using WBS Codes
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 Many people like to number tasks in their WBS to

show the logical groupings of work.
 Using outline numbers or special work breakdown
structure (WBS) code is a way to use an
alphanumeric code to represent each task’s position
within the hierarchical structure of the project.
 A WBS code helps identify and group project tasks
for project communication, documentation, or
accounting purposes.

New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010

 Creating WBS Codes
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New Perspectives on Microsoft Project 2010