Managing Time-Constrained Projects with Microsoft Project

1hIntermediate2021-12-16

Authors

Bonnie Biafore

PMP, Trainer, Best-Selling Author

John Riopel

Program and Project Manager

Course details

Learn how to manage projects with time constraints and fast-track schedules with Microsoft Project. This course, taught by expert project manager John Riopel, shows how to verify project schedules by checking task links, checking lag between tasks, removing unnecessary date constraints, and more. He then shows how to review the schedule and display the critical path, use multiple critical paths, and find incomplete paths. Then find out how to shorten the schedule by fast-tracking tasks, shortening lag time, using crashing, reducing scope, and assigning overtime. Finally, learn how to best execute the schedule, setting a baseline and entering actuals for the project.

Topics include:
Determine the duration of a milestone.
Explain how to add a lead to a task.
Identify the difference between a deadline and a constraint.
Recognize how to put tasks in sequence.
Recall how to overlap two tasks.
Explain how to change the available working time for a task.

Skills covered

Microsoft ProjectProject Management SoftwareProject Management SkillsProjectProject ManagementBusiness Software and ToolsMicrosoft

Concepts

Introduction

Welcome
Using the exercise files

Checking Your Project Schedule

Making tasks automatically scheduled or manually scheduled
Checking task links
Adding lag or lead between tasks
What does the Deadline field do
Tracking deadlines with formatted taskbars
Adding buffers to your schedule
Managing buffers

Reviewing the Schedule

Displaying the critical path and slack
Fixing an incomplete critical path
Filtering to show the critical path
Filtering to show multiple critical paths
Setting a baseline
Looking for schedule problems

Shortening the Schedule

Fast-tracking tasks
Adjusting lag time between tasks
Understanding crashing
Finding the best tasks to crash
Adding resources to tasks to shorten duration
Using different resources to shorten duration
Reducing scope
Working with a task calendar

Executing the Schedule

Resetting a baseline
Entering actuals for a time-constrained project

Conclusion

Next steps