A Beginner’s Guide to MS Project: Your First Project Made Easy

Microsoft Project (MS Project) is a powerful tool for organizing and managing projects efficiently. At first glance, it would seem to have a steep learning curve.  However, learning some key concepts and simple navigation can simplify your planning journey with MS Project. Focusing on the basics will allow you to seamlessly create, configure, and execute your first project.

Why Use MS Project?

MS Project helps you:

• Break down your projects into manageable tasks.
• Allocate resources effectively.
• Visualize progress with tools like Gantt charts and timelines.
• Monitor project progress and stay on track.

Its versatility makes it suitable for projects of all sizes, empowering you to manage complex workflows. Unlike plans developed with pencil and paper, its power means small schedule changes will not require updates to all tasks. As they say, “With great power comes great responsibility.” MS Project users are responsible for understanding and correctly using the tool to achieve usable results.

MS Project also has uses outside of project schedules. It can map out any use of time. For example, it may be used to map out a series of complex tasks that a computer must complete overnight to process data.

Understanding Key MS Project Concepts

MS Project offers unique capabilities that require learning but can significantly enhance your management skills. Understanding these concepts lets you take full advantage of MS Project’s capabilities.

For example, time estimates are performed in two ways: work (effort) and duration. Work is the effort to complete a task, usually expressed in time. Duration is the actual time it will take to complete the task. Uninterrupted, we may be able to complete a report in two days, the work. However, with meetings, phone calls, a day off, and other tasks requiring our attention, the duration may be 5 days.

MS Project calculates schedules using Work (effort) = Duration x Units (resources). Familiarize yourself with this formula to predict how changes will impact your timeline. The algorithm assumes that work is cut in half if we double the resources.  While this is not always true, it is the best assumption that can be made without additional information. The assumption may be adequate for less time-sensitive projects but requires more careful review and adjustment for optimal time results.

MS Project can also understand continuous elapsed time. For tasks that require constant effort, project managers can use elapsed time formats (e.g., “ed” for elapsed hours vs. “h” for hours). This feature is helpful for 24/7 operations, as elapsed time ignores the standard 8-hour  or other established work day. This distinction may be better understood once you have worked with MS Project for a while.

Setting the Proper Options

MS Project has hundreds of powerful options and capabilities. While some can be changed mid-project, others may require re-entering all project data. Having five groups of options set up before entering any project data is critical. Once you are more familiar with the many options of MS Project, you may want to experiment with changing some of them, but be sure these changes will not invalidate any of your working project plans. To start, create a new blank project using the “backstage view” that opens with the File tab. Then, navigate to General Options (File>Options>General[1]).

On the pop-up, choose “Gantt Chart” as the default project view and “day mm/dd/yy” as the date format.  You can choose whatever date format works best for you.  For example, you may select “dd/mm/yy” in Europe. Under “Personalize your copy,” enter your name and initials if they are not already there. These will be useful later for reports. Finally, click OK to dismiss this window.

Generally, an 8-hour day, a 40-hour week, and a 20-day month are reasonable assumptions that will work for all but the most time-constrained projects. These next steps will ensure this is the default, but you should note that you must change these before entering project data if you want to use a different set of assumptions. Navigate to File>Options>Schedule. For Calendar options, select the dropdown “All New Projects.”  Inspect the values here to ensure they match the 8-40-20 assumption and have the correct starting day and month for your region or organization. If you make changes, you will also want to repeat this for the current project.

For the scheduling options for all new and current projects, you should ensure Auto Scheduled, Project Start Date, Days, Hours, and Fixed Duration are selected in the dropdowns. The choice of Fixed Duration ensures that when Work=Duration x Units is computed, the Duration estimates are honored and not changed. If you plan to estimate Work rather than Duration, choose Fixed Work. It’s also critical to select the check boxes labeled “New tasks are effort driven,” “Show that scheduled tasks have estimated duration,” and “New scheduled tasks have estimated durations.” The remainder of the checkboxes are not critical and can be left as defaulted.

MS Project also has options for enabling auto-save. Like other Microsoft products, auto-save can help recover work after a computer crash or shutdown. Review these options at File > Options > Save. You might consider defaults and personalize them later. Remember that it will be harder to undo actions taken before the save once the file is saved. This is important to consider when saving all open projects. If you are changing multiple plans, you may not be ready for some to be saved. In this case, you may want to select the “Save active project only” option.

Now, it's time to set up some more advanced options. Navigate to File > Options > Advanced. In the display options section, choose the shortest abbreviations for each (m, h, d, w, mo, y) for both the new and current projects. This will ensure sufficient room on the Gantt chart and reports for meaningful displays. Note the “Allow cell drag and drop” check box. If you lose the ability to drag and drop, check it. When finished, click OK to dismiss the window.

Now, check a few things to ensure correctness and learn their location so you can finalize the file.

1. Resource > Level > Leveling Options; be sure “Manual calculations” is selected.
2. View > Zoom > Timescale; be sure Days is selected. [If you do not see weeks and days on the timeline, right-click on the timeline and choose Timescale. The middle tier of the timescale should be Weeks, and the bottom tier should be Days. Only these two of the three tiers should be shown. Click OK if you opened the Timescale box.]
3. Add the Work and Type columns to the left-hand table. Scroll over to the far right column labeled “Add Columns,” where you can do this.
4. Repeat all the instructions in this section to be sure you have everything correctly set.

Finally, save the file as Quick Start Project.mpp. This file can quickly set up new projects with the correct options.

Starting a New Project

Now, you are ready to start your first project. You can open a new blank file or the Quick Start Project file you saved from setting up options. Go to File > Info > Project Information > Advanced Properties, and enter your project title, your name as author and manager, and your company name, which will be prefilled in reports later.

Next, go to Project > Properties > Project Information, enter the project start date, and be sure that the Project Start Date is selected for “Schedule from.” You may have to adjust the start date later, but having an initial value will help with the scheduling computations.

Finally, adjust the calendar to align with your team’s work schedule, ensuring accurate task timelines. You should also enter all your resources (on the Resource Sheet), especially human resources and others with time constraints, and adjust their resource calendars. This step sets up the framework for your project, allowing you to focus on its core components.

Adding and Organizing Tasks

To enter tasks, you will work with the Gantt chart view, which typically has columns on the left and the Gantt chart rendered on the right. Under the fancy user interface, MS Project is like a large spreadsheet where the tasks represent the rows, and there are approximately 256 fixed columns. You can decide which columns are visible and what order they appear in.  Tasks are the building blocks of your project.

Start by identifying significant milestones and the smaller tasks required to achieve them.  Enter tasks in the “Task Name” column. Be as specific as possible to maintain clarity. Next, assign your estimated durations (or work) to each task. The Task Type column you enabled earlier should contain Fixed Duration (or Fixed Work, depending on your selected option).

Organize tasks by indenting them to form subtasks and milestones. This structure makes complex projects easier to manage. By clearly defining tasks, you ensure every aspect of your project is accounted for.

Linking Tasks and Creating Dependencies

Task dependencies define the order in which tasks should be completed. Establishing these links helps avoid bottlenecks. Use options like Finish-to-Start (FS) or Start-to-Start (SS) to define task relationships. Linking tasks helps visualize how each part of the project interconnects, providing a roadmap to completion.

Where possible, you want to avoid hard deadlines and other fixed dates.  Doing so will allow MS Project the flexibility to make scheduling adjustments as changes to the plan are entered.

Using MS Project’s supplied filters and other tools, highlight the sequence of tasks that directly impact the project’s completion date. This is known as the critical path.

Assigning Resources

Resource allocation is key to project success. MS Project allows you to assign people, equipment, or materials to specific tasks. Once you link resources to tasks, you ensure accountability, enable workload tracking, and finally, your Gantt chart will take shape.

Use MS Project’s features to balance workloads and prevent over-allocation. Proper resource management ensures that your project stays within budget and timeline constraints.

Following these steps will enable you to build a successful schedule. MS Project is an invaluable tool for managing projects efficiently, from planning to execution. Start with small projects to build confidence and gradually explore more advanced features. As you begin to use new features of MS Project, be sure to test and understand them thoroughly before accepting the generated plan. Remember, the key to success lies in clear planning, regular updates, and effective communication. With MS Project, you’ll be well-equipped to realize your project vision.

[1] In general, navigation will be expressed as Tab>Ribbon Group>Ribbon Function