Practical Project Management

Our Practical Project Management course  is a great introduction to the Project Management discipline. Long time practitioners of Project Management methodologies use a lot of acronyms and industry specific jargon. We break down these arcane terms and show you how you can use the principles that they represent to improve your productivity and management success.

The methods we teach are well established and are based on the best practices standards from the Project Management Institute’s Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (aka, PMI’s PMBOK).

In this course, we will break up into small groups to take a project from cradle to grave. We supply you with a good deal of open tools and templates to assist you in managing projects which you can take with you, fine-tune to fit your specific needs, and put them to work for delivering immediate ROI.

This course serves as an excellent lead-in to the concepts covered in our Mastering Requirements Gathering course.

SharePoint 2010 for Effective Project Management

SharePoint is a fantastic tool for document management and team communication, but that’s not all there is to it. While SharePoint’s friendly user interface lends itself exceptionally well to standard Project Management practices, SharePoint can be an integral part of any team collaboration – not just project teams. In this hands-on course, we walk you through building sites and exploring SharePoint’s out-of-the box features.

You don’t have to be a Project Manager to find SharePoint a positive influence on your processes. Whatever term you use to describe your role in your organization (Project Manager, Team Member, Executive, Employee, Grunt), SharePoint can help you get your job done.

By the end of this course you will have a strong familiarity with the SharePoint platform and solid knowledge of its application for getting projects done.

Managing Projects with Microsoft Project (2007 & 2010)

We have two versions of the Managing Projects with Microsoft Project course. One is optimized for using Microsoft Project 2010 and the other for using Microsoft Project 2007. The intent of both courses is the same however: to get you inside the mind of the Microsoft scheduling engine.

To do this, we cover in-depth the power of the flexible scheduling approach in Microsoft Project. If you’ve ever been frustrated by Project, you’ve probably found yourself hammering away, trying to force Project to suit a static schedule. We’ll show you how to work with Project to build well formed, dynamic schedules.

With our Mobile Lab, you’ll be able to use Project over the length of this course even if you don’t own it yourself!

Mastering Requirements Gathering

In our Practical Project Management course we’ll introduce you to the concept of requirements gathering,  but this course is where you really get to the meat of it.

Often, a successful project is defined as a project that is on time, within scope, and on budget. We take a slightly different perspective. While the standard definition can certainly indicate the potential for a successful project, we define project success as a satisfied customer. And there is only one sure way to get a satisfied customer: requirements gathering.

Learn how to define and document your customers’ needs, prevent scope creep, and ensure project success.

We provide you with tools and templates for your own professional use and walk you through the requirements gathering process and life cycle with a full hands-on simulation.

PMP Prep

If you are preparing to get your Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, this is the course for you.

We walk you through a long list of tips and tricks for taking the exam and passing all of the other necessary requirements. We provide you with an overview of the application process, a tool for collecting the requisite hours, and guidelines for getting certified.

When you leave this class you’ll have a good idea about what to expect from the test, tools to help you get there, and two books in your hands (The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try by Andy Crowe and PMI’s PMBOK 4th Edition).

Stay up to date!

Remember, you can always find our most up-to-date public course listing on our public class schedule.

Many users of Microsoft Office Project (Project) will only need one rate per resource, because most resources are paid the same amount over time either in salary or as hourly workers. Occasionally organizations need to have multiple rates available. Microsoft Office Project provides up to five (5) rates for each resource.

• Project handles the rates in the rate tables (A-E) as COST RATES.
• Each resource rate (tab/table) can be updated programmatically, using the effective date fields in each rate table.
• Tab (table) A is always the default rate. You have to manually change the rate applied for a resource at the task assignment level, either individually or to a group of task assignments associated with a resource.
• You cannot add more rate tabs/tables.
• You cannot easily change the names of the tabs/tables, so you will need to keep a record of what the different rates on different tabs relate to (kinds of contracts, specific client, types of work, etc.), and make that key available to project and resource managers to guide their application of rates to project tasks.

Setting up Resource Cost Rates

You can set up different rates for a resource by double clicking the resource name in any resource view (Resource Graph, Resource Sheet, or Resource Usage) in Project. Once the Resource Information dialogue box appears, click into the Costs tab. Enter the different cost rates you want available for each resource in the first Standard Rate field of each tab/table. You can enter a different rate or a percentage difference (either positive, reflecting when a raise takes effect, or negative, reflecting a reduction) in the Standard Rate field in the lines below, and the date those differences should be applied in the Effective Date field on each line.

When you set up a resource, the default rate is the rate in tab (table) A. There are a few ways to apply the other available rates in tabs (tables) B, C, D, or E to a resource’s assignments.

Applying a Different (non-default) Resource Cost Rate
You can change the resource cost rate following these steps:

1. Open either the Task Usage or Resource Usage view.
2. Select single task or a group of tasks to which you want to apply a different rate.

   

3. Right click on the selected tasks and click on Assignment Information.

   

4. Click on the Cost rate table drop-down menu on the General tab and select the rate tab/table you want to apply, and then click OK.

   

   The default (or effective) rate for the tab/table you selected will be applied to the selected tasks.

Implementing macros will create the following desirable results:

Reduce the Number of Errors:  By automating a task, you can reduce the number of errors that we humans tend to make on an on-going basis.  For example, say you create a backup of a project file every week.  You can automate this process to the extent of having the backup created and named properly every time.  Have you ever attempted to locate a project file, unsuccessfully, only to find that someone had accidentally placed a space prior to the file extension?  This is not an easy error to find.  By automating the backup process, you can be sure the file is named properly every time.  This leads to another benefit of using macros in MS Project.

Increased speed in which a task is completed:  As we all know, software can think and act quicker than humans.  By automating a task, especially a monotonous task like creating backups of 25 MS Project files every day, you can increase the speed of the task.  Imagine opening up a Master Project File with 25 inserted projects.  Next, imagine clicking on one button and having all 25 project files copied, renamed, dated and saved to their individual backup folders all on their own!  This is glorious!  Not only does it simplify your life, it creates an open window of time to do what is most important in our jobs…Project Management!

More Time to Put Out Fires:  Who has more time than they need these days to get their work done?  If you answered yes, then you better be looking for another project to incorporate into your free work time.  By automating many features and tasks within your MS Project File, you can begin clicking away at buttons and having the macro do the work for you while you can focus on more important tasks.  If you would like to have more time in your day, create a macro and have the macro do the work for you. Some of the macros we have created have saved us hours and hours worth of work.  This has enabled us to have time for more important issues such as follow up with the Project Team, putting out fires, creating fires, and…you get the point!

Consistency in Formatting:  Have you ever experienced having 25 schedules inserted into a Master Project, with inconsistent field names?  Talk about frustrating!  Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have a template with all the same field names, table names, column names and record names?  By creating a macro to automate your views, you can be sure you are giving your client the same view of the information every time.  Consistency is of the utmost importance in deliverables.

Now, How Did I Do That Last Time?  Another great benefit of using macros within your MS Project File is that the macro recalls each step of the task.  This is helpful when a client wants a custom report or view.  Instead of having to refer to a document of how to create the custom view, you can click a button and bam–your view pops up!

Documentation:  Remember to document how you manually created the macro.  I recommend keeping a documentation binder with a tab labeled “macros” to easily find the manual directions for the automated task the macro has defined.  If you should ever need to re-create the macro, you will know exactly how to do so.

Quality Control:  Check your macros periodically to verify they are working correctly.  Place them in a test environment and run the macro, checking that you are getting the anticipated end result.

Appearance:  Last, but not least, make the appearance of your macro buttons easy to view, read and understand.  For example. If you wanted to filter on red apples only in a file that had green, yellow and red apples, I would suggest having your macro button be a small picture of a red apple.  This draws the mind quickly to the red apple view.  Add distinct colors and short labels to your macro buttons.  Clients appreciate short, simple and sweet.  

Posted By: Mindy Ogles 

Well, the 2009 calendar year has started (whether or not we want it to).  2008 presenting many new and exciting events, of which none of them I intend to recap in this post.  Looking ahead, 2009 is shaping up to be equally exciting.  I am guessing that Microsoft may shed a lot more light on the next version of Microsoft Project (ssshhhh, don’t tell anyone).  

So, as I reflect on the year (which I mentioned I won’t detail the events), I couldn’t help myself in looking back at previous versions of Microsoft Project.  Basically, I was curious to remind myself of the history, and ‘how did we get here’.  That’s what we do as project managers, right? We start by capturing historical data, and getting our proverbial arms around the situation at a high level.  

Demand for scheduling remains high; it’s still all about the results.

As I was kicking off my personal project of understanding some of the history of the largest project management technical tool in history, I have to also be a pragmatic practitioner and ‘look ahead’. Forecasting; one of the most sought after concepts in business.  History, status and forecasting are the main reasons project management exists, and could be the only purpose for project management practitioners. Let’s face it, only the nerdiest of us get exciting about changing Gantt bar color, solving the mysterious automatic resource leveling issues, and let’s not forget the always fun game of ‘chase that ghost task’.

I digress!  My idea (and I welcome your input as this can be a fun, group activity) is to draft a short series of posts about some of the fun history of Microsoft project, and see if we can’t look ahead at what we can expect. The reason behind my madness is that Microsoft Project (from at least the Microsoft Project 98 version) has maintained a majority of the scheduling capability we use today.  Now, there is no debate in my mind that scheduling IS the holy grail in business. If a company cannot uncover the activity that is driving the business AND the resource(s) doing the activity, then that company will never realize its true potential. Scheduling is decades old, and the Microsoft Project scheduling engine functionality remains mostly intact version to version (less tweaks and adjustments based on solution design). You can pull a copy of Microsoft Project 98 out of the box, and execute a majority of actions just like pulling a copy of the current Project 2007 Desktop.  What makes these versions vastly different you wonder?  It’s the output – the user interface, reporting and integration with other systems and technologies.  Let’s relate project scheduling to the economy:  the fundamentals are sound which remain the core value of the activity.  What changes are the environmental impacts and adaptation.  So, the rich reporting features, way-cool web interface and extensible integration platforms of Microsoft Project are based on the environmental pull.  However, the requirement of solid scheduling and focus of results remains consistent.

Demand for scheduling remains high; it’s still all about the results.

To wrap up this post, below is a list of the technical specifications and features of Microsoft Project 98 and all earlier versions.  You will notice that Project 98 was an inflection point for the technology.  Huge changes to the software as well as a repositioning on behalf of the Microsoft product team to align this product to potential web integration was included.  Finally, I am preparing to present to a local PMI Chapter, and I intend to reference project scheduling material from the 1960’s.  This is the cool part for your nerdy schedulers — the material I will reference is still relevant today —- isn’t that cool!  Enjoy a quick look back, and prepare for the future – but keep on scheduling!

Demand for scheduling remains high; it’s still all about the results.

                      Windows 2.1 (Windows 286)

1. Open Microsoft Project Professional 2007 and connect

2. When prompted, log in to connect to Project Server.

3. Click Tools > Enterprise Options > Open Enterprise Global. This opens the Enterprise Global template.

4. The new project will appear blank. You know you’re working with the Enterprise Global Template because of the file name at the top.

5. Next open the Visual Basic Editor. Click Tools > Macro > Visual Basic Editor.

6. In the Project Explorer window you will most likely see the following projects: Global.MPT, Checked-out Enterprise Global, Global (+ non-cached Enterprise) and Project1. 

7. Make sure that you are working in the Checked-out Enterprise Global.

8. Right click on VBAProject (Checked-out Enterprise Global) >Insert, then Left click on Module.

9. This expands the VBAProject (Checked-out Enterprise Global) to reveal its Modules folder and highlights the new Module for you. In this example the new module is Module4.

10. When finished creating the macro click Save. 

11. Close the Visual Basic window.

12. You will return to the Checked-out Enterprise Global file in Microsoft Project Professional. Click Save.

13. Close the Checked-out Enterprise Global template.

14. When prompted Check-in the Enterprise Global template.

Posted By: Rick Nobleman