Course Outline
This practical course equips participants with the knowledge and skills to plan, schedule, monitor, and control projects using Microsoft Project. Participants will learn to develop project schedules, allocate resources, manage costs, track progress, and generate project reports.
1. Course Overview
Training format: Instructor-led training, demonstrations, practical exercises, and group project work
Target audience: Project managers, project coordinators, planners, engineers, team leaders, consultants, and aspiring project management professionals.
Prerequisites: Basic computer literacy and a general understanding of projects.
Software: Microsoft Project desktop application or another compatible version available to participants.
2. Course Objectives
By the end of the training, participants should be able to:
Explain the principles of project planning and scheduling.
Navigate the Microsoft Project interface and configure project settings.
Develop a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
Create project activities, durations, milestones, and dependencies.
Build and optimize project schedules using Gantt charts.
Assign resources and manage resource workloads.
Estimate project costs and establish a cost baseline.
Identify the critical path and analyze schedule risks.
Track actual progress against the approved baseline.
Generate professional project schedules and management reports.
3. Detailed Course Modules
Project planning concepts and terminology
Project life cycle and planning processes
Scope definition, deliverables, and objectives
Activity sequencing, duration estimation, and scheduling principles
Introduction to Microsoft Project
Module 2: Getting Started with Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project interface, views, and ribbons
Creating and saving project files
Setting project start dates and calendars
Configuring working days, holidays, and working hours
Project information and scheduling options
Module 3: Developing the Project Work Breakdown Structure
Defining project phases and work packages
Entering tasks and subtasks
Creating summary tasks and outlining activities
Setting task durations and milestones
Identifying project deliverables and dependencies
Module 4: Project Scheduling and Gantt Charts
Understanding the Gantt Chart view
Establishing task dependencies: FS, SS, FF, and SF
Applying leads and lags
Identifying the critical path and critical activities
Using constraints, deadlines, and scheduling options
Reviewing and optimizing the project timeline
Module 5: Resource Planning and Cost Management
Creating resource lists for people, equipment, and materials
Assigning resources to activities
Setting resource availability and work calendars
Identifying resource overallocation and resolving conflicts
Entering resource rates and task costs
Developing project budgets and cost baselines
Module 6: Baselines, Progress Tracking, and Control
Saving and managing project baselines
Updating actual start and finish dates
Recording percentage completion and remaining work
Comparing planned and actual performance
Tracking schedule and cost variances
Introduction to Earned Value Management (EVM)
Module 7: Reporting, Printing, and Project Communication
Creating project overview and progress reports
Using built-in visual reports and dashboards
Filtering, grouping, and sorting tasks
Formatting Gantt charts and timelines
Printing and exporting reports to PDF and Excel where supported
Communicating project status to stakeholders
Module 8: Practical Project Planning Workshop
Develop a complete project plan using Microsoft Project
Build a WBS and define project activities
Link tasks and develop the project schedule
Assign resources and estimate costs
Identify the critical path and save the baseline
Update progress and produce a project status report
Present and review group project outputs
