M.S. Project: Management Skills for Planning and Controlling Projects

1. M.S. Project: Management Skills for Planning and Controlling Projects Assabet After Dark

2. Chapter 13, Tracking Progress on Assignments Most of what we�ve done so far is for planning your project (chapter 6 being an exception). Change (death, taxes, and project change�) Chapter 13 is all about tracking the actual work as your project progresses. Variance � the difference between what you�d thought would happen when you planned the project, and what really happened � you�ll record the �what really happened� now.

3. Tracking Progress on Assignments We�ll track task-level and assignment level work totals and work per time period � per week or per day. This is the most detailed level of tracking � timephased tracking. Are the tasks starting and finishing as planned? Are resources spending more or less time than planned? Is it taking more or less money than planned? If it�s taking less time and less money, that could be a red flag that you have a quality problem.

4. Updating a baseline Updating a baseline When you create a baseline, project saves a �snapshot� of your existing values. The baseline that you save first might not be the baseline you always want to compare against. You have a few options: Update the baseline for the entire project. Update the baseline for selected tasks. Let�s say you�ve added new tasks since you saved the baseline Save a second baseline, or up to 11 baselines.

5. Updating a baseline To update a baseline, the basics: On the Tools menu, point to Tracking, and then click Set Baseline. In the Set Baseline dialog box, select the baseline you want to update. Under For, click either Entire project or Selected Tasks.

6. Updating a baseline Open the chapter 13a practice file. Let�s do the exercise on pages 287-290. We�ll take a look at the Tracking Gantt. There�s two bars in the Gantt chart view. The grey one shows you the baseline. The blue one shows you the current schedule. Any red ones are on the critical path. We�ll also overwrite the baseline for the whole project. After you�re in your tracking phase, you�ll want to create a new baseline instead. Once you overwrite the existing baseline, you can�t undo it. It�s gone�.

7. Saving interim plans An interim plan saves just the start and finish dates of tasks. It doesn�t save the resource values It doesn�t save the assignment values Tools > Tracking > Set Baseline Selected �Set interim plan�

8. To enter task-level or assignment-level actual work values On the View menu, click Task Usage. On the View menu, point to Table: Usage, and then click Work. Enter the actual work values you want for a task or assignment in the Actual column.

9. Tracking actual and remaining values for tasks and assignments In chapter 6 we recorded actual start, actual finish, and duration values for tasks. It�s simplest when you have one resource assigned to a task. If you change the amount of time the task took, that�s exactly how much time that one person spent on it. Multiple resources: The actual work values you enter for the task are distributed amongst your resources. If you change the work values for one of the resources, the change is rolled up into the task.

10. To enter actual work values To enter daily (or other time period�s) actual work values per task or assignment, the basics: On the View menu, click Task Usage Scroll the timescale to the time period for which you want to record actual work. On the Format menu, point to Details, and click Acutal Work. In the timescale grid, enter the task or assignment value you want in the Act. Work field.

11. Tracking actual and remaining values for tasks and assignments Let�s open the chapter 13b practice file. Let�s do the exercise on pages 293-296. We�ll see the actual and remaining work values.

12. Tracking Timephased Actual Work for Tasks and Assignments It�s time-intensive to do. You�ll need this for: High-risk tasks. Short-duration tasks where schedule variance on them matters a lot. Tasks that you want to develop throughput metrics for � it takes x days to do x. Tasks that sponsors/stakeholders have a strong interest in. Tasks that you have to bill by the hour for.

13. Tracking Timephased Actual Work for Tasks and Assignments At this point in our example film project, the pre-production work is complete, and the production phase has just begun. We�ve got high-risk tasks. They require a large number of resources, high setup and teardown costs, limited availability of location sites. So, we�ll enter daily actuals for production tasks, using the Task Usage view.

14. Tracking Timephased Actual Work for Tasks and Assignments We�ve got an exercise on pages 298-301. It�s like a time card. Please open the Short Film Project 13c file and save it. We�ll enter timephased actual work values at the task level (not for specific assignments). We�ll see that when you enter in actual work values, the scheduled work values change to match.

15. Tracking Timephased Actual Work for Tasks and Assignments You can break the relationship so that changes to the task or assignment values don�t �roll up.� That is, we saw that changing an assignment�s work value changed the work for the task. Tools menu > Options > Calculation tab > clear the �Updating Task Status Updates Resource Status� checkbox.

16. Getting the actual values The book talks about a few ways of going about doing it, on page 302. There�s tools in Project Professional, which is server-based, and isn�t the version that we�re using. There�s collecting the actual values yourself, by talking to staff members and keeping on top of what�s going on. The book makes a good point about how people might not want to give you those values, for fear that they�ll reflect on their overall performance.

17. Getting the actual values If you�re not the person doing performance evaluations, that helps alleviate that concern. In a purely projectized organization, you probably are, though. Projectized, matrix structures. There�s an expression called �management by walking around,� or �MBWA.� If your project�s all being done in one location, and if there aren�t hundreds of people working on it, that�s possible.

18. Rescheduling incomplete work The basics: On the Tools menu, point to Tracking, and then click Update Project. Click Reschedule uncompleted work to start after, and in the Date box, type or click the date you want.

19. Rescheduling incomplete work So, you choose the date after which work can resume. If the task doesn�t have any actual work recorded, the entire task is rescheduled. If the task has some actual work recorded, and it�s all before the reschedule date, the task is split. If the task has some actual work recorded that�s before the reschedule date, and some actual work recorded that�s after it, it�s not affected.

20. Rescheduling incomplete work Let�s open Short File Project 13d and save it. There�s a short exercise on pages 303-304.

21. Chapter 14, Viewing and Reporting Project Status Overview: We�ll determine which tasks were started or completed late. View task costs at summary and detail levels. Examine resource costs and variance. Use custom fields to create a stoplight view that illustrates each cost variance.

22. Viewing and Reporting Project Status You�ll use these tools after you�ve planned your whole project, set a baseline, the project�s started. Now you�re collecting, entering and analyzing project details. Three primary vital signs: How much work was required to complete the task? Did it start and finish on time? What was the cost of completing the task?

23. Project communication Communicate your project status to key stakeholders. Having a communication plan will help to manage expectations. Know you your sponsor is, who those directly impacted by your project are, and who those indirectly impacted by your project are. Upfront, come up with a communication plan. The book talks about identifying who needs to know your project status, and to what level of detail they need to know it.

24. Identifying tasks that have slipped The basics: To identify tasks that have slipped in a view On the View menu, click Tracking Gantt Apply the Detail Gantt view View menu > More Views > select Detail Gantt To filter for tasks that have slipped On the Project menu, point to Filtered For: All Tasks, and then click More Filters. In the More Filters dialog box, click Slipping Tasks, and then click Apply.

25. Identifying tasks that have slipped If a task starts or finishes earlier or later than planned, it has schedule variance. If things cost less than you planned, or took less time than you planned, you�ll still want to know that. It�s good variance. It could mean that you�ll plan similar tasks differently next time. It could signal a quality problem. It could mean that you�ll want to let your stakeholders know how great things are going.

26. To see schedule variance On the View menu, click More Views In the More Views dialog box, click Task Sheet, and then click Apply. On the View menu, point to Table: Entry, and then click Variance. To see task costs in a view On the View menu, click More Views In the More Views dialog box, click Task Sheet, and then click Apply. On the View menu, point to Table: Entry, and then click Cost.

27. Identifying tasks that have slipped Let�s open the Short Film Project 14a file and save it. And let�s do the exercise on pages 312-316.

28. Examining Task Costs Are tasks running over or under budget? You�ll see cost variance in Project if a task costs more or less than planned. Let�s do the exercise on pages 318-320. We should see that we had more work than we�d scheduled was required to complete the tasks. And the costs for these tasks are primarily from resources assigned to tasks. That�s most often the case � the largest cost is from the resources you�ve assigned to tasks.

29. To filter for tasks that are overbudget The basics � use the Overbudget Tasks report: On the Project menu, point to Filtered For: All Tasks, and then click More Filters. In the More Filters dialog box, click Cost Overbudget, and then click Apply. *There�s also the Filter button on the project toolbar. If you have Excel 2003, the Budget Cost Report: Report menu > Visual Reports In the Assignment Usage tab, click Budget Cost Report, and then click View.

30. To filter for tasks that are overbudget To see work variance: Go to the Task Usage view On the Format menu, click Details Click Baseline work To see resource costs in a view On the View menu, click Resource Sheet. On the View menu, point to Table: Entry, and then click Cost.

31. Examining Resource Costs The basics: On the View menu, click Resource Sheet. On the View menu, point to Table: Entry, and then click Cost. On the Project menu, point to Sort, and click Sort By. In the Sort dialog box, in the Sort By box, click Cost. Make sure the Permanently renumber resources checkbox is cleared, and then click Sort.

32. To view and sort resources by cost variance On the View menu, click Resource Sheet. On the View menu, point to Table: Entry, and click Cost. On the Project menu, point to Sort, and click Sort By. In the Sort dialog box, in the Sort By column, click Cost Variance. Make sure the Permanently renumber resources checkbox is cleared, and then click Sort. Let�s do the exercise on pages 322-323

33. Additional tips for working with resource costs: Use the Overbudget Resources report to list resources who are overbudget. On the Report menu, click Reports. Double-click Costs, and then double-click Overbudget Resources. See timephased cost values in a usage view. On the Format menu, click Detail Styles. In the Usage Details tab, show the Baseline Cost and Cost fields. This also works in the Task Usage view. If you have Excel 2003, use the Resource Cost Summary Report (page 324 � bottom).

34. To customize fields for a custom view On the Tools menu, point to Customize, and then click Fields. In the Customize Fields dialog box, select the options you want.

35. Reporting Project Cost Variance with a Stoplight View Pages 325-328 (My laptop�is dying�let�s look at those pages and I�ll explain�).