¨
Consider a scenario wherein
a company, Smart Signup Group, has decided to reengineer the existing
Internet-based applications to support mobile devices and also incorporate new
enhancements to the software.

¨
This is a massive project
and without a proper project plan, there can be various problems and conflicts.

¨
Some of these may include
uneven resource allocation, schedule lags due to lack of planning and
scheduling, and so forth.

¨
One of the staff, Gary
Zeus, has been asked to take up this initiative as a project manager.

¨
As a professional project
manager, he decides to use the project management best practices combined with
MS Project 2013.

¨
As a first step, Gary
creates a project scope document.

¨
Next, he has to create a
project plan and works on the topics to arrive at the Work Breakdown Structure
(WBS). A WBS involves breaking a project into smaller objectives and
deliverables.

¨
To begin with, Gary or any
person wishing to create the project plan can create a project file in MS
Project by either starting a new project or searching and using a suitable MS
Project template.

3. CREATING A PROJECT PLAN

The following steps are involved in creating a project plan:

¨ Creating a new project file using MS Project 2013

¨ Defining a draft WBS for the project on paper or using a
documenting software such as MS Word or Excel

¨ Creating WBS in MS
Project 2013 by establishing project information and defining project tasks

In order to create a project plan, a user must first launch the MS
Project 2013 application.

1.
LAUNCHING MS PROJECT
2013 AND CREATING A NEW PROJECT

¨
Users can launch MS Project
2013 by typing “Project” in search box in start screen

Windows Start Screen

¨
This will Opens Project
2013, and the first screen is called start up screen

Ms Project Start Screen

¨
From start screen of
Project 2013, users can create a project from scratch by clicking “ Blank
Project” option

¨
Alternatively, they can
select a template suitable for the type of project that they want to manage and
create the project file based on it. They can then edit the predefined list of
tasks.

Figure illustrates a blank MS
Project file.

Blank Project File

¨ After creating the project file, users can save it at the
desired location, by selecting the Save option from the File tab.

4. MS PROJECT TEMPLATES

¨ Microsoft provides several convenient project templates through
the Microsoft Office Online Web site, Office.com.

¨ The templates are available for various types of projects under
several categories, such as Business , Industry, Technology , Education and so
on.

¨ The templates contain sample tasks broken into logical phases,
with durations and dependencies in place.

¨ The templates also include resources to create, edit, and delete
project information.

¨ To create a new project in MS Project 2013 using templates, the
following steps must be performed:

o Click File Tab

o From the Backstage view, select New

o In template category and then select the template that suits the
project needs.

o Consider an example for creating a project using an available
template. The steps to do this are as follows:

1.
Click the File tab and
select New.

2.
click Schedules than
click

3.
Market Research Schedule

5. WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE (WBS)

¨ The first step after creating a project file is to define the
WBS on paper or using documenting software such as MS Word.

¨ A WBS sets milestones for a project, where the project is broken
down into detailed smaller tasks.

¨ It helps define and organize the scope of the total project more
accurately and specifically.

¨ WBS in projects also helps in allocating responsibilities,
assigning resources, and project monitoring and control.

¨ It helps in making realistic and detailed project deliverables
so that the project team knows intermediate project goals.

¨ It is recommended to create the WBS before entering tasks into
MS Project.

¨ A WBS layout looks like a typical Windows Explorer file structure
or an outline structure of a book index.

¨ There are several ways of defining the WBS.

¨ The most popular way is by using a top-down tree structure.

¨ In this structure, each level divides the project deliverables
into more specific and measurable units.

CREATING A WBS

¨ Consider the example of a WBS defined for the Smart Signup
project that develops mobile applications.

¨ This WBS will be created in MS Word 2013 which will then serve
as a base for creating the WBS in MS Project.

Launch MS Word 2013
and type in the following:

1.
Project Scope

a.
Draft scope of work

b.
Obtain sponsorship for
the project/work order

c.
Identify preliminary
resources

d.
Secure resources

2.
Software Requirements
Analysis

a.
Identify project need
analysis

b.
Document high level
software requirements

c.
Identify budget/costing

d.
Review software
requirements with team e. Update requirements with feedback

e.
Calculate delivery
timeline

f.
Approvals to system
design

3.
System Design

a.
Review final software
requirements

b.
Document project
functional specifications

c.
Develop pilot

d.
Review final functional
specifications

e.
Update functional
specifications with feedback

f.
Approval for
development

4.
Software Development

a.
Identify system
modules/components

b.
Identify development
team

c.
Build code programming

d.
Developer debugging

5.
Testing

a.
Document unit test
plans

b.
Document integration
test plans

c.
Unit Testing

i.
Test components/modules
code

ii.
Identify variances

iii.
Update code

iv.
Re-test updated code

d.
Integration Testing

i.
Test integration of
modules

ii.
Identify variances

iii.
Re-modify code

iv.
Re-test updated code

6.
Training

a.
Identify training
specifications for end users and support staff

b.
Develop training
methodology (PC based training, Webinar, and so forth)

c.
Preparing training
materials

d.
Review and update
training materials

e.
Finalize training
delivery methodology

7.
Software Documentation

a.
Identify Help
specification

b.
Document Help system

c.
Review and update Help
documentation with feedback

d.
Identify user manuals
specifications

e.
Document user manuals

f.
Review and update user
documentation with feedback

8.
Pilot/prototype ready

a.
Categorize testing
resources

b.
Identify software
delivery methods

c.
Install software with
instructions

d.
Get user feedback

e.
Evaluate testing
results 9.

9.
Implementation/Installation

a.
Resolve final
implementation strategy

b.
Identify implementation
methods

c.
Commit implementation
resources

d.
Identify and train
support team

e.
Implement/install
software

10.
Post
Implementation/Installation Review

a.
Document project
lessons learnt

b.
Share with the team
members

c.
Identify support and
maintenance team

d.
Archive Project
documents to the central repository

Save the file and exit.

6. ESTABLISHING PROJECT INFORMATION

¨
After creating a project
file and defining the WBS either on paper or in MS Word, users need to
establish the project information and enter tasks in the project file, to map
the WBS to MS Project 2013.

¨
Project information for any
project contains configuration about the project, such as start date, end date,
the type of calendar used, and how tasks will be scheduled.

¨
To establish the project
information, perform the following steps:

1.
Create a blank new Project
file.

2.
Open the Project tab on the
Ribbon.

3.
Click Project Information.

4.
This displays the Project
Information dialog box where users can enter the following information:

Ø
Start Date: This is
the date when the project will start. All project tasks will be set to begin on
this day.

Ø
Schedule From: Users
can specify to create the project schedule forward from the start date or
backward from the finish date. This setting is specified here.

Ø
Finish Date: If the
deadline for the project is known, that information is specified here. This can
be used to work the schedule backwards from the finish date. This field is
available only if the Schedule From field is set to Finish Date.

Project Information dialogue box

Current Date: This field contains the
computer’s current date setting. Following Figure illustrates Project Information dialog box.

Enter relevant information
in the Project Information dialogue box

6.
Save Project

7. ENTERING TASKS

¨
The next step is to start
entering the tasks and subtasks that will define the WBS in the Gantt Chart
table.

¨
To create a task, perform
the following steps:

1.
In the Gantt Chart table,
click inside the Task Name column and enter the task description.

2.
Press ENTER or the Tab key
or simply press the down arrow to enter the next task. An empty default
duration appears in the Duration column along with a pin question mark icon in
the Task Mode column. This icon indicates that the task is Manually Scheduled.
Users can specify an option to schedule tasks manually or automatically.

3.
To change the scheduling,
click in the Task Mode column and select the desired option: Manually Scheduled
or Auto Scheduled from the drop-down. Selecting the Task Mode to Auto Scheduled
will change the icon to an Auto Scheduled icon with default duration of 1 day.
The default start and finish dates are also automatically added based on system
date.

In case of Manually Scheduled
tasks, the project manager needs to manually calculate and enter the task
dates. In case of Auto Scheduled tasks, MS Project automatically calculates the
task dates based on the WBS and task dependencies.

Figure 2.6 display
an example of tasks in Manually Scheduled and Auto Scheduled modes.

Tasks in Ms Project

By default, all
new tasks are configured to be Manually Scheduled. Users can change this
default setting to Auto Scheduled by clicking the New Tasks option on the
status bar and selecting Auto Scheduled.

8. Creating Subtasks and Summary Tasks

¨
After entering all major
tasks, a project manager can detail out the subtasks.

¨
To enter a subtask for a
major task, perform the following steps:

1.
First, select the task and
click the top part of the Task button (with a blue icon) in the Insert group on
the Task tab. This adds a new task row.

2.
Next, enter the subtask
name in the Task Name column.

3.
Click the Indent Task
button in the Schedule group on the Task tab. The task at a level
higher than the subtask now becomes a Summary task. Similarly, to modify
a subtask to main task, click the Outdent Task button.

Following figure displays the Indent Task and
Outdent Task options on the Ribbon.
in the following figure the two buttons indicated by left arrow and right arrow , button with right arrow is for indent task and button with left arrow is for outdent task.

indent and outdent tasks

Task

¨
Pressing the Tab key is an
easy way to navigate between fields in the table. To delete a task, select the
task row and press the Delete key.

¨
Similar to other Office

tools, one can use right-click in MS Project 2013 to view the related context
menu options.

¨
Following figure
illustrates the list of tasks and subtasks for the Smart Signup project.

Tasks and sub tasks

¨ After entering the WBS tasks, users can display the WBS as a
list of Summary tasks.

¨ A Summary task is an activity having several subtasks
in it.

¨ It can be collapsed or
expanded as needed.

¨ Managers might want to hide certain tasks and display only a
summarized view, before printing a report, if they are not relevant to a
meeting.

¨ Following figure illustrates Summary tasks for the Smart Signup
project.

creating Dynamic WBS Codes

9. DEFINING MILESTONES

¨
A milestone can be defined
as a task with zero duration.

¨
In essence, it simply marks
a moment in time that must be reflected in the project outline.

¨
Examples of milestones are
‘approval of a marketing campaign brochure design’ or ‘review and approval from
customer for acceptance of a project’.

¨
Such tasks do not involve any real work or
effort.

¨
They typically involve a
series of tasks, which when completed result in achieving of the milestones.

¨
They must be completed for
the project to move ahead.

10.
WBS Levels

¨
Project managers use WBS as
an essential aspect of their project management methodology.

¨
Similar to the outline of
project tasks list, WBS is a hierarchical chart of project deliverables.

¨
Each level represents
details of the project deliverables.

¨
Levels in the hierarchy
represent summary tasks, tasks, subtasks, and so forth.

¨
WBS levels are associated
with a specific code set, such as 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, and so forth.

¨
A project manager can also
define specific and customized WBS codes.

11. DEFINING WBS CODES

¨
MS Project 2013 generates
WBS codes for the list of tasks outlined in the Gantt Chart table.

¨
These codes are similar to
the numbering in a table of contents of a document or a book.

¨
They are added to the project outline to
provide a quick overview of the number of tasks and subtasks, the number of
tasks completed, and the number of tasks that are pending in a project.

¨
In simple words, the WBS is
a numbered list of tasks within a project.

¨
MS Project 2013 allows
project managers to generate a set of unique outline numbers as basic WBS codes
for a project.

¨
The outline number for the
first summary task is 1 and the outline number of the first subtask under the
first summary task is 1.1.

¨
Also, the user can define
custom dynamic WBS codes for the project tasks list.

12. Displaying the WBS Codes

¨
To display auto-generated
WBS codes for a project, perform the following steps:

1.
Insert a new column for WBS
codes by right-clicking the column heading before which to display the WBS
codes and selecting the Insert Column option. This results in a list of data
fields in a new column.

2.
Scroll down the list and
select WBS.

3.
The WBS codes for the
entire task details will then be displayed in the column.

4.
The WBS codes are updated
automatically whenever a task is added, moved, or deleted from the table.

5.
Following figure
illustrates the WBS option for displaying WBS codes.

Displaying wbs codes

13. CREATING A CUSTOM WBS CODE

¨
MS Project 2013 allows
creating custom WBS codes.

¨
Users can add a prefix to
the WBS codes, such as the name of the project, client name, or department
name.

¨
For the Smart Signup
project, the project manager can chose to create custom WBS codes with the
project short name, SSU separated by an underscore for all the tasks. Tasks
will now be identified with the WBS codes SSU_1, SSU_1.2 , and so forth.

¨
To create custom WBS codes,
perform the following steps:

1.
Open the Project tab
on the Ribbon.

2.
On the tab, in the Properties
group, click the WBS button and select the Define Code
option. This displays the WBS Code Definition dialog box.

3.
In this dialog box, enter the
Project Code Prefix as SSU_.

4.
Next, in the table, click
the Sequence drop-down list and specify the desired type unique coding
for the project. Users can specify to code the WBS as either Numbers
(ordered), Uppercase Letters (ordered), Lowercase Letters (ordered), or
Characters (unordered). A preview of the defined custom code is displayed
in Code preview in the dialog box.

5.
Finally, click OK to
generate the custom WBS codes. Figure 2.12 shows the creation of custom WBS
codes in the WBS Code Definition dialog box.

Following shows the creation of custom WBS codes in the WBS
Code Definition dialog box.

Creating custom Wbs codes

14. INTEGRATING PROJECT PLANS WITH OTHER MS OFFICE APPLICATIONS

¨
Project plans created with
MS Project 2013 integrate well with other MS Office applications, facilitating
management of projects with less effort.

¨
Users can use simple
copy-and-paste functions to copy task outlines and notes from other MS Office
applications, such as Word and Excel and create a new project file.

¨
In earlier versions of MS
Project, after copying lists from other Office applications into MS Project,
users required to spend time on formatting and indenting items to match their
original design.

¨
MS Project 2013 keeps
intact the project outline structure copied from other Office applications and
automatically generates subtasks and summary tasks in the project schedule,
based on the list items.

¨
Further, MS Project 2013
retains text formatting, fonts, text effects, date formats, and colors from the
source Office file