DeepDale MS 2007 Project Tutorial
Transcript of DeepDale MS 2007 Project Tutorial
MS-PROJECT TUTORIAL
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MS Office Project Tutorial
MS-PROJECT TUTORIAL
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CONTENTS
START MICROSOFT PROJECT 1
CREATE A NEW PROJECT 2
SAVE NEW PROJECT 2
SCHEDULE PROJECT START DATE AND FINISH DATE 3
SET PROJECT DURATION UNIT 4
ENTER TASKS AND TASK INFORMATION (Milestones, Durations,
Predecessors) 4
CHECK PROJECT DURATION 7
SET PROJECT RESOURCE UNIT 7
ENTER RESOURCE INFORMATION 8
ASSIGN RESOURCES TO TASKS 9
VIEW THE CRITICAL PATH 10
INSERT COLUMNS (Showing a hidden column) 12
CREAT SUBTASKS 13
VIEW AND ANALYSE RESOURCES 14
ANALYSIS OF RESOURCE HISTOGRAMS 14
SMOOTH OVERALLOCATED RESOURCES 15
LEVELL OVERALLOCATED RESOURCES 16
SPECIFY RESOURCE COSTS 19
EARNED VALUE CALCULATIONS 20
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STARTING MICROSOFT PROJECT
On Windows taskbar, click the Start button.
The Start menu appears.
On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Office, and then
click Microsoft Office Project 2003.
Project Standard appears. Your screen should look similar to the following
illustration (see Figure 1 below):
Figure 1: A blank Microsoft Project file
TASK PANE MENU BAR TOOL BAR
PROJECT PLAN
WINDOW/TASK
TABLE
Pro
ject
Gu
ide T
oo
lbar
Ch
art A
rea
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CREATING A NEW PROJECT
On the Menu Bar, Click File and New. A new blank project is created (see
Figure 2).
Figure 2
SAVING NEW PROJECT
Click File, Save As.
In the Save As dialog box, choose the drive and folder in which you want to
save the new project (see Figure 3).
Figure 3: Save As dialog box
In the File Name box, enter a descriptive name for your project and then click
the Save button.
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SCHEDULING PROJECT START DATE / FINISH DATE
To set up the project plan to be scheduled from the project Start Date, follow these
steps:
On the MENU BAR, click Project and Project Information.
The Project Information dialog box appears. (see Figure 4)
Figure 4: Project Information dialog box
In the Schedule From field, select Project Start Date.
Project Finish Date field is disabled and can’t be edited. Microsoft Project
will calculate this date for you later when you enter the activity duration and
their relationship.
In the Start Date field, click the down arrow button.
A small monthly calendar appears. Select a date as the start date of your
project. By default, Microsoft Project uses the current date as the project date.
To set up the project plan to be scheduled from the project Finish Date, follow these
steps:
In the Project Information dialog. Select Project Finish Date instead of
Project Start Date as the Schedule from field option. (see Figure 5)
Figure 5: Project Information dialog box
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Now Project Start Date field is disabled and can’t be edited. Microsoft
Project will calculate this date for you later when you enter the activity
duration and their relationship.
In the Finish Date field, click the down arrow button and select the
appropriate finish date.
* For this Exercise set up the project plan to be scheduled from the Project Start
Date and leave the Project Start Date as it is (i.e. today’s date).
SET PROJECT DURATION UNIT
You need to select from options Minutes/Hours/Days/Weeks/Months as the default
Duration unit to be entered in.
In this exercise, you set the Project Duration Unit as Days:
On the MENU BAR, click Tools and Options.
The Option dialog box appears (see Figure 6). On the Schedule tab, under
the Scheduling options for the project select option Days for the Duration is
entered in: field (see Figure 6) and click OK.
Figure 6: Set Project Duration Unit
ENTERING TASKS AND TASK INFORMATION (Milestones, Durations,
Predecessors)
In Microsoft Project, the tasks are entered in the Gantt chart view. In the default Gantt
chart view, the bar chart appears in the right side, and the table appears in the left side
of the view. Although the table might look similar to an Excel spreadsheet grid, it
behaves more like a database table. Each row of the table describes a single task,
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which is assigned a Task ID. Task IDs appear on the left side of the task’s row, and
the column headings, such as Task Name and Duration, are field labels. The
intersection of a row (or task) and a column is called a cell or field.
In this exercise, you enter the Tasks and Task information (Milestones, Durations,
and Predecessors) required for this project:
In the Gantt chart view, double-click the cell directly below the Task Name
column heading.
The Task Information dialog box appears. Under the General tab, enter
Task Name in the Name field and Task Duration in the Duration field (see
Figure 7).
Enter task A as the first task/activity for this project and its Duration as 0
days.
Figure 7: Entering Task Information
Your screen should look similar to the following illustration (see Figure 8):
Figure 8
In a similar way, enter task B under task A with duration of 10 days.
Then enter the predecessor for task B, click on the Predecessors tab under the
Task Information dialog box for task B (see Figure 9).
Select Predecessor as A from the Task list, in the Predecessors: area and
click OK (see Figure 9).
Here is the task you have entered.
The Task ID number appears here. Each task has a unique ID number, and it does not necessarily represent the order in which events will occur.
The value 0days appears in the duration field, as the default unit is set as days.
By default, the task start date is the same as the project start date.
The Task appears in the Gantt chart.
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Figure 9: Assign Predecessors
Your screen should look similar to the following illustration (see Figure 10):
Figure 10
Similarly enter the following tasks and their information (see Table 1):
Task ID Task name Duration (in days) Predecessors 1 A 0 -
2 B 10 A
3 C 4 A
4 D 8 A
5 E 20 B
6 F 15 C
7 G 23 D
8 H 5 E, F
9 I 4 F, G
10 J 0 H, I
Table 1: Task Table
Your screen should look similar to the following illustration (see Figure 12):
Figure 12
A task bar of 10 days length for task B appears in Gantt chart. date.
Link between tasks based on the predecessor information provided.
The tasks with 0 days duration are called
Milestones and these are used to determine
the start and end of the project.
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CHECKING PROJECT DURATION
At this point, you might want to know how long the project is expected to take. You
haven’t directly entered a total project duration or finish date, but the Project has
calculated these values, based on individual task durations and task relationships. An
easy way to see the Project’s scheduled finish date is via the Project Information
dialog box. To do this:
On the Project Menu, click Project Information. The Project Information
dialog box appears (see Figure 13).
Figure 13
* Note the Finish date.
You can’t edit the finish date directly because this project is set to be scheduled from
the start date. Project calculates the project’s finish date based on the total number of
working days required to complete the tasks, starting at the project’s start date. As this
project plan is now built, any change to the start date will cause Project to recalculate
the finish date.
Click Cancel to close the Project Information dialog box.
SET PROJECT RESOURCE UNIT
You need to select from options Percentage/Decimal as the default Resource unit to
be entered in.
In this exercise, you set the Project Resource Unit as Decimal:
On the MENU BAR, click Tools and Options. The Options dialog box
appears (see Figure 14).
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Figure 14: Set Project Resource Unit
On the Schedule tab, select option Decimal in the Show assignment units as
a: field (see Figure 14) and Click OK.
ENTERING RESOURCE INFORMATION
The Project Resource Information is entered in the Resource Sheet view. To switch
to resource sheet this:
On the MENU BAR, click View and Resource Sheet (see Figure 15).
Figure 15
Resource Sheet View replaces Gantt Chart View.
In the Resource Sheet View, click the cell directly below the Resource Name
column heading.
Type R1, and press Enter. Project creates a new resource.
Type R2 in the second row, and press Enter to add another new resource.
Similarly enter the remaining resources into the Resource Sheet (see Table 2).
Resource Name
R1
R2
R3 Table 2: Resources
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Your screen should look similar to the following illustration (see Figure 16):
Figure 16
Once the resources are entered, switch to Gantt chart View by clicking on View and
Gantt chart.
* Save the project file.
ASSIGNING RESOURCES TO TASKS
In this exercise, you make the initial resource assignments to the tasks:
Switch to Gantt chart View.
In the Task Name column, double click on task B, to open the Task
Information dialog box (see Figure 17).
Click on the Resources tab.
And in Resource Name column of the Resources section; assign 2 units of
the resource R1, 2 units of the resource R2 and 3 units of the resource R3 as
the resources for task B (see Figure 17).
Figure 17: Task Information dialog box: Resources
The value 1 appears in the Max.Units field, as the default unit is changed from percentage to decimal.
Here are the resources you have entered.
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Similarly assign the following resources to the remaining tasks (see Table 3):
Task ID Task name Resources
R1 R2 R3 1 A - - -
2 B 2 2 3
3 C 1 4 -
4 D - 4 4
5 E 1 1 1
6 F 6 2 2
7 G - 3 1
8 H 4 - 4
9 I - 5 6
10 J - - -
Table 3: Assign Resources
Once the resources are assigned, your screen should look similar to the following
illustration (see Figure 18):
Figure 18
VIEWING THE CRITICAL PATH
The critical path refers to all tasks that affect the finish date of the project. A task lies
on the critical path, if delaying that task will delay the finish of the entire project. The
tasks that lie on the critical path are known as critical tasks. By default the critical
path isn’t displayed, however the Gantt chart’s display can be tailored to show the
critical path. To view the Critical Path:
Right click on the Gantt Chart Area and click the Gantt Chart Wizard .
The Gantt Chart Wizard dialog box appears (see Figure 19).
Figure 19: Gantt Chart Wizard dialog box
Assigned Resources
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Click Next button.
Select the option Critical Path and click on Next (see Figure 20).
Figure 20: Gantt Chart Wizard dialog box
Now select the option Resources and dates and click Next (see Figure 21).
Figure 21: Gantt Chart Wizard dialog box
To show link lines between dependent tasks select the option Yes and click
Next (see Figure 22).
Figure 22: Gantt Chart Wizard dialog box
Click on Format It button (see Figure 23) to make the changes on Gantt
Chart.
Figure 23: Gantt Chart Wizard dialog box
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Click the Exit Wizard button to exit the Gantt Chart Wizard.
All tasks on Critical Path are displayed as red bar on the Gantt Chart. Your screen
should look similar to the following illustration (see Figure 24):
Figure 24: Gantt Chart displaying Critical Path (red bar)
INSERTING COLUMNS (Showing a hidden column)
A hidden column is a column that has been removed from a view. To show the
column again, you need to insert the column like you would with any new column. In
this exercise you Insert or Show hidden columns:
In the Gantt Chart view, select the column (field) to the right of where you
want to show the column. If you want to show the column as the last column,
you need to insert it before the last column and then move it by dragging its
heading.
Select the Task Name field (click on the column header).
On the Insert menu, click Column… The Column Definition dialog box
appears (see Figure 25).
Select WBS from the Field name: list and click OK.
Figure 25: Column Definition dialog box
Now in a similar way, insert columns with the following Field name: (see Table 4)
Field name: WBS
Early Start
Late Start
Early Finish
Late Finish
Total Slack
Table 4: Column Names
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Your screen should look similar to the following illustration (see Figure 26):
Figure 26
Note: Tasks C and F have Total Slack time of 11 days, while the other remaining
critical tasks have 0 days of Total Slack time (see column Total Slack in Figure 26).
CREATING SUBTASKS
It is helpful to organise groups of closely related tasks into phases. This involves
grouping of various tasks as subtasks of one major task (summary task). In this
exercise, you create subtasks:
Select task B. Then on the Insert menu, click New Task. MS-Project inserts a
row for a new task and renumbers the subsequent tasks.
Now enter Phase 1 as the new task in the newly inserted row.
In the task name column, drag to select tasks B, C and D. Click the INDENT
BUTTON on the Formatting Toolbar.
Task Phase 1 now becomes a summary task for tasks B, C and D. A summary
task is bold and has an outline symbol to the left of the task name (see Figure
27).
Similarly enter task Phase 2 (summary task) and make E, F and G as its subtasks.
Also enter task Phase 3 (summary task) and make H and I as its subtasks.
Please note the predecessor column, activities B, E and H doesn’t have any
predecessors as a result of inserting 3 new summary tasks. Make sure you remove the
predecessor information of the summary tasks and assign them to tasks B, E and H
respectively. Your screen should look similar to Figure 27:
Figure 27
Note: Make sure that the Predecessors column and the indenting information in the
WBS column looks similar to the one shown in Figure 27 (use Indent / Outdent
button on the formatting tool bar).
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VIEW AND ANALYSE RESOURCES
A resource being assigned twice the work it could accomplish in one day is always a
problem. Such a situation represents risk to the project. If there’s more work than
available time, it’s highly probable that deadlines will be missed, quality will suffer,
costs will increase, or scope will have to be cut.
At this point in the project, just before work actually begins, you can look at
scheduled resource overallocations, make necessary changes to maximise
underallocated resource contributions, and reduce risk from overallocated resources.
In this exercise, you will examine and analyse resources:
On the View menu, click Resource Sheet.
The Gantt Chart View is replaced by the Resource Sheet View appears.
Note that the resources R1, R2 and R3 appear in red and the overallocated icon is
displayed in the Indicators column (see Figure 28) alerting you that the resources are
over allocated. The over allocated resources assigned exceed its maximum capacity
and need be Smoothened or Levelled.
Figure 28: Overallocated Resource Sheet
ANALYSIS OF RESOURCE HISTOGRAMS/GRAPHS
In this exercise, you will review and analyse the resources by viewing the resource
graphs/histograms:
On the View menu, click Resource Graph. Resource Graph View appears.
The Resource Graph displays how much each resource is being utilized, in
terms of maximum units, for the time period specified in the timescale and the
over allocation (see Figure 29).
Figure 29: Resource Graph
Current Resource
The bar shows the total units of resource allocated.
This line specifies the maximum units for the current resource.
Scroll to view other resources.
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SMOOTHING OVERALLOCATED RESOURCES
Resource smoothing is the process of moving activities to improve the resource
loading profile. Resource smoothing may be used to make the pattern of resources
demand given by the aggregation more manageable (but without extending the
planned project duration). The technique is to delay some of the activities within
their available total float time, to remove peaks of resource demand. In this exercise,
you will Smoothen the overallocated resources:
With the Resource Graph View displayed, click on Tools and Level
Resources…
The Resource Levelling Dialog Box appears (see Figure 30).
Figure 30: Resource Levelling dialog box
In order to Smoothen the resources (this will ensure that levelling will not
push out the finish date), check the Level only within available slack check
box and clear all the other check boxes in the Resolving overallocations
section in the Resource Levelling Dialog Box (see Figure 30).
Now click on Level Now button.
If you have selected any of the resources, the Level Now dialog box appears
(see Figure 31), giving you an option of smoothing the entire project or only
the selected resources (choose option as per your requirement).
But for this exercise select the Entire Pool option and then click OK.
Figure 31: Level Now dialog box
Smoothing of resources prevents the finish date of your project from being delayed.
However, not all the resources will be smoothed unless your project has a fair amount
of built-in-slack or float.
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Since this project has not much of available slack/float time available, MS-Project
displays a message that it cannot resolve the overallocation of the resources (see
Figure 32).
Figure 32
Click on Skip button to continue smoothing other overallocated resources and
see what overallocated resources the MS-Project cannot resolve.
To continue smoothing and skip all the overallocations that cannot be
resolved, click Skip All button.
Now by switching to Gant Chart View and comparing the Early Start task
information with the Resource Smoothed task/resource information it becomes
apparent that the MS-Project has tried to resolve the resource overallocation by
changing the Start Date and Finish Dates of tasks C and F, using the available Total
Slack of these tasks. * All the tasks become critical and also see changes to the
resource graph.
Note: MS-Project provides other different views to see the changes made to your
project plan as a result of Smoothing, for example the Levelling Gantt View.
If you don’t like the results of smoothing, click Tools, Level Resources, and then
click Clear Levelling button to clear the smoothing action performed.
LEVELLING OVERALLOCATED RESOURCES
Resource levelling reschedules the project activities to give a maximum demand for
each resource within an imposed resource limit (the resource limit is referred to as
Resource Pool). This may cause the project to be delayed, if project has insufficient
float time or resources. In this exercise you will level the overallocated resources:
Switch to Resource Sheet View. As you can see, even though the resources
were smoothed the overallocations still cannot be resolved, all the resources
still appear in red and display the overallocated icon in the Indicators
column (see Figure 33).
Figure 33: Resource Sheet View
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Increase Resource Pool of all the resources (R1, R2 and R3) from 1 unit to 6
units.
Now click on Tools and Level Resources… The Resource Levelling Dialog
Box appears (see Figure 34).
Figure 34: Resource Levelling dialog box
To Level the resources (this might result in project being delayed), clear all the
other check boxes in the Resolving overallocations section in the Resource
Levelling Dialog Box (see Figure 34) and click on Level Now button.
If you have selected any of the resources, the Level Now dialog box appears
(see Figure 35). Select the Entire Pool option and then click OK
Figure 35: Level Now dialog box (This dialog box does not appear if you had a task selected)
Look at the Resource Sheet View, all the resources are now Levelled and the
overallocation is now resolved (see Figure 36).
Figure36: Levelled resource sheet view
Now by switching to Gant Chart View and comparing the Early Start
task/resource information, the Resource Smoothed task/resource information and
the Resource Levelled task/resource information it becomes clear that all the
resource overallocation have been resolved. * Also see the resource graph.
Resource levelling (resolving oveallocation of resources) was made possible by
increasing the availability of resources to 6 units. Resource Levelling also resulted in
the Project overall duration being delayed. To see the changes to the project overall
duration you need to insert a Project Summary Task. To do this:
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Switch to Gantt chart View. On the MENU BAR, click on Tools and
Options. Project Options dialog box will be displayed (see Figure 37).
Figure 37: Options dialog box
In the Options dialog box, select the View tab.
Then in the Outline options section, check the option Project Summary
Task and click OK.
The first cell in the Task Name column is displayed as the Project Summary Task.
The Project Summary Task has the same name as the Project. In the Gantt Chart the
Project Summary Task is displayed as a wide grey bar and extends the entire length of
the project (see Figure 38). See the Duration cell of the Project Summary Task, the
overall Project duration has been increased to 62 days from the Early Start duration
of 35 days
Figure 38
Note: MS-Project provides other different views to see the changes made to your
project plan as a result of Levelling, for example the Levelling Gantt View.
If you don’t like the results of levelling, click Tools, Level Resources, and then click
Clear Levelling button to clear the levelling action performed.
* Save the project file.
Project Summary Task
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SPECIFYING RESOURCE COSTS
You can set pay rates for work resources: people and equipment. When the resources
are assigned to tasks, Microsoft project multiplies the pay rates by the amount of
assigned work to estimate the planned cost for the project. To set pay rates for work
resources, follow these steps:
Click View, Resource Sheet.
In the Std. Rate field for the resource R1, enter the resource standard pay
rate as £20 (see Figure 39).
Similarly enter the following standard pay rate for the remaining resources (see Table
5):
Resource Name Std. Rate (£/hr) R1 20
R2 17
R3 10
Table 5: Resource Cost Information
Your screen should look similar to the following illustration (see Figure 39):
Figure 39: Levelling Gantt View
Once the standard pay rates for the resources are entered, MS-Project automatically
calculates and displays the Total Cost of each task. To view the cost details for the
project and the tasks:
Switch to Gant Chart View.
On the MENU BAR, click on View and Tables – Cost. The Project Entry
Table is replaced by the Cost Table showing the Total Cost for the project
and the Tasks (see Figure 40).
Figure 40: Levelling Gantt View
* Save the project file.
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EARNED VALUE CALCULATIONS
Earned Value Calculation is systematic method of measuring and evaluating schedule,
cost, and work performance in a project. Earned Value data is generated as soon as
you save a project baseline. Then as you start entering progress information, such as
actual start or finish dates, actual start entering progress information, such as actual
start or finish dates, actual percentage completed on so on, Microsoft Project
compares the actual data against the baseline, calculates variances, and plugs those
variances into earned value calculations.
Seting the Baseline
Set the project baseline when you have built and refined the project plan to your
satisfaction and just before you start entering progress information against tasks. The
project plan should show all tasks and resources assigned, and costs should be
associated with those resources. The project plan should reflect your target schedule
dates, budget amounts, and scope of work.
To set a baseline:
1. Click Tools, Tracking, Set Baseline… (see Figure 41).
Figure 41: Save Baseline
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2. The Set Baseline dialog box appears (see Figure 41).
3. Select options Set Baseline, For: Entire project and click OK.
Assign Baseline
Once the Baseline is saved you should specify which baseline should be used for
earned value analyses. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Tools, Options and then click Calculation tab in Option dialog box (see
Figure 42).
Figure 42: Option dialog box
2. Click the Earned Value button (see Figure 42).
The Earned Value dialog box appears (see Figure 43).
Figure 43: Earned Value dialog box
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3. In the Baseline for Earned Value calculations list, select the last set baseline (or
select the last set baseline you want to use from the list) and Close the dialog box.
4. Click on OK button in the Option dialog box.
Set Project Status Date
Earned Value data are calculated based on a particular status date. Unless you specify
otherwise, the status date is today’s date. Status date is set to track the project (i.e.
monitor the progress) and is set based on your needs
For this exercise set the status date as time-now, if time-now is 8 days from project
start date. To do this:
1. Click Project, Project Information… (see Figure 44).
Figure 44: Set Status date
2. The Project Information dialog box appears (see Figure 44).
In the Status date, select date from the calendar - 8 days from the Project Start
Date and click OK.
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ENTERING ACTUAL DATA
Enter the following Actual Data information for the project at time-now of 8 days (see
Table 1).
Table 6: Actual Data Information
Update tasks with Actual Start Date, Actual Finish Date and Actual Percentage
Complete
To update tasks:
1. Select task B.
2. Then click on Tools, Tracking and Update Tasks…
The Update Tasks dialog box appears (see Figure 45).
Figure 45: Update Tasks
3. Update task B with Actual Start, Actual Finish and Actual Percentage
Complete by using the information available from the Actual Data information
table (see Table 6 above).
Task Name Actual Costs, £ Actual Start Actual Finish Percentage
Complete
B 4000 1st Day - 40%
C 2500 1st Day 4
th Day 100%
D 3500 1st Day - 38%
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4. Enter the % complete for this task as 40%.
5. Enter the Actual Start for this task as the 1st day of the project.
6. Click OK.
Similarly update other tasks by using the Actual Data Information available in
Table 6.
Once the tasks are updated your screen should look similar to the following
illustration:
Figure 46: Updated Gantt View with Progress Line
Entering Actual Cost for the task
In order to enter the Actual Cost you should make sure that the Microsoft project
doesn’t calculate the Actual Cost. To do this:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Calculation tab on the
Options dialog box (see Figure 47).
2. Under Calculation options for, clear the Actual costs are always calculated by
Microsoft Office Project check box and click OK (see Figure 47).
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Figure 47: Options dialog box
3. On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Tracking.
4. Select the cell in the Act.Cost field for the tasks you want to update, and type the
actual cost based on actual cost information available in Table 6 (see page 23).
Once the Actual Costs are entered your screen should look similar to the following
illustration (see Figure 48):
Figure 48: Entering Actual Cost
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REVIEWING AND EVALUATING EARNED VALUE INFORMATION
To review earned value information, follow these steps:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options, click the Calculation tab on the Options
dialog box and then click the Calculate Now button (see Figure 49).
Figure 49: Options dialog box
2. Now click View, Table, More Tables…
More Tables dialog box appears (see figure 50).
Figure 50: More Table Dialog Box
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3. Select Earned Value, Earned Value Cost Indicators, or Earned Value
Schedule Indicators, depending on the type of earned value information you
want to review and click Apply (see Figure 50).
If Earned Value is selected, your screen should look similar to the following
illustration (see Figure 51):
Figure 51: Earned Value Table
If Earned Value Cost Indicators is selected, the table displays earned value fields
related to budget performance. Your screen should look similar to the following
illustration (see Figure 52):
Figure 52: Earned Value Cost Indicators Table
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If Earned Value Schedule Indicators is selected, the table displays earned value
fields related to schedule performance. Your screen should look similar to the
following illustration (see Figure 53):
Figure 53: Earned Value Schedule Indicators Table
Table 2 below lists the default contents of each of the three earned value tables.
TABLE NAME INCLUDED FEILDS
Earned Value BCWS (Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled)
BCWP (Budgeted Cost of Work Performed)
ACWP (Actual Cost of Work Performed)
SV (Schedule Variance)
CV (Cost Variance)
EAC (Estimate At Completion)
BAC (Budget At Completion)
VAC (Variance At Completion)
Earned Value Cost Indicators BCWS (Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled)
BCWP (Budgeted Cost of Work Performed)
CV (Cost Variance)
CV % (Cost Variance Percent)
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CPI (Cost Performance Index)
BAC (Budget At Completion)
EAC (Estimate At Completion)
VAC (Variance At Completion)
TCPI (To Complete Performance Index)
Earned Value Schedule Indicators BCWS (Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled)
BCWP (Budgeted Cost of Work Performed)
SV (Schedule Variance)
SV% (Schedule Variance Percent)
SPI (Schedule Performance Index)
Table 7: Earned Value Tables
Understanding the Earned Value Fields
Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS): The original planned cost of a task, up
to the status date. BCWS indicates the amount of budget that should have been spent
by now on a task.
Budgeted Cost of Work Performed (BCWP): The cost of work actually done,
according to the original budget. BCWP indicates the amount of budget that should
have been spent by now on a task, based on the amount of actual work reported by
this date.
Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP): The sum of all costs actually accrued for
a task to date. It includes standard and overtime costs for assigned resources, any per-
use costs, and fixed costs for tasks. ACWP indicates the amount of budget that should
have been spent by now on this task, based on the actual work reported by this date.
Cost Variance (CV): The difference between the budgeted costs and the actual costs
of a task (ACWP-BCWP). A positive CV means that the task is currently under
budget. A negative CV means that the task is currently over budget. A CV of 0
means that the task is exactly on budget.
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Schedule Variance (SV): The measure of the difference between the cost as planned
and the cost as performed (BCWP–BCWS). Even though it’s called “Schedule
Variance”, the variance really calculated is the cost resulting from schedule
considerations. The positive SV means that the task is ahead of schedule in terms of
cost. A negative SV that the task is behind schedule in terms of cost. An SV of 0
means that the task is exactly on schedule in terms of cost.
Estimate At Completion (EAC): The projected cost of a task at its completion, also
known as Forecast At Completion (FAC). The projection is based on current schedule
performance up to the status date.
Budgeted At Completion (BAC): The baseline cost of a task at its completion. BAC
is the cost for the task as planned. BAC is exactly the same as the baseline cost, which
includes assigned resource cost and any fixed costs for the task.
Variance At Completion (VAC): The difference between actual cost at completion
and baseline cost at completion, or BAC-EAC. VAC is the cost variance for a
completed task. A negative VAC indicates that the forecasted cost for the task is
currently over budget. A positive VAC indicates that the forecasted cost for the task
is currently under budget. A VAC of 0 indicates that the task is right on budget.
Cost Performance Index (CPI): The ratio of budgeted to actual cost of work
performed. CPI is also known as Earned Value for Cost. When CPI ratio is 1, the cost
performance index is exactly as planned, according to current work performance. A
ratio greater than 1.0 indicates that you’re under budget; less than 1.0 indicates that
you’re over budget. CPI is calculated by dividing BCWP by ACWP.
Schedule Performance Index (SPI): The ratio of budgeted cost of work performed
to budgeted cost of work scheduled. SPI, which is also known as Earned Value for
Scheduled, is often used to estimate the project completion date. When the SPI ratio is
1.0, the task is precisely on schedule. A ratio greater than 1.0 indicates that you’re
ahead of schedule; less than 1.0 indicates that you’re behind schedule. SPI is
calculated by dividing BCWP by BCWS.
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Cost Variance Percent (CV %): The difference between how much a task should
have cost and how much it has actually cost to date, displayed in the form of a
percentage. CV is calculated as follows: [(BCWP-ACWP)/BCWP]*100. A positive
percentage indicates an under-budget condition, whereas a negative percentage
indicates an over budget condition.
Schedule Variance Percent (SV %): The percentage of how much you are ahead of
or behind schedule for a task. SV is calculated as follows: (SV/BCWS)*100. A
Positive percentage indicates that you’re currently ahead of schedule, whereas a
negative percentage indicates that you’re behind schedule.
To Complete Performance Index (TCPI): The ratio of the work yet to be done on a
task to the funds still budgeted to be spent on that task. TCPI is calculated as follows:
(BAC-BCWP)/(BAC-ACWP). TCPI helps you estimate whether you will have
surplus funds or a shortfall. Values over 1.0 indicate a potential shortfall. Increased
performance for remaining work would be needed to stay within budget.
END OF SESSION