Project VBA: How and Why it can

Make You a Project Guru!

A Project Guru is not just a power user

Project Gurus are great at managing and reporting on, project information

Data management and reporting is what makes VBA so useful and productive

Rod Gill

• Microsoft MVP for Project since 1997(Most Valuable Professional)

• Has over 25 years experience as a Project Manager in Construction, Software Engineering and many other industries in between

• Trains Project Management and advanced Microsoft Project courses

• Author of the book: VBA Programming for Microsoft Office Project Versions 98 through 2007

A Project Guru is not just a power user

Project Gurus are great at managing and reporting on, project information

Data management and reporting is what makes VBA so useful and productive

This Session is aboutHow VBA helps you:

• Manipulate data• Import/Export data• Create custom Reports in Excel• Add functionality to Project• Make you stand out as an expert• Make you more money!• Up skill you to more job security

You’ll Learn

• How Project VBA will help elevate you to Guru status• Lessons from some real life examples• Some code to get you going• A road map to success with Project VBA

How Project VBA will help elevate you to Guru status

• Helps you understand and use your application better

• Makes you and your team more productive• Adds value to your information• Eliminates boring and repetitive work• Makes following processes easier and

more reliable• Makes you more useful and valuable at work• Makes you stand out as a Power User/Guru

VBA – More Benefits

• If you know Project VBA, Excel VBA is easy to pick up• Lets you integrate the power of Project and Excel

almost seamlessly• Good schedulers likely to have the right aptitude to

program in VBA• Can be used for any active project• Works with or without Project Server• VBA written for Project 98 still works in

Project 2010 – so great compatibility

Real Life Lessons from Two Projects

1. Multi-company, multi-country, multiple programs of projects - outsourcing project

2. Refinery upgrade

Examples

1. When more than one person needs to use the same file:A Project_Open event shows the View and Table reserved for the logged in user.

2. Getting Project to automatically scroll a project to today’s date on opening

3. Detailed graphs required weekly by Contractor, Discipline and Construction LocationInformation sent to Excel and graphed

Examples

4. Weekly report takes an hour to fill in each weekRead Project Server Data into Excel to create 80% of the report in seconds, even when that data is half way around the world

5. Spreadsheet holds useful progress dataUpdate a schedule with data from Excel

6. Manipulate Task names to save time and effort7. Reports print differently each week

Create macros to guarantee correct formatting of printed reports (no project Server)

When is it Worth Coding?

• I write code when to do so will take 50% less time than doing it manually (including repetitions)

• I write code to replace a boring job!• The more working code I have the more I have to

copy and edit and the less time it takes!

Road map to LearnProject VBA

1. Get my Book!2. Learn to record macros3. Learn to edit recorded macros4. Learn basic loops for Tasks, Assignments5. Develop code that’s easy to maintain6. Develop code to work with Excel/databases7. Write Add-ins8. Microsoft News Groups to keep you going9. http://msdn.microsoft.com/project/ for the Project

Developer Center

Finally• I’ll be at the MSProjectExperts stand in the

Exhibitors Hall• Get THE Project VBA book• Chris Boyd sessions: Project Client

Advanced Development Using VSTO and Project 2010 - Programmability

• Have a go!

Rod Gillrodg@project-systems.co.nzhttp://www.projectvbabook.com