How to Use Microsoft Project
This page describes how to use Microsoft Project (MSP) to implement the
project management
strategies described in my project planning documents to managers.
Information here distills knowledge and
wisdom gleaned from years of usage and studying
books, user forums, help files, training documents, videos, etc.
All text here is in one large file for quick search through all topics,
offered without charge and without generalizations and sales hype.
There are several approaches to understand and make use of this software
package to create schedules,
calculate 
MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit for Exam 70-632
Clicking on this default print icon sends one copy of the entire document with all of the default print settings to the default printer immediately after you click it.
Before Printing 
Microsoft Office Project 2007 Inside Out
Microsoft Office Project 2003 Inside Out
Resource Allocation
Task Entry 
Invented by Henry Gantt (1861-1919) while planning the construction of U.S. Navy ships during WWI, the Gantt chart
uses stacks of horizontal bars to show the
timing of tasks along a time-line running from left to right.
The position of a task bar marks its starting date.
The length of each task bar represents its duration -- the longer the bar, the longer the task will take.
If "Autolink inserted or moved tasks"
is active (selected) in Tools > Options,
when a task in the middle of dependent tasks is cut (using Ctrl+X),
MS Project automatically adds new dependencies to link its predecessor to its successor.
The Tracking Gantt view is used to review progress versus plan.
The thin black line in the middle of task bars represent percentage complete.
If a partially completed task is rescheduled, the duration remaining
can be split from past Duration. This is done using the
Reschedule Work icon on the Tracking toolbar.
That's if the Tools, Options, Schedule tab, Split in-progress
tasks box is checked and the
Tools, Options Reschedule uncompleted tasks to start after.
Zigzag Progress Lines optionally shown on
Gantt Charts illustrate the Finish Variance
(how far ahead or behind) for each task.
It is specified in menu Tools, Tracking, Progress Lines.
Microsoft Office Project 2003 Step by Step (Microsoft Press 2003)
The WBS field is automatically calculated.
It has a set of 10 corresponding read-only fields
Outline_Code1...10
which identifies each level of the tree-like WBS.
Advice:
Project 2003 for Dummies by Nancy Stevenson
In the Toolbar Customize "All commands" categories, drag this icon named "ResourceAssignment"
to the Custom Forms toolbar.
Comparison of Toolbars and Keyboard Shortcuts asssigned by Microsoft
Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Project 2003 (Macmillan, Feb 2004)
A particular filter may be useful at verious points during a project.
The most typical task relationship is sequential (finish-to-start).
To set a task to start after another task (45) finishes,
enter the ID number of that previous task in its Predecessor field:
To set a task (such as ordering ingredients)
one week before another task (47),
use the SF (Start-to-Finish) in its Predecessor field:
To set a task that should be done near the end, when the referenced task (49) is nearly
finished (such as training or shipping),
use FF (Finish to Finish) in the Predecessor field:
To define a parallel task (such as an observer)
that will automatically be set to start when another task (49) starts,
specify a SS (Start-to-Start) in its Predecessor field:
PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique)
uses three Duration estimates for each task:
Optimistic (O), Most Likely (ML), and Pessimistic (P).
The Expected Duration is derived from a weighted formula: (O + 4 * ML + P) / 6.
enables "what-if" analysis by
A parallelogram represents a summary task.
A rectangle represents a detail task.
A hexagon represents a milestone.
The default 8 hours excludes an hour for lunch, which means a total 9 hour day.
The large number of fields makes it necessary to use 
To manage Resource Availability (who are active on specific days):
The Resource Sheet view details the amount of Work for each resource
over time, summarized by the Resource Graph report of percentage
under/overallocation during each time period.
Microsoft Office Project 2003 Bible (John Wiley, 2004)
Dynamic Scheduling With Microsoft Project 2002: The Book By and for Professionals
by Eric Uyttewaal
Download the Project Value Calculator
The illustration at right shows what Microsoft does by default if in
Tools, Options, Schedule "Fixed Units" remains the Task Type
(illustrate by thick circles).
The Task Type of each type can set in the Advanced tab of the task's Information dialog.
If a task has more than one predecessor, only one of the predecessors
is the Driving Relationship which determines the task's
Early Start date.
Starting from the Microsoft Project 2007 Standard toolbar, selecting
"Task Drivers" reveals the driving predecessor and whether the schedule has been Resource Leveled and the effects of leveling.
I haven't figured out a way to change the font within tables, because MSProject replaces
each table comment tag with a complete table.
If you know, can you please email me? Thanks.
Effective Executives Guide to Project 2000 : The Eight Steps for Using Microsoft Project 2000 to Organize, Manage and Finish Critically Important Projects [eBook] (Redmond: Microsoft Press, 2000)
Managing With Microsoft Project 2002 (Roseville, Calif: Premier Press, 2002)
Complete Idiot's Guide to Project Management with Microsoft Project 2003
VBA Programming for Microsoft Office Project (Versions 98 through 2007)
(2006)
Managing Enterprise Projects using Microsoft Office Project Server 2007
(Soho Corp, Oct 2007)
Microsoft.public.... Newsgroups on the web:
