Microsoft Project

2019
Step by Step

Cindy Lewis
Carl Chatfield
Timothy Johnson
Microsoft Project 2019 Step by Step Publisher
Published with the authorization of Microsoft Corporation by: Mark Taub
Pearson Education, Inc.
Acquisitions Editor
Copyright © 2019 by Pearson Education, Inc. Loretta Yates

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Contents at a Glance
Part 1: Get started with Microsoft Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1: Project, project management, and you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
2: Take a guided tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Part 2: Simple scheduling basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

3: Start a new plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
4: Build a task list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
5: Set up resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
6: Assign resources to tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
7: Format and share your plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
8: Track progress: Basic techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Part 3: Advanced scheduling techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173

9: Fine-tune task scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
10: Fine-tune task details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
11: Fine-tune resource and assignment details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
12: Fine-tune the Project plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
13: Organize plan details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
14: Track progress: Detailed techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
15: View and report project status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333

Part 4: In-depth and special subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

16: Format and print views: In-depth techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
17: Format reports: In-depth techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
18: Customize Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .403
19: Share information with other programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
20: Consolidate projects and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
21: Use Agile project management with Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469

iii
Part 5: Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
A: A short course in project management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
B: Develop your project management skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
C: Collaborate: Project, SharePoint, and PWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .519
D: Use this book in a classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
About the authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

iv
Contents
Author Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii

i
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Who this book is for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
The Step by Step approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
Download the practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx
E-book edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii
Adapt procedure steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxii
How to get support & provide feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii
Errata & book support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii
Stay in touch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiv

Part 1: Get started with Microsoft Project

1
Project, project management, and you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Meet the Project program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Meet the Project family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
See the new features in Project 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Review features in earlier versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
New in Project 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
New in Project 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
New in Project 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Take a project manager’s perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Let’s get started! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

v
 2
Take a guided tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Explore the Project user interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Manage files and set options in the Backstage view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Work with schedule details in views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Use reports to check a plan’s status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Explore the Project user interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Manage files and set options in the Backstage view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Work with schedule details in views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Use reports to check a plan’s status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Part 2: Simple scheduling basics

3
Start a new plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Create a new plan and set its start date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Set nonworking days in the project calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Enter the plan title and other properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Create a new plan and set its start date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Set nonworking days in the project calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Enter the plan title and other properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

4
Build a task list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Create tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Switch task scheduling from manual to automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

vi
 Enter task durations and estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Enter milestone tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Create summary tasks to outline the plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Link tasks to create dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Check a plan’s duration and finish date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Document task information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Create tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Switch task scheduling from manual to automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Enter task durations and estimates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Enter milestone tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Create summary tasks to outline the plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Link tasks to create dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Check a plan’s duration and finish date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Document task information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

5
Set up resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Set up work resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Enter the maximum capacity for work resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Enter work resource pay rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Adjust working time in a resource calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Set up cost resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Document resources by using notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Set up work resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Enter the maximum capacity for work resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Enter work resource pay rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Adjust working time in a resource calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Set up cost resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Document resources by using notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

vii
 6
Assign resources to tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Assign work resources to tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Control work when adding or removing resource assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Assign cost resources to tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Check the plan after assigning resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Assign work resources to tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Control work when adding or removing resource assignments . . . . . . . . . 120
Assign cost resources to tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Check the plan after assigning resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

7
Format and share your plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Customize a Gantt chart view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Add tasks to a Timeline view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Customize reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Copy views and reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Print views and reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Customize a Gantt chart view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Add tasks to a Timeline view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Customize reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Copy views and reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Print views and reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

8
Track progress: Basic techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Understand progress tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

viii
 Save a baseline of your plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Track a plan as scheduled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Enter a task’s completion percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Enter actual values for tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Save a baseline of your plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Track a plan as scheduled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Enter a task’s completion percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Enter actual values for tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Part 3: Advanced scheduling techniques

9
Fine-tune task scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
See task relationships by using Task Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Adjust task link relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Control task scheduling by using constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Interrupt work on a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Adjust working time for individual tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Control task scheduling by using task types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
See task schedule details by using the Task Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
See task relationships by using Task Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Adjust task link relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Control task scheduling by using constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Interrupt work on a task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Adjust working time for individual tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Control task scheduling by using task types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
See task schedule details by using the Task Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

ix
 10
Fine-tune task details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Enter deadline dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Enter fixed costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Create a recurring task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
View the plan’s critical path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Schedule summary tasks manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Enter deadline dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Enter fixed costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Create a recurring task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
View the plan’s critical path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Schedule summary tasks manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

11
Fine-tune resource and assignment details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Change resource availability over multiple date ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Work with multiple resource pay rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Change resource pay rates over different date ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Delay the start of assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Apply contours to assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Create and assign material resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
View resource capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Adjust assignments in the Team Planner view
(Project Professional only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Change resource availability over multiple date ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Work with multiple resource pay rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Change resource pay rates over different date ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Delay the start of assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

x
 Apply contours to assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Create and assign material resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
View resource capacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Adjust assignments in the Team Planner view
(Project Professional only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

12
Fine-tune the Project plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Examine resource allocations over time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Resolve resource overallocations manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Level overallocated resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Check the plan’s cost and finish date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Inactivate tasks (Project Professional only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Examine resource allocations over time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Resolve resource overallocations manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Level overallocated resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Check the plan’s cost and finish date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Inactivate tasks (Project Professional only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

13
Organize plan details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Sort plan details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Group plan details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Filter plan details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Create new tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Create new views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Sort plan details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Group plan details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

xi
 Filter plan details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Create new tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Create new views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

14
Track progress: Detailed techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311
Update a baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Track actual and remaining work for tasks and assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Track timephased actual work for tasks and assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Reschedule incomplete work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Update a baseline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Track actual and remaining work for tasks and assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Track timephased actual work for tasks and assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Reschedule incomplete work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

15
View and report project status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Examine a plan’s variance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Identify tasks that have slipped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Examine task costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Examine resource costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Examine a plan’s variance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Identify tasks that have slipped . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Examine task costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
Examine resource costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

xii
Part 4: In-depth and special subjects

16
Format and print views: In-depth techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Format a Gantt chart view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Format a Timeline view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Format a Network Diagram view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368
Format a Calendar view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Print and export views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Format a Gantt chart view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Format a Timeline view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Format a Network Diagram view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Format a Calendar view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Print and export views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384

17
Format reports: In-depth techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Create a custom report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387
Customize charts in a report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392
Customize tables in a report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Create a custom report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Customize charts in a report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Customize tables in a report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401

18
Customize Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Share custom elements between plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

xiii
 Record and run macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Edit macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Customize the ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Share custom elements between plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Record and run macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419
Edit macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420
Customize the ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

19
Share information with other programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Copy Project data to and from other programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Open files in other formats in Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
Save to other file formats from Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Generate reports with Excel and Visio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .440
Copy Project data to and from other programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .440
Open files in other formats in Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Save to other file formats from Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Generate reports with Excel and Visio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .444

20
Consolidate projects and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Share a resource pool across multiple plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .448
Consolidate plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
Create dependencies between plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .464

xiv
 Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
Share a resource pool across multiple plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
Consolidate plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Create dependencies between plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466

21
Use Agile project management with Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
Practice files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
Navigate the Agile project management template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
Reset the Agile project management template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
Create the product backlog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476
Create the Agile team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478
Plan a sprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Record progress from daily scrum meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Generate reports for sprint reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
Sources for more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488
Skills review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
Navigate the Agile project management template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
Reset the Agile project management template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Create the product backlog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
Create the Agile team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
Plan a sprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Record progress from daily scrum meetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Generate reports for sprint reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

Part 5: Appendixes

A
A short course in project management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
Understand what defines a project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505
The project triangle: View projects in terms of time, cost, and scope . . . . . . . . 507
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

xv
 Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
Time, cost, and scope: Manage project constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
You have less time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
You have fewer resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .511
You have more work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
Manage your projects with Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513

B
Develop your project management skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .515
Join a Project learning community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
Join a project-management learning community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516

C
Collaborate: Project, SharePoint, and PWA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .519
Set the Project desktop client to Computer mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
Sources for more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Share your plan by using SharePoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
Sources for more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Team collaboration with Project Web App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Sources for more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Project portfolio management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Sources for more information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

D
Use this book in a classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
Match content to instructional needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535
Teach project management with Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
About the authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

xvi
Author Acknowledgments
Thank you to the many people who supported me while writing this book. I thank my
technical editor, Christine Flora, for her insightful thoughts and technical expertise.
I thank James Mills, Jr., for his expertise as a co-author of Chapter 21 and his great
collaboration. A special thank you to my husband, my family, and my friends who
supported me during this process. Thank you also out to the amazing editorial team
who ensured the book’s quality.

—Cindy Lewis

xvii
This page intentionally left blank
Introduction i
Welcome! This Step by Step book has been designed so that you can read it from the
beginning to learn about Microsoft Project 2019 and then build your skills as you learn to
perform increasingly specialized procedures. Alternatively, if you prefer, you can jump in
wherever you need ready guidance for performing tasks. The how-to steps are delivered
crisply and concisely—just the facts. You’ll also find informative, full-color graphics that
support the instructional content.

Who this book is for

Microsoft Project 2019 Step by Step is designed for use as a learning and reference
resource by home and business users of Microsoft programs who want to use Project
to create and manage projects more efficiently. The content of the book is designed to
be useful both for people who have previously used earlier versions of Project and for
people who are discovering Project for the first time.

The Step by Step approach

The book’s coverage is divided into chapters representing general Project skill sets.
Each part is divided into chapters representing skill set areas, and each chapter is
divided into topics that group related skills. Each topic includes expository informa-
tion followed by generic procedures. At the end of each chapter is a series of practice
tasks you can complete on your own by using the skills taught in the chapter. You can
use the practice files that are available from this book’s website to work through the
practice tasks, or you can use your own files.

xix
Introduction

Download the practice files

Before you can complete the practice tasks in this book, you need to download the
book’s practice files to your computer from [Link]
store/microsoft-project-2019-step-by-step-9781509307425. Follow the instructions
on the Downloads tab.

IMPORTANT Project 2019 is not available from the book’s website. Be sure to install
that program before you work through the procedures and practice tasks in this book.

You can open the files that are supplied for the practice tasks and save the finished
versions of each file. If you later want to repeat practice tasks, you can download the
original practice files again.

The following table lists the practice files for this book.

Chapter Folder Files

Part 1: Get started with Microsoft Project
1: Project, project management, and you Ch01 None

2: Take a guided tour Ch02 [Link]

Part 2: Simple scheduling basics

3: Start a new plan Ch03 None

4: Build a task list Ch04 [Link]

5: Set up resources Ch05 [Link]

6: Assign resources to tasks Ch06 [Link]

[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

7: Format and share your plan Ch07 [Link]

8: Track progress: Basic techniques Ch08 [Link]

[Link]

xx
 Introduction

Chapter Folder Files

Part 3: Advanced scheduling techniques
9: Fine-tune task scheduling Ch09 [Link]
[Link]

10: Fine-tune task details Ch10 [Link]

11: Fine-tune resource and assignment Ch11 [Link]

details [Link]

12: Fine-tune the Project plan Ch12 [Link]

13: Organize plan details Ch13 [Link]

14: Track progress: Detailed techniques Ch14 [Link]

[Link]
[Link] [Link]

15: View and report project status Ch15 [Link]

Part 4: In-depth and special subjects

16: Format and print views: In-depth Ch16 [Link]
techniques

17: Format reports: In-depth techniques Ch17 [Link]

18: Customize Project Ch18 [Link]

[Link]

19: Share information with other programs Ch19 [Link]

[Link]

20: Consolidate projects and resources Ch20 [Link]

[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

21: Use Agile Project Management with Ch21 [Link]

Project [Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

xxi
Introduction

Ebook edition
If you’re reading the ebook edition of this book, you can do the following:
■ Search the full text
■ Print
■ Copy and paste

You can purchase and download the ebook edition from the Microsoft Press Store
at [Link]
9781509307425.

Adapt procedure steps

This book contains many images of the Project user interface elements (such as the
ribbon and the program window) that you’ll work with while performing tasks in
Project on a Windows computer. Depending on your screen resolution or window
width, the Project ribbon on your screen might look different from the one shown in
this book. (If you turn on Touch mode, the ribbon might display some commands in
a different layout.) As a result, procedural instructions that involve the ribbon might
require a little adaptation.

Simple procedural instructions use this format:

1. On the Task tab, in the View group, click the Gantt Chart button.

If the command is in a list, our instructions use this format:

1. On the View tab, in the Data group, click the Filter arrow and then, in the Filter
list, click Summary Tasks.

If differences between your display settings and ours cause a button to appear differ-
ently on your screen than it does in this book, you can easily adapt the steps to locate
the command. First click the specified tab and then locate the specified group. If a
group has been collapsed into a group list or under a group button, click the list or
button to display the group’s commands. If you can’t immediately identify the button
you want, point to likely candidates to display their names in ScreenTips.

xxii
 Introduction

Multistep procedural instructions use this format:

1. On the View tab, in the Resource Views group, click the Resource Sheet button
to display the Resource Sheet view.

2. On the View tab, in the Data group, click the Tables button and then click Cost.

The instructions in this book assume that you’re interacting with onscreen elements
on your computer by clicking (with a mouse, touchpad, or other hardware device).
If you’re using a different method—for example, if your computer has a touchscreen
interface and you’re tapping the screen (with your finger or a stylus)—substitute the
applicable tapping action when you interact with a user interface element.

Instructions in this book refer to Project user interface elements that you click or tap
on the screen as buttons and refer to physical buttons that you press on a keyboard
as keys, to conform to the standard terminology used in documentation for these
products.

When the instructions tell you to enter information, you can do so by typing on a
connected external keyboard, tapping an onscreen keyboard, or even speaking
aloud, depending on your computer setup and your personal preferences.

How to get support & provide feedback

The following sections provide information on errata, book support, feedback, and
contact information.

Errata & book support

We’ve made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this book and its companion
content. You can access updates to this book—in the form of a list of submitted
errata and their related corrections—at [Link]
microsoft-project-2019-step-by-step-9781509307425.

If you discover an error that is not already listed, please submit it to us at the same
page.

xxiii
Introduction

If you need additional support, email Microsoft Press Book Support at

microsoftpresscs@[Link].

Please note that product support for Microsoft software and hardware is not offered
through the previous addresses. For help with Microsoft software or hardware, go to
[Link]

Stay in touch
Let’s keep the conversation going! We’re on Twitter: [Link]
MicrosoftPress.

xxiv
Part 1

Get started
with Microsoft
Project
CHAPTER 1
Project, project management, and you. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

CHAPTER 2
Take a guided tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
This page intentionally left blank
Project, project
management,
and you
1
Practice files In this chapter
This chapter has no practice tasks. ■ Meet the Project program
■ Meet the Project family
Thank you for adding this book to your Microsoft Project
2019 skills development plan. This book is designed to be ■ See the new features in
a learning and reference resource. Most of the chapters Project 2019
that follow include hands-on activities in Project.
■ Review features in earlier versions
This chapter does not involve hands-on work in Project. ■ Take a project manager’s
Instead, read it to better understand how Project and perspective
project management fit with your personal skills devel-
■ Let’s get started!
opment goals. This chapter introduces you to Project and
the field of project management.

Meet the Project program

Project can be the go-to tool in your project-management
toolbox. This book explains how to use Project to build
schedules (which are generally called plans), complete with
tasks and resources.

Project is a powerful program that you can use to plan

and manage a wide range of projects. From meeting

3
Chapter 1: Project, project management, and you

crucial deadlines and budgets to selecting the right resources, you can be more
productive and realize better results by using the set of features Project offers. You
can use Project to do the following:

■ Create plans at the level of detail that’s right for your project. You can work
with summary data initially and then shift to a more detailed approach when
needed.
■ Control what tasks Project can schedule automatically and which ones you want
to schedule manually.
■ Manage tasks, resources, work, and costs at whatever level of detail is
appropriate for your project’s needs.
■ Work with your plan’s data in a variety of views and reports.
■ Track and manage your plan throughout the life of the project.
■ Collaborate and share data with others in your organization.
■ Use resource pools, consolidated projects, and cross-project links to extend
your project-management focus across multiple projects.

Project 2019 builds on previous versions to provide powerful project-management

tools. See the sections, “See the new features in Project 2019,” and “Review features in
earlier versions,” later in this chapter, for a list of the major new features from the last
several releases of Project and for cross-references to the related topics in this book.

Meet the Project family

The Project desktop program is available in several different editions:

■ Project Standard This edition is the entry-level desktop program for creating,
modifying, and tracking plans.
■ Project Professional This edition includes all the functionality of Project
Standard plus a few additional features, such as the Team Planner view. Project
Professional can also work with Project Online and Project Server.
■ Project Online Professional or Project Online Premium Obtained through
a Microsoft 365 subscription, these editions are cloud based. They can be
either used as a desktop program or connected to Project Web App (PWA).

4
 See the new features in Project 2019

Subscription versions enable you to receive new features faster and use extra
features provided to subscribers only. 1
In addition to installing the Project desktop program on your computer, you have
other options for accessing Project and related services:

■ Project Online Delivered through Microsoft 365, Project Online is the Micro-
soft Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) solution. (Note that Project
Online is not a web-based version of the Project program.)
■ Project Server This is the Microsoft on-premises PPM solution.
■ Project Web App (PWA) This is the browser-based interface for the PPM
solution.

TIP For more information on using Project with the Microsoft SharePoint and PPM
solutions, see Appendix C, “Collaborate: Project, SharePoint, and PWA.” To learn
more about Project Online and Microsoft 365 subscription offerings, go to https://
[Link]/project.

This book focuses on the features in the Project Standard and Project Professional
desktop programs. When a feature that is unique to Project Professional appears, we
give instructions for users of both Project Standard and Project Professional. If you are
a subscriber, follow the book as written and refer to the Project Professional instruc-
tions when unique features are pointed out.

See the new features in Project 2019

The 2019 version of Project includes some new and improved features, including the
following:

■ Improved task linking A multilevel task list is available from predecessor or

successor fields displayed in views and dialog boxes. This list offers linking via
check boxes. For more information, see “Link tasks to create dependencies” in
Chapter 4, “Build a task list.”
■ Timeline view updates Each timeline bar can have a unique label, and task
progress is now displayed in the timeline. For more information, see “Format a
timeline view” in Chapter 16, “Format and print views: In-depth techniques.”

5
Chapter 1: Project, project management, and you

■ Task Summary Name field added You can add a task’s immediate summary
task name to tables (such as the Usage table in Resource Usage view) to further
clarify where the task is in the plan’s outline. For more information on creating
new tables or adding a column to a table, see “Create new tables” in Chapter 13,
“Organize plan details.”
■ Accessibility improvements Project is now more compatible with screen
reader programs, and enhancements have been made to contrast and key-
board support. For more information, go to [Link] and
search for accessibility in project. In the book, we have included notes to help
colorblind readers navigate Project and, where appropriate, we have offered
suggestions to format your plan differently to address the visual needs of the
team.

TIP If you are a Project subscriber, you might have new or modified features beyond
the ones in the previous list. Your organization determines the features available to you.

If you’re upgrading to Project 2019 from a previous version, you’re probably most
interested in the differences between the old and new versions and how they affect
you. The following sections list new features that Project 2016, Project 2013, and
Project 2010 introduced. Depending on the version of Project you are upgrading
from, some of these previously new features might be new to you as well.

Review features in earlier versions

Even though Project regularly releases enhanced versions of its software, you might
not have upgraded with every new release due to organizational standards, version
compatibility, or other reasons. We have included the features that were delivered
with each release for your reference. If you have been keeping up with Project
versions, this section could be a reminder of some of the exciting features and when
they were introduced.

New in Project 2016

The 2016 version of Project included some new and improved features, including the
following:

■ Timeline view updates You can display multiple timeline bars with custom
date ranges. For more information, see “Format a timeline view” in Chapter 16.
6
 Review features in earlier versions

■ Tell Me This is a help and feature search text box on the ribbon. Use it to
quickly find a Project feature (or to find help content about that feature). For 1
more information, see Chapter 2, “Take a guided tour.”
■ New themes To change the visual style of Project, you can apply one of the
new Office themes. You do so on the General page of the Project Options
dialog box (available from the File tab).

New in Project 2013

The 2013 version included the following new features:

■ Reports Project 2013 replaced the previous tabular reports feature with an
entirely new way of visualizing your Project data. The reports feature includes
a dynamic mix of tables, charts, and textual content, and it is also highly
customizable. For more information, see, “Customize reports” in Chapter 7,
“Format and share your plan,” and see Chapter 17, “Format reports: In-depth
techniques.”
■ Task Path Use this feature to quickly identify the Gantt bars of the selected
task’s predecessors and successors. For more information, see “See task
relationships by using Task Path” in Chapter 9, “Fine-tune task scheduling.”
■ Redesigned Backstage and OneDrive integration As with other Office
programs, quick access to Microsoft OneDrive storage is integrated into the
Project Backstage view. For more information, see “Manage files and set
options in the Backstage view” in Chapter 2.
■ A much later project finish date The latest possible date Project can work
with moved from December 31, 2049, to December 31, 2149.
■ Support for touch input As in other Office programs, you can optimize the
Project interface (primarily the commands on the ribbon) for either touch or
mouse input.
■ Skype integration (Project Professional only) In Project, you can start a
Skype for Business chat or create an email message to a resource directly from
Project. To do so, point to the resource name and start an instant messaging
session or video chat.
■ Support for apps for Office Project supports third-party add-ins and apps
available from the Office Store, located at [Link].

7
Chapter 1: Project, project management, and you

New in Project 2010

The 2010 version included the following new features:

■ The ribbon interface The ribbon interface organized all the commands that
most people use in a new way, making them quickly accessible from tabs at the
top of the program window. For more information, see “Explore the Project
user interface” in Chapter 2.
■ The Backstage view All the tools you need to work with your files are
accessible from one location. For more information, see “Manage files and set
options in the Backstage view” in Chapter 2.
■ Manually scheduled tasks You can begin creating tasks with whatever
information you might have, and you don’t have to worry about automatically
scheduling tasks until you’re ready. Manually scheduled tasks are not affected
by changes in duration, start or finish dates, dependencies, or other items
that otherwise would cause Project to reschedule a task. You can also switch
individual tasks or an entire plan from manual to automatic scheduling. For
more information, see “Create tasks” and “Switch task scheduling from manual
to automatic” in Chapter 4.
■ Timeline view Create a “project at a glance” view that includes just the summary
tasks, tasks, and milestones that you choose. You also can easily copy the Timeline
view as a graphic image to paste into other programs. For more information, see
“Add tasks to a Timeline view” and “Copy views and reports” in Chapter 7.
■ Improved pasting to Excel and Word When you paste Project data into Micro-
soft Excel or Word, you can preserve the column headings and outline structure
of your Project data. For more information, see “Copy Project data to and from
other programs” in Chapter 19, “Share information with other programs.”
■ Customizable ribbon Create your own tabs and groups to suit the way you
work. For more information, see “Customize the ribbon and Quick Access
Toolbar” in Chapter 18, “Customize Project.”
■ Custom fields When you start typing a numeric value, date value, or text
string into the rightmost column in a table, Project identifies the right data
type. For more information, see “Create new tables” in Chapter 13.
■ AutoFilter improvements You can use Excel-like column filtering, in addition
to sorting and grouping, directly from AutoFilter arrows on column headings.
For more information, see “Filter plan details” in Chapter 13.

8
 Take a project manager’s perspective

■ Save as PDF or XPS You create PDF or XPS-format documents directly within
Project. For more information, see “Print and export views” in Chapter 16. 1
■ Team Planner view (Project Professional only) You can perform actions such as
reassigning a task from one resource to another with simple drag-and-drop actions
in the Team Planner view. For more information, see “Adjust assignments in the
Team Planner view” in Chapter 11, “Fine-tune resource and assignment details.”
■ Inactivate tasks (Project Professional only) You can disable (but not delete)
tasks from a plan so that they have no effect on the overall schedule; then
you can reactivate them later, if you need them. For more information, see
“Inactivate tasks” in Chapter 12, “Fine-tune the Project plan.”
■ SharePoint Task List integration (Project Professional only) You can
publish and synchronize tasks between Project and a SharePoint list. For more
information, see Appendix C.

Take a project manager’s perspective

Project management is a broadly practiced art and science. If you’re reading this
book, chances are good that you’re either seriously involved in project management
or you want to be.

Project is unique among the Microsoft programs, in that Project is a specialized tool
designed for the specific domain of project management. You might be invested in
your professional identity as a project manager, or you might not identify yourself with
project management at all. Either way, your success as a user of Project is largely related
to your success as a project manager. Let’s take a moment to explore this subject.

At its heart, project management is a combination of skills and tools that help you
predict and control the outcomes of endeavors that your organization undertakes.
Your organization might be involved in other work, apart from projects. Projects (such
as developing a new product) are distinct from ongoing operations (such as running
payroll services). Projects are defined as temporary endeavors undertaken to create
some unique deliverable or result. With a good project-management system in place,
you should be able to answer such questions as the following:

■ What tasks must be performed, and in what order, to produce the deliverable
of the project?
■ When should each task be performed, and what is the final deadline?

9
Chapter 1: Project, project management, and you

■ Who will complete these tasks?

■ How much will it cost?
■ What if some tasks are not completed as scheduled?
■ What’s the best way to communicate project details to those who have an
interest or stake in the project?

Good project management does not guarantee the success of every project, but poor
project management often leads to failure.

A core principle of this book’s instructional strategy is that success with Project is
built on success with basic project-management practice. Although Project is a
feature-rich program, mastery of its features alone is no guarantee of success in
project management. For this reason, this book includes material about project-
management best practices. See, for example, the following:

■ The many “Project management focus” sidebars throughout the chapters

■ Appendix A, “A short course in project management”
■ Appendix B, “Develop your project-management skills”

Let’s get started!

In the Practice tasks hands-on activities in this book, you play the role of a project
manager at a fictitious children’s book publishing company, Lucerne Publishing.
Each new book (even this one) constitutes its own project; in fact, some are complex
projects that involve costly resources and aggressive deadlines. We think you’ll be
able to recognize many of the scheduling needs that the project managers at Lucerne
Publishing encounter and then transfer their strategies and solutions to your own
scheduling needs.

We’ve been working with Project since it debuted for Windows, and each version
has offered something that made project planning and management a little easier.
Project 2019 continues that tradition for desktop project management, and we look
forward to showing you around.

10
Take a
guided tour 2
Practice files In this chapter
For this chapter, use the TakeGuidedTour practice file ■ Explore the Project user interface
from the Project2019SBS\Ch02 folder. For practice file ■ Manage files and set options in
download instructions, see the introduction of this book. the Backstage view

This chapter leads you on a quick tour of Project 2019 ■ Work with schedule details in
and highlights the essential features that make it such a views
powerful program. You get an introductory look at many
■ Use reports to check a plan’s
of the Project features and conventions that you’ll work
status
with throughout this book.

This chapter guides you through procedures related to

managing files and setting options in the Backstage view,
working with schedule details in views, and using reports
to check a plan’s status.

Explore the Project user

interface
When you start Project, its Start screen appears as shown
in Figure 2-1. Here you can quickly open a plan that you
recently opened, open another plan, or create a new
plan. The new plan can be an empty plan or can be based
on either a template or another plan.

11
Chapter 2: Take a guided tour

FIGURE 2-1 The Project Start screen includes options for creating a new plan or opening a plan.

TIP If the Start screen does not appear when you start Project, do the following: On
the File tab, click Options. In the Project Options dialog box, click General; then under
Start Up Options, click Show the Start Screen When This Application Starts.

As Figure 2-2 shows, you create a new plan by clicking the Blank Project option on the
Start screen. Doing so creates the new plan in the main Project interface.

TIP Some items you see on your screen, such as commands on the ribbon in
the Project window, might differ from what this book shows. This might depend
on your screen resolution and any previous customizations made to Project on your
computer.

12
 Explore the Project user interface

Quick Access Feedback

Toolbar Tabs Tell Me Ribbon Command button

Group

View or Report Label

Status bar View Zoom

shortcuts slider
FIGURE 2-2 You can see the major parts of the Project interface here; note the label of the active view along
the left edge.

The Project interface consists of these major parts:

■ The Quick Access Toolbar is a customizable area of the interface where you can
add your favorite commands or the commands you frequently use. For more
information, see Chapter 18, “Customize Project.”
■ Use the Tell Me box to quickly find a Project command or to get help with that
command or feature.
■ Use the Feedback smiley button to share suggestions about the software.

13
Chapter 2: Take a guided tour

■ The ribbon contains the commands you use to perform actions in Project. Tabs
on the ribbon organize the major features and commands in Project into logical
groups. The tabs on the Project ribbon are discussed next.
■ Groups are collections of related commands. Each tab is divided into multiple
groups.
■ Commands are the specific features you use to perform actions in Project. Each
tab contains several commands. Some commands, such as Cut on the Task tab,
perform an immediate action. Other commands, such as Change Working Time
on the Project tab, open a dialog box or prompt you to take further action in
some other way. Some commands are available only when you’re in a particular
type of view or report.
■ ScreenTips are short explanatory descriptions of commands, column headings,
and many other items in Project. You can see an item’s ScreenTip by pointing to
the item, as illustrated in Figure 2-3.

Point to an item such as a command

to see its description in a ScreenTip

FIGURE 2-3 Descriptive ScreenTips display information about commands and many other items in Project.

■ The active view (or report) is displayed in the main Project window. Project can
display a single view or multiple views in separate panes. A multiple-view dis-
play is called a split view or combination view.
■ The view label (or report label) appears along the left edge of the active view.
Project includes dozens of views, so this is a handy reminder of your currently
active view.
■ The status bar displays important details such as the scheduling mode of new tasks
(manual or automatic) and whether a filter has been applied to the active view.
14
 Explore the Project user interface

■ You use view shortcuts to quickly switch between recently used views and reports.
■ The Zoom Slider zooms the active view or report in or out.
■ Shortcut menus (also called context menus or right-click menus) and Mini Tool-
bars appear when you right-click most items in a view or report. See Figure 2-4
2
for an example of a shortcut menu.

FIGURE 2-4 Right-click a task’s name or other value to see available shortcut menu commands and the Mini
Toolbar.

FIGURE 2-5 Right-clicking another item, such as a Gantt bar, displays different available commands and a
different Mini Toolbar.
15
Chapter 2: Take a guided tour

TIP When you’re not sure what actions you can perform with something you see in
Project, right-click the item as shown in Figure 2-5 to see what commands are available
for that item.

Similar to other Microsoft Office programs, Project uses the interface commonly
called the ribbon. The most prominent parts of this interface are the tabs and ribbon
that span the top of the Project window.

These tabs logically group together the commands that apply to major areas of focus
in Project:

■ The File tab takes you to the Backstage view, discussed in the next section.
■ The Task tab includes commands for adding, formatting, and organizing tasks.
■ With the Resource tab, you add resources to a plan, assign them to tasks, and
manage their workloads.
■ The Report tab contains commands you use to view reports and compare two
plans.
■ The Project tab contains commands that usually apply to the entire plan, such
as the command for setting the plan’s working time.
■ The View tab controls what you see in the Project window and how that infor-
mation is displayed.
■ Tool tabs include the Format tab, the Design tab, and the Layout tab, among
others. A tool tab appears when a certain kind of information is displayed in the
active view or report, or when a certain kind of item is selected. For example,
when a task view such as the Gantt Chart view is displayed, the commands on
the Format tool tab apply to tasks and Gantt chart items, such as Gantt bars.
The current context of the Format tab is shown above the tab label—Gantt
Chart Tools, for example.

TIP You can double-click a tab label to collapse or expand the ribbon. You can
also view a collapsed tab by clicking the tab label and then selecting the command
you want.

16
 Explore the Project user interface

Let’s look more closely at the tabs shown on the ribbon in Figure 2-6.

FIGURE 2-6 Commands on the ribbon are grouped on tabs.

As with all tabs on the ribbon, the Task tab contains many commands, all organized into
groups. The Task tab includes the View, Clipboard, and Font groups, among others.

As Figure 2-7 shows, if you enabled touch input (by clicking the button on the Quick
Access Toolbar in the upper-left corner of the Project window), the commands on the
ribbon appear larger and some lack text labels.

FIGURE 2-7 Turning on touch input makes the commands on the ribbon easier to tap.

Some commands perform an immediate action, whereas other commands lead you
to more options. One example of the second type of command is one that you will
use frequently in Project: a split button. This type of command can either perform
an immediate action or show you more options. A good example is the Gantt Chart
button shown in Figure 2-8, which is described here:

■ Clicking the image part of this command immediately switches to the previ-
ously viewed Gantt chart view.
■ Clicking the text label part of this command (or just the arrow, for commands
that have an arrow but no text label) shows you the available settings for that
command.

Clicking the image part of this command

performs the command's current setting

Clicking the text label or arrow part of this

command displays options and settings

FIGURE 2-8 The Gantt Chart command is an example of a split button.

17
Chapter 2: Take a guided tour

If you’re familiar with Office programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel, you should
have no trouble navigating in the Project user interface.

Manage files and set options in the

Backstage view
The Backstage view, available from the File tab and shown in Figure 2-9, contains
customization and sharing options that apply to the entire plan, in addition to the
essential commands for file management such as Open, New, Print, and Save.

FIGURE 2-9 The options in the Backstage view are organized on tabs that appear along the left edge of the
window.

Here you can see a brief list of the pages in the Backstage view. In most cases, you can
click the tab name to see more options:

■ The Info page gives you access to the Organizer, a feature that shares custom-
ized elements such as views between plans; for more on the Organizer, see
Chapter 18. The Info page also displays information about the active plan,
including its start and finish date, statistics, and advanced properties.
18
 Manage files and set options in the Backstage view

You’ll work with advanced properties in Chapter 3, “Start a new plan.” If you’re
using Project Professional with the Project Web App, you can also manage
Project Web App accounts here.
■ The New page displays options for creating a new plan, either from scratch or 2
based on a template.
■ Open, Save, Save As, and Close are standard file-management commands.
■ The Print page includes options for printing a plan, in addition to the print
preview. You’ll work with printing options in Chapter 7, “Format and share your
plan,” and in Chapter 16, “Format and print views: In-depth techniques.”
■ The Share page includes options for Microsoft SharePoint synchronization and
covers attaching a plan to an email message.
■ The Export page includes options for generating a copy of the plan in PDF or
XML Paper Specification (XPS) format, as well as other options for exporting
content. You’ll work with these features in Chapter 19, “Share information with
other programs.”
■ The Account page displays connected services and information about Project,
such as version information. With a Microsoft account, you can use services
such as Microsoft OneDrive file storage and roaming personal settings. When
you are signed in, your user information appears in the upper-right corner of
the Project window.
■ Clicking Options opens the Project Options dialog box. This dialog box itself
contains several pages through which you can adjust a wide range of default
settings and behaviors in Project, such as whether you want to see the Start
screen when Project starts.

Keep in mind a few tips about files and settings:

■ When you first start Project and are on the New page of the Backstage view,
you can press the Esc key to open a new blank plan.
■ You can pin recently opened plans to the Recent Projects list on the Open page.
Right-click a plan name and, in the shortcut menu that appears, click Pin to List.
■ You can pin recently opened folders to the Recent Folders list on the Open page.
Right-click a folder name and, in the shortcut menu that appears, click Pin to List.
■ You can pin favorite templates to the New page by pointing to the template
and clicking the pin that appears in the lower-right corner of the template
preview.
19
Chapter 2: Take a guided tour

TIP Only templates with a sample plan can be pinned.

■ If you are working offline, you can see templates only from your local computer.
■ To exit the Backstage view, click the arrow button in the upper-left corner of
any Backstage page. This takes you back to the plan. You can also press the
Esc key.

Templates: Avoid reinventing the wheel

Instead of creating a plan from scratch, you might be able to use a template
that includes much of the initial information you need, including task names
and relationships. Sources of templates include the following:

■ Templates installed with Project These can vary depending on

the installation options selected when Project was installed on your
computer.
■ Online templates Microsoft makes many Project templates available
for free online download.
■ Templates within your organization You might be part of an organi-
zation that has a central library of templates. Such templates often con-
tain detailed task definitions, resource assignments, and other details
that are unique to the organization.
To see available templates, click the File tab and then click New. Templates
also appear on the Project Start screen.

In addition, Project can generate a new file based on an existing file from
Project or from another program. For more information, see Chapter 19.

You can also create templates from your plans to use later or to share. One
common concern with sharing plans is that they might contain sensitive infor-
mation, such as resource pay rates. When you create a template from a plan,
you have the option to clear such information, in addition to schedule prog-
ress, without affecting the original plan.

20
 Manage files and set options in the Backstage view

To create a new plan as a blank project

1. Click the File tab to display the Backstage view.

2. Click New to display the New page. 2

3. Click Blank Project.

To create a new plan based on another plan or template, or on data

in another file format

1. In the Backstage view, click New.

2. Do any of the following:

● Click New from Existing Project to create a new plan based on a previous
plan.
● Click New from Excel Workbook to create a new plan based on an Excel
list.
● Click New from SharePoint Tasks List to create a new plan based on a
SharePoint list.
● Click the template you want to create a new plan based on that template.

To open a plan

1. In the Backstage view, click Open. Project displays options for opening plans, in
addition to a list of recently opened plans.

2. Select the location and plan you want to open.

To save a plan

1. In the Backstage view, click Save As.

2. Select the location and folder where you want to save the plan.

3. In the Save As dialog box, enter a file name and then click Save.

To create a template from an existing plan

1. In the Backstage view, click Export.

2. Click Save Project As File.

3. Under Save Project As File, click Project Template.

4. Click Save As.

21
Chapter 2: Take a guided tour

5. Navigate to the folder where you want to create the new template.

6. In the File Name box, enter the template file name that you want and then click
Save.

7. When the Save As Template dialog box opens, select the types of information,
such as resource pay rates, that you want to remove from the template.

8. Click Save.

Work with schedule details in views

You create and work with your plan’s data in views. Project offers many types of
views, including tables with graphics, tables with timescales, tables alone, charts and
diagrams, and forms. In some views, you can filter, sort, or group data and specify
what types of data to display. You can use and customize the views that come with
Project, and you can create your own.

Project contains dozens of views, but most people usually work with one view (or
sometimes two in a split view, also known as a combination view) at a time. You
use views to enter, edit, analyze, and display your project information. The default
view—the one you see when you create a new plan—is called the Gantt with Time-
line view.

In general, views focus on task, resource, or assignment details. You can see in
Figure 2-10 that the Gantt Chart view, for example, lists task details in a table on the
left side of the view and graphically represents each task as a bar in the chart on the
right side of the view.

The Gantt Chart view is a common way to represent a schedule. This type of view is
also useful for entering and fine-tuning task details and for analyzing your plan. You
can adjust the timescale in the Gantt Chart view in several ways to see more or less
of the plan.

You can see in Figure 2-11 that the Timeline view is a handy way of seeing the
“big picture” of the plan. You can copy and paste timelines into other programs to
provide a simple visual representation of your plan. Chapter 7 covers how to copy
timelines.

22
 Work with schedule details in views

Timeline view summarizes You can adjust the timescale to show

your plan graphically more or less detail in the chart portion

A Gantt Chart view includes a table portion… ...and a chart portion.

FIGURE 2-10 The Gantt with Timeline view is a split view with the Timeline view at the top and the Gantt
Chart view below it.

FIGURE 2-11 You can set up multiple timeline bars in the Timeline view.

23
Chapter 2: Take a guided tour

When you click in the Timeline view, the label above the Format tool tab changes
from Gantt Chart Tools to Timeline Tools as Figure 2-12 shows.

FIGURE 2-12 When the Timeline view is selected, its formatting commands are available on the Timeline
Tools Format tab.

In this case, the commands displayed on the Format tab are specific to the Timeline
view. As you display or select different views, reports, or specific items in Project, the
label above the Format tab changes accordingly.

Next we examine sheet views. The Resource Sheet view shown in Figure 2-13 dis-
plays details about resources in a row-and-column format (called a table), with one
resource per row. Another sheet view, called the Task Sheet view, lists the task details.
Most views in Project have many different tables available, so you can focus on the
type of data that most interests you.

FIGURE 2-13 A sheet view contains a table that organizes information into rows and columns.

24
 Work with schedule details in views

The Resource Sheet view doesn’t tell you much about the tasks to which resources
might be assigned. To see that type of information, you need a different view.

The Resource Usage view shown in Figure 2-14 groups the tasks to which each
resource is assigned and shows you the work assignments per resource on a time-
2
scale, such as daily or weekly.

FIGURE 2-14 Usage views organize assignments per task or per resource and present the assignment details
against a timescale.

As with the Gantt Chart timescale, you can adjust this timescale by using the Time-
scale command on the View tab or the Zoom Slider on the status bar in the lower-
right corner of the Project window. In usage views, you can also switch to a different
table to focus on the type of information that you’re most interested in.

Another usage view, the Task Usage view, flips the data around to display all the
resources assigned to each task. You’ll work with usage views in Chapter 6, “Assign
resources to tasks,” and you’ll analyze your plan starting in Chapter 9, “Fine-tune task
scheduling.”

25
Chapter 2: Take a guided tour

In Figure 2-15, you can see that a handy split view is the Task Form combined with a
Gantt chart or other view.

FIGURE 2-15 In a split view such as this one, details about the item selected in the top portion of the view are
displayed in the bottom portion of the view.

In this type of split view, the Gantt chart is the top portion of the view and the Task
Form is the bottom portion. Details about the selected task in the Gantt Chart view
appear in the Task Form. You can also edit values directly in the Task Form. You will
work with the Task Form further in Chapter 6 and with the similar Resource Form in
Chapter 5, “Set up resources.”

TIP On all split views, the item selected on the top portion of the view controls the
information displayed on the bottom portion of the view. The top view is the primary
view and the bottom view is the secondary view. If this is not the desired result, use one view
instead.

26
 Work with schedule details in views

Project has many other views as well. Keep in mind that, in all views in Project, you are
looking at different aspects of the same set of details about a plan. Even a simple plan
can contain too much data to display at one time; use views to help you focus on the
specific details you want. 2
To switch between views

1. On the View tab, in either the Task Views or Resource Views group, do one of
the following:
● If the button for the view you want is shown, click it.
● If the button for the view you want is not shown, click Other Views and then
click the view you want.
● If the view you want is not listed on the Other Views menu, click More
Views, click the view you want, and then click Apply.

To adjust the timescale in a view

In views with a timescale, such as the Gantt chart, this action adjusts the timescale.
In other views, it changes how much detail is displayed.

1. Do either of the following:

● On the View tab, in the Zoom group, click the Zoom command and then
click the zoom level you want.
● In the lower-right corner of the status bar, on the Zoom Slider bar, click
Zoom Out or Zoom In.

To switch to another table in a view

This action applies only to views that include tables (such as the Gantt chart), not to
views that lack tables (such as the Calendar view).

1. On the View tab, in the Data group, click Tables.

2. Do either of the following:

● If the table you want is listed, click the table.
● If the table you want is not listed, click More Tables, click the table you
want, and then click Apply.

27
Chapter 2: Take a guided tour

To display a split (combination) view

1. On the View tab, in the Split View group, click Details.

2. In the Details box, click the view you want to load into the bottom pane of the
split view.

To display or hide the timeline view

1. On the View tab, in the Split View group, select or clear the Timeline check box.

Use reports to check a plan’s status

You can use reports to convey your plan’s data in compelling formats. Reports can
include elements such as charts, tables, and images to communicate the status of your
plan. Reports present task and resource data from your plan. You can view reports
directly in the Project window or print them as with any view. You can also copy reports
and paste them into other programs, such as Microsoft PowerPoint. Project includes
several built-in reports including the Resource Overview report shown in Figure 2-16
that you can use as is or customize, and you can create your own reports as well.

FIGURE 2-16 Reports can contain a mix of charts, tables, and images.

28
 Use reports to check a plan’s status

As Figure 2-17 shows, when you click a table or chart in a report, the Field List pane
appears on the right side of the window.

FIGURE 2-17 Use the Field List to control what data appears in the selected chart or table in a report.

You use the Field List pane to determine what data to include in the table or chart.
You’ll customize reports in Chapter 7 and in Chapter 17, “Format reports: In-depth
techniques.”

The tool tabs change when a report is displayed or when an item in a report is
selected. Because a report can include a variety of items, such as charts and tables,
Project includes tool tabs both for the overall report and for the specific types of
items within the report.

The Report Tools Design tab displayed in Figure 2-18 includes commands you can use
to control the overall design of a report.

29
Chapter 2: Take a guided tour

FIGURE 2-18 When a report is displayed, the Report Tools Design tab is available.

When you are working with a table in a report, the Table Tools Design tab displayed in
Figure 2-19 is available.

FIGURE 2-19 Select a table in a report to access the Table Tools Design tab.

The Table Tools Layout tab displayed in Figure 2-20 is available when you are working
with a table in a report.

FIGURE 2-20 Under the Table Tools heading, most commands on the Design tab apply to the entire table,
whereas most commands on the Layout tab apply to the selected cells, rows, or columns.

As with views, you can display a report and a view in a split-view layout, which is
shown in Figure 2-21.

To display a report

1. On the Report tab, in the View Reports group, click the report category and
then click the specific report you want.

To display a report and a view simultaneously

1. Display the report you want.

30
 Skills review

2. Do either of the following:

● On the View tab, in the Split View group, click Details. In the Details box,
click the view you want to display in the bottom pane of the split view.
● On the View tab, in the Split View group, click Timeline to display the Time-
2
line in the top pane of the split view (if it’s not already visible).

FIGURE 2-21 You can mix views and reports in split views.

Skills review
In this chapter, you learned how to

■ Explore the Project user interface

■ Manage files and set options in the Backstage view
■ Work with schedule details in views
■ Use reports to check a plan’s status

31
 Chapter 2

Practice tasks
The TakeGuidedTour practice file for these tasks is located in the
Project2019SBS\Ch02 folder.

IMPORTANT If you are running Project Professional, Project Online Professional, or

Project Online Premium, make sure your Project desktop client is not connected to
Project Web App and is instead set to Computer mode. For more information, see Appendix C,
“Collaborate: Project, SharePoint, and PWA.”

Explore the Project user interface

Start Project, and then perform the following tasks:

1. Open the TakeGuidedTour plan in Project.

2. Point to a command on the ribbon and observe the ScreenTip.

3. Zoom in several times with the Zoom Slider and observe the changes to the
timescale.

4. Right-click any task name and observe the Mini Toolbar and context menu.

Manage files and set options in the Backstage view

Start Project, and then perform the following tasks:

1. Open the TakeGuidedTour plan in Project.

2. In the Backstage view, click Save As.

3. Navigate to the Ch02 practice file folder.

4. In the File Name box, enter a unique name for the practice file and then click
Save.

32
 Practice tasks

Work with schedule details in views

The scenario: You want to see other parts of this plan’s data in other views. Continuing
in the TakeGuidedTour plan, perform the following tasks:

1. Display the Resource Sheet view.

2. Switch to the Calendar view as shown in Figure 2-22.

FIGURE 2-22 The Calendar view is a handy “month-at-a-glance” view.

33
 Chapter 2

Use reports to check a plan’s status

The scenario: You want to see this plan’s data in a report. Continuing in the Take-
GuidedTour plan, perform the following tasks:

1. Display the Project Overview report.

2. Switch to the Resource Overview report as shown in Figure 2-23.

FIGURE 2-23 See resources’ work status in the Resource Overview report.

34
Part 2

Simple
scheduling
basics
CHAPTER 3
Start a new plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

CHAPTER 4
Build a task list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

CHAPTER 5
Set up resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

CHAPTER 6
Assign resources to tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

CHAPTER 7
Format and share your plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125

CHAPTER 8
Track progress: Basic techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153