Creating a Project Plan File
In this article, you will create a project plan file and enter task information.
You will:
- Create a project plan file.
- Create and assign a project calendar.
- Add tasks to the project plan file.
- Insert a project summary task.
- Add a recurring task.
- Enter duration estimates for tasks.
Creating a Project Plan – Introduction
As a result of the initiation and planning phases of project management, you will have created many project documents, such as a project charter, a team charter, and a statement of work, for example. You will have also identified the project requirements, stakeholders, and deliverables, as well as obtained the necessary project approvals. Once the planning phase is complete, you are ready to create the electronic project plan file.
This file will ultimately contain all project related information that will be used to calculate and maintain the project schedule.
In this first lesson, you will create the project plan file which will include the project start date, a project calendar, project tasks, and their duration.
For your project to be successful, it is imperative that you accurately define it within Microsoft Project. This will be easy if you’ve done all the preliminary work of creating a complete and
accurate project plan. Neglecting to enter relevant project information, including the project start date, your company’s working schedule, or tasks, into your project plan file can impact whether or not your project will finish on time, within budget, and within scope.
Create a Project Plan File
Having completed the initiation and planning phases of a project, you are ready to use Microsoft Project as a tool to create a project plan file. This file will assist you in the management
of your approved project plan. In this topic, you will create and save a project plan file that contains general project information such as the project start date, the project title, and the
project manager’s name.
Keeping track of project tasks, resources, costs, and schedules can be overwhelming. By entering your approved project plan information into Microsoft Project, you can automate much of your project management efforts by accessing one repository for all of your project-related components, as well as stay organized and save time. Creating the actual project plan file is the first step in this process.
The Project Management Process
Project management is the planning, organizing, scheduling, leading, communicating, and controlling of work activities to achieve a pre-defined outcome on time and within budget. It is a complex field to which some individuals devote their careers. The true challenge of managing projects involves making decisions on how and whether to make trade-offs between time, cost, and quality. These three components are the keys to successful project management.
Though all projects are unique, they all progress through the same phases, or life cycles.
Because there are many different descriptions of project phases with project management theory, the names and number of project phases may vary from organization to organization; however, the same activities should take place in every project. Table 1-1 lists the phases of the project management life cycle, the activities associated with each phase, and the deliverables within each phase.
Phase Activities within the Phase Phase Deliverables
Project Initiation
Defining and Scoping Project Charter
Identifying Stakeholders Stakeholder Responsibility Matrix
Team Building Statement of Work
Making the Rules Team Charter
Project Planning
Budgeting Deliverables Breakdown Structure
- Scheduling Work Breakdown Structure
- Activity Planning Detailed Responsibility Matrix
- Schedule
- Budget
- Activity Plan
- Project Implementation
- Working the Plan Status/Progress Report
- Monitoring Progress Earned Value Analysis
- Track Corrective Action Change Requests
- Report Progress
- Project Close-Out
- Handing Off to End Users Final Report
- Closing Down Operations Personnel Evaluations
Reporting Outcomes
You will be working with the information that resulted from the Project Initiation and Project Planning phases. The Microsoft Project 2003: Level 2 course addresses the Project Implementation and Project Close-Out phases.
Microsoft Project 2010 Project Plans
Every project should have a project manager who is responsible for ensuring that a project is completed on time, within budget, and at an agreed upon level of quality. Project management software, such as Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003, is a set of tools that helps project managers plan, schedule, and control their projects. After the project initiation and project planning phases have been completed, managers use the software to create an actual project plan file.
This file is a repository for all project-related information, including a task list, resources, calendar information, and cost data.
Want To Master Microsoft Project 2010?
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