Synopses & Reviews
Get up to speed on Microsoft Project 2013 and learn how to manage projects large and small. This crystal-clear book not only guides you step-by-step through Project 2013s new features, it also gives you real-world guidance: how to prep a project before touching your PC, and which Project tools will keep you on target. With this Missing Manual, youll go from project manager to Project master.
The important stuff you need to know
- Learn Project 2013 inside out. Get hands-on instructions for the Standard and Professional editions.
- Start with a project management primer. Discover what it takes to handle a project successfully.
- Build and refine your plan. Put together your team, schedule, and budget.
- Achieve the results you want. Build realistic schedules with Project, and learn how to keep costs under control.
- Track your progress. Measure your performance, make course corrections, and manage changes.
- Create attractive reports. Communicate clearly to stakeholders and team members using charts, tables, and dashboards.
- Use Projects power tools. Customize Projects features and views, and transfer info via the cloud, using Microsoft SkyDrive.
Synopsis
Schedules, budgets, communications, changes. Projects big and small include them all, and Microsoft Project 2013 can help you control the variables--rather than be controlled by them. But Project is a complex program, and who has the time to take on the project of learning it? Get up to speed fast with Microsoft Project 2013: The Missing Manual." Written by project management expert Bonnie Biafore, the book teaches you how to do everything from setting, tracking, and adjusting schedules and budgets to testing scenarios and understanding the impact of changes. No project manager should be without this book.
About the Author
Bonnie Biafore has always been a zealous planner, whether setting up software demos, cooking gourmet meals, or scheduling a vacation to test the waters of spontaneity. Ironically, fate, not planning, turned this obsession into a career as a project manager. When she isn't managing projects for clients, Bonnie writes about project management, small business accounting, personal finance, investing, and technology. She's also branching out into other "dry" topics with articles for the Wine Enthusiast. As an engineer, she's fascinated by how things work and how to make things work better. She has a knack for mincing dry subjects like accounting and project management into easy to understand morsels and then spices them to perfection with her warped sense of humor.
Bonnie is the award-wining author of more than a dozen books including Quicken 2009: The Missing Manual, QuickBooks 2009: The Missing Manual, Project 2007: The Missing Manual, the Better Investing Stock Selection Handbook (which won an APEX Award of Distinction), Online Investing Hacks, and On Time! On Track! On Target!. She also writes regularly about financial topics for Better Investing bankrate.com and interest.com. When unshackled from her computer, she hikes in the mountains, cycles, rehabilitates horses, cooks gourmet food, and, most importantly, tries saying no to additional work assignments.
Table of Contents
The Missing Credits; About the Author; About the Creative Team; Acknowledgments; Introduction; What's New in Project 2013; Where Microsoft Project Fits In; Choosing the Right Edition; Complementary Software; About This Book; Part 1: Project Management: The Missing Manual; Chapter 1: Projects: In the Beginning; 1.1 What's So Special About Projects?; 1.2 What Is Project Management?; 1.3 Why Manage Projects?; 1.4 Picking the Right Projects; 1.5 Gaining Support for a Project; 1.6 Publicizing a Project and Its Manager; Chapter 2: Planning a Project; 2.1 Project Planning in a Nutshell; 2.2 Defining the Project; 2.3 Documenting How You'll Run the Project; 2.4 Laying Out Project Processes; Part 2: Project Planning: More Than Creating a Schedule; Chapter 3: Getting to Know Microsoft Project; 3.1 Launching Project 2013; 3.2 Getting Around Project; 3.3 Scheduling Manually or Automatically; Chapter 4: Creating a Simple Project; 4.1 Creating a New Project File; 4.2 Creating a Task List; 4.3 Organizing Work; 4.4 Putting Tasks in the Right Order; 4.5 Switching Tasks to Auto Scheduled Mode; 4.6 Assigning People and Other Resources; 4.7 Saving Your Project; Chapter 5: Setting Up a Project File; 5.1 Creating a New Project File; 5.2 Setting the Project Start Date; 5.3 Saving a New Project; 5.4 Opening a Project File; 5.5 Setting Standard Workdays; 5.6 Defining Work Times with Calendars; Chapter 6: Identifying the Work to Be Done; 6.1 Breaking Down Work into Manageable Chunks; 6.2 Adding Tasks to Your Project File; 6.3 Organizing Tasks; 6.4 Documenting Task Details; 6.5 Setting Up a Custom WBS Code; Chapter 7: Building a Schedule; 7.1 Estimating Task Work and Duration; 7.2 Linking Tasks; 7.3 Scheduling Tasks to Accommodate Specific Dates; Chapter 8: Building a Team for Your Project; 8.1 Identifying Project Resources; 8.2 Understanding Project's Resource Types; 8.3 Adding Resources to Your Project File; 8.4 Removing Resources from Your Project; 8.5 Defining When Work Resources Are Available; 8.6 Defining Costs for Resources; 8.7 Using Generic or Tentative Resources; 8.8 Adding More Resource Information; Chapter 9: Assigning Resources to Tasks; 9.1 Assigning Work Resources to Tasks; 9.2 Assigning Material Resources to Tasks; 9.3 Assigning Cost Resources to Tasks; 9.4 Reviewing Resource Assignments; 9.5 Understanding Duration, Work, and Units; 9.6 Modifying Resource Assignments; Chapter 10: Setting Up a Project Budget; 10.1 Putting a Price Tag on Your Project; 10.2 Reviewing Cost Information; 10.3 Comparing Costs to Your Budget; 10.4 Setting the Project's Fiscal Year; Chapter 11: Reviewing and Fine-Tuning Your Plan; 11.1 Reviewing the Schedule and Cost; 11.2 Project Tools for Change; 11.3 Making Sure Tasks Are Set Up Correctly; 11.4 Building Reality into Assignments; 11.5 Balancing Workloads; 11.6 Shortening the Schedule; 11.7 Reducing Project Costs; 11.8 Playing What-If Games; Chapter 12: Saving the Project Plan; 12.1 Obtaining Approval for the Plan; 12.2 Storing Project Documents; 12.3 Preserving the Original Plan in Project; Part 3: Projects in Action; Chapter 13: Tracking Status; 13.1 Methods for Tracking Status; 13.2 Preparing to Update Your Project; 13.3 Obtaining Status Data; 13.4 Updating Schedule Status in Project; 13.5 Updating Project Costs; Chapter 14: Evaluating and Correcting Project Performance; 14.1 Scheduled, Baseline, and Actual Values; 14.2 Is the Project on Time?; 14.3 Is the Project Within Budget?; 14.4 Earned Value Analysis; 14.5 Getting Back on Track; Chapter 15: Managing Change; 15.1 Setting Up a Change-Management System; 15.2 Managing Changes in Project; Chapter 16: Reporting on Projects; 16.1 An Overview of Project's Reports; 16.2 Working with Graphical Reports; 16.3 Working with Visual Reports; 16.4 Printing Views to Report Project Information; Chapter 17: Closing a Project; 17.1 Obtaining Project Acceptance; 17.2 Tying Up Loose Ends; 17.3 Producing Project Closeout Reports; 17.4 What to Do with Project Information; Part 4: Project Power Tools; Chapter 18: Working on More Than One Project; 18.1 Managing Multiple Projects; 18.2 Sharing Resources Among Projects; Chapter 19: Exchanging Data Between Programs; 19.1 Copying Information; 19.2 Importing and Exporting Data; 19.3 Integrating Project and Outlook; Chapter 20: Linking and Embedding; 20.1 Understanding Linking and Embedding; 20.2 Linking and Embedding Project Data; 20.3 Linking and Embedding Data into Project; 20.4 Working with Linked and Embedded Objects; 20.5 Hyperlinking to Information; Part 5: Customizing Project; Chapter 21: Viewing What You Want; 21.1 Creating Your Own Views; 21.2 Changing Tables; 21.3 Formatting Text; 21.4 Filtering Through Information; 21.5 Grouping Project Elements; 21.6 Defining Your Own Fields; Chapter 22: Customizing the Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar; 22.1 Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar; 22.2 Customizing the Ribbon; 22.3 Sharing a Custom Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar; Chapter 23: Reusing Project Information; 23.1 Understanding the Types of Templates; 23.2 Storing Project Settings and Elements; 23.3 Sharing Custom Elements; 23.4 Building Templates for Projects; Chapter 24: Saving Time with Macros; 24.1 What You Can Do with Macros; 24.2 Recording Macros; 24.3 Running Macros; 24.4 Viewing and Editing Macro Code; 24.5 Learning More About Programming Project; Part 6: Appendixes; Installing Project; Installing Project on Your Computer; Activating Project; Maintaining and Repairing Project; Getting Help; In Search of Project Help; Microsoft Office Online; Interactive and In-Depth Assistance; Keyboard Shortcuts; How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts; Project Keyboard Shortcuts;