Microsoft Project: Taking Control of Your Project
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If you have ever been in charge of managing a project you know the amount of details and resources that need to be tracked. If you are like most new project managers you started making lists and tracking documents in Excel, Word, Outlook or a combination of all of the above. Remove the complexity from your projects and start using the software program that is designed for this exact purpose, Microsoft Project. As a team leader, project manager or business owner there are simply too many things for you to be tracking and trying to stay on top of every day. This could include personnel, resources, deliverables, fixed assets and an almost infinite list of other items. You can't stop tracking them as they are the critical to the success of your business and could likely be the determining factor in the success or failure of a project. Register today and learn how to start using Microsoft Project effectively and productively to reduce the time and stress from your daily tracking.
Your Benefits of Attending:
- Learn how to create your project.
- Learn how to add and manage your tasks.
- Understand when and how to create a Gantt chart.
- Gain tips and tricks for creating meaningful reports.
- Learn how to add personnel and resources.
- Learn how add milestones and then manage them.
Stop wasting time trying to manage your projects in Excel. Join Microsoft Project expert Tom Fragale as he gets you up and running with Microsoft Project and simplifies your project management practices.
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Tom Fragale
Tom Fragale is a computer professional with over 30 years of experience. He is a Microsoft Certified Trainer, a Microsoft Certified Office Master, and a Microsoft Certified Expert in Word and Excel. He has trained over 30,000 business people in on-line webinars, public seminars, and on-site training [...]
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Frequently Asked Questions
Microsoft Project is a dedicated project management application designed to plan, schedule, track, and report on projects of any complexity. While Excel and Word can handle basic task lists and project notes, they lack the integrated scheduling, resource management, and dependency tracking capabilities that make Microsoft Project purpose-built for project management. Project automatically calculates schedules based on task dependencies and resource availability—if one task is delayed, dependent tasks shift automatically. It generates Gantt charts, the industry-standard visual representation of project timelines, without manual formatting. Resource management features let you assign personnel to tasks, track their utilization, and identify over-allocation before it becomes a problem. Built-in reporting provides stakeholder-ready summaries of project status, milestones, and resource usage. For project managers, team leaders, and business owners overseeing multiple concurrent workstreams, Microsoft Project eliminates the fragile manual tracking that Excel-based approaches require and provides a single system of record for all project activities, resources, and timelines.
Tasks are the fundamental building blocks of a project plan in Microsoft Project. To add tasks, enter them directly in the task list on the left side of the Gantt view, assigning each a name, duration, and start date. Project supports hierarchical task structures: summary tasks act as parent categories with indented subtasks beneath them, creating a work breakdown structure (WBS) that organizes deliverables logically. Task dependencies define the sequence of work: a Finish-to-Start dependency means Task B cannot begin until Task A is complete, and Project automatically adjusts the schedule if Task A slips. Milestones are zero-duration tasks used to mark significant events or decision points—such as a client approval or phase completion. Once tasks are entered, assign resources (team members) to each task to calculate workload and identify scheduling conflicts. As the project progresses, update task completion percentages to track actuals against the baseline. Microsoft Project's ability to visualize all tasks, dependencies, and progress simultaneously on the Gantt chart gives project managers immediate visibility into project health.
A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that visually represents a project schedule, showing each task as a bar spanning its start and end dates on a timeline. It provides an at-a-glance view of what work is happening when, how tasks relate to each other, and where the project stands against its planned schedule. Microsoft Project automatically generates a Gantt chart as you build your project plan—no separate creation step is required. As you enter tasks with start dates, durations, and dependencies, the chart updates in real time. The Gantt view is split: the left side shows the task list with columns for duration, start, finish, and assigned resources; the right side shows the corresponding timeline bars. You can format bar colors and styles to distinguish task types, add milestone diamonds, and display the critical path—the sequence of dependent tasks that determines the project's minimum completion time. For project presentations and status updates, Microsoft Project can print or export the Gantt chart directly, providing stakeholders with a clear, professional visual overview of the project timeline and progress.
Resource management in Microsoft Project allows you to assign people, equipment, and materials to project tasks and analyze how workload is distributed across your team. Start by building a Resource Sheet—a list of all available resources with their names, types (work, material, or cost), standard rates, and availability. Once resources are defined, assign them to individual tasks in the Gantt view by selecting a task and entering the resource name in the Resource Names column. Project calculates each resource's workload based on their assignments and flags over-allocation—situations where a resource is assigned more work than their availability allows. The Resource Usage and Team Planner views provide detailed visualizations of each person's workload across the project timeline, making it easy to redistribute work and resolve scheduling conflicts before they affect the project. Tracking resources against assignments also enables cost tracking: if you've entered hourly rates, Project automatically calculates labor costs for each task and the project as a whole, providing budget visibility alongside the schedule.
Microsoft Project includes a robust suite of built-in reports that translate project data into visually appealing, stakeholder-ready outputs without requiring manual chart creation. Access reports through the Report tab, where you'll find categories including Dashboards, Resources, Costs, In Progress, and Getting Started. Dashboard reports such as Project Overview show milestone status, task progress percentages, and upcoming deadlines at a glance. Resource reports display workload distribution, over-allocated resources, and remaining work by team member. Cost reports compare planned versus actual costs by task and phase, flagging budget variances. The Milestone Report provides a timeline of all milestone dates—critical for executive briefings and client updates. All reports are fully customizable: you can change the data displayed, adjust formatting and branding, and add filters to focus on specific phases or resources. For project managers communicating status to diverse audiences—executives, clients, or operational teams—having professional reports generated automatically from live project data eliminates the weekly manual effort of assembling status update spreadsheets and presentations.