After schedule creation it’s very common to want to filter all tasks occurring in the near future. This near term view can be created as a Microsoft Project look ahead filter. A key concept in David Allen’s acclaimed organizational book “Getting Things Done” is to focus on your project’s next step tasks. This process helps […]
Using Curtains in Microsoft Project to Show What Work is Being Done Within a Sprint
How to use curtains in Microsoft Project. When you’re building an Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) for an Agile environment, it’s important to not fall into the trap of making the sprints activities and instead plan the features that are going to be developed. The sprints really don’t represent work, but the time box that work […]
Microsoft Project Negative Float Bar
If you have a task constraint generating negative float then you will want a fast and insightful way to view its impact on the schedule. Displaying negative float on the Gantt chart is the best way to achieve both speed and clarity
Microsoft Project Visual Basic Application Programming – A Brief Introduction
I was somewhat surprised to discover that the standard Microsoft Project installation does not have a variable or field for displaying the resource material cost of tasks. Apparently, displaying this project data requires the insertion of a Visual Basic Application (VBA) subroutine for Microsoft Project. Really! My question is why would project data as simple […]
Microsoft Project Quick Access Toolbar
The Microsoft Project Quick Access Toolbar is a great tool that can help the project manager with repeated commands. This can be extremely useful particularly during schedule creation or going through the updating process. There is normally more than one way to perform a feature command in Microsoft Project. Additionally, Microsoft recognizes that you may […]
Translating Microsoft Project Custom Fields to Primavera P6
Translating a Microsoft Project schedule into Primavera P6 Professional is a relatively straightforward process. If you want to include Microsoft Project custom fields in with that translation than you will have to
Quick Ways to Monitor Schedule Progress in Microsoft Project
Schedulers are always looking for quick ways to spot trouble in their project schedule. The good news is that Microsoft Project has a number of great features to assist in this effort. Here are some quick ways to monitor schedule progress in Microsoft Project. As projects become larger it becomes increasingly difficult to track the […]
Barbecana Announces Full Monte 2016 For Microsoft Project
Good news! Full Monte 2016 for Microsoft Project has been announced by Barbecana and is available for immediate download. Full Monte is a popular tool for quickly evaluating the impact of uncertainty and risk in your schedules. Even better news is that this is a free update for existing customer with support contracts. Let’s take […]
Using The Network Diagram In Microsoft Project
The logic of the project schedule has a significant impact on how the schedule proceeds. It is important to know, in particular, which activities are performed in parallel or series. The best way to clearly see your schedule’s task logic is to display a network diagram of your schedule. The Gantt chart provides a powerful […]
Using Microsoft Project Custom Fields
Why Use Microsoft Project Custom Fields? Once you have all your project schedule tasks defined, management may request reports from you displaying all the tasks associated with a particular phase, construction site location, and/or type of work. Providing these reports is not hard, but requires you to know the basics of using Microsoft Project’s custom […]