Create a Near Critical Filter in Microsoft Project to Monitor Tasks. Non-critical tasks can be as important as critical tasks in a schedule. This is because if a non-critical task slips then it can quickly appear on the critical path. This could negatively affect your project finish date and jeopardize the entire project. If an […]
How to Display Two Baselines in Microsoft Project
Schedulers often love the feature where you can display two baselines in Microsoft Project. In fact, you can display multiple baselines on the Gantt chart. The initial baseline is typically used as a snapshot at the start of the project which shows work, forecasts, duration and cost against what happens as the project progresses. A […]
How to Color Code Summary Bars in Microsoft Project
Color Code Summary Bars in Microsoft Project To Improve Readability. Gantt bars look simple enough, but they can get confusing as projects get more complex. Customizing the bars on a Gantt Chart view is often the first thing a project manager does to create clarity in a project and to help spot problem areas quickly. […]
Changing the Gridlines on the Gantt Chart in Microsoft Project
There are numerous gridline options which are used on the Gantt chart in Microsoft Project. Gridlines on the Gantt chart can help line up the task bar with the date so that the chart is easier to read. By inserting gridlines onto the Gantt chart, it helps to improve the appearance. If you have to […]
How to Adjust the Row Height in Microsoft Project
How to Adjust the Row Height in Microsoft Project Often schedulers have to adapt the presentation of their schedules in preparation for reporting to stakeholders. A common reason is to make them easier to read. Space on Gantt charts is usually sparse and as so, schedulers can be used to small row heights to itemize […]
What is Driving the Critical Path?
What is Driving the Critical Path? Do you ever look at a pdf of the schedule and see multiple activities in-progress that are also showing as critical? Figure 1 – multiple in-progress activities shown on Critical Path How can this be? Critical Path Defined First, we need to know how the Critical Path is defined […]
How to Copy Microsoft Project Tables Between Projects
Useful Tip on How to Copy Microsoft Project Tables Between Projects Microsoft Project’s settings are automatically set to copy any new tables to the global template. However, although the global template makes these tables available to all projects, it is very easy for your global template to become cluttered with old data which you rarely […]
How to Use External Dependencies in Microsoft Project
Using External Dependencies in Microsoft Project Sometimes schedulers need to link a task in one project with a task in another project, but instead of creating a master schedule, they want to keep the two projects separate. This can be achieved by creating cross-project dependencies between the two projects. Let’s take a closer look at […]
Using Microsoft Project Organizer to Transfer Project Calendars
The Microsoft Project Organizer is a cool capability that allows you to transfer views and other defined objects between opened project files. The Organizer is one of the lesser-known features in Microsoft Project and is often overlooked. And yet, it can help build templates and make already built-in elements available across different projects. For example, […]
Using Microsoft Project’s Task Notes
Microsoft Project’s Task Notes are often used for additional information about a process or activity for other departments when commencing a project, for example the safety department may look at specifying the safety procedures in order to identify health and safety risks and plan assurance for the labor force, whereas the Quality team will look […]