Introduction to Project Scheduling with Microsoft® Project® Overview
The Project Management Institute (PMI)® presents industry-standard techniques for project scheduling in the Project Time Management chapter of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). Taught by experienced Project Managers - all PMP® certified - this course will introduce you to these techniques, enabling you to plan and manage any standalone project. These techniques will be illustrated using hands-on exercises with the Microsoft Project package. Our goal is to equip project managers with scheduling skills that they will be able to apply with the help of Microsoft Project. In other words, this will not be merely a guided tour of the software package.
-
Skill Level
Basic Concepts of Project Management -
Duration
- 1 Day
-
Support
- Tutor on call
- Exam simulator
-
Assessment
- 7.5
Course Description
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Navigate the Microsoft Project software package comfortably
- Set up initial, project-wide functions, such as project calendars and the project start date.
- Use the Work Breakdown Structure to format the overall schedule
- Define tasks by breaking down Work Packages in the Work
- Breakdown Structure Create basic tasks, summary tasks and milestones in a schedule
- Establish relationships and dependencies between tasks
- Estimate the resources and durations associated with basic tasks
- Manage constraints on the schedule, using techniques like resource levelling.
- Represent the schedule using both Network Diagrams and Gantt Charts
- Baseline the initial schedule Track and report progress against the schedule
This course is designed for a person who has an understanding of project management concepts, who is responsible for creating and maintaining project schedules and who needs software support to manage their project schedules. Please note that the course assumes no prior knowledge of Microsoft Project, so anyone experienced with the package may find this course too basic.
Introduction to Microsoft Project Basic navigation – making sense of the screen layout and introducing the key views, i.e.: Gantt Chart Resource Sheet Initial set-up Setting system values – e.g. auto scheduling and effort driven Creating project calendars Setting project start date Scheduling steps The five steps to building a project schedule Manual and automatic scheduling Defining activities The Work Breakdown Structure Work Packages Decomposing the Work Packages to identify tasks Basic tasks Summary tasks Milestones Sequencing activities Finish-to-Start, Finish-to-Finish, Start-to-Start, Start-to-Start Lags and Leads Estimate activity resources What are resources? Assigning resources to tasks Using the Resource Sheet Balancing resources and time Resource availability Dealing with resource over-allocation (task inspector) Estimate activity durations Estimation types: Analogous, Parametric, Three-Point Assigning task durations Develop schedule Critical Path Method Identifying float (slack) Network Diagram and Gantt Chart views Resource levelling Schedule compression Highlighting the critical path Compression techniques: crashing, fast-tracking Setting a project baseline Is the schedule ready? (checklist) Baselining Recording and tracking progress Calendar and task sheet views Entering actual durations Comparing planned vs actual – variance table Dealing with late tasks
Make an enquiry
Keep up to Date & Certified (PDUs)
Your career is a journey, and you’ll need to stay relevant as the profession evolves and as the needs of employers grow and change. Maintaining your PMI certification is a significant competitive advantage. It keeps you relevant and helps you better position yourself as the answer to what company's demand.
To keep your certification and keep you relevant and competitive for employer demanded skills,you’ll need to participate in professional development activities, and earn and report professional development units (PDUs.) The goal is to ensure that your certified competencies stay relevant and up to date.
There are tons of opportunities to earn PDUs.PMP credential holders love Velopi's PDU Centre because it's the easiest way to earn and document the 60 hours of professional development units (PDUs) that are required over a 3 year period.
As a learner with us, Velopi's PDU Centre helps you earn and report your Education PDUs to keep up to date and maintain your certification through our classes, seminars and webinars as well as self directed learning. Visit the Velopi PDU Centre to see our upcoming classes and webinars and Discover ways to earn PDUs or report earned PDUs with our Velopi PDU Centre.
Upcoming PDU Opportunities from Velopi's PDU centre
Project Management Professional (PMP)® Training
- 5 Days
- 35
- €1195 €1300
- View course
Certified Associate In Project Management (CAPM)® Training
- 5 Days
- 35
- €1195 €1300
- View course
Project Management Professional (PMP)® Training
- 5 Days
- 35
- €1195 €1300
- View course
Hear what our students say...
Velopi is the ideal partner for us to work with because of their industry reach, reputation and success in Project Management. Velopi were quick to adapt to the vagaries of the public sector and our students experience Velopi and the UCC Faculty as one team, which is wonderful. They just see the Lecturer, that’s how seamless it is. The Velopi and UCC relationship has been very successful because of our shared mind set on the importance of continuous evaluation, effectiveness and efficiency. The Velopi team is rigorous in terms of evaluating clients and students alike, they listen to the market and help us to respond to new educational opportunities."
From working with Velopi, we have been able to expand our course catalogue offering to our Members with a suite of high calibre, industry respected Project Management courses that meet our Members differing needs. Velopi is one of the very few training companies that have helped me in marketing the open programs that we run. I think we have a very collaborative relationship with Velopi where there is a 101% effort by Velopi which has built my confidence in them and significantly differentiates them from other vendors. Velopi make it easier. So why wouldn't you choose the person who makes it easier?”
Network and Project Manager, Irish Centre for Business Excellence (ICBE)
The big benefit for us is bringing unity, structure and consistency in how we work and communicate as a Team. When we present and report to our internal and external stakeholders, we can now give a clear simple picture of how we are executing against our baseline.”
Senior Project Manager, Boston Scientific
Velopi make it fairly easy to study and pass the exam for the PMP, which is an industry standard for project management. The PMP ensures that you learn the best methodologies to ensure project success.”
Project Manager, Ervia
Velopi are really knowledgeable, not just as a training provider but in their consultancy services on Project Management - being able to go into different companies helping them develop their internal procedures, problem solving and understanding on where their focus is. Velopi have mastered Project management with global experience.”
Capital Investment Manager, Ervia
The project management experience and knowledge of the Velopi team is what helped me relate and bring the theory into my business projects, and to effectively communiate with the people and Stakeholders in my projects."
Senior Program Manager, Dell Ireland
Velopi has had a profound impact on my career and business as a Contract Project Manager. Velopi’s trainers are very engaged in their student’s individual development and the project management knowledge and toolset that I acquired from them has been invaluable in managing projects successfully for my Customers."
Cyber Security Project Manager, Johnson & Johnson
Velopi are excellent. They have done numerous training courses for us. and their training is tailored to your specific objectives, which is a unique selling point. They work one on one to match to what the business is looking for – what is promised gets delivered. I have never been let down.”
Business Planning Manager, Laya Healthcare
You are learning from someone who has a lot of experience in project management in the field as well as the best practice. That was the real value for me as a Graduate Engineer starting off.”
Graduate Engineer, Merck
Velopi helped us achieve our first objective – gaining a high-level overview and common understanding of project management across the Team. We found the learning particularly useful in examining the versatility of our product and methodologies to meet our customer needs.”
Team Lead, Enterprise Customer Success, Teamwork
The biggest impact that the Velopi course had on me was learning how the science and framework of project management can help in managing people as well as through interpersonal and direct communication- the penny really dropped about this for me during the course.”
Tyndall
As a Project Manager without previous experience, Velopi’s training was invaluable. Although intense, the instructor delivered the content in an engaging and fun way. I was able to immediately apply it to the projects I was working on and it gave me a sound recognised foundation for my career in Project Management.”
BioMarin
As a partner, Velopi's project management knowledge was exceptional, really strong. I think that was one of the key benefits I found with Seamus and his team. They understood the environment from their experience of working with other large medical device companies and that we had to find a process that would fit our business model and not try and shape our business model around what an ideal PMO should look like.”
Principal Polymer Manufacturing Engineer, Boston Scientific Galway
Velopi listened to us and tailored the elements to fit our unique needs in a practical manner. Their expertise and sharing of their experiences with similar companies helped identify what would or would not work for us. We are now working to an internationally recognised, world class, industry standard in the PMI and continue to work with Velopi on process reviews and training our engineers and teams.
System Engineer, Merck
Industry Experts that help you Succeed
Meet the Team
Managing Director & Founder
Seamus Collins has led Velopi since he founded the company in 2007. He has developed Velopi into the internationally recognised specialist in Project Management that’s helped hundreds of companies accelerate their growth.
Senior Training Consultant
An excellent communicator, John has a proven track record of delivering training and analysing training needs of project management training and consultancy to a range of companies across the IT, Telecommunications, Finance and Life Science sectors.
Training Consultant
A learning and development professional for the past 10 years, consulting with a variety of well-known and successful organisations, Michael holds two Masters degrees, MA Learning & Development and MSc Project Management.