MS Project

IT & Microsoft® Courses

This practical MS Project Workshop is designed to help participants develop the planning, scheduling, tracking, and reporting skills required to manage projects more effectively using Microsoft Project. The program provides hands-on exposure to project management tools and techniques that support better project control, resource management, timeline visibility, and performance monitoring.

Participants will learn how to create and structure project plans, define tasks and milestones, establish dependencies, allocate resources, and manage project schedules using Microsoft Project. The workshop also focuses on monitoring project progress, managing timelines, identifying risks and delays, and generating project reports that support informed decision-making and stakeholder communication.

The program further explores resource planning, workload balancing, project tracking, baseline management, and reporting techniques that help improve project visibility and execution. Through practical exercises and real-world project scenarios, participants will gain confidence in using MS Project to manage project activities more efficiently and professionally.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be equipped with practical MS Project skills that support better planning, coordination, scheduling, tracking, and reporting across projects of varying complexity.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Understand the core features and project management capabilities of Microsoft Project
Create and structure project plans using tasks, milestones, calendars, and work breakdown structures
Define task relationships and dependencies to develop accurate project schedules
Allocate and manage resources effectively within project plans
Monitor project timelines, track progress, and update project schedules efficiently
Create baselines and compare planned versus actual project performance
Identify scheduling conflicts, delays, and resource overallocations within projects
Generate project reports, dashboards, and visual project summaries for stakeholders and management
Apply project tracking and reporting techniques to improve project control and decision-making
Use MS Project tools to support more organized, efficient, and successful project execution

Day 1

Introduction to MS Project 2016

Overview of project management software
Understanding the importance of project management tools
Introduction to MS Project interface
- Ribbon interface
- Views and tables
- Task and resource tabs

Project Planning Basics

Defining project goals and objectives
Understanding project scope
Creating a work breakdown structure (WBS)
- Decomposing project deliverables
- Organizing tasks hierarchically
Task creation and dependencies
- Predecessors and successors
- Types of task dependencies
Setting task durations and milestones
- Estimating task durations
- Identifying project milestones

Scheduling Techniques

Introduction to the Gantt chart
- Understanding task bars
- Navigating the Gantt chart view
Setting task constraints
- Types of task constraints
- How to apply constraints
Using lag and lead time
- Defining lag and lead time
- Applying lag and lead time to tasks
Critical path analysis
- Identifying the critical path
- Understanding slack and float

Customizing Projects

Creating custom fields
- Text, number, and date fields
Adding columns and changing views
- Customizing tables and views
- Grouping and filtering tasks
Creating custom reports
- Overview of available reports
- Creating and customizing reports

Day 2

Resource Management

Adding resources to your project
- Types of resources (work, material, cost)
- Adding resources manually and from resource pool
Assigning resources to tasks
- Resource assignment types
- Effort-driven vs. fixed-duration tasks
Understanding resource calendars and availability
- Setting working and non-working time
- Viewing resource availability
Resource leveling and resolving overallocations
- Identifying and resolving resource overallocations
- Resource leveling options and strategies

Tracking and Monitoring Progress

Updating project progress
- Entering actual start and finish dates
- Recording percentage complete
Recording actual work and costs
- Tracking work hours and costs
- Updating actual costs
Analysing variance
- Comparing baseline vs. actual
- Analysing schedule and cost variances
Baseline comparison
- Saving and updating project baselines
- Comparing current progress with baseline

Advanced Scheduling Techniques

Task types and effort-driven scheduling
- Understanding fixed units, fixed duration, and fixed work
- Using effort-driven scheduling effectively
Deadlines and recurring tasks
- Setting project deadlines
- Creating and managing recurring tasks
Splitting tasks and task calendars
- Splitting tasks to accommodate interruptions
- Creating task-specific calendars
Managing multiple projects
- Consolidating multiple projects
- Resource sharing and leveling across projects

Collaboration and Communication

Sharing projects with stakeholders
- Exporting project data to Excel or PDF
- Sending project snapshots via email
Working with SharePoint and OneDrive
- Collaborating on projects online
- Sharing project documents and files
Using Project Online
- Overview of Project Online features
- Accessing and managing projects online
Collaborating with team members
- Assigning tasks and sending status updates
- Using team communication features

Advanced Reporting and Analysis

Visual reports
Generating visual reports Customizing visual report templates
Analyzing project data
Analyzing resource utilization
Identifying project trends and patterns
Exporting project information
Exporting data to Excel for further analysis
Sharing project data with stakeholders

Regular Fee:

USD 550

Per Participant
(Exclusive of VAT)

Group Registration Benefit

Planning to attend with colleagues? Organizations registering 3 or more participants receive a 15% group discount, making it more economical to develop teams together while creating a shared learning experience.

The Program Fee Includes:

Full-day instructor-led training
Comprehensive course materials
Practical tools, templates and learning resources used during the program
Interactive exercises and facilitated discussions
Networking opportunities with professionals from other organizations
Lunch and refreshments
SIMFOTIX Certificate of Completion

Registering a Team?

For larger groups, we can also explore a customized in-house delivery exclusively for your organization. The program can be tailored to your business context, participant profile, and specific learning objectives.