Creating and Using Custom Project Templates

Every project is based on a template, which can be defined as a predefined set of project information. When you create a new blank project, you are using the default Global project template, global.mpt. The Global template is blank except for some very general default project settings.

Similar to other Microsoft applications, Project comes with a number of predefined templates that help you get started with specific types of projects. In addition, you can create your own templates, or modify an already existing template to meet your needs. By default, the Project templates are stored in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033 folder.

Project’s templates are a good place to start building a project because they create the project for you and provide a set of already-defined tasks that pertain to a particular type of project. Templates are designed to allow for consistency, and help to ensure that critical steps are not missed when creating a project plan. Essentially, they provide a guide to help you create your project plans.

Opening Templates

Opening a template is accomplished from the New Project pane that appears when you create a new Project file. When you open a project template, you are opening up a new project file based on a particular template, not the actual template file itself.

Follow these steps to open one of Project’s built-in templates:

  1. Choose File Ø New. This displays the New Project pane, shown in Figure 23.14.


    Figure 23.14: Getting ready to open a new project based on a Project template.

  2. In the New from Template section, select General Templates to open the Templates dialog box, shown in Figure 23.15.

    Note 

    If you want to open a blank project not based on a template, select Blank Project from the New Project pane.

    click to expand
    Figure 23.15: Choose a template from the Templates dialog box.

  3. Select the Project Templates tab.

  4. Select the template icon that you want to use to create a new project. Click OK.

Project now opens a project file based on the template you chose. The project is given a placeholder name based on the template name; the first time you save the file, you’ll want to specify a different file name.

Note 

For more information on how to save a file, refer to “Saving Project Files” in Chapter 5.

Using the Sample Templates

The templates that come with Project 2002 provide a framework for several different types of common projects. Each template can be modified to meet the specific needs of you and your organization. Table 23.3 lists the built-in Project templates, and gives a brief description of each.

Table 23.3: Microsoft Project Sample Templates

Project Template

Description

Commercial Construction

This template provides the tasks necessary to construct a commercial building. Providing a model of the builder’s plan for the project, this template uses a Critical Path Method schedule.

Engineering

This template includes the steps and relationships necessary to scope, evaluate, and design a $5 to $25 million capital cost project. The project template is centered on the manufacturing process.

Home Move

This template is designed to help manage all the pieces and parts involved with moving from one home to another. The template is organized into five phases, based on the amount of time before the move from eight weeks before to one week after.

Infrastructure Deployment

This template is designed to identify the required steps and processes to initiate, design, and deploy a new infrastructure. The template is based on a phased methodology, which uses milestone-completion phases as a means for reporting.

Microsoft Active Directory Deployment

This template was created by Microsoft to help organizations install and deploy Active Directory. The template helps the organization focus on therequired steps and processes to successfully initiate, design, and implement the new software deployment.

Microsoft Exchange 2000 Deployment

This template was created by Microsoft to help organizations install and deploy Exchange 2000. The template helps the organization focus on the required steps and processes to successfully initiate, design, and implement the new software deployment.

Microsoft Office XP Corporate Deployment

This template was created by Microsoft to help organizations install and deploy Office XP. The template helps the organization focus on the required steps and processes to successfully initiate, design, and implement the new software deployment.

Microsoft SharePoint Server Portal Deployment

This template was created by Microsoft to help organizations install and deploy a SharePoint Server Portal. The template helps the organization focus on the required steps and processes to successfully initiate, design, and implement the new software deployment.

Microsoft Windows XP Deployment

This template was created by Microsoft to help organizations install and deploy the Windows XP operating system. The template helps the organization focus on the required steps and processes to successfully initiate, design, and implement the new software deployment.

MSF Application Development

This template is based on the Microsoft Solutions Framework, a process model for application development, and is a combination of a milestone-planning model and an iterative development process.

New Business

Thinking about starting a new business? This template is designed to identify those tasks necessary to properly evaluate a potential business opportunity.

New Product

This template provides the framework for developing a new product using a structured approach that should allow for successful new product development.

Office Move

This template is designed to help manage all the pieces and parts involved with moving an organization from one office location to another. The template is organized into six key phases from one year before the move to necessary post-move activities.

Project Office

This template is designed to provide the steps necessary to create an enterprise project office. It provides the steps necessary for the entire project life cycle, from conceptualization to the creation a project office. The template is based on a phased methodology and uses phase-completion milestones as a means for reporting.

Residential Construction

Similar to the Commercial Construction template, this template provides a model of the builder’s plan for the project and uses a Critical Path Method schedule.

Software Development

This template can be used to manage the activities involved in the software-development process. The template is based on a phased methodology and uses phase-completion milestones for reporting.

Software Localization

This template is designed for those companies that need to localize a piece of software for use in another language or region.

Nine of these templates will be familiar to prior Project users. The other templates— Home Move, Microsoft Active Directory Deployment, Microsoft Exchange 2000 Deployment, Microsoft Office XP Deployment, Microsoft SharePoint Server Portal Deployment, Microsoft Windows XP Deployment, Office Move, and Software Localization—are new to Project 2002.

Creating a New Template

When one of the pre-existing project templates doesn’t meet your needs, you can create your own template for use by your organization, division, or department. Many companies, for example, that utilize a quality methodology have a set of project tasks that must be completed throughout every project lifecycle. It is necessary to complete these tasks to ensure that the quality methodology is being adhered to. This can easily be achieved by creating a new project template.

Follow these steps for creating your own template:

  1. Create a project with all the necessary information that you want to be contained in the template.

  2. Choose File Ø Save As.

  3. Enter the name of the template in the File Name text box.

  4. Choose Template from the Save as Type drop down list.

  5. Click the Save button.

  6. When the Save As Template dialog box opens, choose any type of data you do not want to save with the template by clicking the appropriate check boxes.

  7. Click Save.

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To base a project on the template you created, select New from the File menu. Your new template appears among all the predefined project templates.

Modifying Template Files

To modify a template, open a copy of the template, make the necessary changes, and save the file as a template. You can either save over the original template by giving it the same name, or save it with a different name.

Making Changes to the Global Template

In Word, new documents are based on normal.dot, Word’s default template. In Project, new files are based on global.mpt, which is called the Global template. Changes you make to the Global template affect all new project files.

Note 

Project Professional’s enterprise project files use the enterprise global template, which is also named global.mpt. See Chapter 22 to learn how to use and manage the enterprise global template.

Although the Global template file cannot be opened within Project, there are several ways to modify the file. Certain settings in the Options dialog box (for example, the Effort Driven setting) affect the Global template. Also, any changes you make to toolbars, menus, and import/export maps are written directly to the Global template.

Finally, you can use Project’s Organizer utility, discussed next, to add specific elements, such as views and tables, to the Global template. Read on to learn more.



Mastering Microsoft Project 2002
Mastering Microsoft Project 2002
ISBN: 0782141471
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 241

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