Chapter 6 -- Setting Up Resources in the Project

Microsoft Project is a specialized database that stores and presents thousands of pieces of data related to your project. Examples of such data include tasks, durations, links, resource names, calendars, assignments, costs, deadlines, and milestones.

These pieces of information interrelate and affect each other in a myriad of ways. Underlying this project database is the scheduling engine, which crunches the raw project data you enter and presents the calculated results to you (see Figure 1-1). Examples of such calculated results include the start and finish dates of a task, resource availability, the finish date of the entire project, and the total cost for a resource or for the project.

Figure 1-1. Use Microsoft Project as your database of project management information.

You can then manipulate and display this calculated information in various views to analyze the planning and progress of your project. This information helps you make decisions vital to the project's success.

You can also communicate your progress and provide the feedback necessary to keep your team and other stakeholders informed of essential project information create and print reports for status meetings or distribution to stakeholders, and print or publish certain views or reports to your team's Web site.

Microsoft Project 2002 Editions

With Microsoft Project 2002, you have a choice of two editions: Microsoft Project Standard 2002 and Microsoft Project Professional 2002.

Microsoft Project Standard 2002 is the basic desktop edition of Microsoft Project, and it is the updated version of Microsoft Project 2000. It supports project management as well as online team collaboration. It includes all the essential features to support management at the individual or workgroup level. These features include:

• Task scheduling
• Tracking
• Team collaboration
• Resource management
• Reporting
• Customization

With this substantial set of features, you can start planning, managing, and reporting your project information "out of the box"—that is, immediately upon installation (see Figure 1-2).

Figure 1-2. Develop and execute your project plan with Microsoft Project Standard 2002.

Microsoft Project Professional 2002 provides everything that Microsoft Project Standard 2002 does. In addition, with this new edition, project management is now fully scalable across multiple departments and divisions in a corporation or other enterprise (see Figure 1-3).

Figure 1-3. Develop and execute multiple project plans with Microsoft Project Professional 2002.

Microsoft Project Professional includes the following features:

• Global templates, enterprise fields, and other elements, enabling a system administrator to standardize and customize the use of Microsoft Project for the way your enterprise manages projects.
• The ability to choose and manage resources from the pool of a specific group or the entire company. You can see resource availability across multiple projects and have Microsoft Project automatically find resources that will appropriately fill project team requirements.
• High-level overviews of all the projects taking place throughout the organization. With the new enterprise capabilities of Microsoft Project Professional 2002, all information is gathered, organized, and reported consistently throughout the organization, providing a complete and accurate picture of all projects.

Project Server and Web Access

Microsoft Project Server is the separately licensed companion program that can accompany either Microsoft Project Standard 2002 or Microsoft Project Professional 2002. Microsoft Project Server provides for team collaboration among project managers, team members, and other stakeholders.

Project managers use Microsoft Project to enter, store, and update project information. They can then send project information, such as assignments or task updates, to specific team members through Microsoft Project Server.

Team members and other associated stakeholders in the project can view and work with the information held in Microsoft Project Server through the use of a Web-based user interface called Microsoft Project Web Access. Not only can team members review their assigned tasks and other project information in Microsoft Project Web Access, they can add tasks, update progress information, and send status reports through Project Server. This ultimately updates the project plan being maintained by the project manager.

Microsoft Project Server and Microsoft Project Web Access are the updated version of Microsoft Project Central, which you might have used with Microsoft Project 2000.

For more information about installing Microsoft Project Standard 2002, Microsoft Project Professional 2002, Microsoft Project Server, or Microsoft Project Web Access, see Appendix A.