Microsoft Project 2010: The Missing Manual

Chapter 3. Taking Microsoft Project for a Test Drive

Learning how to manage projects while learning to use Project at the same time is too much for most mortals. So this chapter lets you take Project out for a test drive, with a simple map to guide you on your trip. Because Project 2010 has switched from the menu bar to the ribbon, the journey begins with an exploration of Project’s ribbon tabs. Then you’ll wander through the panes that appear in the Project window. At that point, you’re ready to start working on a project.

If this were a real project, you’d start by defining project objectives, listing assumptions, choosing strategies, identifying risks, building project teams, carving out budgets, and so on, as described in the first two chapters. This chapter uses a fictitious project, called the “It’s About Time Graduation Party” for the 40-year-old college graduate in your family, to take you through Project’s main features and give you the satisfaction of creating a working schedule.

Navigating the Project Ribbon

The Project ribbon is like a cyber-border collie, herding related features onto tabs to make them easier to find. As you plan and manage a project, you shift your focus from tasks to the resources who work on them to the big picture of the entire project, so the Task tab, Resource tab, and Project tab make perfect sense. As it turns out, a few other tabs come in handy for working with your Project files and looking at your project in different ways. This section steps ...