3 Ways Microsoft Project Can Streamline Your Project Lifecycle

If any company knows how to operate efficiently and get serious results, it's Microsoft. Microsoft's infrastructure is built upon a highly project-centred environment, making Microsoft the ideal author of project planning software. The most efficient project-centred organizations are already utilizing the full range of Microsoft Project features to optimize efficiency.

However, many more surprisingly don't offer any sort of "official" Microsoft Project training to their project managers. London based companies such as these, as well as companies that are just now exploring a project based business environment, can drastically streamline their processes with Project training for associates. There are plenty of tools and techniques to be learned in Project training. This article will focus on three areas where Project training will make the most drastic impact on the speed and quality of your business projects.

Managing Calendars

One of the most important elements of managing a project is keeping all project members precisely on track. Project 2003 is nicely integrated with other Microsoft Office business tools and features such as the Microsoft Outlook calendar. Project training teaches MS Project users how to create project tasks that appear in the Outlook calendar alongside other appointments.

After MS Project training, project managers can learn how to have up-to-the-minute project status information from their computer or PDA by using the integrated calendar tools. When all project members are up to date on the project status and project leaders can instantly assign tasks to other group members as needs arise, project time can be significantly reduced.

Programme Evaluation Review Technique (PERT)

PERT charts are an important part of keeping a project on schedule and covered in the more advanced Microsoft Project training courses. The purpose of a PERT chart is to display the various tasks associated with a project along with their dependencies. Without PERT charts, it's difficult to identify if and where a project may have scheduling conflicts.

Through Project training, project coordinators will learn how to use PERT charts to work out potential bottlenecks during the planning phase and identify them quickly once the project is underway. The sooner barriers are identified, the sooner tasks can be reassigned and the project can get back on track.

Gantt Charts

Gantt Charts are a type of timeline that your project team will learn in two days of Microsoft Project training. By using Gantt Charts, project managers can visually track the progress of the project in relation to the planned timeline. Without a solid process for keeping on top of milestones, a project has a low probability of completing on time.

Gantt Charts can be created with Excel or Visio, but for complex projects Microsoft Project is the ideal software medium. Through Project training, project managers will learn how to use the full range of functionality of Microsoft Project Gantt Charts.

Learning how to effectively use Project through Microsoft Project training doesn't only save time at the level of the individual team member. In the game of business, the agility, speed, and precision gained through an air-tight project process are attributes that separate average businesses from the industry leaders.