Microsoft® Office Project 2007 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies®

Chapter 2. The Ins and Outs of Using Project

<feature><title>In This Chapter</title>

✓	Exploring what you need to put into Project
✓	Understanding tasks, timing, and resources
✓	Using tracking to update a project
✓	Getting useful reports out of Project

</feature>

Welcome to the world of computerized project management with Microsoft Project. If you’ve never used project management software, you’re stepping into a whole new era of project management. You’ll be leaving the world of the handwritten to-do list and entering a world teeming with hi-tech calculations and sophisticated project data.

Everything you ever did with handwritten to-do lists, word processors, and spreadsheets all magically comes together in Project. However, the transition into computerized project management doesn’t happen in seconds. First you need a basic understanding of what project management software can do, what it demands of you, and what results it can provide.

If you’ve used previous versions of Project, this little overview can help you refresh your memory as well as ease you into a few of the new features of Project 2007.

The Basics of Computerized Project Management

If you’ve scanned this book’s Table of Contents, you’re probably shaking your head and saying, “Boy, handwritten to-do lists look pretty good right now. Beats having to key in tons of data about tasks, schedules, and resources,” right?

Well, you’re right and wrong about that. You do have to enter a lot of information into Project to get the benefit ...