Microsoft Project 2013: The Missing Manual

Chapter 5. Setting Up a Project File

For days, weeks, sometimes months, you build the foundation of your project plan—the project’s goal, objectives, scope, requirements, and so on. At long last, you’re ready to build the project schedule, the map that guides the project from beginning to end. It tells everyone what work is required, who’s supposed to do it, when it should be done, and how much it should cost. Something this fundamental to project management takes some preparation—and the next several chapters of this book—to construct.

The project schedule is where Microsoft Project becomes indispensable. In Project, you build a list of project tasks, link them to define their sequence, and assign resources and costs. This chapter is the first leg of this schedule-building marathon. It begins with creating and saving a new Project file, whether you make one from scratch or start from an existing project or template.

This chapter continues with a few key elements of every project schedule. You learn the pros and cons of scheduling from the project start or finish date, as well as how to tell Project which method you want to use. You’ll also learn how to define working days and times for your overall project and for project resources. As you proceed to the remaining chapters in this section, you’ll learn the rest of the process for building a project schedule.