Microsoft Project Fundamentals

Lesson 9Track Project Information

LESSON OBJECTIVES

• Describe the differences between the planning, executing, monitoring, and controlling processes.
• List three methods for communicating progress information with your team.
• Name three of five progress measures often used with waterfall projects and demonstrate how to enter these measures.
• Identify three of four progress measures often used with agile projects and demonstrate how to enter these measures.
• Specify how a task is proceeding exactly according to schedule.
• Define baseline, scheduled, and actual data in a project and the effect they each have on the project.
• Explain the four project elements that should be monitored after entering progress information.

Everything you've done with your project to this point has been planning—looking at the tasks, scheduling, resources, and costs for the project you knew would take place sometime in the near future.

You've optimized the plan to achieve the established finish date and budget, and you've checked and balanced the efficient use of resources throughout the project. With all conditions seemingly perfect, you've set the project baseline, which captures the details of your ideal plan. You're now revving at that special moment in the project when you can actually shift into gear and go!

Some project managers feel that, at this point, the heavy lifting is finished. They've built a lovely Gantt Chart or Task Board and all signs point to a successful project that achieves ...