Visio® 2007 Bible

Chapter 17. Scheduling Projects with Visio

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Exploring the project scheduling templates

• Constructing calendars

• Documenting project timelines

• Scheduling projects using Gantt charts

• Building PERT charts

Projects are endeavors with a definite beginning and end—typically, special undertakings that are distinct from the routine day-to-day operations of an organization. Projects don't just happen on their own; they take conscientious planning, tracking, and management. Project managers monitor and control schedules, tasks, resources, and budgets to ensure that the projects they manage achieve their goals.

Typically, project managers use software such as Microsoft Project to build, track, and revise project plans. Although Visio is not a project management tool, it comes in handy for communicating the project plans and status built in other programs. If you don't have project management software, the Timeline, Gantt chart, and PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) chart templates can step up to build and report on very simple projects. The Calendar template provides shapes to construct calendars that span one day to several years, which you can use for projects or tracking your kids' school activities.

In addition to building project management diagrams by dragging and dropping shapes, you can also import data from Microsoft Project or other applications into Visio diagrams. If you develop a prototype schedule in Visio, you can jumpstart projects by exporting your schedules ...