Starting Out

[GW]

Hi,
It looks as if this is one of the best places to seek advice on MS Project.
I am just getting started and need to learn the basics real fast...can anyone
guide me to the best resource to get up and planning a project and getting
all the lingo and functionality of MS project?

I will also be working with Primavera.

Thanks for any help.

GW

 

[Jim Aksel]

Perhaps your fastest solution is to purchase a book at a local book store
with a large Geek section. Not knowing where you are, I can tell you
Borders, Barnes and Noble are both good in the United States.

If you can afford to wait for the mail, I strongly suggest going to Amazon
and searching for "The Ultimate Learning Guide to Microsoft Office Project
2007" by Dale Howard and Gary Chevitz. ISBN 1-934240-00-1. It covers all
versions of Project from 2000 forward.

What I like about the book is it explains things in small chunks so you can
work on a particular skill to nail it down before combining it with other
things.

The other thing to help you with the lingo might be the Program Management
Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) currently in its third edition and available from
www.pmi.org. You need to go to their bookstore. A fourth edition is due out
shortly so look for a good price, maybe even a used one on Amazon.

If you have questions, just post up here. Although the general intent of
this site is to answer technical "How to's" for Microsoft Project, there are
general PM questions posted up here all the time and you will get some good
feedback. Of course, the competing products maintain their own forums.
--
If this post was helpful, please consider rating it.

Jim

Check out my new blog for more information:
http://www.msprojectblog.com

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi GW,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

The quickest way to get up and running is to take a good 2-day introductory
course. You then need to follow this after some weeks or months with a more
advanced course covering more depth. It will be no quick and easy path to
being a project manager, but it should help. Meanwhile, you might like to
have a look at my series on Microsoft Project in the TechTrax ezine at this
site: http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc or this:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23
(Perhaps you'd care to rate the article before leaving the site,
Thanks.)

FAQs, companion products and other useful Project information can be seen at
this web address: <http://www.mvps.org/project/>

Hope this helps - please let us know how you get on

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP

 

[SGM]

Great information. It found it very helpful. I've taken a PMI sponsored
course but haven't gotten certified yet. Hope to do so by November.
I am actually charged with managing a national project which commemces Feb
09.
I need to get started and wanted to know, what is the best way to do it?
Once I get going I am certain everything I've learned will comeback to me. I
guess I am feeling a little intimidated and really want to do an excellent
job. I am the only person in my division who has taken the course. I have
no resources other than this website.

 

[Mike Glen]

You're welcome, GW and thanks for your comments.

As to your question, you're now into the realms of Project Management!
Firstly, you must get involved from the beginning - get to know what the
project entails, its aims and deliverables. Get to know your bosses and
your workforce. Find out the constraints you will be working under and the
budget you will be working with. Find out and fight for what powers you
will have over the allocation of resources and the control of spending. Find
out if the business has a policy document for project and, of not, start
writing one.

That should be food for thought - I'm sure there are others out there who
can add or subtract from this.

Good luck!

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for my free Project Tutorials