Setting up a new Project document correctly from the beginning will help make
your use of Microsoft Project much easier. Before you enter the first task in a
new project, it's a good idea to examine several settings and make any
needed changes to them. Although there are no defined rules for doing this, by
following the steps outlined in this chapter, you will be able to create a more
accurately calculated schedule.

You generally use most of the default settings in Microsoft Project to
schedule tasks. Project also allows flexibility and adaptability to accurately
reflect the actual workings of each individual project. You can change many of
these settings after tasks and resources have already been entered into the
project. However, by addressing these issues up front, you are guaranteed to
communicate a schedule that is based on logic and calculated reason.

NOTE

Although you can address the preliminaries of a project in any
order, the order in which the topics are presented in this chapter is the order
recommended when you begin developing your first project.

Supplying Information for a New Project

You should understand the working conditions in a project, including the
working calendar and holidays, before attempting to set up the project. Project
calculates the schedule for activities based on this information, so you should
outline this information before you begin using Project to schedule tasks.

When you begin working with Project, you typically start by setting up the
environmental working options. Next, you define the working time calendar,
considering working hours and nonworking time. After you set up a calendar, you
might want to print it for review at a later time. You might also want to use
the same calendar for other projects; to do this, you need to use the Organizer,
which is described later in this chapter.

Project 2002 includes two new wizards: the New Project Wizard and the
Calendar Wizard. Using wizards in Microsoft products makes the setup process
easy and complete. You are strongly encouraged to take advantage of these new
wizards to expedite your setup time and allow you to focus on defining the scope
of work for the project.

When you start a new project, you must consider whether you want the project
to be scheduled from a specific start date or scheduled backward from a
predetermined finish date. It is not possible to do both: You must either
schedule forward based on the project's start date or schedule backward
based on the project's finish date. When Project calculates the
forward-scheduling of tasks, it considers many factors, including the duration
of the tasks, the base calendar selected, the settings set by the user,
dependencies defined between activities, the calendar of the resource assigned,
and, if one is created, a specific task calendar that is assigned to the
activity. When Project calculates the backward-scheduling of tasks, it does
essentially the same thing it does when forward-scheduling, except that it
calculates backward from the project's fixed end date.

In addition to calendar information, you need to provide summary information;
Project inserts this information into many of the reports it can generate, and
this information enables Project users to search for specific contents of files
saved on your computer. You enter this summary information into the Properties
dialog box, which you access by selecting File, Properties. The following
sections describe how you input data into the Project Information and Properties
dialog boxes.

Using the Project Information Dialog Box

To start a new file, choose File, New or click the New button on the Standard
toolbar. Microsoft Project automatically displays the Project Information dialog
box.

You use the Project Information dialog box to record basic information about
a project, such as the starting date and the base calendar to use for
scheduling. To access the Project Information dialog box at any time, you choose
Project, Project Information.

Figure 3.1 shows the Project Information
dialog box that appears in the Standard edition of Project. Figure
3.2 shows the Project Information dialog box that appears in the Professional
edition of Microsoft Project.

If the Project Information dialog box does not display when you open a new
project, choose Tools, Options. On the General tab, mark the Prompt for Project
Info for New Projects check box. Then start a new file; the Project Information
dialog box should now appear (see Figure
3.3).

Figure 3.3 The option to have the
Project Information dialog box appear when you open a new project is available
under the General tab of the Options dialog box.

The fields in the Project Information dialog box are as follows:

Start Date, Finish Date, and Schedule FromThe Schedule from
drop-down selects whether the project forward schedules from a start Date or
backwards schedules from a finish Date. To define a specific date for a project
to start, you can type the date in the Start Date text box or click the Start
Date drop-down button to choose a date on a calendar. If you must schedule a
project to finish on a specific date, select the Schedule From list box and
choose Project Finish Date. You can then type a specific date in the Finish Date
text box. This will move the project to schedule backwards from this
date.

Current Date and Status DateMicrosoft Project uses the
information in these fields to perform several date-related calculations. If you
leave the Status Date field set to NA (for example, if you want to see the
values in the Earned Value fields calculated up through and including the
current date or a date you specify), Project uses the date in the Current Date
field as the status date. This date is also used - in the Complete Through field
in the Update Project dialog box and in the placement of progress lines in the
Gantt Chart view. See the section "Understanding the Current Date and
Status Date Text Boxes," later in this chapter, for more information about
when and how you might want to use this field.

→ For information on telling Microsoft Project that work on the current
project is complete through a specific date, see "Analyzing Progress
and Revising the Schedule," p. 563.

CalendarYou can use the Calendar list box to select a different
base calendar for scheduling the project. The section "Scheduling with
Calendars," later in this chapter, explains when you should use the default
base calendar (Standard) and when you should consider using a different calendar.

NOTE

If the base calendar you want to use is defined in a different project file
from the one you're currently using, you must use the Organizer to copy
that calendar into the current project file before you can select it (see
the section "Working with Calendars," later in this chapter).

PriorityWhen you are sharing a pool of resources across multiple
projects, you can identify which project has the highest priority by changing
the Priority field in the Project Information dialog box. You can set this
project level priority between 0 and 1000.

→ When you have a resource spread too thin (that is,
overallocated), you can have Microsoft Project attempt to resolve the
problem. For more information, see "Resolving Resource Assignment
Problems," p. 411.

Understanding the Start and Finish Date Text Boxes

When you're starting a new project document, you enter either a start
date or a finish date into the Project Information dialog box to function as an
anchor point for scheduling the tasks in the project. Microsoft Project computes
the other date. You cannot specify both a start date and a finish date.

If you enter the start date, Microsoft Project schedules the first task in
the project to begin at that time and calculates the project's finish date
based on that starting date and the sequence of tasks that come after the first
task. New tasks that are added begin as soon as possible when you schedule from
a start date.

If you enter the finish date, Microsoft Project schedules the tasks from the
end of the project first and works backward. The final task is scheduled to end
by the finish date; the task that precedes the final task is scheduled to end in
time for the final task to begin, and so on. By the time Project schedules all
tasks to end in time to meet the finish date requirement, the program has
calculated a start date (that is, the date by which the first task must begin
for the project to be completed by the specified finish time). New tasks that
are added begin as late as possible when you schedule from a finish date.

You can use the Schedule From list box to change a project's schedule as
often as you like. If you want to see when a project must start in order to
finish by a deadline date, you can change the Schedule From option to Project
Finish Date and enter the deadline date. When you choose OK, Project
recalculates the schedule, including a new start date. You can then view the
Project Information dialog box again to see what the required start date is,
given the new finish date deadline. While in the Project Information dialog box,
you can switch back to scheduling from a fixed start date.

To select a start date or finish date, you can either type the date or click
the drop-down button to select a date from a calendar (see Figure
3.4). To select a date in the current month, you simply click that date.
To select a date in a different month, you use the left and right arrows to
select a different month and then click the date.

Figure 3.4 The start date of the
project should be defined from within the Project Information dialog box, not
the start field of the first task of the project.

When you're managing a project, it's best to schedule forward based
on a start date. If you schedule the project based on a fixed finish date, all
activities must flow backward based on durations, linkages, and the calendars
assigned; this is fine until you begin tracking the project. When you schedule
from a fixed finish date, the start date is based on the actual time needed
to complete each phase. What's wrong with this picture? Because both the
start and finish dates are fixed, the schedule cannot expand or contract.

Also, scheduling from the finish date assumes that there is no project
buffer, or extra time added to the end of the project, to allow for delays in
completion of the project, unless you take that into consideration in selecting
the finish date from which to schedule backward.

When you encounter a date field, you can use the built-in pop-up calendar to
select a date.

NOTE

If you change your mind about the date you selected, you can click the area
designated Today at the bottom of the calendar to immediately return to today's
date. This closes the calendar pop-up. Of course, pressing Esc closes the
window entirely, without saving the changes you've made.

Understanding the Current Date and Status Date Text Boxes

The computer's internal clock initially determines the date listed in
the Current Date text box. Changing this text box has several implications:

The date determines the location of the dashed (current) date line on the
Gantt Chart view time line.

The current date appears in the header of the Project Summary standard
report as an As Of date. You also can display the Current Date text box in
headers or footers on other reports by typing the appropriate code in the header
or footer definition.

You can customize Project to start new tasks based on the current date
instead of on the project's start date. You do so by selecting Tools,
Options, selecting the Schedule tab, and changing a setting next to New Tasks:
Start on Project Start Date or Start on Current Date.

The Current Date can be used for benchmarking the progress of tasks, but you
can use an alternative date for this as well. If you specify a date in the
Status Date field in the Project Information dialog box, this is the date
Project uses for placing the progress lines in the Gantt Chart view. In
addition, if there is a date in the Status Date field, Project uses this date
when calculating the Earned Value fields and for tracking purposes in the Update
Project dialog box.

To change the Current Date field or enter a date in the Status Date field,
select the field and type the date or click the drop-down arrow to select a date
from a calendar pop-up.

Understanding the Project Statistics Dialog Box

You use the Statistics button at the bottom of the Project Information dialog
box to display the Project Statistics dialog box (see Figure
3.5). You can also display this dialog box by clicking the Project Statistics
button on the Tracking toolbar.

Figure 3.5 The Project Statistics
dialog box gives a quick summary of the status of a project.

The Project Statistics dialog box displays summary information about a
project. You cannot manually change the data in this dialog box; you can only
view and print it.

NOTE

You can use the Project Summary report (in the Overview category) to print
out the project statistics. Reports are accessed from the View menu.

The Project Statistics dialog box shows the current, or currently scheduled,
values for five project parameters: the start and finish dates and the total
duration, work, and cost. If you have saved the baseline copy of the schedule,
the baseline values also are displayed, for comparison.

When work is actually performed on the project and progress on tasks is
recorded, the information in the Actual row is updated. The percentage complete
of the duration and work of the project are shown at the bottom of the dialog
box, in the Percent Complete section.

To close the Project Statistics dialog box, click the Close button.

Using the Properties Dialog Box

In the Properties dialog box, you can view and edit a number of options that
describe a project. To open the Properties dialog box, choose File, Properties.
The Properties dialog box has five tabs; the Summary tab is the default.

NOTE

You can display information from the fields in the Properties dialog boxespecially
fields from the Summary tabin the header or footer area of printed views
or reports for a project. See Chapter 13, "Printing Views and Reports,"
for more information.

The Summary Tab

In the Summary tab of the Properties dialog box (see Figure
3.6), you can supply descriptive information about a project and the people
associated with it. You can include the options at the top of the tab (Title,
Subject, Author, Manager, and Company) in reports, as header or footer text.
The options Category, Keywords, and Comments are useful when you're searching
through previously created project files on your hard disk. You can use the
Hyperlink Base option to indicate the main address to the hyperlinks you have
in your project. This can be a link to another file on your computer or server
or a link to a location on the Web.

Figure 3.6 The Summary tab of the
Properties dialog box presents descriptive options that are useful in reports
and for searching for files to open.

To change any of the options on the Summary tab, select its text box and type
an entry. Press the Tab key after you have finished typing the entry to move
to the next option. Except in the Comments list box, pressing the Enter key
on this tab selects the OK button and closes the dialog box.

If the newly created project originated from a template, the template name
appears at the bottom of the dialog box.

You can select the Save Preview Picture check box to have Project save a
thumbnail sketch of the current view when you save the file. You can browse
these preview pictures when you search for files by using the File, Open
command. The Save Preview Picture check box is not selected by default.

If you have trouble locating files in the future, you can use the Open dialog
box to search for words entered in the fields of the Summary tab to find the
needed file.

The General Tab

The General tab of the Properties dialog box describes the file that stores
the project document. It provides statistics about the project file: the name,
type, location, and size of the file, as well as the dates when the file was
created, last modified, and last opened. This tab is blank until the document is
saved as a file.

The Statistics Tab

The Statistics tab of the Properties dialog box provides useful statistics
about your work with the project document, including when it was created, last
modified, last accessed, and last printed It also shows who last saved the file,
which is useful for shared files in a workgroup. The Statistics tab also shows
how many times the document has been revised and the total amount of computer
time spent editing the file.

The Contents Tab

The Contents tab of the Properties dialog box displays the most commonly
reviewed statistics about the current project schedule: the start and finish
dates; the scheduled duration, work, and cost; and the percentage completed for
both duration and work. The Contents tab displays summary statistics about the
project schedule.

The Custom Tab

With the Custom tab of the Properties dialog box you can add additional properties
to a file. Then, you can search for files by the values of these properties.
Based on the information in Figure 3.7,
for example, you could search for all projects that have Marketing in the Department
Value field. The bottom row in the Properties list box shows that a property
named Department has been created for this document, with the text value Marketing.

Figure 3.7 The Custom tab of the
Properties dialog box allows you to set up custom search parameters.

To create a custom property for a project, follow these steps:

Choose File, Properties.

Choose the Custom tab.

Type a property name in the Name list box. The drop-down list below the
Name list box lists commonly used properties. If you want to use one of these,
select it.

Use the Type drop-down list to define the type of data to place in the
field. You should use this option only when you will type the value of the
property instead of linking it to a field in the project file. When you link the
property value to a project field, the Type drop-down list is unavailable. The
allowable data types are Text, Date, Number, and Yes or No (logical).

If you chose Text, Date, or Number previously, type a value in the Value
text box. If you chose the Yes or No option in the Type list box, you see Yes
and No buttons in the Value box. Select the one you want to use.

Click the Add button to add the property to the list in the Properties
dialog box.

If you want to link a property value to a project field, follow these
steps:

Choose File, Properties.

Choose the Custom tab.

Type a property name in the Name list box.

Select the Link to Content check box (refer to Figure 3.7). The Type list
box is grayed out, and the Value text box becomes a drop-down list. The name of
the text box changes to Source.

In the Source drop-down list box, choose the field that has the value you
want the property to reflect.

Click the Add button to add the property to the list in the Properties
dialog box.

If you want to delete a custom property, select it in the Properties list and
click the Delete button.

If you want to modify the value for a property, select the property name in
the Properties list. This places the current name and value in the text boxes at
the top of the dialog box. Change the Type or Value fields as needed, and the
Add button changes to Modify. If you change the Name field, you have to use the
Add button to include it as a new property. You could then use the Delete button
to remove the original, leaving the newly named version. Then you could click
the Modify button to complete the change.

When you finish the custom properties list, click the OK button unless you
want to make additional changes on one of the other tabs.