About this course
Hands-on use of software to plan, schedule and report on projects. Delegates set up a project file, enter tasks, durations and dependencies, assign resources and costs, view the critical path, save a baseline, update progress and produce reports. Work is done in Microsoft Project or a similar scheduling tool, with Excel used for registers, budgets and simple dashboards.
Why this course
Many project teams still schedule in spreadsheets or on paper, which makes it hard to see the effect of a delay or produce consistent progress reports. Practical skill in scheduling software lets staff update plans quickly, show the critical path to management and report progress from one reliable source.
What delegates will be able to do
By the end of the course, delegates will be able to
- Set up a project file with calendars, tasks, durations and dependencies
- Assign resources and costs to tasks and resolve resource over-allocation
- Save a baseline, enter actual progress and compare it with the plan
- Identify the critical path and test the effect of delays on the finish date
- Produce Gantt charts, progress reports and simple Excel dashboards for management
Who should attend
Project officers, project administrators, planners, project managers and engineers who need to plan and report using software. Delegates should be comfortable with Windows and Excel. No prior experience of project scheduling software is required.
How it is delivered
Computer-based practical sessions in which each delegate builds and updates a full project schedule step by step, with facilitator demonstrations and guided exercises. It is available as a public course, in-house at your premises, or as live virtual sessions. Duration and dates are confirmed in your quote, and in-house groups can have the examples and exercises fitted to their organisation.