What Is Microsoft Project?
Microsoft Project is a project management software provided by Microsoft. It’s been one of the more popular project management software, as project managers and team members have grown familiar with other Microsoft products.
If your business or organization is just now transitioning to Microsoft software and products, ONLC offers Microsoft Project classes to teach your team how to use Microsoft Project.
The Ins and Outs of Microsoft Project
This comprehensive software serves as a tool suite part of the Microsoft 365 family. It is often referred to as MS Project or Project Professional. We recommend Microsoft Project for both small and large businesses, because this suite is perfect for:
- Creating and managing schedules
- Developing project plans
- Managing resources
- Tracking time and efficiency
When you’re managing projects and collaborating with your team, it’s important that everyone is on the same page and can access the information they need to keep the project moving forward. The programs within this software suite also allow users to:
- Control and understand the finances and schedule for projects
- Refer to original work, cost, and schedule assumptions and compare to current project progress
- Understand and access the project’s schedule and finances
- Interact, communicate, and present information
Because this suite is filled with tools designed to maximize efficiency, it can be difficult to know where to start. Let’s break down the key ways to view your projects and the features Microsoft Project offers to streamline your workflow.
Microsoft Project Features
The features included in Microsoft Project can take your projects to the next level. The software offers a holistic tool set of features that allow you to hit every goal necessary for your projects. The reporting and roadmap features allow you to pre-build reports that track your progress, portfolios, programs, and resources.
There are also tools to help your team work together on projects, which allows for communication and collaboration tools only seen in Microsoft Teams and Projects. Stakeholders and team members can coauthor projects, edit and update task lists and schedules, as well.
Other features include timesheet tools and other resource management tools. With Microsoft projects, you can collect both project and non-project time for invoicing and payroll. The wide array of tools available also allow users to manage resources by requesting and assigning tasks.
Project Views
Microsoft Project offers features that provide access to a multitude of views your team can use to organize and create multiple projects. This includes visualization and management features. There are three different views you can use:
Timeline View
This viewing option leverages traditional Gantt charts, which makes it ideal for scheduling tasks over a project’s complete timeline. Timeline View also works for multiple timelines, even ones divided up between different teams. This latest upgrade helps your team visualize different phases of your project’s plan.
Teams also now have the ability to organize the timeline bars into separate segments and even provide clues to the progress made, aiding the existing ‘Project at a Glance’ capabilities of Microsoft Project.
Grid View
Grid View is the most simplified project view users can use to manage projects. It’s task list-oriented, allowing users to easily input new tasks, add columns, and track task duration and team member assignments.
Board View
Selecting the Board View option allows users to make visual kanban boards. Kanban boards are perfect for managing workflows and reviewing project status and updates.
Get Started With ONLC
Whether you are upgrading your existing Microsoft softwares to include Microsoft Projects or you’re investing in Microsoft products for the first time, the learning curve isn’t exactly intuitive. Despite hundreds of thousands of businesses relying on Microsoft 365, Office, and Projects software, not every employee on your team will be familiar with specific programs or know how to maximize their potential.
For more than forty years, ONLC has provided top-quality training courses and certifications for a wide range of information technology services and software. We provide expert instructor-led and hands-on computer training classes at our training centers across the United States.
Your staff can attend live events or schedule with our Remote Classroom Instruction (RCI) options so that they learn in a way that works best for them. Ready to get started? Contact us today!
