Mood:
rushedTopic: MSProject
I found a neat little download on TechRepublic to help learners focus on the concepts of Project Management.
It's free to use so long as I leave the TechRepublic branding in place.
The image above is only the first part of the file though. Far more useful is that it comes in a Word file with an area on the next page that the users can fill in themselves. I'll show the trainees how to save the file as a Word template that they can use over and over when working with MSProject.
They can print out and tack the tablets on their wall somewhere as reminders. Work is work, but you gotta find the fun in it.
Which leads to a discussion of Critical Paths...
Project Management is tough work. Trained experts get paid very well and they earn every cent.
Most simply put, the Critical Path is the way you get where you want to go. Every program, website, or plan has a Critical Path.
MSProject has the capabilities to allow you to layout an initial plan for the project, and to help you track its progress, to be aware of how costs, resources, and other constraints change over the course of the project.
That doesn't mean that everyone using MSProject will use those facilities. According to a Microsoft survey, about half of the users only use it to illustrate the initial plan, or "baseline" as it's called in Project.
If that works for them, then that is the definition of their Critical Path. (More on this in another post.)
The Critical Path for a business website may be for the visitor to buy their products, or request further information about their services.
The Critical Path for a golf or race game is to finish the course.
The Critical Path for some games is for the users to attain higher levels by acquiring points or powers. In this case, the Critical Path is to NOT have an endpoint. (Unless the player is killed off, of course!)
The Critical Path for most business software is defined by the users. MSWord, Access, and Excel, for example, do not define the work for a user, but provide them with the tools to accomplish their work.
Rarely is a Critical Path so tightly tied to the design of the software as in MSProject.
In the final analysis, the User defines the Critical Path.
A project has an endpoint. In the real world, the endpoint is rarely the same day or the same expense as originally planned. But at some point, all the tasks are checked off and all the resources are used.
The same Microsoft survey indicated that although less than half used most of Project's capabilities, 87% of the users said it helped them manage the project.
If the User can describe where they want to go, why Project?
Before this becomes oversimplified, let's take a look at an analogy.
You're visiting in Australia. You want to go to the local shopping mall. Your host will let you use a car, and your foreign drivers' licensee is legal for a couple of months.
You take out a map. It's not that hard to see a few ways to get there, but any way you go requires you cross the railroad lines. -- Which way is best?
Your host tries to describe the shortest route. It sounds confusing. Even on the map, it doesn't look like the easiest way to get there. The roads turn you first away from the mall, then through a strange-looking intersection onto a highway. Then you have to turn back and find parking. And your host goes on and on about parking.
Which one do you choose?
Then your host tells you that the trains come heavier at different times of day, and you may get stuck at the crossing.
Thinking a moment, your host tells you that you should know a little about the road rules here. You can't turn left on a red light, for example. You have to pay attention to the arrows if they're lit. -- Arrows? -- How do you tell if they're lit?
We're only talking about going 3 miles and crossing one train line, but it's beginning to sound like you should either have your host drive you or just go sit in the sun and have some tea.
Even in conversation, the answer is you take it one step at a time.
You break down your original Critical Path into shorter steps. A series of Critical Paths mean you can focus on the special requirements of each portion of your trip into the mall.
You can make it to the rail crossing, then all you have to do is be sure you're in the right lane. You're not in any hurry, so it doesn't matter if the trains make you wait.
Once across, go straight.
At the end of that road is that crazy-looking intersection onto a highway. From the map it looks dangerous, but when you get there it's a protected merge lane onto a 3-lane road road.
A little ways down the highway, there are large signs to guide you to the mall and parking.
What looked at first simple, then confusing, has turned out to be a short, pleasant drive. It could take 5 minutes if the lights, train and traffic are with you; or 20 minutes at the wrong time of day.
It's pretty much the same with a business project -- even learning MSProject.
First, you break down the course into manageable chunks.
Then you try to be aware of what can go wrong and plan for it.
And finally, you have to depend on a little luck, good or bad, along the way.
Oh, did I mention that dinner was at 7?
