Datasheet

to enter an overwhelming amount of data. Also, team members feel more accountable

and involved in the project.

See Part V of this book, “Working in Groups,” for detailed information about working in

groups in Project 2007 alone or in conjunction with Project Server.

Macros: You can take advantage of Microsoft Visual Basic to build macros that automate

repetitive tasks, such as generating weekly reports.

See Chapter 23 for more information about using macros to speed your work.

The Life Cycle of a Project

Projects typically consist of several phases. Understanding the nature of each phase can help you

relate the features of Microsoft Project to your own projects.

Identifying your goal and the project’s scope

Before you can begin to plan a project, you have to identify the goal, which isn’t always as obvious

as it sounds. Various participants may define a project’s goal differently. In fact, many projects fail

because the team members are unwittingly working toward different goals. For example, is the

team’s goal to perform a productivity study or to actually improve productivity? Is the outcome for

your project to agree on the final building design, or is it to complete the actual construction of the

building? As you analyze your goal and factor in the perspectives of other team members, make

sure that your project isn’t just one step in a series of projects to reach a larger, longer-term goal.

To identify your goal, you can communicate in various ways, such as meetings, e-mail, and confer-

ence calls. Most important, you should conduct a dialogue at various levels (from management

through front-line personnel) that gets ideas on the table and answers questions. Take the time to

write a goal statement and circulate it among the team members to make sure that everyone under-

stands the common focus of the project.

Be careful not to set a long-range goal that is likely to change before the project ends.

Smaller projects or projects that have been broken into various phases are more man-

ageable and more flexible.

See Chapter 16 for tips on avoiding pitfalls during project planning.

After you understand your goal, you should also gather the information that you need to define

the project’s scope. This endeavor may take some research on your part. The

scope of a project is

a statement of more specific parameters or constraints for its completion. The constraints of a proj-

ect usually fall within the areas of time, quality, and cost, and they often relate directly to project

deliverables.

CROSS-REF

NOTE

CROSS-REF

Project Management Basics

Part I

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