Dynamic Scheduling with Microsoft Office Project 2003: The Book by and for Professionals Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This book will not teach you how to perform 'work planning' (or scheduling) and it will not teach you the basics of how to use MS Project.I have at least 5 thick books that do that, and I consider most of them useless.I have been managing IT projects since the 1980s, and have used MS Project (MSP) since the early 1990s. I have spent many late hours struggling with its confusing and misleading and Poorly documented) functions that do not always do what you expect (or the help/manual says)it will do.I particulary dislike it's seemingly random choice to recalc a critical path, and changes dates and durations based only on resources.In June, my team (an experienced set of IT project managers)took advanced MS Project training from the "International Institute for Learning". All 15 people who attended the training said it was the best MS project training they had ever had!

Part of the success of the course was that the instructor was an experienced software project manager who had extensive experience with MS Project and other scheduling tools.She knew MSP's eccentricities and annoyances and was very clear in guiding us what to do - or Not to do.

The class materials were also excellent and were clear on the various issues that MSP has, and the unplanned effects they can have on a project work plan.This included the "Dynamic Scheduling.." book.

This book includes warnings and workarounds for many of MSP's 'warts'.These are the quirks that project managers complain about at PMI meetings, but can never seem to find *any* documentation from Microsoft (who acts like the problems do not exist), or the 3rd party book vendors who usually regurgitate the misleading - and vague - online help text.

One of the reasons this book does not cover managing Multiple projects with MSP, is that *you do not want to try and do it*.From personal experience, MSP is NOT an industrial strength project management tool, and it has a primative database that has not changed much in 15 years.Technically, it can have sub-projects, but it usually Chokes on anything that a typical large project has (2,000 or more tasks).The main reason IT projects use MSP is because it is relatively *cheap* since it is bundled into the MS Office enterprise license.It is a dog... but most shops cannot, or will not replace it.
SO - get this book to help you survive and Stop making the all too common mistakes that people do in MSP.

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Product Description:
Microsoft Office Project 2003 is a powerful software tool, and like all tools, it requires knowledge and skill to be used to its maximum potential. This fully revised new edition of Eric Uyttewaal's best-selling book on Microsoft Project provides users with everything they will need to more easily and effectively manage projects to a successful conclusion. Dynamic Scheduling with Microsoft Office Project 2003: The Book By and For Professionals is not only written by a certified PMP and project management practitioner with over 17 years of experience using and teaching MS Project, but is also based on the cumulative experience of the author's clients, other instructors, and includes insights from numerous other professionals who have used MS Office Project successfully.
This unique guide, based on research from over 1,000 real-life schedules, gives a complete picture of how to use this software to achieve the best results. "A must read, reread, and use daily for all project managers" is what PMI's Project Management Journal had to say about the previous edition. This updated version is even better.
Key Features:
Fully aligned with the PMBOK 2004 edition
Teaches how to build easy-to-maintain dynamic schedules that will meet your continual needs to forecast until project completion
Provides many helpful screen illustrations, diagrams, stories, cartoons, review questions, case studies, and hands-on exercises to help make the learning process easy for all user levels
Also available in a 2002 MS Project version that is fully aligned with the PMBOK 2000 edition - Dynamic Scheduling With Microsoft Project 2002
Web Added Value offers downloadable quick reference tables with toolbar and keyboard shortcuts, answers to sample exam questions, one hundred examples of certified schedules, filters to check the quality of your own schedule, solution files for the Project 2003 exercises and a solutions manual for college professors - available from the J. Ross Publishing Web Added Value™ Download Resource Center

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