Boost Your Microsoft Project Skills: Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Productivity

I have been teaching Microsoft Project for several years, starting around the time of Project 2003, just before the release of Project 2007. In addition to my instructional experience, I have applied the software extensively in various projects, both as a participant and by assisting others with scheduling. Throughout this time, I have identified several strategies that make managing project schedules more efficient and less prone to errors.

The purpose of this post is to share some things I’ve learned from my own challenges with the software. While I hope these insights will prove helpful and save you some of the frustrations I’ve encountered, I understand that not all suggestions will resonate with everyone. It’s entirely possible that some of my recommendations may not align with your approach or preferences. If that’s the case, feel free to share your feedback.

The Order Of Setup

When setting up projects in Microsoft Project, I follow a specific sequence of steps. This is simply a recommendation, and you are under no obligation to adopt this approach if you prefer a different method. I am not suggesting that my way is the only correct approach or that your current process is wrong. There are many ways to achieve the same results, but based on my experience, I have found this particular order to be one of the most efficient. It takes into account how each step influences the others, resulting in a smoother and more manageable workflow.

Set Enter Task To Automatic
Set Project Start Date
Create A Calendar (Non-Working Days/Default Work Weeks)
Set The Project To Use New Calendar
Set The Timescale In The Gantt Chart To Reflect New Calendar
Set Options For Hours Per Day/Week/Month
Enter Tasks (Subtasks/Milestones)
Link Tasks (Only Milestones/Subtasks)
Group Tasks (Summary Tasks)
Turn On Project Summary Task
Turn On Outline Numbers
Enter Resources (Names/Cost Rate Tables/Resource Calendars/etc.)
Assign Resources To Tasks
Set A Baseline

There are many additional tasks and variations that can be incorporated into each of these steps, and the level of effort required for each can differ depending on the project. One key takeaway from my experience working with various companies using Microsoft Project is that each organization has its own unique approach to project management. However, at its core, this is the foundational setup I always begin with. Once this structure is in place, you can proceed with updating the project as it progresses—though that process, in itself, presents an entirely different set of challenges.

Durations And Start/Finish Dates

When managing task schedules, I strongly advise against directly modifying the start and finish dates. These dates should primarily serve as references to help you understand when tasks are set to begin and end. Instead, I recommend adjusting task durations or applying constraints to position tasks on specific dates.

Directly changing the start and finish dates can often result in those dates being “locked,” meaning subsequent tasks may remain fixed to those dates rather than adjusting based on changes to the project schedule. This issue is especially relevant when using automatic scheduling. If you’re working with automatic scheduling, you may already be aware that altering a task’s duration will automatically adjust the dates of subsequent tasks. However, directly changing the start and finish dates can prevent this automatic adjustment, keeping tasks fixed to the new dates you’ve set.

By using constraints, you can specify task dates more flexibly without locking tasks into those dates. If you need to make adjustments later, you can easily remove the constraint, allowing automatic scheduling to take over and reposition tasks based on changes to durations.

The software has addressed this behavior in recent versions, where manually changing the start and finish dates will now apply a constraint, rather than locking the tasks to those dates. Nevertheless, I still recommend utilizing the constraints feature, as it offers greater control over scheduling adjustments.

Linking Tasks

In earlier versions of Microsoft Project, the ability to link tasks was limited to approximately 14 tasks at a time. However, in newer versions, this limitation has been significantly expanded, allowing for a much greater number of tasks to be linked simultaneously. While this improvement is useful, the key tip here is related to the order in which you select tasks.

When selecting multiple tasks for linking, whether within or outside of summary tasks, hold down the CTRL key to select them in the desired sequence. It’s important to note that the tasks will be linked in the exact order in which they are selected. Therefore, take care to select the tasks in the correct sequence. If you accidentally miss a task during the initial selection and later try to add it, the task will be linked according to its new position in the selection order. This can result in confusing link arrows, as the tasks may be linked in a way you did not intend.

Removing The Legend From A Print

By default, when printing from Microsoft Project, the legend is displayed at the bottom of the printout. I have frequently been asked how to remove this legend from the printed output.

Navigate to the print options
Go into Page Setup
In the page set up dialog box, click the Legend tab
Change “Legend on:” to “None”
Click Ok

Quickly Remove A Filter

This is a simple process. To remove the legend, simply press F3 on your keyboard.

Using Elapsed Duration

If you need a task to continue running on non-working days, rather than skipping over them, use the Elapsed Duration option. For example, entering “20d” will set the duration to 20 days, excluding non-working days. However, if you enter “20ed” (for elapsed duration), the task will span 20 days including non-working days within that period.

Using Effort Driven

The Effort-Driven option is useful when adding more resources to a task reduces the overall duration. For example, if a task, such as painting a room, takes 3 hours for one person to complete, it would be reasonable to assume that adding a second person would halve the duration. In such cases, enabling the Effort-Driven option ensures that the task duration adjusts based on the number of resources assigned.

Excel Project Import Templates

In previous versions of Excel, a template was provided to facilitate Project imports. However, it appears that this template is no longer available in the newer versions. To assist you, I’ve provided an alternative solution here.

There are many additional tips and tricks that can help improve your experience. If you have any suggestions or insights, please feel free to share them in the comments!