Microsoft Project software, launched in the mid-1980s as a DOS-based program to help manage several software projects at once, has held its own through the years while numerous competitors have appeared in the marketplace. As technology has evolved, so has MS Project, but it continues to function with the same basic purpose its designers intended: to help project managers achieve a desired outcome.

What Is Project Management Software?

Teams handling many projects can't rely on memory to be organized. Emailing developments is inefficient, can learn to confusion, and lost time sorting through emails. Project management software provides the manager and team members with the best opportunity to meet deadlines and budget constrictions.

Information can be easily shared, deadlines developed or changed, and documents made available for referral. Communication is fluid in the real-time workspaces provided. Outside partners can be given access to the project as needed. Stakeholders have an overview of multiple projects, but also access to daily details.

Project management software allows the manager to see where team members may be falling behind or overloaded, so that adjustments to workload and deadlines may be made more effectively. Does a team member have multiple projects due in 72 hours? A glance at a Gantt chart will tell the manager that the workload needs to be redistributed.

How Microsoft Project Assists Managers

Microsoft Project has evolved over the decades to fit today's business needs, and as such, is a valuable tool for any manager. Some of the tasks it can help with are:

• Analyzing resources
• Assigning resources to tasks
• Tracking progress
• Developing a budget based on resource rates and assignments, calculating costs, checking budgets along the way
• Analyzing workloads
• Evaluating timelines
• Measuring progress
• Projecting resource needs
• Sharing resource definitions (persons, equipment, and materials) in a pool between projects. Calendars can be included to show days/shifts resources are available.

Who Can Benefit From Project Management?

Any manager who wants to be more organized or take a business team to the next level can benefit from project management software training. Managers find it helps them personally to maintain good control of a project. They may also decide to train employees for an upgrade within the organization, expanding their value as team members so they can do the following:

• Manage tasks
• Collaborate with each other
• Develop time sheets
• Note issues, risks, and solutions

Even executives can benefit from project management training. This software will enable them to define what's driving the business, to assess the value of strategies as well as the value of competing ideas, make better-informed decisions about funding, and evaluate project/resources status.

Generally this software is most useful for projects with a start and end date, rather than for ongoing work. For instance, you might want to use the software to create a website as a project, but not for site maintenance -- which would be an ongoing project.

What Should a Microsoft Project Training Offer?

What topics might be included in an MS Project training? The latest versions being taught are generally Project 2013 and 2016. Some of the features that first appeared in the 2013 version are these:

• Reports section. Allows creation of graphical reports, addition of clipart, without exporting data to other programs. Shows planned, completed, and remaining work as lines on a graph. Helps you do dashboards, compare projects, and export to Visual Reports.
• Track tasks. Feature allows you to highlight a task path and show preceding, succeeding tasks.
• Sharing. Improved sharing, communication features. For instance, by hovering over a name, launch an IM session, video chat, email, or phone call. Content can be copied and pasted to any program in the Microsoft Office Suite. An online web app offers Project 2013's functionality, and allows access from all web-enabled devices.

Benefits of Taking a Course

A course in Project Manager will greatly facilitate your team's mastery of this program as you progress through the material in a measured, well-organized manner. You'll also have access to an instructor who has deep understanding of the program, so that your questions can be answered quickly. Depending on how your course is structured, you'll most likely learn in sections, covering such topics as these:

• toolbar and ribbon
• task bar, zoom bar
• Gantt chart
• views
• timeline, table, and charts
• customize ribbon
• new project, save and share
• print, share, export, and
• many more

Other components might include learning how to: understand projects, start a project, manage tasks and assignments, track and analyze task results, update and compare progress, manipulate data, and communicate and develop collaboration within the project.

Is Project Manager for You?

Do you think you or your employees could benefit from Microsoft Project training? Contact Infotec in person or online for more information.

For more information about Infotec or any of our programs click here: http://www.infotectraining.com/ or https://ops.infotecpro.com/course_schedule/course_schedule.cfm.