Microsoft Project Manager allows users to input project details, create Gantt charts to manage tasks, and link tasks to show dependencies. It can generate statistics on start/finish times and costs. While providing collaboration through SharePoint, it has limitations such as cost, lack of a mobile app, and complexity that may challenge new users.

1. Project Management Tools
Microsoft Project Manager – Functionality and Limitations

2. Project Information
When starting the project, you can input details such as start date, finish date and current
date, as pictured in Figure 1. You can also specify the number of working hours per day, week
and month, and the start and end time for each day, which is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 1. Partial screenshot from a
video
Figure 2. Partial screenshot from a
video

3. Gantt Charts
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Microsoft Project Manager allows you to create Gantt charts in order to manage your
project.
Figure 3. Image from microsoft.com
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You can add tasks to the Gantt chart, which can be set to auto schedule, or each can be
manually scheduled. When you add tasks to your Gantt chart, the duration of each task is
automatically set to 1 day when you enter it, and can then be amended to the desired
duration.
You can outline your project using indenting and outdenting, by assigning subtasks to a
summary task. You can also set tasks as milestone tasks, for example, start and finish.

4. Gantt Charts – Linking Tasks
• With Gantt charts, you have to link tasks, or create task dependencies, in order to show how the
project will progress. Microsoft Project Manager allows four types of linking, or task
dependencies (Microsoft):
1. Finish-to-Start
Figure 4. Image from microsoft.com
2. Start-to-Start
Figure 5. Image from microsoft.com
3. Finish-to-Finish
Figure 6. Image from microsoft.com
4. Start-to-Finish
Figure 7. Image from microsoft.com

5. Project Statistics
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Microsoft Project Manager can generate project statistics to show start and finish times,
baseline times against the actual times, as well as the cost of the project, once all the
information has been added. This is shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8. Partial screen clipping of a video
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In terms of planning a real project, this could be taken to the client to see whether the
project met the requirements, and could go ahead.

6. SharePoint Tasks & Project Sites
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SharePoint is a feature of Microsoft Project Management that allow all of a person’s work
to be collected in one location, and this location can be a Project Site. Project Sites allow for
collaboration of a Project Team on smaller scale projects.
Some of the features it includes are a shared calendar, and a timeline of the projects tasks.
This allows the Project Manager to track the progress of the project - as team members
can update their progress - and ensures that the team members are aware of work they
need to be doing, as well as what’s happening with the project as a whole. (Microsoft)
Figure 9. Image from microsoft.com

7. Disadvantages & Limitations
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Cost: Project Standard 2013 is £559.99, and Professional is £949.99. This puts is at a
disadvantage to cheaper or free project management tools. It also puts it out of the
price range for some individuals, and is costly to large businesses, although
Microsoft does offer some volume discounts for bulk orders.
Mobile Access: Whilst project data has mobile access, this is web based rather than
app based.
Complexity: If the user has not previously used Gantt charts, they may find the
software confusing to use.