Advice for the Project Management Professional (PMP)

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Appendix A
TIP
You can enter or modify lead or lag times directly in the Predecessors column of the Entry table. Notice
how the predecessors appear for Tasks 11, 12, and 13. For example, the Predecessors column for Task
11 shows 10FS-10%. This notation means that Task 11 has a finish-to-start (FS) dependency with Task 10
and a 10% lead. You can enter lead or lag times to task dependencies directly into the Predecessors column
of the Entry table by using this same format: task row number, followed by type of dependency, followed
by the amount of lead or lag.
Gantt Charts
Project 2007 shows a Gantt chart as the default view to the right of the Entry table. Gantt
charts show the timescale for a project and all of its activities. In Project 2007, dependencies
between tasks are shown on the Gantt chart by the arrows between tasks. Many Gantt
charts, however, do not show any dependencies. Instead, as you might recall, network diagrams
or PERT charts are used to show task dependencies. This section explains important
information about Gantt charts and describes how to make critical path information
more visible in the Gantt Chart view.
You must follow a few important procedures when working with Gantt charts:
● To adjust the timescale, click the Zoom Out button or the Zoom In button
. Clicking these buttons automatically makes the dates on the Gantt
chart show more or less information. For example, if the timescale for the
Gantt chart is showing months and you click the Zoom Out button, the
timescale will adjust to show quarters. Clicking Zoom Out again will display
the timescale in years. Similarly, each time you click the Zoom In button, the
timescale changes to display more detailed time information—from years to
quarters, quarters to months, and months to weeks.
● You can also adjust the timescale and access more formatting options by selecting
Timescale from the Format menu. Adjusting the timescale enables you to
see the entire Gantt chart on one screen and in the time increments that you
desire.
● A Gantt Chart Wizard is available on the Format menu. This wizard helps you
adjust the format of the Gantt chart. For example, you can select an option
to display critical path information on the Gantt chart, and those items on the
critical path will automatically display using a red bar.
● You can view a tracking Gantt chart by setting a baseline for your entire project
or for selected tasks and then entering actual durations for tasks. The Tracking
Gantt view displays two taskbars, one above the other, for each task. One
taskbar shows planned or baseline start and finish dates, and the other taskbar
shows actual start and finish dates. You will find a sample Tracking Gantt
chart later in this appendix, after you enter actual information for the Project
Tracking Database project.
Because you have already created task dependencies, you can now find the critical path
for the Project Tracking Database project. You can view the critical tasks by changing the
color of those items on the critical path in the Task Name column. You can also change
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