Creating a Project Management Database with Microsoft Access 2007: Getting Started

Microsoft Access is a database management software package that comes with Microsoft Office. The 2007 version is the newest release and offers more flexibility and powerful tools. Most people know this about Access. What they don’t know is that it is capable of producing very versatile programs that are both practical and easy to use. People are also unaware that it is incredibly easy to create your own programs with Access.

Behind every software application, there is a database. The word database intimidates people, but it shouldn’t. It is only a way to store and retrieve data. Think of the database as the utility drawer in your kitchen. You put things in that you will need at a later time. When you require something, you just open the drawer and get it out. Over time, as new items are put in, the drawer becomes cluttered and finding things become that much more difficult. You may decide one day that you need some type of organizational system to neatly place and retrieve items from this drawer.

This is what Access does; or any software, for that matter. It organizes the data into columns and rows in a table. Then forms are used as an interface, or interpreter, so that the user can interact with the tables to organize things. Queries search the data and pull out only the portion that you need. Reports present the data in a visually-appealing way. Now, that doesn’t sound too intimidating, does it?

At this point, you may be asking yourself why put time and effort into creating your own PM database system when you can go out and buy one that is pre-made. The answer to this is very simple and two-fold. For one, the best ones are costly and you or your organization may not be able to afford to buy at this time. The other reason is that not all PM software is easy to navigate and precious time is spent learning how to use them.

Creating your own database solves both of these problems. Since it is your own creation, you will know how to use it upon completion. Plus, you can customize it to fit your company’s profile and your needs as a project manager. Since Microsoft Office suite is standard in most offices, you already have what you need to get started.

You don’t have to worry about trying to learn Access while doing this project. I will guide you through all of the steps in order to completely create your own project management database. The only skills you need to know beforehand is how to point and click.

In the next article of this series, we will create a Blank Database with the tables that will house the data. Then we will move on to forms, queries and reports. This will be a very enjoyable experience. So crank up your computer, relax and prepare for quite a ride.

Remember, this is a tutorial for Microsoft Access 2007. If you are currently using the 2000 or 2003 version of the program, do not try to attempt the steps in this series. Instead, see my series for creating the same database in Access 2003.