Getting Started with Microsoft Project 2010

This is an honest review, so I'll say that my first attempt at download failed—I don’t know why. My computer met all the system requirements—Windows XP with SP 3, Vista with SP1, Windows Server 2003 R2 with MSXML 6.0, Windows Server 2008 with SP2, or Windows 7, or later versions of any of these. I have Vista with SP2, and the file size for the 64-bit is only 271 MB compared with 235 for the 32-bit. My attempts to seek immediate help through TechNet also failed, so I deleted the 64-bit download and went for the 32-bit—with immediate, fluid success. So, I'll give this a 3, mostly because of the TechNet part.

Any review of Microsoft Project 2010 new features must begin with the ribbon. The biggest tactile difference between Project 2010 and its predecessors (Project 2003 and 2007) is the ribbon that Microsoft has put into play in place of the standard toolbar. If you haven’t worked with the ribbon before it does take some adjusting—but if you’re downloading Project 2010, you are most likely already familiar with it.

That being said, while I love Project 2010’s marriage of Excel with Gantt charting and other planning features, I had to remember that while it looked like Excel some of the keyboard maneuvers I normally utilize with Excel required a little adjusting. I’d like to take off a half point, but I’d rather give it a 5 than a 4.

Microsoft Project 2010 lets you plot your project with great ease, including its beginning and end dates, tasks necessary to reach your goal, people (or resources) to perform them, and predicted duration of the tasks. When you open Project 2010, one big change is that you go to File, then Info, and then you select Project Information off to the right-hand side of your screen in order to define your project start date. You can also choose to enter the finish date and let Project 2010 know that you want to work backward from the finish date.

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An additional option for tracking requires you to fill in your project name, company name, and so forth on the Advanced Properties tab. Then you go back over to the left, choose Options, and choose Advanced Options. Scroll down to Display Options for This Project, and select Show Project Summary Tasks. Your tracked values will show up on the top line of your project manager sheet. Can I give this entire category 10 rating points?

Another huge change with Microsoft Project 2010 is the way it lets you knock out a rough outline of your project with nonspecific task durations. Project 2010 understands if you don’t know all the fine details up front. In the Duration column, just type in vague phrases such as approximately, estimated, or no more than. You can nail it down later with the details of dates and durations; in the meantime, the task shows up on your Gantt chart as a soft, susurrating reminder that it’s hovering. It's also easy to link tasks or categorize them by WBS numbers.

You can also enter a milestone by typing a zero into the Duration column. This is great for showing tasks assigned to outside entities, for example—I used this function to show the printer’s completion of the brochure.

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