Key details

Microsoft Project is the de facto standard project management tool, providing everything you need to develop plans, assign resources, track progress, manage budgets and analyse workloads.

This course provides a thorough grounding in Project, teaching the key techniques to begin managing your projects efficiently. Sessions include:

• Entering the task list.
• Entering and assigning resources.
• Working with tasks, resources and costs.
• Balancing your project.
• Updating and checking project progress.
• Reporting.

Upcoming course dates

Who should attend?

This course is ideal for newcomers to Project, and those with limited Project experience.

How will I learn?

Project training is hands-on and practical.

Our trainers teach the necessary theory then demonstrate techniques step-by-step. Exercises then provide activity-based experience to build your confidence.

There’s plenty of time to ask questions, and you can keep all the files you create.

In-class or online

This course is available in-class at eight centres or live online.

Expert Project trainers

Project training is hosted by Microsoft-certified instructors. See Expert trainers.

Training guide and certificate

Course delegates receive:

• A comprehensive training guide for Project, to refer to throughout the course, and to use as a refresher back in the work-place.
• An e-certificate confirming successful completion of a Project training course. Click here to see an example of the certificate you receive.

After course support

Following Project training, delegates are entitled to 30 days’ email support from their trainer to help with any post-course issues. For further details, see Support.

Prerequisites

No prior Project experience is required. You should have good general computing skills, and a good working knowledge of Windows.

Project version

Training is based primarily on Microsoft Project 2024 running on Windows.

Our guarantees to you

We offer:

• A price guarantee that you’re getting the best value for money.
• A training guarantee that you’ll learn the concepts and skills you need.

On-request Microsoft Project training available

Microsoft Project training is also available on-request, i.e. one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group, hosted at one of our centres, your venue or online.

On-request Microsoft Project training can be tailored to take into account any existing knowledge you have, and the work you’re going to be doing. Please contact us for a quote.

General information

Course times

9.30am–4.30pm.

Payment

Payment for Microsoft Project training can be made by:

• Bank transfer. Please call 01527 834783 for our bank details.
• Card. Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards accepted. Payment can be made securely online or over the phone. Armada doesn’t record or store your card details.
• Buy now pay later. Available for private bookings; pay in 4 x interest-free fortnightly instalments. Facility provided by Clearpay. For details, see Clearpay terms of service.

Purchase orders

We accept purchase orders from UK registered companies with turnover in excess of £1m, and public sector organisations.

Cancellations and transfers

You can cancel a booking on a scheduled training course, or transfer to a later course, without penalty providing you give us 10 working days’ notice. Any fees already paid will be refunded.

If you cancel a booking on a scheduled Microsoft Project course giving less than 10 working days’ notice, or request a transfer to a later course, a cancellation/transfer fee is payable. The fee charged depends on the notice period given. For details, see cancellation terms.

Different terms apply for the cancellation or postponement of an on-request course (one-to-one training or a ‘closed course’ for your group). For details, see course cancellations.

Terms and conditions

Training course bookings are subject to our terms and conditions.

Expert trainers

Microsoft Project training courses are hosted by:

• Wendy Sprakes
• Tim Price
• Doug Fisher

Wendy Sprakes

Wendy Sprakes is a Microsoft Master Instructor (MMI) and a qualified teacher (QTS).

Wendy began her working life as a CAD operator, working through the ranks of trainee draughtsman, graduating as a professional Mechanical Engineer, through to Project Engineer in the CAE Industry.

She then went on to qualify as a teacher, and has been hosting Microsoft Office courses since 2000. Wendy trains all applications in the Office suite, including Word, Excel and other, more niche applications such as Visio and Project, from beginner to advanced and customised level. Wendy has been a staff member, delivering IT and Project Management modules for Chesterfield College, and a course leader for Microsoft Project at Sheffield Hallam University for five years.

Away from training, Wendy is an accomplished jazz musician. Her music enjoys regular airplay on both regional and national stations including BBC and JazzFM.

Tim Price

Tim is a Microsoft Certified Trainer, Microsoft Office Specialist, Master and Expert. He has vast experience training in all recent versions of Office, as well as related applications such as SharePoint, Project and Access.

Tim has worked in the IT Industry for over 30 years. Prior to specialising in Microsoft Office training, he held roles in software development, application design and project management.

Tim is passionate about training and is known for his approachable, relaxed style of delivery. He gets tremendous satisfaction from facilitating in the development of other people.

Doug Fisher

Doug is a skilled instructor with over 25 years’ experience of delivery training in Microsoft Office and related applications, including Project, SharePoint, Teams and VBA.

In recent years, Doug has delivered training to a wide range of blue-chip companies and public sector organisations including the United Nations, the RAF, Police, NHS, Etihad Airways and Astra Zeneca.

Doug holds an MBA, and he has numerous professional and training accreditations, including:

• Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)
• Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)
• Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS): Office and SharePoint
• European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) to Advanced Level
• Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Instructor (MCASI)

Course content

The fundamentals

• Planning the project
• Understanding project management
• What’s new in Project
• Understanding the Project screen
• Using common views
• Using more views
• Creating a new project
• Selecting the project scheduling date
• Selecting the project calendar
• Adjusting working hours
• Adjusting working days
• Creating a new calendar
• Printing a view
• Using help

Entering the task list

• Entering tasks
• Estimating task duration
• Entering task duration
• Entering a milestone
• Organizing tasks into phases
• Linking tasks
• Editing task links
• Unlinking tasks
• Creating recurring tasks
• Using the task information dialog box
• Using task notes
• Moving and copying a task
• Inserting and deleting a task

Entering and assigning resources

• Entering people resources
• Entering equipment resources
• Entering material resources
• Adjusting individual resource working schedules
• Using resource notes
• Understanding effort driven scheduling
• Assigning resources to tasks
• Assigning additional resources to tasks
• Assigning material resources to tasks

Viewing the project

• Using split views
• Sorting information
• Grouping information
• Filtering information
• Using AutoFilters
• Using zoom

Working with reports

• Opening a report

Working with tasks

• Changing task scheduling mode
• Overlapping tasks
• Delaying tasks
• Setting task deadlines
• Setting task constraints
• Splitting tasks
• Understanding task type
• Assigning a task calendar
• Understanding task indicators

Working with resources

• Delaying resource start time
• Applying predefined resource contours
• Specifying resource availability dates
• Grouping resources
• Assigning a resource calendar

Working with costs

• Entering resource overtime rates
• Specifying pay rates for different dates
• Adding pay rates for a resource
• Applying a different pay rate to an assignment
• Using material resource consumption rates
• Entering task fixed costs

Balancing your project

• Scheduling resource overtime
• Identifying resource overallocation
• Balancing resource overallocations manually and automatically

Updating project progress

• Saving a baseline plan
• Updating the entire project
• Updating task actual values
• Updating task completion percentage
• Updating actual work and actual costs

Checking project progress

• Viewing project statistics
• Viewing project costs
• Viewing the project’s critical path
• Checking duration variance
• Checking work variance
• Checking cost variance
• Identifying slipped tasks
• Saving an interim plan

Working with reports

• Opening a report
• Adding page elements to a report
• Creating visual reports

Live online training

Online training lets you participate in a live Microsoft Project course from your place of work or home.

We do everything possible to make your online training experience as close as possible to actually being in the classroom. You can:

• See and hear our trainer, and the other delegates participating in the course…
  
• Watch our trainer demonstrate techniques in Microsoft Project.
• Interact by speaking, using chat, or raising your ‘virtual hand’ if you need assistance.
• Share your screen with our trainer, and allow them to take control to explain something.

Like our in-class courses, online Microsoft Project courses…

• Are presented by expert instructors.
• Give you plenty of opportunity to carry out assisted, practical exercises using Microsoft Project.
• Offer 30 days’ email support from your trainer.

All you need is an Internet-connected computer with…

• Microsoft Project installed.
• A webcam and audio capability. If your computer running Microsoft Project doesn’t have these, you can use a second device, such as another computer or tablet. See Hardware recommendations for live online training for further details.

If there’s anything you’re not sure about we’ll do our best to help you. We won’t, however, be able to assist with your Microsoft Project installation.

We provide everything else…

• Links to download the files, resources, etc. you’ll use in your course.
• A training guide. For most courses, you can choose from a printed copy that we post to you, or a PDF.

In the week before your course, we’ll send you an email containing everything you need to prepare for and participate in the training. We’re available in the days ahead of your course to assist if you need any help.

Please note that we are not able to record scheduled online courses for privacy reasons.

When you attend live online training, you’re participating in a real course, hosted by a real trainer, in real time