Project 2003 Personal Trainer: Become a Project Superhero [With CDROM]

by CustomGuide Inc.

Now included with Microsoft Office, Project 2003 is the world's leading project management tool. With extensive help resources and printing assistance, Project 2003 enables users to organize and track tasks and resources efficiently to keep projects on time and within budget. If you want to realize the immense potential of Microsoft Project 2003 and harness the many features and functionality of this powerful tool, you need Project 2003 Personal...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0596008546
• ISBN13: 9780596008543
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media
• Length: 234 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.0" x 10.2"

Customer Reviews

Unique approach to training

MS Project is a difficult application to learn (at least for me!) The workbook format includes a CD that allows the user to "simulate" using the various main aspects of the application (user does not have to own the real MS Project application; the CD provides a simulation). If other trainings include this approach, I haven't seen it. User is asked to respond with the actions she/he would normally use while navigating through MS Project. The visual, auditory and interactive aspects of the simulation engaged me. "Lessons" are very short (couple of minutes). A one question quiz at the end of each lesson is reinforcing and encouraging. This should NOT be the primary way a user learns MS Project, but it certainly helped me by "holding my hand" as the screen visually walked me through using parts of the program. Don't let the comic book appearance of the cover scare you. The content of the book is well written. It is not written like a comic book. This is for the new "newbie" MS Project user; not good for advanced topics.

A nice addition to my bookshelf at work...

Learning to use Microsoft Project is one of those things I know I *should* know but don't. Project 2003 Personal Trainer by CustomGuide has now become the latest "just in case" addition to my bookshelf at work... Content: The Fundamentals; Entering the Task List; Entering and Assigning Resources; Viewing the Project; Working with Tasks; Working with Resources; Working with Costs; Balancing the Project; Updating Project Progress; Checking Project Progress; Working with Reports; Working with Multiple Projects; Index As a software developer, I work on a number of projects. But fortunately, the type of development I do is normally not such that it requires the overhead of having to use Project to plan it out. And if it does, I've been lucky to have a project manager to handle all that. I know at some point my luck will run out, however. Project 2003 Personal Trainer is a practical, example-/exercise-driven approach to learning the basics of the software. The philosophy behind CustomGuide is "I listen, I forget; I see, I recall; I do, I understand". Therefore, the entire book is set up to have you actually *do* stuff with Project in order to understand how it works and to learn how to make it go where you want. There's a CD included that is a Project 2003 simulator, so you can still learn the software even if you haven't plunked down a check to Microsoft for Project. This is really nice, in that it gives you maximum flexibility on where you can set up your learning environment regardless of software licensing issues. I can't think of too many better ways to get up to speed more quickly than with this material. Don't expect that this book will be a long-term reference volume, though. If you are a full-time project manager who is going to live in Project, this book will get you moving quickly. But if you want to learn the fine intricacies of a Gantt chart, you'll need to look elsewhere. That's not to say that this book falls down in that area. It's just not meant to be the end-all repository of all things Project. Get this book, get your feet wet, develop some basic competency, and then decide if you need to go deeper. I'll be keeping this book on my work bookshelf and watching it closely to make sure it doesn't disappear...