Customer Reviews

Microsoft® Office Project 2003 Step by Step (Step by Step (Microsoft))

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The best reference out there to learn everything you can do with MS Project 2003. This book is packet with useful information, laid out in a clear and readable language, with many illustrations and examples, and a CD-ROM loaded with practice Project files. The 23 chapters in the book deal with everything related with project management: From creating a task list, setting up resources, and assigning resources to tasks,... to measuring performance, tracking progress, and managing risks.

No matter at what level of project management you are dealing with in your work, if you are using MS Project 2003 to do it you will find the information you need in this book.

I am an Industrial Practitioner who uses MS Project at work, and I haven't found a better reference for Project 2003 on the shelves yet.

Project management on even a fairly large project is both important and difficult to accomplish without computer assistance. Microsoft Project is a full fledged project management system that is fully integrated into the Microsoft Office environment. This means that the screen looks a lot like any other Office application. There are several versions of Project, and these are described to assist in deciding what to buy.

Finally you get to the point where you have Project on your system and have gotten it started. The book then becomes a Step by Step tutorial. It explains what you are doing and why, and gives you a good understanding of why this particular bit of information is being required. As you would expect in a book this size, the book continues through all the aspects of project management reaching the use of Project Server where multiple inputs can come in from users throughout the organization.

Of all the books I've seen, this is the one I'd recomment for the beginning user. There are some more complex reference books for advanced users, but this is the place to start.

This book takes the flavorless subject of "Project Management with Project 2003" and serves it up cold. The sections are well laid out but the book is lacking a logical structure. There are problems with Project but you won't hear about them in this book, obviously.

That said, after looking at several other books on this subject, I believe this is the best value of the bunch.

I want to make comment on this book because this is the best one for Project 2003. I read some books about MS Project 2003 but all look like I can read the same things from Help File or Online Help. In this book you will get the example step by step to help you understand the basic behind. You can do the same thing with more understanding (more and more....) when compare to the thick one.
This is not only good for the professional but also good for the amateur. The price is right, do not confuse with the thickness of the book when compare with other book.

My background--I have never participated in formal project management as discussed in this book, although I have planned several long business projects. I am familiar with nearly all the other Office applications, though not Project. This is my first experience with Microsoft Press books and was thoroughly impressed. This is a clear winner over the Dummies books I have read. This book gives you a working practical knowledge and basic but well-rounded skills. It will not make you an expert or even introduce to you to the full capabilities of the software. It does provide links to further study material.

The book comes with a CD that gives you a 60-day trial version of Project. Since few of us will use this at home, this is more than adequate. The book uses a fictional video company and short film project for practical exercises (on the CD). There are several short exercises within each chapter--a plus for those with short attention spans. Spending an hour per day and extra hours on a weekend, you can complete the lessons on your spare time in two weeks and end up with a comprehensive and working knowledge of the software. The CD also has an e-book version so I can keep a copy at home and work.

I've found that most many software books make statements which are so abstract as to leave the reader scratching his/her head, or in trying to explain buzz words or abstract concepts, use more undefined words and phrases. This book, however, gives paragraph-long explanations, then follows up with concrete examples. When it talks about "variable consumption rate", it gives examples. IOW, if you know nothing about project management, you will learn the basic concepts and terms.

Although an excellent blend of both reading and hands-on, it leans more toward hands-on, practical exercises. Also, instead of using pre-defined parameters and forms ("point and click" teaching, which does little for learning the software), the book leans heavily on customizing.

Why only four stars? I am a newcomer to Project, so don't have an objective frame of reference.

I'm new to Microsoft Project. I checked several books and settled on this one. I've used the Step-by-Step series before. This is by far the most detailed and correct that I've not only seen of the series, but for learning how to use Project. It's an excellent reference for day-to-day use and covers the steps extremely well. There may be books out there for the more advanced user, but this one is the best I've seen for a beginner.

These Step by Step books are used at most community colleges to teach students how to use various MS applications. If you are self-directed, it can save you the class cost. It is also a great way to teach yourself an application.

The books provide a wealth of information that can be used immediately. The key is to apply the application to your work ASAP. MS Project is definitely one of those tools that requires use or you will loose the non-basic concepts.

Version 2003 is a step above MS version 2002 because it provides powerful wizards to assist you with the cost and scheduling planning process. MS Project is a standard project planning tool that is integrated with most Enterprise Level applications or it can be used as a standalone tool.

So far, the learning is going well.

This book is well written and clear with lots of follow along activities. While I'm pretty new to Project, I still found the pace exhaustingly slow. It's a bit hard to skip ahead as you don't really know when the good stuff is going to come in. It's done this way to allow you to work either from start to end, or jump from topic to topic.
I can't fault them for this, but as I was trying to learn everything about the program, I found the pace so painfully slow that it was a bit discouraging.

I think this book is best for either a person who does not have a lot of computer experience and really wants their hand held at every step, or someone who just needs a reference to look up particular techniques. If you are fairly savvy and are trying to learn quickly, you may find this a bit of a drag.

4 Stars because it's good at what it does, but not 5 because for some it'll just be too dull.

This is a very good beginner to more advanced MS Project book. The many examples and labs help both the novice and more advanced Project user to become more proficient with the tool. Our local PMI Chapter uses this book to teach MS Project to our members and we have gotten very good feedback from out students on how thorough the book is. I would recommend it to anyone who uses MS Project.

Among what real managers are likely to face, there cannot be many harder projects to plan and track than the shooting of a film. It's a really good idea that this book uses a short movie's shooting schedule as the model project for all its exercises and illustrations.

The text is very repetitive, which is I suppose good because you can jump in at the chapter you need without having to dig back through the early chapters to find all the intermediate steps that get you to what you want to do. The text is very clear, and every example on the CD works as described in the text.

Helps me not worry about working in Project.