Microsoft Project 2007: The Missing Manual (Paperback)

by Bonnie Biafore (Author)
Key Phrases: baseline cost, network diagram, custom fields, Gantt Chart, Task Name, Resource Sheet (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Schedules, budgets, communications, resources. Projects big and small include them all, and Microsoft Project 2007 can help you control these variables -- not be controlled by them. But Project is complex software, and learning it is, well, a project in itself. Get up to speed fast with Microsoft Project 2007: The Missing Manual. Written by project management expert Bonnie Biafore, this book teaches you how to do everything from setting budgets and tracking schedules to testing scenarios and recognizing trouble spots before your project breaks down. Find out what's new in Project 2007 from previous versions, and get help choosing the right edition, whether it's Project Standard, Project Professional, or Enterprise Project Management Solution. With Microsoft Project 2007: The Missing Manual, you get more than a simple software how-to. You also get a rundown on project management basics and plenty of solid advice on how to use Project to: Define your project and plan your approach Estimate your project, set up a budget, define tasks, and break the work into manageable chunks Create a schedule, define the sequence of work, and learn the right way to use date constraints and deadlines Build a project team and assign resources to tasks: "who does what" Refine the project to satisfy objectives by building reality into the schedule, and learn to keep project costs under control Track progress and communicate with team members via reports, information sharing, and meetings that work Close out your project and take away valuable lessons for the future Microsoft Project 2007 is the flagship of all project management programs, and this Missing Manual is the book that should have been in the box.No project manager should be without it.

About the Author
Bonnie Biafore is an award-winning author of several books on investing, finance, project management, and software. She's a columnist for Better Investing magazine and the author of "QuickBooks 2006: The Missing Manual", "Quicken 2006 for Starters: The Missing Manual", and "Online Investing Hacks" (all O'Reilly). A PMI-certified project management professional with more than 20 years experience, she also manages information technology and software development projects in a variety of industries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 702 pages
• Publisher: Pogue Press (August 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596528361
• ISBN-13: 978-0596528362
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,179 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Microsoft > Accounting
  #4 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Microsoft > Applications > Project
  #8 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Project Management > PMP Exam

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to look good at work, August 28, 2008

By	Linda Bulger (Avon, Maine) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Microsoft Project is an unmatched tool for managing all aspects of a project, and the power of its integration with other MS tools is awesome. But its potential is very complex and not for the faint of heart. Before you start blithely loading your milestones and allocating your resources, you really need to understand the concepts of defining your project and conceptualizing the plan. The software won't teach you that and it's the easiest thing in the world to wind up with a Gantt chart that looks like the head of Medusa in no time flat.

That's where this manual makes its mark. Yes, it's a good primer on the software; yes, it's a good reference manual as long as you can guess the term for what you want to do. "Unhide columns," for example: that's what I wanted to do this week, and two minutes with the index and a page reference got the job done for me. (Hint: it doesn't behave exactly like Excel.)

Since I tend to shun manuals, I had not picked up this book until now. I took a moment to flip, and was impressed, and wound up starting at the beginning and going all the way through, reading here and there, checking the book's organization and the points it made about project management. What a great resource! It's an introductory project management course that will get the user started on the right foot.

Despite its name, Microsoft Project 2007: The Missing Manual is much more than a manual. I recommend it for anyone who wants to brush up on the key points of project management, and especially for anyone using the software for the first time (or the first time in a while, which is my situation). It can't guarantee that your project will be a success, but it will greatly increase your understanding of what's going right and wrong. This book is going to make you look good!

Linda Bulger, 2008

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Goes far beyond the usual `how to' guide., December 2, 2007

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Any who own Microsoft's Project 2007 needs Bonnie Bafore's MICROSOFT OFFICE PROJECT 2007: THE MISSING MANUAL guide, which should really be in the box alongside the program. It offers easy step-by-step instructions that cover both Project Standard and Project Professional, explaining how and why to use some features - an approach which goes far beyond the usual `how to' guide. From using Project in a variety of business applications and incorporating other programs such as Word and Outlook to practically guaranteeing project success, MICROSOFT PROJECT 2007: THE MISSING MANUAL should be on the shelves not only of any serious computer reference library, but any business library and any individual who owns Project 2007 and wants to get the most out of it.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Resource, July 25, 2008

By	D. J. Curran (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've always hated "How to" manuals written by people who know the application, but not the work. This book shows how to use MS Project from the perspective of a Project Manager.

It's alway been ironic when I've used other resources that the person who wrote the book explains all the buttons, but not when/why they are really used. "The Missing Manual" is the perfect marriage of function and purpose.