In all aspects of our lives, at one point or another, we are doing some form of project management. Whether it is planning an event, remodeling, or scheduling assignments for class so that you are meeting all your submission deadlines, we are in management mode. Microsoft has created a tool that will make life a little bit easier when it comes to this type of management – Microsoft Office Project 2010 (referred to as Project10 from here on out). Project10 allows you to stay on task provides functions that allow you to evaluate where you are in your project to see if you need to make adjustments so that the project is still completed by the goal finish date.
Project 10 is a project management tool used to document and manage projects from start to finish. With Project 10 you have the ability to “calculate dates, assign responsibilities, and estimate costs” (Bunin, 2012). The benefits of using Project 10 are numerous. Organization is key and being able to have all your data in one location helps. Being able to enter costs and resources, keep track of your budget, keep track of the progress of each task, and see task conflicts and resolve them right away all contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of completing your project. Bunin lists other benefits of using Project 10 to include:
• automatically recalculating durations and costs, task start and finish dates, and project start or finish dates,
• managing lists of tasks, durations, dates, resources, costs, constraints, and notes,
• more efficient use of project resources, and
• more organized and streamlined way to manage the many details of a project (2012).
The main functions of Project 10 consist of managing tasks, documenting resources and costs, project evaluation and reporting. Tasks are actions that need to be completed to achieve your goal and you decide how specific those tasks need to