Microsoft Project (MS Project)

Overview

Microsoft Project is one of the most widely used project scheduling and management tools in the world, giving planners, coordinators, and managers a structured way to build schedules, allocate resources, and track progress against time and budget. DIT’s MS Project course teaches the core features of Microsoft Project through practical, scenario-based exercises rather than abstract theory.

Participants learn to set up project components — work tasks, summary tasks, milestones, and recurring tasks — and to manage the different types of resources used in real projects, including their availability and cost.

Who It’s For

This course is suited to:

• Planning engineers, schedulers, and project coordinators who need a practical scheduling tool
• Project managers who want to strengthen their hands-on software skills
• Engineering, construction, and IT professionals responsible for tracking project timelines
• Anyone preparing for roles such as Planning Engineer, Scheduler, Cost Estimator, or Project Coordinator

Basic computer literacy is required. Familiarity with project management concepts is helpful but not a strict prerequisite — the course introduces the necessary fundamentals along the way.

Curriculum Outline

Module 1 — Project Setup Efficiently setting up a new project: defining the project calendar, work tasks, summary tasks, milestones, and recurring tasks.

Module 2 — Task Management Different approaches to managing tasks, adjusting task timing, and viewing project information effectively.

Module 3 — Resource Management Distinguishing between resource types, assigning resources to tasks, and managing resource availability and cost.

Module 4 — Building the Schedule Linking tasks together to create a realistic, dependency-aware project schedule.

Module 5 — Tracking & Baselines Understanding what a baseline is, tracking progress against it, and identifying which filters best reveal schedule problems.

Module 6 — Troubleshooting & Reporting Identifying and fixing scheduling issues, using multiple timelines, and sharing project information with stakeholders.

Capstone Exercise Participants build a complete project schedule from scratch — tasks, resources, dependencies, and a baseline — and produce a status report reflecting simulated progress.

Outcomes

Graduates will be able to independently set up, schedule, resource, and track a real-world project in Microsoft Project — bringing projects in on time and within budget, and confidently identifying and resolving scheduling problems before they escalate.

Certification

Participants who complete the course and pass the practical assessment receive a DIT Certificate of Completion in Microsoft Project.