Setting up Calendars in Microsoft Project

Why it is so Important to Set up Calendars First in Microsoft Project

Although Microsoft Project’s base calendars are an excellent starting point, you will likely need to make customizations for your project. Luckily, the Change Working Time dialog box provides a central location to modify the calendar, set holidays, and more.

Understanding the calendars

There are three different calendars in MS Project

1. Project calendar - defines default work days and hours
2. Task calendar - used when the timing of a task must be different than the project calendar allows
3. Resource calendar - defines when resource is available

MS Project has rules how the calendars interact:

• if a task has no resources and no task calendar, it will use the working days and times in the project calendar
• if a task has a resource, it will use the working days and times fro the resource calendar for that task's resource(s)
• if a task has a task calendar, it will use the working days and times from that task calendar
• if a task has a resource AND a task calendar, it will use working days and hours the task and resource calendars have in common (unless the Ignore resource calendars option has been set for the task)

If the working day is adjusted on the standard calendar, be sure to adjust how many hours is in a day in the calculation MS Project uses.

Define the Project Start Date

When you create a new project, Microsoft Project inserts the current date as the start date by default. If your project is going to start on a different date, you should change it .

You can define a project finish date instead of a start date. This is useful if your project has a stringent finish date; however, You should use the default start date if you are new to Microsoft Project. Refer to figures I and II below, which illustrates changing a project’s start date.

Figure I

Figure II

Define Your Project Calendar

All tasks and resources in Microsoft Project follow a calendar. A Microsoft Project calendar can be used for specifying holidays, as well as working time.

Microsoft Project includes three base calendars by default:

1. Standard: Defines working time between 8 AM and 5 PM, with a one-hour break at 12 PM.
2. 24 Hours: Defines working time between 12 AM of first day and 12 AM of next day, with no breaks.
3. Night Shift: Defines working time between 11 PM and 8 AM, with a one-hour break at 3 AM.

You should define your own project calendars, although you can base them on one of the above provided calendars. Include your organization’s holidays and working time in your calendar(s) and assign them accordingly to project resources.

Refer to the figures III and IV below, which show how to define a project calendar.

Figure III

Figure IV

It is a good idea to take the Microsoft Project classes at Lady Ray Computer Services LLC.  Please check out the schedule for the Microsoft Project at our website, www.ladyraycomputer.net.