Microsoft Project is a
project management software product, developed and sold by
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...
. It is designed to assist a
project manager in developing a
schedule
A schedule or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such things are ...
, assigning
resources
Resource refers to all the materials available in our environment which are technologically accessible, economically feasible and culturally sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and wants. Resources can broadly be classified upon their ...
to tasks, tracking progress, managing the
budget
A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environme ...
, and analyzing workloads.
Microsoft Project was the company's third Microsoft Windows-based application. Within a few years after its launch, it became the dominant PC-based project management software.
It is part of the
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office, or simply Office, is the former name of a family of client software, server software, and services developed by Microsoft. It was first announced by Bill Gates on August 1, 1988, at COMDEX in Las Vegas. Initially a ma ...
family but has never been included in any of the Office suites. It is available currently in two editions, Standard and Professional. Microsoft Project's
proprietary file format
A proprietary file format is a file format of a company, organization, or individual that contains data that is ordered and stored according to a particular encoding-scheme, designed by the company or organization to be secret, such that the decodi ...
is ''.mpp.''
Microsoft Project and
Microsoft Project Server are the cornerstones of the
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office, or simply Office, is the former name of a family of client software, server software, and services developed by Microsoft. It was first announced by Bill Gates on August 1, 1988, at COMDEX in Las Vegas. Initially a ma ...
enterprise project management (EPM) product.
History
'Project' was an MS-DOS software application originally written in Microsoft 'C' (and some assembly) language for the IBM PC. The idea originated from the vision of Ron Bredehoeft, a former IBM S/E and PC enthusiast in the early 1980s, to express the recipe and all preparation for a breakfast of
eggs Benedict
Eggs Benedict is a common American breakfast or brunch dish, consisting of two halves of an English muffin, each topped with Canadian bacon, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. It was popularized in New York City.
Origin and history
Th ...
in project management terms. Mr. Bredehoeft formed Microsoft Application Services (MAS) during the birth of the application and the company later entered an OEM agreement with Microsoft Corporation. Alan M. Boyd, Microsoft's Manager of Product Development, introduced the application as an internal tool to help manage the huge number of software projects that were in development at any time inside the company. Boyd wrote the specification and engaged a local Seattle company to develop the prototype.
The first commercial version of Project was released for
DOS in 1984. Microsoft bought all rights to the software in 1985 and released version 2. Version 3 for DOS was released in 1986. Version 4 for DOS was the final DOS version, released in 1986. The first
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ...
version was released in 1990, and was labelled version 1 for Windows.
In 1991 a
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...
version was released. Development continued until Microsoft Project 4.0 for Mac in 1993. Microsoft Project 4 for the Mac included both 68k and PowerMac versions, Visual Basic for Applications and integration with Microsoft office 4.2 for the Mac. In 1994, Microsoft stopped development of most of its Mac applications and did not offer a new version of Office until 1998, after the creation of the new Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit the year prior. The Mac Business Unit never released an updated version of Project, and the last version does not run natively on
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
.
Microsoft Project 1.0 was the only version to support Windows 2.x (
Windows 2.0
Windows 2.0 is a major release of Microsoft Windows, a family of graphical operating systems for personal computers developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on December 9, 1987, as a successor to Windows 1.0.
The product includ ...
and
Windows 2.1x). It came bundled with Windows 2.x runtime but was fully compatible with Windows 3.0, especially Standard and Enhanced modes. The setup program runs in DOS, like most Windows-based applications at the time.
Microsoft Project 3.0 introduced macro support, toolbars, print preview, DDE and OLE support, spell checking, Resource Allocation view and Planning Wizards and was the last to support
Windows 3.0. The setup program now runs in Windows, and it is based on Microsoft's own setup program, which was also used by e.g. Microsoft Visual Basic 2.0/3.0, Works 2.0, Access 1.x.
Microsoft Project 4.0 was the first to use common Office menus, right-click context menus, Acme setup program and the last to support
Windows 3.1x,
Windows NT 3.1 and
3.5. It was the last 16-bit version. Additionally it was the first version to use
VBA macro language and introduced screen tooltips, Cue Cards, GanttChartWizard, Calendar view, Assign Resources dialog, recurring tasks, workgroup abilities, Drawing toolbar,
Microsoft Project Exchange file format support, OLE 2.0 and ability to create reports. This version allowed user to consolidate up to 80 projects.
Microsoft Project 95 (4.1) was the first 32-bit version and it was designed for
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufactu ...
, hence the name even though some components such as the welcome tour, help components etc. remained 16-bit. It introduced ODBC support, AutoCorrect, Answer Wizard, like all
Office 95 applications. Updated version, called Microsoft Project 4.1a improved Windows NT support. Additionally it was the first version to be available on CD-ROM. Additionally it was the last version to open Project 3.0 files.
Microsoft Project 98 was fully 32-bit, and the first to use
Tahoma font in the menu bars, to contain
Office Assistant
The Office Assistant is a discontinued intelligent user interface for Microsoft Office that assisted users by way of an interactive animated character which interfaced with the Office help content. It was included in Microsoft Office for Windo ...
, like all Office 97 applications, introduced view bar, AutoFilter, task splitting, Assignment Information dialog, resource availability dates, project status date, user-entered actual costs, new task types, multiple critical paths, in-sheet controls, ability to rename custom fields, Web publishing features, new database format, Task Usage, Tracking Gantt and Resource Usage views,
Web features, Web toolbar, PERT analysis features, resource contouring, cost rate tables, effort-driven scheduling, cross-project linking, indicators, progress lines, ability to save project files in
HTML
The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaScri ...
format, ability to analyze time-scaled data in Excel, improved limits for the number of tasks, resources, outline levels etc.,
IntelliMouse and Microsoft Office Binder support,
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager software system from Microsoft, available as a part of the Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 software suites. Though primarily an email client, Outlook also includes such functions as c ...
timeline integration, selective data import and export, ability to save as
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet developed by Microsoft for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It features calculation or computation capabilities, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for ...
pivot tables, Microsoft Project Map, Project menu and allowed user to consolidate 1,000 projects. It was the last version to run on
Windows NT 3.51
Windows NT 3.51 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It is the third version of Windows NT and was released on May 30, 1995, eight months following the release of Windows NT ...
, the last to open Project 4.0/95 files and save in .mpx (Microsoft Project Exchange) file format, the last to use Acme setup program and the last to be available on floppy disks. Project 98 SR-1 was a major service release addressing several issues in Project 98.
Microsoft Project 2000 was the first to use personalized menus,
Microsoft Agent-based Office Assistant and to use
Windows Installer
Windows Installer (msiexec.exe, previously known as Microsoft Installer, codename Darwin) is a software component and application programming interface (API) of Microsoft Windows used for the installation, maintenance, and removal of softwar ...
-based setup interface, like all
Office 2000 applications, and introduced Microsoft Project Central (later renamed Microsoft Project Server). PERT Chart was renamed Network Diagram and was greatly improved in this version. Notable new features include ability to create personal Gantt charts, ability to apply filters in Network Diagram view, AutoSave, task calendars, ability to create projects based on templates and to specify default save path and format, graphical indicators, material resources, deadline dates, OLE DB, grouping, outline codes, estimated durations, month duration, value lists and formulas custom fields, contoured resource availability, ability to clear baseline, variable row height, in-cell editing, fill handle, ability to set fiscal year in timescale,
single document interface
A multiple-document interface (MDI) is a graphical user interface in which multiple windows reside under a single parent window. Such systems often allow child windows to embed other windows inside them as well, creating complex nested hierarchie ...
, accessibility features,
COM add-ins, pluggable language user interface, roaming user and
Terminal Services support, ability to set task and project priority up to 1,000 (previously 10) and HTML help. Project 2000 was also the last version to support Find Fast (available in
Windows 9x
Windows 9x is a generic term referring to a series of Microsoft Windows computer operating systems produced from 1995 to 2000, which were based on the Windows 95 kernel and its underlying foundation of MS-DOS, both of which were updated in sub ...
and NT 4.0 only) and to run on
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufactu ...
. Project 2000 SR-1 fixed several bugs.
Microsoft Project 2002 was the first to contain task panes, safe mode, smart tags, import/setup tracking/new project/calendar/import and export mapping wizards, ability to import tasks from
Outlook and to save multiple baselines along with additional baseline fields, Project Guide,
EPM/portfolio features (Professional only),
Excel
ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...
task list template, rollup baseline data to summary tasks on a selective baseline save, ability to choose which baseline the earned value calculations are based on, calculation options, multiple project manager support (Project Server is required), Collaborate menu, "Type a question for help" in the top right corner,
error reporting
In computing and computer programming, exception handling is the process of responding to the occurrence of ''exceptions'' – anomalous or exceptional conditions requiring special processing – during the Execution (computing), execution of a C ...
along with mandatory
product activation, like
Office XP and
Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was release to manufacturing, released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Wind ...
and ability to open and save Microsoft Project Data Interchange (.mspdi) files. It was also the last version to run on
Windows NT 4.0,
98 (SE) and
ME. It was available in two editions for the first time, ''Standard'' and ''Professional''. Office Assistant is installed but not enabled by default. Support for accounts with limited rights under Windows 2000/XP was improved. Find Fast was dropped in favor of Windows 2000/XP Indexing Service.
Microsoft Project 2003 was the first to support
Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was release to manufacturing, released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Wind ...
visual styles and to contain
SharePoint support,
XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. ...
importing/printing/Copy Picture to Office wizards, built-in Office Online help, ability to create
WBS charts in
Visio, add-in for comparing projects (available as a freely downloadable add-on for Project 2000 and 2002), resource availability graphs, ability to import resource information from
Active Directory and
Exchange address book, Windows XP-style icons, like all
Office 2003 applications, and the last to contain
Office Assistant
The Office Assistant is a discontinued intelligent user interface for Microsoft Office that assisted users by way of an interactive animated character which interfaced with the Office help content. It was included in Microsoft Office for Windo ...
(not installed by default) and to run on
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft and oriented towards businesses. It was the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was released to manufacturing on December 15, 1999, and was official ...
(Service Pack 3 required).
Microsoft Project 2007 was the last to contain the menu bar and toolbars. New features include top level budget planning, multiple level undo, ability to manage non-working time, background cell highlighting, cost/team resources, change highlighting, visual reports, desktop
OLAP cube and Report menu. Office Assistant was removed entirely.
Microsoft Project 2010 was the first to contain ribbon and Backstage view, like all
Office 2010 applications, contextual guidance, ability to zoom in/out quickly, user-controlled scheduling, top down summary tasks, placeholder text in project fields, timeline view, ability to add columns dynamically, text wrap, expanded color palette and formatting, task inspector, schedule warnings, ability to save as
PDF or
XPS and to synchronize with SharePoint, enhanced copy/pase and the last to open Microsoft Project 98 and .mpx files and to run on Windows XP and
Vista. Additionally it was the first 64-bit version. Volume licensing activation was introduced in this version.
Microsoft Project 2013 was the first to contain
Modern UI
Microsoft Design Language (or MDL), previously known as Metro, is a design language created by Microsoft. This design language is focused on typography and simplified icons, absence of clutter, increased content to chrome ratio ("content bef ...
-based look, and introduced Microsoft account and
OneDrive integration. New features include integrated communication (Skype for Business is required).
Microsoft Project 2016 is the last to support
Windows 7
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearl ...
and
Windows 8(.1). New features include multiple timeline view, Tell Me, colorful/dark gray/white themes, resource engagements, resource manager views, resource capacity heat maps, ability to give feedback directly to Microsoft in the File tab.
Microsoft Project 2019 runs only on
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on ...
, and it contains features carried over from
Office 365
Microsoft 365 is a product family of productivity software, collaboration and cloud-based services owned by Microsoft. It encompasses online services such as Outlook.com, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, programs formerly marketed under the name ...
. New features include ability to link tasks using a drop-down menu, Task Summary Name field, timeline bar labels and task progress, accessibility improvements.
Versions for Windows were released in 1990 (v1.0), 1992 (v3.0), 1993 (v4.0), 1995 (Project 95, v4.1a), Project 98 (v8.0), Project 98 SR-1 (1999), Project 2000 (v9.0), Project 2000 SR-1 (2001), Project 2002 (v10.0), Project 2003 (v11.0), Project 2007 (v12.0), Project 2010 (v14.0), Project 2013 (v15.0) and Project 2016 (v16.0). There was no Version 2 on the Windows platform; the original design spec was augmented with the addition of macro capabilities and the extra work required to support a macro language pushed the development schedule out to early 1992 (Version 3).
Features
The project creates budgets based on assignment work and resource rates. As resources are assigned to tasks and assignment work estimated, the program calculates the cost, equal to the work times the rate, which rolls up to the task level and then to any summary tasks and finally to the project level. Resource definitions (people, equipment and materials) can be shared between projects using a shared resource pool. Each resource can have its own calendar, which defines what days and shifts a resource is available. Resource rates are used to calculate resource assignment costs which are rolled up and summarized at the resource level. Each resource can be assigned to multiple tasks in multiple plans and each task can be assigned multiple resources, and the application schedules task work based on the resource availability as defined in the resource calendars. All resources can be defined in label without limit. Therefore, it cannot determine how many finished products can be produced with a given amount of raw materials. This makes Microsoft Project unsuitable for solving problems of available materials constrained production. Additional software is necessary to manage a complex facility that produces physical goods.
The application creates
critical path schedules, and
critical chain
Critical chain project management (CCPM) is a method of planning and managing projects that emphasizes the resources (people, equipment, physical space) required to execute project tasks. It was developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. It differs fro ...
and
event chain methodology
Event chain methodology is a network analysis technique that is focused on identifying and managing events and relationship between them (event chains) that affect project schedules. It is an uncertainty modeling schedule technique. Event chain me ...
third-party add-ons also are available. Schedules can be
resource leveled, and chains are visualized in a
Gantt chart
A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule, named after its popularizer, Henry Gantt (1861–1919), who designed such a chart around the years 1910–1915. Modern Gantt charts also show the dependency relationsh ...
. Additionally, Microsoft Project can recognize different classes of users. These different classes of users can have differing access levels to projects, views, and other data. Custom objects such as calendars, views, tables, filters, and fields are stored in an enterprise global which is shared by all users.
Editions
The project is available in two editions, Standard and Professional; both editions are available either as 32 or 64bit options. The Professional edition includes all the features of the Standard version, plus more features like team collaboration tools and the ability to connect to
Microsoft Project Server.
Project 2010
Microsoft Project 2010 includes the
Fluent user interface known as the
Ribbon
A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mater ...
.
; Interoperability: Microsoft Project's capabilities were extended with the introduction of
Microsoft Office Project Server and Microsoft Project Web Access. Project Server stores Project data in a central
SQL-based database, allowing multiple, independent projects to access a shared resource pool. Web Access allows authorized users to access a Project Server database across the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...
, and includes timesheets, graphical analysis of resource workloads, and administrative tools.
; User-controlled scheduling: User-controlled scheduling offers flexible choices for developing and managing projects.
;Timeline: The timeline view allows the user to build a basic Visio-style graphical overview of the project schedule. The view can be copied and pasted into PowerPoint, Word, or any other application.
;SharePoint 2010 list synchronization:
SharePoint Foundation
SharePoint is a web-based collaborative platform that integrates natively with Microsoft Office. Launched in 2001, SharePoint is primarily sold as a document management and storage system, but the product is highly configurable and its usage v ...
and Project Professional project task status updates may be synchronized for team members.
;Inactive tasks: helps experiment with project plans and perform what-if analysis
;The Team Planner view: The new Team Planner shows resources and work overtime, and helps spot problems and resolve issues.
Project 2013
What's new in Project 2013 includes new Reports section, better integration with other Microsoft products, and appearance of user interface items:
; Reports: A Reports section is added to the ribbon for pre-installed reports. Project 2013 includes graphical reports so that you can create graphical reports and add clipart without having to export data to another program. For example, the Burndown reports show planned work, completed work, and remaining work as lines on a graph. Project 2013 adds pre-installed ability to compare projects, do dashboards, and export to Visual Reports.
; Trace task paths: This feature allows you to highlight the link chain (or 'task path') for any task. When you click on a specific task, all of its predecessor tasks show up in one color and all of its successor tasks show up in another color.
; Sharing: Project 2013 improves the sharing and communication features of its predecessors in multiple ways without leaving Project. With Lync installed, hovering over a name allows you to start an IM session, a video chat, an email, or a phone call. You can copy and paste content to any of the Microsoft Office suites. You can sync content to SharePoint or a SkyDrive to share without going through Project and Project Online provides an online project management web app that has all of the functionality of Project 2013 and can be accessed from any web-enabled device.
Project 2016
Project 2016 adds a new Reports section, backwards-compatibility with Project Server 2013, better integration with other Microsoft products, and improved appearance of user interface items:
; Timeline: Allows user to customize views to have multiple timeline bars and custom date ranges in a single view.
; Resource Agreements: Gives features for resource planning coordination between Project Manager and Resource Manager.
; Office 2016 style theme and help: Uses the new Office query 'tell me what you want to do'.
; Backwards compatibility with
Microsoft Project Server 2013: The transition of enterprises from one version to the next may be eased by this product being able to interact with the earlier version of server.
See also
*
Comparison of project management software
*
Schedule (project management)
In project management, a schedule is a listing of a project's milestones, activities, and deliverables. Usually dependencies and resources are defined for each task, then start and finish dates are estimated from the resource allocation, b ...
References
External links
*
Microsoft Project blogProject Programmability blogon
MSDN Blogs
Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) was the division of Microsoft responsible for managing the firm's relationship with developers and testers, such as hardware developers interested in the operating system (OS), and software developers developing ...
Project 2003: Project Guide and Custom ViewsMicrosoft Project 2010: Interactive menu to ribbon guideThe Project Map: Your road map to project managementOffice.com Templates for Project 2013MPUG Templates for ProjectStep by Step practice files
{{Authority control
Project
A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal.
An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...
Project management software
Critical Path Scheduling
1984 software