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Description

Microsoft Project Plan: Building a Schedule, Tracking Progress and Sharing It

Obtain a schedule that recalculates on its own instead of a table reworked by hand every week

  • 1 day — 7 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

The project schedule lives in a spreadsheet. Every slippage means redrawing everything, dependencies are written down nowhere and individual workload remains invisible. Progress reviews are held through comments and the project manager cannot say which task is pushing the completion date. The file ends up diverging from reality on the ground.

This seven-hour day is devoted to getting to grips with Microsoft Project Plan in its cloud version. Participants enter a complete project, set links and constraints, assign resources, publish a readable schedule and track progress week after week.

Learning objectives

  • Create a project and structure tasks into phases and milestones
  • Set dependency links and date constraints
  • Assign resources and detect over-allocation
  • Identify the critical path and available float
  • Enter progress and compare actuals against the baseline
  • Publish and share a schedule that the team can read

What makes this programme different

Each participant builds their own schedule during the day, based on a real project
Automatic recalculation is tested by moving tasks and measuring the effect on the completion date
Views and filters are configured to produce a schedule readable by non-specialists

Programme

1Getting Started and Building the Schedule

Entering a project from end to end

  • Exploring the environment and creating the project
  • Setting up the calendar and duration units
  • Entering tasks and organising them into phases
  • Difference between duration, work and milestone
  • Setting up the first hierarchy levels

2Links, Resources and Constraints

Letting the tool calculate the schedule

  • Creating dependency links and lead or lag times
  • Date constraints and deadlines
  • Creating resources and assigning them to tasks
  • Detecting over-allocation and levelling
  • Reading the critical path and float

3Tracking and Sharing

Maintaining the schedule over time

  • Saving a baseline schedule
  • Entering progress and remaining durations
  • Comparing planned against actual
  • Creating views and filters for communication
  • Sharing the schedule and collaborating with the team

Who is it for

Project managers new to the role, as well as project administrators, team leaders and staff required to maintain a schedule.

Prerequisites

Ability to use a web browser and access to Microsoft Project Plan.

Dates & locations

12 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.