Hi bhs00,
A couple of things: The current version of Microsoft Project is 2003,
not 2002. I don't believe you can still purchase 2002 except from
somewhere like ebay.
The advantages of using Project over a spreadsheet: Project is a
dynamic scheduling program which allows you to create predecessor and
successor relationships between tasks. These links allow the schedule
to change automatically based upon changes in task duration, effort
(work), and resources assigned. While this can be reproduced in Excel,
it is primarily a manual process in Excel, requiring manual changes in
dates, work, etc. Project also provides for resource loading information
which Excel again doesn't do "out of the box." Project also provides
the ability to baseline and track progress in a project schedule.
That being said, I know a number of people who do maintain simple, basic
task information in Excel and use MS Project for their more complex
project scheduling needs.
As far as a database, sure, I suppose you could use that as an
alternative but the need to develop the database to do what Project
already does natively may not be worth the time and effort.
All that being said, in my opinion, Project is not an "easy" program to
learn. There are a number of very important concepts and practices to
understand before you can use the tool effectively and efficiently. I
recommend a two-day class in MS Project and a solid understanding of
project management concepts such as critical path, resource loading, and
resource leveling to name just a few.
--
I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.
Julie
Visit
http://project.mvps.org/ for FAQs and more information about
Microsoft Project.
