Microsoft Project Advanced Training

This course is designed for professionals who already build and maintain Microsoft Project schedules independently and want to sharpen their skills at an advanced level. Ideal attendees include:

• Project managers and schedulers with 6–12 months or more of hands-on Microsoft Project experience
• PMO analysts and program coordinators responsible for multi-project environments
• IT project leads managing complex, resource-constrained schedules
• Anyone who has completed a foundational Microsoft Project course and is ready to go deeper

Attendees should be comfortable creating tasks, entering dependencies, assigning resources, and saving a baseline before attending. This course does not re-teach fundamentals.

By the end of this one-day workshop, participants will be able to:

• Apply all four task types and dependency types (FS, FF, SS, SF) with lag and lead to build schedules that behave predictably
• Distinguish between constraints and deadlines, and explain when each is appropriate
• Identify total slack vs. free slack and trace multiple critical paths through a schedule
• Configure phased resource availability and resolve overallocations using both automatic leveling and manual techniques
• Build multiple cost rate tables and model rate changes effective on a future date
• Save and compare up to eleven baselines in a single file and interpret variance fields
• Calculate and interpret the three foundational earned value measures (BCWS, BCWP, ACWP) and forecast EAC, ETC, and TCPI
• Build and manage a master project with subprojects and a shared resource pool
• Create formula-driven custom fields with graphical indicators for executive dashboards
• Record, read, and edit a simple VBA macro to automate repetitive scheduling tasks

Module 1: Advanced Task Scheduling Techniques

• Task types and the scheduling formula (Fixed Units, Fixed Duration, Fixed Work)
• Constraints vs. deadlines
• All four dependency types with lag and lead
• Task calendars and elapsed duration
• Recurring tasks

Module 2: Critical Path and Network Analysis

• Total slack vs. free slack
• Multiple critical paths
• The Task Path feature
• Critical chain concepts
• Network Diagram review and interpretation

Module 3: Advanced Resource Management and Leveling

• Material and cost resource types
• Phased resource availability
• Automatic leveling settings
• Manual overallocation resolution
• Team Planner view

Module 4: Cost Management and Multiple Cost Rate Tables

• Why multiple cost rate tables exist
• Rate changes effective on a future date
• Cost accrual methods
• Per-use costs
• Budget resources and budget fields

Module 5: Baselines, Interim Plans, and Variance Analysis

• Saving and comparing up to eleven baselines
• Baselines vs. interim plans
• Baselining a selection
• Variance fields
• Multi-Baseline Tracking Gantt

Module 6: Earned Value Management

• BCWS, BCWP, and ACWP
• Schedule variance and cost variance
• Performance indices (SPI, CPI)
• Choosing an earned value method
• Forecasting EAC, ETC, and TCPI
• Built-in earned value tools

Module 7: Master Projects and Resource Pools

• When to split into subprojects
• Building a master project
• Cross-project links
• Shared resource pools
• Resolving pool conflicts

Module 8: Custom Fields, Formulas, and Advanced Reporting

• Formula-driven custom fields
• Graphical indicators
• Lookup tables for standardized text fields
• Custom combination views
• Custom visual reports and clean data export

Module 9: Automating Project with Macros and VBA Basics

• Recording your first macro
• Reading the Visual Basic Editor
• Editing a recorded macro
• Assigning macros to the Ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar
• Storage and sharing

Integration Capstone

End-to-end walkthrough of the NorthPeak Health Systems ERP Cloud Migration case study, connecting all nine modules into a single cohesive schedule.

Attendees must be able to independently perform the following before attending:

• Build a project schedule from scratch including tasks, durations, and finish-to-start dependencies
• Assign resources to tasks and review results in the Gantt Chart view
• Save at least one baseline and review basic tracking fields (% Complete, Actual Start/Finish)
• Switch between standard views (Gantt Chart, Task Usage, Resource Sheet) and apply a built-in filter

Completion of a foundational Microsoft Project course (Introduction/Part 1 and Part 2) or 6–12 months of equivalent hands-on scheduling experience is required.

SkillForge's Microsoft Project Advanced Training is taught by instructors who use Microsoft Project on real programs — not just in classrooms. Every module is built around a single running case study (NorthPeak Health Systems' ERP cloud migration) so you see how a scheduling decision made in the morning echoes through resource leveling, cost, earned value, and reporting later in the day, exactly as it would on a real project.

Our advanced workshops are deliberately small — typically six to twelve participants — so your instructor can address the specific scheduling challenges you bring to class, not just the ones on the slide deck.