Microsoft Project for Shelter Project Management Training Course

Participants can create logically connected task schedules for shelter assessments, procurement and construction work.

• Activity lists decompose assessments, design, procurement, construction and closeout work
• Precedence diagrams map finish-to-start, start-to-start and finish-to-finish dependencies
• Duration estimates use crew productivity, quantities, access windows and curing times
• Milestones mark funding releases, tender awards, completion certificates and occupancy
• Rolling-wave planning protects detail where site information remains uncertain
• Task calendars model Ramadan, rainy seasons, curfews and local working weeks

Participants can identify schedule drivers and establish a controlled baseline for approved shelter work.

• Critical Path Method identifies driving activities and schedule completion exposure
• Lead and lag values represent drying, inspection and material delivery intervals
• Network logic tests reveal open ends, redundant links and impossible constraints
• Deadline dates distinguish contractual commitments from inflexible scheduling constraints
• Baseline schedules preserve approved scope, dates, durations and resource assumptions
• Schedule versions record authorised changes without overwriting the control baseline

Participants can assign shelter delivery resources and resolve resource conflicts in Microsoft Project.

• Resource sheets define labour crews, plant, materials, costs and availability
• Max units reflect workforce capacity, shift patterns and partner commitments
• Assignment units calculate labour effort without confusing duration and work
• Material resources track tarpaulins, timber, fixings and shelter kits
• Resource levelling resolves crew clashes while documenting completion-date consequences
• Cost rate tables separate local procurement, framework pricing and contingency allowances

Participants can connect procurement and cost information to shelter schedule milestones and forecasts.

• Procurement work packages connect specifications, approvals, tenders, deliveries and inspections
• Long-lead items receive procurement schedules based on realistic market lead times
• Supplier dependencies show effects of customs clearance, transport and storage capacity
• Cash flow reports phase commitments and expenditure against grant budget periods
• Cost baselines compare planned expenditure with actual costs and forecast completion
• Earned value fields calculate planned value, earned value and cost variance

Participants can test uncertainty, plan schedule contingencies and document change impacts.

• Risk registers link threats, triggers, owners, responses and schedule tasks
• Three-point estimates test schedule sensitivity under optimistic, likely and pessimistic durations
• Contingency activities represent access delays, redesign, rework and weather disruption
• Scenario copies compare alternative sites, construction methods and delivery sequences
• Change control records scope, schedule, cost and donor approval impacts
• Constraints are challenged when logic-based sequencing provides a safer forecast

Participants can update a baseline schedule using field evidence and identify meaningful variance.

• Baseline updates enter actual starts, finishes, remaining durations and field progress
• Status dates establish a consistent reporting cut-off for every update cycle
• Physical percent complete distinguishes installed outputs from elapsed task duration
• Tracking Gantt highlights slippage, critical-path movement and baseline variance
• Variance tables focus management attention on late, blocked and over-budget work
• Update routines reconcile site reports, contractor records and partner data

Participants can produce targeted Microsoft Project views and reports for operational decisions.

• Custom fields classify locations, implementing partners, donor codes and shelter types
• Filters isolate critical tasks, delayed deliveries, expiring permits and assigned owners
• Groups organise schedules by site, work package, contractor and reporting period
• Network diagrams communicate handoffs and dependencies for coordination meetings
• Timeline views present decision milestones without obscuring operational detail
• Visual reports export task, resource and cost information for briefings

Participants can coordinate linked site schedules, partner inputs and shared resources.

• Master projects combine site schedules while retaining accountable implementation ownership
• Subprojects coordinate assessment, construction, WASH interfaces and settlement infrastructure
• Shared resource pools expose competing demands for engineers, trucks and crews
• Partner update protocols define file versions, cut-off dates and validation responsibilities
• Data quality checks identify missing actuals, invalid links and calendar errors
• Access controls protect beneficiary-related information and commercially sensitive supplier data

Participants can develop recovery actions and apply Microsoft Project controls to live shelter work.

• Recovery plans resequence work, add capacity and revise completion forecasts
• Schedule narratives explain variance causes, corrective actions, decisions and residual risks
• Four-week look-ahead schedules coordinate site teams, suppliers and community representatives
• Management dashboards pair milestone status with procurement, resource and cost signals
• Lessons learned capture productivity rates, approval delays and seasonal planning assumptions
• Personal application plans assign Microsoft Project improvements to live shelter projects