Microsoft Project 2013 Plain & Simple

Great book in it's simplicity. I was rushing headlong onto the deadline of a 3 year project that was 2 1/2 years late; not to mention I was tasked to it 1 1/2 years before deadline (3 other contractors and 3 other PMO's had already gone by the wayside.) I am not a PM professional, just an interested stakeholder who was getting majorly pee'd-O in having the project constantly going off track and crashing. I needed to get a handle on the project and it was like trying to balance on a moving training highballing to a deadend trestle. The data was there in a ppm format, I just need a way to pull it up and see where I was at. This tome is as the title portrays: getting through it was "short and basic." But given my time contraints, that was exactly what I needed. Getting through it gave you the basics of what everything did and where it was if you had to find it; and enough of the language to be able to quiry the help systems to get you close to what you wanted to do. The walk throughs and example with either made up data or "working" data took you to points where you could adapt the techiques and tools to what you had to do. Or got you close enough to work your way to what you wanted to show. It is not a know all, do all, book, but a good basic starter. Once you get going, you can look for other texts on specific topics areas you need to work on. I recommend this to anyone who needs to do a quick study of Project 2013, who has little knowledge of scheduling, and has to start to work in 0-60.

I'm new to using MS Project, and don't have the option for guided learning, so I purchased this book about a month ago to help me get started on my own. So far, I think that it's a pretty good general guide for using Microsoft Project 2013. The index is fairly comprehensive, and if you know what you're looking for it will direct you to the appropriate part of the book. The first 60 pages of the book are all introductory - how to use the book as a reference and getting down the basics of Project. It's written in a very simple and straightforward manner, so it's great if you're a Project newbie like myself. It's also incredibly well-illustrated (multiple labeled screenshots for almost everything!) and succinct. However, it's not really great for troubleshooting. In my case, I was given a schedule to work with that already had problems - and you kind of need to know what the problem is that you're having before you can look up the step-by-step process to fix it. However, this book works fabulously as a supplement to internet searches. The diagrams are all full-color, and the text each section is color-coded. This makes it really easy to flip right to the section that you're looking for, or to browse within a section. I was a little disappointed with how thin the paper in this book is, though. It seems a little flimsy, and the printing on the other side of the page and on the next page shows through.

This book is an invaluable tool for both new and experienced Project Managers who want to use Microsoft Project 2013 as their project management software. What makes this book stand-out in comparison to other similar books is that it presents the tools and skills that new project managers need to quickly get abreast in the use of Microsoft Project software. Experienced Project Managers will also find it invaluable as it helps them to quickly set up and use the Microsoft project software. The approach use in its presentation and the colorful step-by-step guidance provided will be appreciated by new users who will find it a quick and ready hands-on reference book. Trainers will also find it a helpful recommended book to their students as well. There is always a place and time for more in depth coverage of any software training especially for more experienced Project Management professionals and users of project management software. Such approaches could make the learning and use of Microsoft Project software a more daunting task for new users. In my opinion, the method used by the author avoid this pitfall. It presents new users a gentle learning curve that helps them to build their experiences grounds-up before delving into more in-depth, voluminous and time demanding approach used in other texts. This book will help you to learn and use Microsoft Project within the shortest possible time. It is highly recommended.

This booklet is pretty light on content. It is well organized and usable, but not very good at helping a moderate user with MSP 2013 features.

I have been assigned to the Microsoft Project Manager software at work so I picked up this book for my kindle to learn as I go. Still in early stages of learning but the book is great along side the program while I follow through the chapters. I have been using the chapters as individual lessons and so far have learned a lot about the program. Very helpful and I like the writers style.

I keep using the Book and Let me say this: "Ben Howard" did it great and right!! If you want to be able to use MS Project right this is the book to read. I am not talking about to create a huge and detailed reports. I am talking about use MS Right!!! Congratulations, I will take care and recommend this book!!!

More information than I will use, but easy to understand and quickly accessible. I use Project for construction scheduling and don't use the resource other than the names

Excellent book. I didnt know anything about MS Project and this book help me a lot. Instruction are very easy to understand and so intuitive, Actually you wont need a teacher or a spend your spend your money if you have this book. Highly recommended!!!

excellent book, easy to read and follow

Product arrived on time and was as advertised. No complaints

Good book for starters

Great piece of work. Just the approach needed when you need to get done! The intelligent use of Whitespace and the layout are outstanding features.

Very interactive book.