Microsoft Project as an Essential Tool in Project Management

12th June 2023

UKZN Extended Learning

– by Ayanda Radebe

Our Microsoft Project (Introduction and Advanced) programmes are designed to provide delegates with sufficient contemporary project management skills to allow them to be efficient in managing resources and time when working on projects. Through the project management software, delegates learnt about managing schedules, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing the budget, and analysing workloads. This also included project management methodology tools, such as Kanban boards and Gantt charts. Throughout the programme, delegates embarked on an evolutionary journey as their careers transformed for the better.

Facilitating the training while grooming the current and future project managers was Mr Mondli Mbambo, who in detail spoke on the importance of quality control and principles in stakeholder management. Microsoft (MS) Project is an all-rounder that provides a full circle for the project management suite of programmes. MS Project provides training in software/ digital systems for delegates who are required to manage large-scale projects. The class which was dominantly occupied by a local municipality had shared a fair amount of how dealing with big projects can be a daunting task. They have discovered that the MS Project programmes have been an eye-opener for assisting them with various factors in their field of work.

Project managers need to have many skills, including soft skills such as communication, leadership, and time management. They also need to have advanced skills in effectively utilising Microsoft Project, the world’s most widely-used project management software tool. These programmes aim to provide solutions for complex and multiple projects and include features such as interactive dashboards for project monitoring, integrated project timeline, task prioritisation and delegation, team dashboard, report generation, and resource tracking and management. It is therefore crucial for project managers to be well informed about the correct usage of this software within their respective projects, as decisions made could have a significant impact of the success of the project.

For more information on the upcoming programmes please click here.