MS Project: What it is and how it can benefit you

MS Project, also known as Microsoft Project, is a project management application used to plan and schedule projects while tracking progress throughout delivery. It is designed for project managers and teams that need to coordinate work and resources against an agreed timeline.

What is MS Project (Microsoft Project)?

MS Project and Microsoft Project are two names for the same project management software. Developed by Microsoft and used by organisations around the world, it provides a structured environment for building project plans and managing them as work progresses.

Project managers use the software to organise activities against a schedule, with dependencies showing how one part of the project affects another. Resources can then be assigned to work, giving managers greater visibility into how people are used across the plan.

Microsoft's project management offering has evolved in recent years. Project for the web was retired in August 2025, with its premium capabilities moving into Microsoft Planner. Project Online, a separate product, is due to retire on 30 September 2026. The Project desktop application remains available and supported, retaining the detailed scheduling functionality familiar to established MS Project users.

Key features of Microsoft Project

One of the strengths of Microsoft Project is the ability to turn a project plan into a detailed schedule. Tasks can be given durations and linked through dependencies, while milestones identify important points in delivery. Timeline and Gantt views then provide a visual representation of how work is expected to progress.

Resource management connects that schedule with the people needed to deliver it. Managers can allocate resources to individual tasks and identify over-allocation before it creates problems elsewhere in the project. Cost information can also be incorporated into the plan, providing a clearer picture of how delivery relates to the available budget.

Once work begins, baselines allow actual performance to be compared with the original plan. Tracking views highlight slippage, while reports and dashboards make project information easier to communicate to stakeholders. Within Microsoft's wider project management environment, Planner provides cloud-based project management capabilities and can also be used within Microsoft Teams.

How organisations benefit from using MS Project

A detailed project plan gives managers a clearer view of where resources are committed and whether work is progressing as expected, making it easier to spot when an individual or team has too much assigned work and adjust the schedule before pressure affects delivery.

The same visibility supports better control over time and budget. Dependencies reveal the effect that one delayed activity may have on later work, while baseline comparisons show where actual performance is moving away from the original plan. Instead of discovering a problem when a deadline has already been missed, the project manager has an opportunity to respond earlier.

MS Project also provides a shared reference point for the project team. When activities and progress are recorded within the plan, conversations about delivery are based on the same information. Reports give stakeholders an appropriate view of performance without requiring them to work through the detailed schedule themselves.

The value of the software therefore depends on the quality of the information within it. A sophisticated schedule will not improve delivery if tasks are poorly defined or progress is rarely updated. MS Project works best when the tool supports sound project management rather than becoming a substitute for it.

Getting trained on MS Project

Microsoft Project includes a substantial range of functionality. While you can learn the basics independently, structured training can help you explore how features for scheduling, resource management, costing, tracking and reporting work together.

Rather than learning individual features in isolation, MS Project training can help you understand how to build a project plan and use it throughout delivery.

Our Introduction to Microsoft Project training is designed for people with minimal prior experience and requires no prerequisites. The self-paced e-learning course provides 12 months' access to around 10–12 hours of content. It covers areas including task relationships and resource allocation before moving into tracking and reporting.

The course is particularly relevant to new project coordinators or PMO staff who work with project schedules. It also suits experienced project managers moving from another planning tool who need to become familiar with the Microsoft Project environment.

FAQs

Is MS Project the same as Microsoft Project?

Yes. MS Project is simply a commonly used shortened name for Microsoft Project. Both terms refer to Microsoft's project management software. Microsoft's wider project management ecosystem has changed, with Project for the web retired in August 2025 and its premium capabilities moving into Planner, while the Project desktop application remains available and supported.

Do I need training to use MS Project?

You do not need formal training to start using Microsoft Project, but structured training makes it easier to understand how its scheduling and resource management features work together. This is particularly useful for anyone moving beyond a basic project plan into more detailed scheduling or progress tracking.

Knowing how to use MS Project effectively gives project professionals greater control over the information behind delivery decisions. For those looking to develop their wider capability alongside their software skills, we also offer project management training across a range of recognised approaches.

Explore our Microsoft Project training