Last Updated: June 5, 2006
MS Project Master Class Book
The MS Project 24 Hour Master Class Book is the core of a structured Microsoft Project training system. It helps students, project managers, schedulers, consultants, trainers, and organizations create well-organized and reliable project plans using Microsoft Project and the Project MAP framework. Unlike most books that mainly cover software features and commands, this Master Class shows you how to use Microsoft Project through every stage of a project, from starting out to planning and execution. The book works alongside the MS Project Learning Portal, where you can do hands-on exercises, download project files, review workflows, check your progress, and build a complete Master Project as you go.
Purchase the MS Project 24 Hour Master Class Book from Amazon to complete the full paid Master Class with the Learning Portal, Activity Workspaces, exercises, exams, downloads, and coaching options.
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Master Class Overview < Master Class Book > Activity Workspace
If you are taking the MS Project 24 Hour Master Class, you will need to purchase the Master Class Book from Amazon. Students taking this Master Class will work through each chapter in the Master Class book and then complete the exercises in the corresponding Chapter (Activity) Workspace in this MS Project Learning Portal. This Master Class Book is not required if you are taking the Free MS Project Master Class.
Most books about Microsoft Project focus primarily on software features. They explain how to use menus, commands, and dialog boxes, but they often do not show how those features work together to build a complete and reliable project plan.
This MS Project Master Class takes a different approach. Instead of simply demonstrating commands, it teaches you how to develop a technically sound project plan using Microsoft Project as a professional planning and scheduling tool.
The Master Class is built around Project MAP (Methods, Activities & Processes), a framework that reflects the life cycle of a real project. As you move through the Activities, you learn the concepts, tools, and best practices used by experienced project managers and apply them directly in Microsoft Project.
This program goes beyond a book. The MS Project Master Class combines the Master Class Book with an MS Project Master Class Learning Portal where students complete exercises, download project files, and evaluate their understanding through evaluating Activity learning objectives and taking exams.
As you progress through the course, you build your own Master Project—a complete project plan that develops step by step as new techniques are introduced.
This MS Project Master Class includes:
Over 2,000 pages of instruction and reference material.
Exercises integrated with the Master Class Book.
Dozens of downloadable Microsoft Project files, charts, posters, and worksheets.
40 hands-on exercises.
Evaluation of chapter learning objectives.
An exam to test your understanding of each chapter.
The opportunity to build a complete Master Project.
Optional coaching and certificates of completion.
Designed for professionals, students, consultants, and organizations worldwide, this Master Class provides a comprehensive learning system that makes in-depth Microsoft Project training accessible for the price of a book.
What Makes This Master Class Different?
Most books and short courses on Microsoft Project focus primarily on software features. They show how to enter tasks, assign resources, create reports, or customize views. While these skills are useful, they often leave students with only a partial understanding of how Microsoft Project is actually used to plan and manage real projects.
This is not a criticism of the many authors who have written helpful books about the software. In many cases, the emphasis on flexibility reflects how Microsoft has presented the product. Over the years, Microsoft has often described Microsoft Project as a tool that gives users considerable freedom to structure and manage their plans. I recall reading a blog post by a Microsoft Project program manager explaining that the software’s lack of a rigid, enforced process was considered a strength from a product design and sales perspective. Users are free to organize their projects however they prefer.
That flexibility can certainly make the software accessible. However, it can also create confusion for new users. While Microsoft Project does not force users to follow a specific methodology, its calculation engine works best when the project is structured using sound project management practices. Without a disciplined approach to defining scope, sequencing work, assigning resources, and managing constraints, the resulting schedule may appear correct while hiding serious planning problems.
In other words, Microsoft Project may be flexible in how it allows users to build a schedule—but reliable project schedules are rarely built in a flexible or casual way.
This Master Class takes a different approach. It assumes that Microsoft Project produces the most reliable results when it is used within a structured project management process and guided by recognized best practices. For that reason, the material in this Master Class is organized not around individual software features, but around the process of building a complete and technically sound project plan.
This Isn’t Really a Software Book
This Master Class Book is a project initiation, planning, and execution approach consistent with how Microsoft Project works.
Instead of learning commands in isolation, you will learn how those commands support the broader task of planning and managing a real project.
Rather than practicing isolated commands, students apply Microsoft Project features within the context of a realistic project structure.
The program also combines the Master Class Book with Workspace exercises, where students download files, complete exercises, and take assessments and exams. This integrated learning environment ensures that students actively use the software rather than simply reading about it.
Students may complete the Master Class independently or work with a coach who provides guidance and feedback.
Finally, this Master Class was designed to make high-quality training widely accessible. Professional workshops on project scheduling can be expensive and are not always available everywhere. By combining a comprehensive book, exercises, and optional coaching, this program enables students worldwide to develop advanced Microsoft Project skills at a fraction of the cost of traditional classroom training.
The goal is simple: to help you build project plans in Microsoft Project that are clear, logical, and technically sound—and to give you the confidence to use Microsoft Project as a reliable planning and forecasting tool.
MS Project Master Class Book FAQs
What is the MS Project 24 Hour Master Class Book?
The MS Project 24 Hour Master Class Book is the core of a structured Microsoft Project training system based on the Project MAP framework. Instead of just covering software commands and features, this Master Class shows you how to create clear and effective project plans using Microsoft Project as a professional tool. The book is used alongside the MS Project Learning Portal, where you can do exercises, download project files, follow workflows, check your progress, and build a complete Master Project as you go through the course.
Do I Need the Book to Take the Master Class?
Yes. If you are taking the MS Project 24 Hour Master Class, you will need the Master Class Book to complete the program. The book provides the main instructions for the activities, workflows, standards, examples, and exercises in the Learning Portal. The online Activity Workspaces are there to help you practice and build on what you learn from the book.
The Master Class book is not required if you are taking the Free MS Project Master Class.
How Does the Book Work with the Learning Portal?
The Master Class Book and the MS Project Learning Portal are intended to be used together as a single learning system. You read and work through each activity in the book, then do the matching exercises online. The Learning Portal has workflows, downloadable project files, charts, worksheets, assessments, and exercises to help you practice what you learn in the book.
The Master Class includes follow-along files as you review project management concepts and Microsoft Project features in greater depth.
What Is the Master Project?
The Master Project is the full Microsoft Project plan you build as you go through the MS Project Master Class. As you move through the Activity Chapters in the Master Class Book and the Activity Workspaces on this Learning Portal, you continue to add to and improve the Master Project by including structure, estimates, schedule logic, resources, costs, controls, reports, and other planning details. This project is your main plan for practicing and applying everything you learn in the course.
Is This Book Useful for Trainers, Consultants, or Colleges?
Yes. The MS Project Master Class is made for independent learners as well as trainers, consultants, organizations, and colleges. With the Master Class Book, Learning Portal, Activity Workspaces, workflows, exercises, downloadable files, assessments, and optional coaching, you get a complete Microsoft Project training system. It works well for classroom teaching, corporate workshops, consulting, coaching, and community college courses.