Microsoft Project: Features, Access, and Comparison

Microsoft Project is a powerful project management software developed by Microsoft. It is designed to assist project managers in developing plans, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing budgets, and analyzing workloads.

 

 

Microsoft Project is a comprehensive project management solution within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, designed for complex and structured work. It supports detailed project planning, task dependencies, resource allocation, portfolio management, and advanced reporting through Gantt charts and analytical dashboards.

Microsoft Planner, including Planner Premium, combines lightweight task management, team-based collaboration, and selected Microsoft Project capabilities into a single experience within Microsoft Teams. Planner emphasizes ease of use and collaborative tracking, while Planner Premium extends those capabilities with more advanced scheduling, dependencies, and reporting—bridging the gap between simple task lists and full enterprise project management without the complexity of Microsoft Project.

Audience

This article is intended for Ithaca College faculty and staff who manage large-scale or complex projects and require advanced planning and reporting capabilities.

Platform

Key Features and Use Cases

• Detailed Project Planning: Microsoft Project supported the creation of comprehensive project plans by breaking complex initiatives into manageable tasks. It allowed for task hierarchies, dependencies, and sequencing to be clearly defined.
• Resource Management: The platform provided tools for assigning resources to tasks, monitoring utilization, and identifying potential bottlenecks or conflicts across projects.
• Gantt Charts and Timelines: Built-in Gantt charts and timeline views offered a visual representation of schedules, milestones, and progress, making it easier to track project status over time.
• Project and Portfolio Management: Microsoft Project enabled organizations to manage multiple projects within a single portfolio, supporting prioritization, alignment with organizational goals, and oversight at scale.
• Reporting and Business Intelligence: Advanced reporting tools included prebuilt templates and customizable reports for tracking project performance, resource allocation, and budgets.
• Custom Views and Dashboards: Users could tailor views and dashboards to monitor overall project health, task progress, and individual or team workloads.
• Collaboration and Integration: The software integrates with Microsoft 365 tools, including Teams and SharePoint, enabling collaboration, document sharing, and communication across project teams.

Ideal use cases:

• Complex or multi-phase project management
• Large-scale projects requiring structured planning and resource coordination
• Projects with significant reporting, tracking, and analytics requirements

Each project in Microsoft Project must be connected to a Microsoft Teams team or a Microsoft 365 group.

Comparison with Microsoft Planner

Planner is designed for simple, team-based task management and works well for small to medium-sized projects. It focuses on organizing and tracking work through an intuitive interface that emphasizes ease of use and basic progress visibility. Planner supports collaboration without requiring formal project management training.

Microsoft Project is a more advanced project management solution intended for complex, large-scale initiatives. It supports detailed project planning, resource management, advanced scheduling, and comprehensive reporting. Its depth and structure are better suited to professional project managers and formal project management methodologies.

Planner uses a user-friendly, Kanban-style board that allows teams to visualize and manage tasks quickly. This approach is easy to adopt and requires minimal onboarding. Microsoft Project provides a more traditional project management interface built around Gantt charts, timelines, and structured dependencies. Its feature set introduces a steeper learning curve but enables greater control and precision.

Access

• Go to https://project.microsoft.com/ to access Microsoft Project through a web browser.
• Open the Project app through Teams. It integrates as an app through a channel within a team.

Once your license is assigned, you can download the Windows 11 desktop version of Microsoft Project.

1. Go to https://portal.office.com/account#installs through a web browser.
2. Under the Project header, select Install Project button.

Resources

• Project help & learning (microsoft.com)