Microsoft Project First-Use Checklist
This first-use checklist helps you set up a desktop Microsoft Project schedule by confirming the starting plan, calendar, task logic, resources, and tracking baseline. It is a practical guide, not a prescribed setup sequence; exact controls can vary by release. Follow Creating a Project in Microsoft Project for the full creation workflow.
Before entering tasks
Section titled “Before entering tasks”- Choose a starting point. Create a blank project, use a template, or base the plan on an existing project. Review and adjust inherited tasks, dates, and resources before treating them as correct for the new work. See Microsoft Project Templates for reusable starting points.
- Set the schedule anchor. Go to Project > Project Information and choose whether to schedule from the project start date or finish date, then enter that date. New desktop projects start from the current date by default. Scheduling direction determines how Project lays out the plan from its anchor date.
- Check the working calendar. Confirm that the project calendar’s workdays, hours, and nonworking days reflect the project before relying on calculated dates. Open Project > Change Working Time to review or adjust working time and exceptions. The calendar defines general working and nonworking time; task or resource calendars may add further detail.
Build a schedule Project can calculate
Section titled “Build a schedule Project can calculate”- Choose task scheduling mode intentionally. New tasks in desktop Project are manually scheduled by default. Select automatic scheduling for tasks whose dates should be calculated from their duration, dependencies, calendars, constraints, and resource information. Manual tasks do not recalculate in the same way when those inputs change.
- Separate outline from logic. Use indentation to organize summary tasks and subtasks. Create explicit dependency links to show which tasks affect the timing of other tasks; placing a task below another in the outline does not link them. In Gantt Chart view, select the related tasks and choose Task > Link the Selected Tasks to create the default finish-to-start link.
- Mark important events. Add milestones for decision points or deliverables that need to stand out. In desktop Project, a task with zero duration is displayed as a milestone. A milestone marks an event; keep the work needed to reach it represented by its own tasks.
Add people and preserve the agreed plan
Section titled “Add people and preserve the agreed plan”- Assign people when ownership and capacity matter. You can add resources after entering tasks, then assign them to the work they will perform. Resource availability and assignment details can affect the schedule; changes to an assignment can also affect duration depending on task and scheduling settings.
- Save the working file as MPP. Use File > Save As, then choose a location and filename. MPP is the standard Project Plan format for continuing to work with the desktop schedule; see What Is an MPP File? for the format’s role.
- Capture a baseline when the initial plan is ready to track. A baseline preserves a snapshot of the schedule for comparison as the project changes. As a practical sequence, set it after the team agrees that the initial schedule is a useful reference—not while key dates and task logic are still being reshaped. This timing is a planning recommendation.
Keep the product scope clear
Section titled “Keep the product scope clear”This checklist is for desktop Project. Project Online retired on September 30, 2026. The standalone Project for the web experience retired in August 2025, and its plans and most of its familiar capabilities are now available through Microsoft Planner. The former Project for the web Roadmaps feature was retired; Planner Portfolios provide a different Roadmap view for premium plans, with some former connections and capabilities unavailable.1 These are separate from the desktop workflow described here.