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  • Jun 12, 2021

Microsoft has developed a project management application, MS Project, which may be available to many Windows users which rely on MS Office.


I was initially frustrated by the software because it appears to only allow a user to track one project in a single file. In the Gantt Chart format, it will list multiple tasks for the project file, but doesn't seem to have a way to add a separate project without creating a whole new file. My aim with the software was to track a large number of pending projects, and then list the various tasks need to complete the project.


New columns can be added to the Gantt chart for an individual task, and text can be entered in each cell. But each cell will not have its own separate dialog box where attachments and other notes can be added. The Task Information box has different tabs, but notes, resources, and so on, can only be added for all columns at once. It is not possible to add check lists within the Task Information box.




The key to using MS Project to track each step within a project, while having everything in one file, is to take advantage of the sub-task feature. Add a new task and then make it a sub-task by going to Task . . . Ident Task (the little green arrow pointing right).



This way you can create a cascading structure of tasks within distinct projects, and sub-tasks within tasks, or even individual steps in the sub-tasks. Each level will have its own information box that can have documents attached to it.


The Trello software is designed to keep track of projects in various stages of progress, or categorize them by type, in a Kanban format. A Kanban bulletin board places projects in any of one of several columns tracking which are in various stages of progress: such as which have been begun; which have been tested, which are subject to peer review, and which have been completed.



Trello task boards can be used for a variety of purposes, including legal case management. It can be classified as collaborative software, akin to the rapidly growing Slack application. Trello is widely used by software developers, and it has claimed that it is used by almost three-quarters of Fortune 500 companies. So it's a good idea to check to see if your clients have Trello data, and if it can help you organize your own work.


Trello lets tasks be dragged across columns, and team members can easily monitor the group's activities. It is not designed for complex project management and has only basic functions. Each card on a task board will hold information about a particular task. Trello can integrate with Slack.




Trello lets you easily switch between task boards, and display those task boards in different formats. You can show pending projects on a timeline, or bring up charts based on the metrics for the projects.



You can get a free Trello account without entering credit card information.



The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam is based on the contents of the Project Management Body of Knowledge. John P. Muldoon has posted a summary of the PMBOK here, which addresses all 47 covered processes. Here's a rough outline of this summary, the purpose being to give a quick glance at what the field of project management covers.


  1. Develop Project Charter

    1. INPUT: Project Statement of Work

    2. OUTPUT: Project Charter

  2. Stakeholder Management

    1. OUTPUT: Stakeholder register.

  3. Develop Project Management Plan

  4. Project Scope Management

    1. OUTPUT: Requirements documentation and requirements traceability matrix.

  5. Collect Requirements

    1. Conduct interviews and workshops.

  6. Define Scope

  7. Work Breakdown Structure

    1. Divide deliverables into manageable pieces.

  8. Plan Schedule Management

    1. OUTPUT: Schedule Management Plan.

    2. levels of accuracy for activity estimations.

  9. Define Activities

    1. OUTPUT: Activity list and Milestone list.

  10. Sequence Activities

    1. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)

      1. Finish to start - Successor cannot start until predecessor has finished.

      2. Finish to finish - Successor cannot finish until predecessor has finished.

      3. Start to start - Successor cannot start until predecessor has started.

      4. Start to finish - Successor cannot finish until predecessor has started.

  11. Estimate Activity Resources

  12. Estimate Activity Durations

  13. Project Cost Management

  14. Estimate Costs

    1. Begin with Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) ranges that should decrease as more information becomes available.

  15. Determine Budget

    1. The project budget includes the cost baseline (the approved budget) and a management reserve.

  16. Project Quality Management

    1. Quality is the degree to which requirements are met. Grade is the design. Low grade software (with limited functionality) may be of high quality (in that it does not have any defects).

  17. Plan Quality Management

    1. Measured by cost of conformance (to avoid failures) and the cost of nonconformance (money spent because of failures).

  18. Human Resource Management

  19. Plan Communications Management

  20. Risk Management

  21. Identify Risks

  22. Qualitative Risk Analysis

  23. Quantitative Risk Analysis

  24. Procurement Management

    1. Consider fixed price contracts; cost reimbursable contracts; and times and materials contracts.

  25. Stakeholder Management

  26. Integration Management

    1. Corrective action (to re-align work with the plan); preventive action (to maintain work with the plan); defect repair (fix nonconforming product); and updates (changes to plans).

  27. Quality Management - independent audit should be performed.

  28. Direct & Manage Project Work

  29. Perform Quality Assurance

  30. Acquire Project Team

  31. Develop Project Team

  32. Manage Project Team

    1. Avoid conflict

    2. Smooth conflict by emphasizing areas of agreement.

    3. Compromise by getting some satisfaction to all.

    4. Force by pushing your own view point.

    5. Collaborate or problem solve to get consensus.

  33. Manage Communications

  34. Conduct Procurements

  35. Manage Stakeholder Engagement

  36. Monitor & Control Project Work

  37. Perform Integrated Change Control - reviewing all change requests, approving some, managing the change, and communicating those changes.

  38. Control Quality - perform attribute sampling (to see if something is conforming or not); and variable sampling (measure the degree of conformity).

  39. Validate Scope - acceptance of the completed deliverables.

  40. Control Schedule - Is there any deviation from the schedule?

  41. Control Costs -

    1. Track Planned Value (PV), Earned Value (EV) and Actual Cost (AC).

    2. To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) - how much to meet a goal.

  42. Control Communications - meet the information needs of the stakeholders.

  43. Control Risks

  44. Control Procurements

  45. Control Stakeholder Engagement

  46. Close Project or Phase

    1. Note lessons learned.

    2. Release resources

  47. Close Procurements


Note that each stage consists of INPUTS, TOOLS & TECHNIQUES, and OUTPUTS.




Sean O'Shea has more than 20 years of experience in the litigation support field with major law firms in New York and San Francisco.   He is an ACEDS Certified eDiscovery Specialist and a Relativity Certified Administrator.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the owner and do not reflect the views or opinions of the owner’s employer.

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