What Is Microsoft Project in Project Management? Uses, Features and Pricing (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025

Microsoft Project as a program is used to manage project planning, project scheduling, and project control to enhance organizational success. Examples are; defining the tasks and sub-tasks, and assigning the resources, time and costs it must have features such as the Gantt chart to ensure every project runs smoothly. No matter whether you are trying to track daily tasks or report on major projects, Microsoft Project gives the features you require to improve the work and get the results. Learn about its main components and purpose, benefits, and cost to discover how it will change your outlook on project management!

Table of Content

• What is Microsoft Project in Project Management?
• Microsoft Project Views
• Microsoft Project Features
• Plans and Pricing
  • Cloud-Based Plans (Subscription-Based)
  • On-Premises Plans (One-Time Purchase)
• Pros of Microsoft Project
• Cons of Microsoft Project
• Conclusion
• FAQs

What is Microsoft Project in Project Management?

**Microsoft Project is a strong project management tool produced by Microsoft to help project managers direct different phases of a project. It offers features that help develop complex project schedules, identify work breakdown structures, set and distribute tasks, and monitor timelines and costs. The software also allows the project manager to subdivide the projects into tasks, assign deadlines, and assess the employee’s productivity. **Microsoft Project also provides for a more complicated work schedule when planning a project and enables teams to work together to successfully achieve the overall aim of the project.

Microsoft Project Views

Here are the following views of Microsoft Project

1. Gantt Chart View:

• **Description: One of the most popular views of **Microsoft Project, it provides a graphical presentation of tasks in the form of a bar placed on a linear time scale displaying the task’s duration and its start and finish dates and it shows the dependency of one task upon the other.
• **Use Case: Practical for project scheduling, monitoring of task interconnection and other project timeline issues.

2. Task Sheet View:

• **Description: A table format view that shows all the tasks as rows and columns with several details of the particular task such as the start date & finish date for the task as well as its duration and resource allocation.
• **Use Case: To track the workload in a detailed manner and to add or modify task information in large numbers.

3. Resource Sheet View:

• **Description: Shows all resources linked with the project (for example, people, equipment, materials) and data concerning their availability, cost and assignments.
• **Use Case: Essential in the organization and distribution of resources in the project.

4. Calendar View:

• **Description: Besides implementing the task as the regular calendar which enables the client to see the time during which the particular task is planned to be worked on and completed daily.
• **Use Case: Especially useful in scenarios where a person has to manage specific dates and deadlines for particular tasks.

5. Network Diagram View:

• **Description: Written in a flowchart form which shows the correlation of tasks and their order of execution and interrelation.
• **Use Case: Helps the analysis of the flow of operations in the project as well as the potential of having some of the activities act as constraints.

6. Timeline View:

• **Description: Offers an overview of the project in terms of dates, with a set of tabulated activities and focal points on the horizontal line.
• **Use Case: Well-suitable for preparing summaries of the project findings as well as presenting senior management with a glimpse of the timeline.

7. Tracking Gantt View:

• **Description: Comparable to the Gantt Chart View but has the option of extra bars that present baseline and actual views on the comparison of planned and actual performance of the project.
• **Use Case: Perfect for overseeing project activity and assessing whether or not it is on track or not.

8. Resource Usage View:

• **Description: Describes where and how every resource is utilized throughout the tasks, such as work hours, assignments, and availability.
• **Use Case: Useful for balancing workloads and checking that there are no over or under-use of resources in an organization.

9. Task Usage View:

• **Description: Task breakdown with resources to the right of it showing the amount of progress made and progress planned on every task.
• **Use Case: Assists in the definition and monitoring of tasks and helps in managing the work of resources at a task level.

Microsoft Project Features

Here are the following features of Microsoft Project:

Microsoft Project Features

• **Task Management: Enables one to set and allocate tasks besides tracking completion as it can capture and map every process of the project.
• **Resource Allocation: Enables the planning and control of utilization of such resources such as people and equipment on the tasks.
• **Gantt Charts: Helps in creating timelines and plans of the project and the related tasks which are presented in the case of Gantt charts.
• **Project Tracking****:** It provides a means for monitoring the work on the tasks and in general, using which a manager is capable of comparing the actual and the planned timelines.
• **Budget Management: Aids in establishing project expenditures and tracking the costs of the project thus assisting in controlling the cost of the project.
• **Reporting and Analytics: Offers flexible reporting interfaces and nice-looking and informative dashboards that will allow the project stakeholders to monitor and manage the project based on the obtained data.
• **Collaboration Tools: It allows for integration with other Office 365 tools such as Microsoft Teams by which team members communicate and work together within the context of the project.
• **Risk Management: Provides tools for identifying, evaluating and managing project risks to enable the project manager to plan for controls should there be any hitches along the project implementation process.

Plans and Pricing

Microsoft Project has various plans and its price depends on the user requirements from simple users to an organization. This includes the general pricing model where they come up with three main strategic plans for subscriptions on a cloud while offering a perpetual license for on-premise use. Here’s a breakdown of the plans and pricing:

Cloud-Based Plans (Subscription-Based)

Project Plan 1:

• **Price: $10 per user per month; annual subscription.

Features:

• Microsoft Project access through the Internet.
• Tools for basic project management, such as in the area of tasks and timelines.
• Possibility of creating and controlling simple projects.
• Integration with Microsoft Teams.
• Collaboration features for task management.

Project Plan 3:

• **Price: monthly fee of $30 per user which is paid on an annual basis.

Features:

• Everything in Plan 1, plus: Everything in Plan 1, plus:
• Enhanced production planning and scheduling.
• Resource management tools.
• Availability of the Project Online Desktop Client.
• Larger and more comprehensive projects can be handled with efficiency.
• Reporting and timesheet submission.

Project Plan 5:

• **Price: $55 per user per month, but more favourable if paid per year.

Features:

• Everything in Plan 3, plus:
• Portfolio management and project selection process that is enhanced.
• Demand management capabilities.
• Data analysis and data mining tools.
• These include resource and capacity management tools.
• More collaboration and communication improvements.

On-Premises Plans (One-Time Purchase)

Project Standard 2021:

• **Price: Approximately $679. 99 (one-time purchase).

Features:

• Core project management features.
• Brief planning of the tasks, timeframes, and available resources.
• Gantt charts and project schedules of patients.
• Ideally designed for single users or project-based organizations that do not have complex project scheduling requirements.

Project Professional 2021:

• **Price: Approximately $1,129. 99 (one-time purchase).

Features:

• Everything in Project Standard, plus: Everything in Project Standard, plus:
• Advanced project management features.
• Integration with such services as SharePoint, Teams and the presence of collaboration tools.
• This involved focusing on the management of resources at the firm as well as the distribution of tasks between employees and departments.
• Recommended for bigger groups or for more extensive work to be done.

Pros of Microsoft Project

Here are the Pros of Microsoft Project:

• **Comprehensive Toolset: It has several options for structuring and managing workflow, timeline, resources and progress which makes it ideal for both elaborate and large projects.
• **Gantt Chart Visualization: Offers detailed Gantt charts used to illustrate pertinent timelines of projects, dependencies and progress hence enhancing cohesion in project management.
• **Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem: Integrates well with other Microsoft products such as Excel, Teams and SharePoint where it improves inter-team cooperation and sharing of data.
• **Customizable Reports: Enables the creation of unique reports as per the requirements of the project that can assist stakeholders to have something like an understanding of project status.
• **Scalability: Meant for handling simple projects as well as complex big projects as many big enterprises do, it is useful for all types of organizations.
• **Resource Management: Provides an effective framework in terms of resource control, which allows for its proper distribution among people, equipment, etc.
• **Risk and Budget Management: It has features for managing the risks and costs of the projects to ensure they can be effectively controlled in terms of scope and budget.

Cons of Microsoft Project

Here are the Pros of Microsoft Project:

• **Steep Learning Curve: An essential drawback of the software is that it may be cumbersome to use especially for the first time, and mastering the software requires both time and practice.
• **Cost: The disadvantage of using Microsoft Project is that it may sometimes be very costly, for individuals or an organization especially if it is a small business then they will have to subscribe or buy a license.
• **Overwhelming for Small Projects: These elaborate facets may be suitable for larger projects when in fact they might complicate its simplicity when used on small projects.
• **Limited Collaboration Features: It can connect with other Microsoft tools, but its collaboration tools are not as polished as many of the other current project management tools.
• **Resource-Intensive: Microsoft Project has a feature of consuming large amounts of system resources hence bringing down performance on computers with lower processing power.
• **Lack of Real-Time Updates: While in some cloud-based project management tools one can do real-time updates, Microsoft Project may not have as much of this freedom thus making communication to be slowed down.
• **Customization Limitations: Still, customization might be an issue for some users because they cannot tailor everything in the context of the interface and possible actions.

Related Articles:

• What Is Project Management Software?
• What is Project Management System?
• What is Project Management? Definition, Concepts
• Project Management Tutorial for 2024
• What is Time Management in Project Management?

Conclusion

In conclusion, Microsoft Project is a professional and functional software capable of meeting the needs of diversified project managers who have to solve simple assignments or can work on large-scale complicated projects. It supports detailed planning and management of tasks, resources, Gantt charts, and risks; it increases project performance. There are different windows available in the software and there are different reporting options available that can be customized according to the usage. On the other hand, it is complex and may involve high costs in its implementation, yet for organizations intending to get into the Microsoft realm and accessibility in the projects, it is a worthy bonus.