5. Working with Project and VisioMost of the time, your work with Project and Visio revolves around visual reports, which send Project data to Visio pivot diagrams to dynamically display project information. You can also turn to Visio to
produce simpler pictures of your project, akin to the weather maps you
see on television compared to the ones that meteorologists analyze.
Project's Timeline view and Gantt Chart formatting options go a long way toward creating presentation-quality graphics of your
project. However, if you can't get Project's views to look the way you
want, try Visio's Schedule template category, which includes templates for Gantt Charts, timelines, PERT Charts, and calendars: Gantt Chart.
A Visio Gantt Chart can make task bars look more interesting, and weed
out the details that executive audiences don't want to see. Although
most project managers build even the quickest and dirtiest schedules in
Project, you can export any information created in Visio Gantt Charts to
set up a Project schedule. Timeline.
Project 2010 stole Visio's thunder by introducing its own timeline
view. Now you can produce high-level project views of tasks and
milestones along a horizontal bar in Project or Visio. However, if you
want to produce a vertical timeline of your project, your only choice is
Visio's Timeline template.
Tip: Although
Visio includes a PERT Chart template, you're better off using the
Project Network Diagram view to show PERT boxes. That way, the tasks are
available for other views as well. The Visio PERT Chart template
doesn't import or export data automatically, so it's difficult to
display Project data with this type of drawing.
Because data
exchange between Visio and Project takes place in Visio, this section
switches the meaning of import and export from previous sections. In
Visio, import means bringing Project data into a Visio drawing, whereas
export means creating a Project file from Visio data. Every
shape on a Visio Gantt Chart or timeline drawing has its own sets of
options, so you can make the drawing look just the way you want. To
learn more about working with Visio schedule drawings, refer to the Visio 2007 Bible by Bonnie Biafore (Wiley). 5.1. Displaying Project data in a Visio Gantt ChartA Project Gantt Chart can show a project summary, but it often contains too much information
for most reports and presentations. Visio Gantt Charts are simpler
renditions of their Project cousins, so they may be more suitable for
audiences less versed in project management. Project doesn't include the tools for pushing its data to Visio. Importing Project data into a Visio Gantt Chart takes place within Visio. Here's how to do it: In Visio, open an existing Gantt Chart drawing or create a new one. To
create a Visio Gantt Chart, choose File→New→Schedule and then
double-click Gantt Chart. In the Gantt Chart Options dialog box that
appears, click OK to accept the settings as they are. You can modify
them after you've imported your Project data. Choose Gantt Chart→Manage→Import Data. The Import
Project Data Wizard starts. As a refreshing change, this wizard gets
right to business with options on the very first page. On the first page, select the "Information that's already stored in a file" option, and then click Next. Despite the wizard's name, you can actually import data from Excel spreadsheets and text files, as well as Project .mpp and .mpx (an older exchange format) files. On the "Select the format of your project data" page, leave Microsoft Project File selected, and then click Next. To import from a different type of file, choose the format in the list. On the "Select the file containing existing project schedule data" page, open the file you want to import, and then click Next. On
the page, click Browse. In the Import Project Data Wizard dialog box
that appears, find and select the file you want to import, and then
click Open. Back on the wizard page, you see the path and filename
filled in. On
the timescale page, choose the major and minor timescale units, as well
as the time units you use to enter duration. Click Next. Less
robust than the timescale units in Project, Visio timescale units are
days, weeks, months, quarters, and years. The duration units come in
several variations. For whole numbers, you can choose Weeks, Days, or
Hours. To show fractional values, choose Days Hours, Weeks Days, or
Weeks Hours. Clicking the
Advanced button opens a dialog box in which you can specify the shapes
for the Gantt Chart. However, changing the shapes once the drawing is
complete makes it easier to see whether the results are what you want. On the "Select tasks to include" page, select the category of tasks you want to import, and then click Next. Initially, All is selected, which brings in every task in your Project
file. Typically, one of the other selections is more appropriate. "Top
level tasks only" shows only the highest-level tasks. "Milestones only"
shows milestones without any other tasks. "Summary tasks only" includes
all levels of summary tasks so only the work package tasks are
eliminated. "Top level tasks and milestones" is a great summary with the
highest-level tasks and all milestones.
Note: Project tasks with 0 duration come in as milestones. Visio turns tasks designated as milestones that have a duration other than 0 into milestones with 0 duration.
On the last page, review the import properties you've chosen and click Finish. Visio creates a new Gantt Chart from the imported data, as shown in Figure 7. If you import into an existing drawing, Visio creates a new page and then adds the imported Gantt Chart to it. To change any import settings, click Back until the appropriate page appears, and then make the changes you want. 
To change the appearance of the Visio Gantt Chart, choose Gantt Chart→Manage→Chart Options. The
Gantt Chart Options dialog box has the same options the wizard presents
when you click the Advanced button. Change the timescale dates, the
duration units, and timescale units. The Format tab lets you choose
shapes for task bars, summary bars, and milestones, as well as what the
bar labels show.
5.2. Displaying Project data in a Visio timelineTimelines
are a great way to show when important events occur and how long phases
last. Now that Project can produce a timeline, you may not need to
import project data into a Visio timeline drawing. However, Visio's
timeline tools simplify importing different types of tasks: all tasks in
the project or just top-level tasks, summary tasks, and milestones. To
import information from Microsoft Project into a Visio timeline, follow these steps: Make sure the Project file you want to import isn't open in Project. The Import Timeline Wizard can't read a file that's already open. In Visio, open an existing timeline drawing or create a new one. To
create a Visio Gantt Chart, choose File→New→Schedule and double-click
Timeline. Visio creates a new drawing and adds the Timeline tab to the
Visio ribbon. Choose Timeline→Timeline→Import Data. The Import Timeline Wizard starts. If
you don't see Import Data on the Timeline menu, then Microsoft Project
isn't installed on your computer. Unlike the wizard for importing data
to a Visio Gantt Chart, the Import Timeline Wizard works only with
Project files. On the "Select a Microsoft Project file to import" page, open the file you want to import and then click Next. On
the page, click Browse. In the Import Timeline Wizard dialog box that
appears, find and select the file you want to import (it must be a
Project .mpp file), and then click Open. Back on the wizard page, the path and filename appear in the box. On the "Select task types to include" page, select the category of tasks you want to import, and then click Next. Initially,
All is selected, which brings in every task in your Project file.
Typically, "Top level tasks and milestones" is best for a summary of the
highest-level tasks and all milestones. "Top level tasks only" shows
only the highest-level tasks. "Milestones only" shows milestones without
any other tasks. "Summary tasks only" includes all levels of summary
tasks so only the work package tasks are eliminated. Project tasks with 0
duration import as milestones. On
the "Select shapes for your Visio timeline" page, review the shapes for
the timeline, and choose different shapes if you want. Click Next. The
timeline shape spans the dates for the full project schedule. Project
summary tasks become Interval shapes in Visio, and Project milestones
morph into Milestone shapes. On the last page, review the import properties you've chosen, and then click Finish. Visio creates a new timeline from the imported data, as shown in Figure 8. If you import into an existing drawing, then Visio creates a new page and then adds the imported timeline to it. To
change any aspect of the import, click Back until you reach the
appropriate page, change the settings you want, and then click Finish. 
To
change the appearance of the Visio timeline, right-click the shape you
want to change and choose one of the commands from the shortcut menu. To
change the time period for the timeline, right-click a timeline shape,
and then choose Configure Timeline. You can also choose whether or not
to show dates on the timeline. To modify milestones or intervals,
right-click the shape and choose Configure Milestone or Configure
Interval. Changing the
shape of an element is as simple as right-clicking it, and then, on the
shortcut menu, choosing Set Timeline Type, Set Interval Type, or Set
Milestone Type.
5.3. Exporting Visio Gantt Charts to ProjectSuppose you used a Visio Gantt Chart to present a project proposal to the management team for their approval. The information
in the Gantt Chart isn't much, but you can export it to Project to
jump-start your schedule. The tasks in a Visio Gantt Chart turn into
tasks in Project with start dates, finish dates, and durations.
Similarly, milestones in a Visio Gantt Chart become milestones in
Project. To export a Visio Gantt Chart to Project, follow these steps: In Visio, open the Gantt Chart drawing you want to export and select the Gantt Chart frame. Clicking
within a Visio Gantt Chart selects individual task bars or task name
text boxes, which are subshapes within the Gantt Chart frame. To select
the frame, click the very edge of the Gantt Chart. You can tell you've
succeeded when selection handles appear at the frame corners and the
midpoints along each side. Choose Gantt Chart→Manage→Export. The Export Project Data Wizard starts. On the "Export my project data into the following format" page, select Microsoft Project File and click Next. You can also export to Excel files, text files, and Project .mpx files (an older Microsoft exchange format). However, you might as well export directly to Project. On
the "Specify the file to enter project schedule data" page, click
Browse and open the folder in which you want to save the exported
project file. The
Export Project Data Wizard dialog box opens. Navigate on your computer
or network to the folder you want. Although this page's title sounds
like you're supposed to select ("specify") a file, you actually create a
new one. In this step, you simply select the folder in which you want
to save the new file. (If you select an existing file, Project asks if
you want to replace it.) In the "File name" box, type the name for the new Project file and click Save. The dialog box closes and returns to the wizard. Click Next. The last wizard screen shows that you're exporting a Gantt Chart, and it specifies the file you're creating. Click Finish. A message appears to tell you that the data exported. Click OK. Open the file in Project. You're
ready to build a real schedule starting with the data that you exported
from the Visio Gantt Chart. For example, you still must create task
dependencies between the tasks and assign resources.
5.4. Exporting Visio timelines to ProjectYou
can also export Visio timeline data to Project. Intervals from a Visio
timeline turn into tasks in Project with start dates, finish dates, and
durations. Milestones in Visio become milestones in Project. The Visio
timeline shape also turns into a task with start, finish, and duration. To export a Visio timeline to Project, follow these steps: In Visio, open the timeline file and select the timeline shape. Select the timeline shape by clicking anywhere inside it. Choose Timeline→Timeline→Export Data. The Export Timeline Data dialog box opens. You can navigate on your computer or network to find the folder you want. In the "File name" box, type a name for the new Project file and click Save. The
"Save as type" box is set to Microsoft Project File. When you click
Save, a message tells you that the data exported successfully. Click OK. Open the Project file you created in Project. The
timeline data turns into manually scheduled tasks in Project. After you
create task dependencies between tasks in Project, you can switch these
tasks to auto-scheduled so Project can do its job.
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