SSI Presentation Professional Training Part 1

SSI Presentation Professional

Overview

Making Timelines on a New PowerPoint Page

Timeline Exercise

Using a Timeline Legend

Timeline Legend Exercise

Importing Tasks, Events and Summaries

Importing Exercise

Adding Items to a Page without Importing

Add New Shapes Exercise

Options for Matching PowerPoint Shapes to Project Items

SSI Presentation Professional

Overview

Structured Solutions Inc.’s Presentation Professional enables users to create Microsoft PowerPoint presentations containing objects (shapes) that are linked to Microsoft Project schedule items (Summaries, Tasks and Milestones). The purpose of this tool is to enable rapid production and efficient maintenance of“to-the-point”, executive level PowerPoint presentations that convey the status and performance of key and critical schedule events and life cycle phases.

Title / File Link
Link to Presentation Pro Class Materials /
Download PowerPoint Add-in (Only if needed)
If you need SSI PPT Pro – go to the link above

Right-click on the file named “SSI-PresentationPro.ppam”
Save the file to c:\ssi_tools\SSI_PresentationPro (or another folder on your system)
Open PowerPoint and add SSI Presentation Pro as a PowerPoint Add-in by selecting File/Options/Add-Ins/PowerPoint Add-Ins/Go
Select Add New on the Add-ins form and brows to the file you saved earlier (SSI-PresentationPro.ppam)

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Right-click on “SSI-PresentationPro.ppam” and save the file to your computer

Click PowerPoint Add-ins and click Add New. Browse to “SSI-PresentationPro.ppam”

Making Timelines on a New PowerPoint Page

When making a new Presentation Professional page in PowerPoint, the first step is to add a timeline to the page. A timeline is shown in calendar increments on the page where each increment represents one month. Each monthly increment is made to scale, meaning that the width of each increment is relative to the number of days in the month.

To add a timeline:

Start PowerPoint and Click the Presentation Pro Icon on the SSI Presentation Pro Menu
Click in the upper right corner of the form to show the timeline tools
Enter Number of Increments
Enter Start date for the first increment
Select Margins and Increment Height in inches
Edit the Month Format if using Monthly increments
Edit the QuarterFormat if using Quarterly increments
Select Vertical Grid options
Click Make Timeline

Timeline Exercise

Practice– On your own

Start Microsoft Project
Click Open Example Project from the SSI Analysis Tools menu or toolbar
Start PowerPoint and Click the Presentation Pro Icon on the SSI Presentation Pro Menu
Click in the upper right corner of the form to show the timeline tools
Notice that the start date for the timeline = the Start Month for the active project
Enter Timeline settings shown in the picture to the right
Click Make Timeline

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Use this control to change the Height of vertical grid lines
Press Make Timeline anytime to make changes
/ So far, the PowerPoint page should look like this

Practice adjusting some of the Timeline settings.
Change settings and press Make Timeline as often as necessary
Tip – If the desired number of increments is not available from the drop-down list, just type the desired number in Increments / Example showing 18Monthly increments, using “mm-yy” as the Month Format, Increment Height = .5

Make the Timeline shown to the right /
End of Practice Exercise

Using a Timeline Legend

Timeline increments inherit the style of the default PowerPoint shape object unless you add a Timeline Legend. Timeline Legend allow you to take control of all attributes of timeline increment shapes.

Here are a few examples created using a Timeline Legend
No Legend – Using PowerPoint default shape styles

Timeline Legend- Simple color and 3D effects)

Timeline Legend (Jerry Garcia)

Adding Legends to a Page
Legends can be added to any page, anywhere on a page

Start PowerPoint and Click the Presentation Pro Icon on the SSI Presentation Pro Menu
Select the tab named Import/Update Setup
Use the drop-down list named Add Legends to a Page to make legend shapes on the current page
Select the Timeline Legend item from the list and Click the Add Legend to Page button
Right-click the Timeline legend shape and select Format Shape

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Legend items appear toward the bottom of the page after clicking Add Legend to Page
Each new page can have its own Timeline Legend item with its own unique styles /

Timeline Legend Exercise

Practice– On your own

Start PowerPoint and Click the Presentation Pro Icon on the SSI Presentation Pro Menu
Select the tab named Import/Update Setup
Use the drop-down list named Add Legends to a Page to make legend shapes on the current page
Select the Timeline Legend item from the list and Click the Add Legend to Page button
Click the Timeline legend item toward the bottom of the page and change the Font color to Red and the Font Size to 16 Point
Right-click the Timeline legend shape and select Format Shape as follows:
Change the Fill color to match the example to the right
Select the Effects Shape Option
Select 3-D Format and use Top bevel Circle format
Click Show Timeline Tools and make a timeline like the one shown to the right

/ Add a Timeline Legend to the current PowerPoint page

Right-click to Format the Timeline Legend Shape

Make Timeline

End of Practice Exercise

Importing Tasks, Events and Summaries

Importing is one of 2 ways to add shapes to a PowerPoint page that link to Microsoft Projects line items.When importing, the user must open a schedule in Microsoft Project and select rows to import to a PowerPoint page.

Import Setup
The 1st and most important step when importing Project rows to a PowerPoint page is to select the Microsoft Project field used to match Project items to PowerPoint Shapes. This key identifier is called the PPT/MSP Shape Matching ID.

Start PowerPoint and Click the Presentation Pro Icon on the SSI Presentation Pro Menu
Click the tab named Import/Update Setup

The PPT/MSP Shape Matching ID is used to code PowerPoint shapes in such a way that they will synchronize with their corresponding Microsoft Project items.
The default PPT to MSP Matching Id is Microsoft Project’s Unique ID but any text field can be selected as well / Import/Update Setup
Controls how PowerPoint Shapes are Matched to MS Project Tasks, Summaries and Milestones

Imported shapes get their Shape text from the Microsoft Project field selected for:

PPT Shape Text on Tasks and Summaries
PPT Shape Text on Zero Duration Milestones
PPT Shape Text on Milestones Showing the Start/Finish of Tasks or Summaries

Import Selected Project Items (as shapes on the current page)

Select one or more rows in a Microsoft Project schedule
Open a PowerPoint presentation and add a timeline to a page that spans the Period of Performance of the Project items selected (Click the Presentation Pro Icon on the SSI Presentation Promenu and click Show Timeline Tools to make a timeline if needed)
Click the tab named Import New Shapes on the Presentation Pro form
Select Shape Styles for Tasks, Milestones and Summaries at the top of the form
Select Inches From Top for Imported Items and Vertical Spacing (inches) for Imported Items
Click Import Selected Project Items
Click Yes when prompted to Update Timeline

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Other options for Imported Shapes include:

Task Shapes Showing Baseline Dates and Another Reference Start/Finish Date of your choice
Milestone Shapes Showing Baseline, Deadline and Another Reference Finish Date of your choice

Importing Exercise

Practice– On your own

In Microsoft Project, click Open Example Project from the SSI Analysis Tools menu or toolbar
Select Rows 3 – 7 and Rows 15 – 17
Start PowerPoint and Click the Presentation Pro Icon on the SSI Presentation Pro Menu
Make a Timeline on the page that spans January 2015 – June 2015
Use the default settings for importing new items
Click Import Selected Project Items

/ Does your result look like this?
It’s ok if your Timeline increments are using different styles as long as it spans the Period of Performance from Jan – Jun 2015

Use the controls on the Tab named Page Setup and Shape Text Tools to make the text on shapes fit neatly to the page
These options allow you to Control the position of text on:
Start Milestones (these are special milestones that mark the Start of one or more tasks)
Zero Duration or Finish Milestones (these are project items that are marked as milestones having zero duration) or special milestones that mark the Finish of one or more tasks
Tasks and Summaries
You can also select a shape on the page and use Bump and Edit Selected Shape to “nudge” the text or the shape in any direction on the page. /
Practice adjusting the position of text on the PowerPoint page. / Use the Text controls to align text on the page. See if you can make your page look like this example

Try changing the Shape Styles for Tasks, Milestones and Summaries
Import more shapes using these Styles / Try a few Shape Styles for Imported Shapes

End of Practice Exercise

Adding Items to a Page without Importing

Adding shapes to a page can also be done manually as long as you take the steps necessary to name and “code” shapes so they match one or more Microsoft Project item.

Use the control named Add New Shape to the PowerPoint page on the Update Existing Shapes tab to add a Task, Summary or Milestone shape to any page

Start PowerPoint and Click the Presentation Pro Icon on the SSI Presentation Pro Menu
Click the tab named Update Existing Shapes
Select a shape type from Add New Shape to the Page and click Add
Added shapes appear toward the bottom of the current page
New shapes are also added to the List of Shapes without PPT/MSP Shape Matching ID(s)

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New Shapes are added to the List of Shapes on the Current Page

Shapes added this way require one or more ID that matches them to Microsoft Project items

Double-click the added shape in the list of shapes to Edit its Shape Text, type and PPT/MSP Shape Matching ID(s)
Add one or more IDs to match from the project. If using more than 1 Id, separate each with a comma (do not use spaces between commas)

/ Double-click to Edit the name, type and, (most importantly) the PPT/MSP Shape Matching ID(s)

Note - Synchronization between PowerPoint Shapes and Microsoft Proejct items is driven by the ID or Text field selected for Project Field Used for PPT/MSP Shape Matching ID on the tab named Import/Update Setup

Add New Shapes Exercise

Practice– On your own

In Microsoft Project, click Open Example Project from the SSI Analysis Tools menu or toolbar
Start PowerPoint and Click the Presentation Pro Icon on the SSI Presentation Pro Menu
Make a Timeline on the page that spans January 2015 – June 2015 (That’s 6 Months or 2 Quarters depending on your timeline increment options)
Use UniqueID for the Project Field Used for PPT/MSP Shape Matching ID on the tab named Import/Update Setup
Add a new Task and Summary and to the page

/ Show Timeline Tools

Make Timeline

Import/Update Setup

Add New Task and Summary

Double-click the Task in the Shape List
Match the Task to one Microsoft Project item – use the unique Id for the task in the example project named “Define System Requirements” (should be located around line 55)

/ Edit the Added Task

Double-click the Summary in the Shape List
Match the Summary to the Microsoft Project items shown below (Note - we’re actually making a “virtual” milestone from several individual project items)
Contract Award Received From Customer (should be UniqueID 2)
Solution Engineering Review (SER) (should be UniqueID 4)
System Definition Review (SDR) (should be UniqueID 5)
Preliminary Design Review (PDR) (should be UniqueID 6)
Critical Design Review (CDR) (should be UniqueID 7)

/ Edit the Added “Virtual” Summary

Click Get Current Dates from the Active Project (using All Project Rows when searching the project)
Move the new task and summary vertically to the top of the page

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Your PowerPoint page should look something like this (your timeline styles may be different – the red dashed line will be shown if you select the option to Add/Update Project Status Line at the bottom of the Import/Update Setup tab)
End of Practice Exercise

Options for Matching PowerPoint Shapes to Project Items

A shape on a PowerPoint page is matched to one or more Microsoft Project rows by the PPT/MSP Shape Matching ID(s)

PPT/MSP Shape Matching Types:

One-to-One: One shape in PowerPoint matches only one row item in Project

Match One-to-One using Microsoft Project's Unique ID
Create a user defined Unique ID and enter that value in a Project Text field (using Text1-30).

One-to-many: One shape in PowerPoint matches two or more row items in Project

Match One-to-Many by entering more than one Project Unique ID in PPT/MSP Shape Matching ID(s) with a comma separating each value
Match One-to-many by entering more than one user defined Unique ID (from a project text field) in PPT/MSP Shape Matching ID(s) with a comma separating each value
Match One-to-many Using a common value in a Project Text field

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