Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
A laptop on a site office desk showing a colourful Gantt-chart project schedule, beside a hard hat and rolled drawings — project management run in software.
Unit IVProject Management

Computerised Project Management

MS Project from task to tracking — and BIM as a process.

≈ 40 min + studio task

Nobody runs the forward and backward pass by hand on a real project — software does it instantly. Learn the MS Project workflow: create the project and its calendar, build tasks and links, cost resources, refine and set a baseline, then track actuals and report progress with Earned Value. Then an introduction to BIM — not a 3D model or one piece of software, but a process managing a data-rich model across the building's life, in 4D (time) and 5D (cost).

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to — mapped to the course outcomes for Project Management:

1
CO4 · Understand

Sequence the MS Project workflow from new project to progress reporting.

2
CO4 · Apply

Build tasks, link dependencies, assign costed resources and set a baseline.

3
CO4 · Apply

Track actuals and analyse financial progress with Earned Value.

4
CO4 · Understand

Explain BIM as a lifecycle process and its 4D/5D dimensions.

MS Project workflow

Running it in software

Create the project, build and link tasks, cost the resources, freeze a baseline, then track actuals and read financial progress through Earned Value — the software's value is the fast feedback loop.[1, 3]

The MS Project workflow Create project+ calendar Cost resourcesrates + assign Track actuals% complete Build tasks+ links Baselinefreeze plan Report progressEVM · CPI/SPI The software runs the forward and backward pass instantly — its value is the fast feedback loop. No baseline = nothing to measure actuals against. An un-tracked schedule becomes fiction within weeks.
DiagramThe MS Project workflow — create the project, build tasks, cost resources, baseline, track actuals, report progress

Project, calendar, tasks

Start by CREATING the project — its start date and a WORKING-TIME CALENDAR (which days and hours are workdays). Then BUILD TASKS: enter them, give durations, and LINK them with dependencies (finish-to-start is the default; also start-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-finish), add MILESTONES (zero-duration markers) and group work under SUMMARY tasks — which is the WBS outline made live. The software draws the network and the Gantt and finds the critical path for you.[1, 2]

A process, not a model

An introduction to BIM

BIM is a lifecycle process managing a data-rich model — its objects know their material, cost and quantity; 4D links the schedule and 5D drives the cost, the meeting point of this whole course.[4]

BIM — a process, not a model data-rich model 3D geometry 4D + time 5D + cost 6D energy 7D facility mgmt 4D links the schedule; 5D drives the cost — the natural meeting point of this whole course. BIM is the methodology and the information — Revit and ArchiCAD are tools that do BIM, not BIM itself.
DiagramBIM dimensions — 3D geometry, 4D adds time, 5D adds cost, around a data-rich model

A process, not a model

BIM (Building Information Modelling) is a PROCESS of creating and managing a shared, data-rich DIGITAL MODEL of a building across its whole life. The model is made of intelligent, parametric OBJECTS that carry data — a wall 'knows' its material, fire rating, cost and quantity. MISCONCEPTION→correct: 'BIM is just 3D modelling' / 'BIM = Revit' — BIM is the methodology and the information; a 3D model is only its geometry, and Revit (or ArchiCAD, Tekla) is one software that does BIM, not BIM itself.[4]

3D model vs BIM

At a glance

AspectA 3D modelBIM
Holds3D model: geometry onlyBIM: geometry + data + process
Time—4D BIM: links the schedule
Cost—5D BIM: drives the estimate
Is it software?3D model: a fileBIM: a methodology (Revit etc. are tools)
Progress read byGantt: % completeEVM: CPI / SPI vs baseline
Vocabulary

Key terms

Working calendar

The definition of workdays/hours that turns durations into calendar dates.

Dependency (FS/SS/FF/SF)

The logical link between tasks; finish-to-start is the default.

Baseline

A frozen snapshot of the planned schedule and cost to measure actuals against.

Earned Value (EV)

Budgeted cost of work actually performed — progress expressed in money.

CPI / SPI

Cost / schedule performance index (EV÷AC, EV÷PV); above 1 is good.

BIM

A lifecycle process managing a data-rich building model; 3D–7D dimensions.

Apply it

Studio task

In any free project tool (MS Project, ProjectLibre, or even a spreadsheet), enter the seven-activity network from Unit II, link the dependencies and let it compute the critical path. Then set a baseline, mark Activity B as 50% complete two days late, and note what happens to the finish date. In three sentences, explain why a baseline is what makes tracking meaningful — and why CPI = 0.9 is a warning even if the Gantt looks busy.

Check your understanding

Self-assessment

1. In MS Project, the BASELINE is —

2. A project reports CPI = 0.9. This means it is —

3. BIM is best described as —

In a nutshell

Recap

MS Project workflow: create project + calendar → build & link tasks → cost resources → baseline → track → report.
The baseline is the frozen plan; without it there is nothing to measure actuals against.
Financial progress is read by Earned Value — PV, EV, AC give CV, SV and the CPI/SPI indices.
Spending (AC) is not progress (EV); an un-tracked schedule becomes fiction within weeks.
BIM is a lifecycle process, not a 3D model or one software; 4D adds time, 5D adds cost.
The evidence

References & further reading

  1. [1]Elaine Marmel, Microsoft Project Bible (Wiley) — tasks, dependencies, resources, baseline, tracking, reports.
  2. [2]B.C. Punmia & K.K. Khandelwal, Project Planning and Control with PERT and CPM — computer-aided network analysis.
  3. [3]PMI, Practice Standard for Earned Value Management & PMBOK Guide — PV/EV/AC, CPI/SPI.
  4. [4]Eastman, Teicholz, Sacks & Liston, BIM Handbook (Wiley) — BIM as process, 4D/5D, history.

Further reading

  • Elaine Marmel — Microsoft Project Bible.
  • Eastman, Teicholz, Sacks & Liston — BIM Handbook.
  • B.C. Punmia & K.K. Khandelwal — Project Planning and Control with PERT and CPM.

Sources gathered and fact-checked June 2026. Published values vary by source, sample and method — treat as indicative and confirm against the cited standard before structural use.