## Powerful Features

Microsoft Project can quickly consolidate information from many subprojects into a single master schedule. This allows The Weather Channel planners to see all levels of detail for every project related to the move. It also enables planners to distribute their workload among different parties to accomplish the overall project.

Mark McKeen explains that scheduling responsibilities are assigned to departments at the network that have the most appropriate technical expertise. The modular structure of Microsoft Project schedules allows planners to manage large projects by dividing responsibilities among different departments.

The Weather Channel department managers identified 49 different systems involved in the move that required individual transition plans. Each plan was contained in an independent Microsoft Project file that was easily consolidated into the network’s master schedule. For example, the Information Systems Department was responsible for creating the Microsoft Project schedule that coordinated the installation of a telephone system for the new building.

The telephone system schedule includes all tasks and milestones necessary to complete the installation of equipment in the new building. This schedule functions independently of the other schedules but can easily be integrated into the master moving schedule.

Master schedule planners at The Weather Channel can easily upload new Microsoft Project telephone system files into the master schedule to quickly determine whether any single component affects the critical path and might delay the targeted moving date. This process helps avoid a situation where employees move into new offices before the telephone system has been installed.

Each week, all department managers at The Weather Channel meet for an hour and a half to review their individual system schedules and to upload files to the master moving schedule. Microsoft Project quickly updates changes from every system schedule to assess the impact on the overall moving plan.

Microsoft Project has proved to be powerful enough to accommodate all of The Weather Channel’s current needs and more. The network plans to use Microsoft Project in the future to launch a new localization strategy in the U.S. This strategy involves upgrading 6,000 devices around the country that provide local display capability for regional cable television stations. Microsoft Project will also be used to launch new Weather Channel networks around the world.

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