Tuesday Brief: This week we're diving deep into Microsoft Project fundamentals that even experienced users often overlook. Discover how the Status field can transform your schedule management, learn a visual trick for tracking project progress, and test your knowledge with our community poll. Plus, reserve your spot for tomorrow's interactive event where we'll uncover 10 common Microsoft Project mistakes and how to fix them.
October 21, 2025
In This Issue:
Featured Article: Are you Leveraging the 'Status' Field in Microsoft Project?
Video Tutorial: Display the Status Date Gridline - with Dale Howard
Community Poll: Most Common MS Project Status Field Trap
Live Event (10/22): 10 Signs You Don't Really Know Microsoft Project - with Rich Weller
PM Best Practices: Align Your Schedule with Reality, Not Hope
Featured Article: Are you Leveraging the 'Status' Field in Microsoft Project?
The Status field is a system-calculated powerhouse that shows whether each task is Complete, On Schedule, Late, or Future Task, yet most project managers never add it to their views. This field automatically evaluates your tasks based on Start date, Finish date, Status date, and % Complete, giving you an instant health check of your entire schedule.
In this article, you'll discover:
How Microsoft Project actually calculates Status (it's more nuanced than you think)
Practical ways to filter and group by Status for focused schedule reviews
Tips and traps to avoid, including the Status date mistake that will make you crazy
Why you should only trust this field at the Task level, not Summary level
This article ties perfectly into our upcoming live event tomorrow (10/22), where we'll explore this and nine other signs you might not be using Microsoft Project to its full potential.
Video Tutorial: Display the Status Date Gridline with Dale Howard
Once you understand the Status field, here's the visual trick that brings it to life. Dale Howard shows you how to display a Status Date gridline in your Gantt chart, something Microsoft Project doesn't show by default. Learn the simple formatting steps to add a red dashed gridline for Status Date.
Bonus: Copy this setting to ALL future projects using the Organizer.
This 6-minute tutorial complements our featured article and gives you a practical takeaway you can implement today, just in time for tomorrow's live event on Microsoft Project best practices.
Community Poll: What do you think is the most common trap when using Microsoft Project's Status field?
Today's featured article calls out several tips and traps when working with the Status field. Based on your experience (or best guess), which mistake do you think trips up project managers most often?
Cast your vote and see how your answer stacks up with other PMs as soon as you submit!
When you encounter a project management roadblock, where do you turn first?
Live Event (10/22): 10 Signs You Don't Really Know Microsoft Project
Think you know Microsoft Project? In this interactive live session, we'll review at least ten different "signs" that you don't really know how to work with the Microsoft Project desktop client, and we'll show you the best practices that fix each one.
What You'll Learn:
Common mistakes that compromise schedule accuracy and how to avoid them
Proper techniques for using Microsoft Project's most powerful (but often misunderstood) features
Best practices for project scheduling software that keep your plans aligned with reality
Live Q&A with practitioner Rich Weller. Bring your toughest questions!
Bonus: We're playing a game of Kahoot based on Microsoft Project best practices. There may even be a prize for the winner!
Why This Matters: The Status field covered in this week's article is just one example of Microsoft Project's hidden capabilities. This event will reveal nine more areas where even experienced users often miss the mark and give you practical frameworks to level up your entire team.
🗓️ Wednesday, October 22 🕛 12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT 📍 Live on Zoom 🏅 1 PMI PDU: 1 Ways of Working
MPUG host live events with leading experts on Wednesdays from 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET! MPUG members get access to live events where you get direct access to industry leaders, actionable insights, hands-on training, and opportunities to earn PDU's.
PM Best Practices: Align Your Schedule with Reality, Not Hope
This week's theme reinforces a fundamental truth: your project schedule should reflect actual progress, not wishful thinking. The Status field, Status Date gridline, and the techniques in this week's live event all serve one purpose...they keep your plan grounded in reality. When you update task progress and Status Dates consistently, you spot problems early enough to fix them. Make schedule accuracy a weekly discipline, not a month-end scramble.
