Before you add any resources or tasks to the schedule, ensure you have some basic defaults set up appropriately so that MS Project works effectively.
- MS Project's default task type is Fixed Units. Change this to either Fixed Duration (recommended since people think in terms of how long it will take) or Fixed Work under File > Options > Schedule since always want to know one or the other for the scheduling calculations to work best. It is also advised to set it to 'Non Effort Driven'
- set up the calendar to reflect statutory holidays and other days when project work will not happen
- ensure the work days are set up with the appropriate number of working hours. The default is 8 which should probably be changed to 7 to reflect a Waterloo work day
- ensure resource availability is reflected in the calendar for individual project resources
- set up the project start date
- create views to see different data points (best practices is to create separate views for entering, editing, reviewing, and analysing the schedule)
- look at the different options available and set up according to how you want to manage your project schedule