Here are some Microsoft Project Best Practices to follow:

• Always place the Project Summary task at line 0 of your Gantt Chart Entry Table, instead of placing it on line 1. You will need to enable the display of the Project Summary Task via a checkbox on the Format Tab, Show/Hide Group.
• Link Tasks at the detail Task level rather than the Summary Task level.
• Use Automating Task Scheduling as soon as possible to take full advantage of Project’s automatic scheduling engine.
• Do not enter Dates for Start/Finish directly into the Entry Gantt Chart, let Project’s scheduling engine calculate them for you based on duration, linking, and resource availability.
• Enter resources in the Resource Sheet as soon as possible,  you can then pick them from a menu on the Entry Gantt Chart or the Resource assignment, rather than entering them manually into the Entry Gantt Chart risking duplications or misspelled resources.
• Edit the Project Calendar to include all of the company’s working days (such as Monday through Friday) and non-working days (such as weekends and company holidays), and edit individual resource calendars for vacation time specific to a particular resource.
• On the Resource Sheet, use the Group column to enter in which department the resource belongs to assist with filtering and reporting.
• Baseline your project to track Planned vs. Actual values, then use interim baselines to track multiple baselines.
• Create custom filters, tables, views to report data to stakeholders in a custom formats that meet the needs of all stakeholders.
• Use the Organizer tool to copy these custom filters, tables, views, and reports between projects.