![]() ![]() You can enter this information in the Task Details form as mentioned above and shown in Figure A, or you can double-click on any task and see the Task Information dialog box. In this case, you would want Project to adjust Work or Duration to keep the Units values (in this case 50 percent) constant. You might choose Fixed Units if, for example, you’re borrowing resources from a different department and this loan is available only half-time. In this case, Fixed Work might be the best choice, so that changes in units (resource availability to work on your tasks) or duration will not affect the work values. If the duration must remain constant-for example, if your primary consideration is meeting a deadline-then Fixed Duration would be the right choice.īut perhaps your task, or even your whole project, is a bid depending on a certain number of hours. In other words, what is the key element in the equation “Duration = Work/Units”? Click OK, and you’ll see the Work column displayed between the Name field and the Duration field.Īs discussed before (see “ Microsoft Project tutorial: Duration and task types”), Task type will play an important role in how MS Project reacts to changes you make to your plan.įirst, determine what factor drives your tasks. You can also use this dialog box to edit the column’s title, set the alignment of the title and data, and specify the column width. In the Field Name drop-down box, select Work. To display it, right-click on the Duration field in the Gantt Chart view and click on the Insert Column menu item as shown in Figure B. You should note that, by default, this field is not displayed. But what’s important now is entering the most accurate work-hours estimate you can into the Work field of each task. Later, when you assign resources, you’ll determine how many people the job requires. How many work hours will each task take? This number should be the same regardless of whether you have one person or 100 people working on the task. This will be hard at first, because it’s natural to think in terms of how many people you can assign to a certain task. You should make these estimates without thinking about how many resources you have. These estimates will drive much of your work on the project. The next step is to create work estimates for your tasks. Doing so will make your plan easier to read. Use summary tasks to gather your tasks into logical groups. For dates, the summary task dates will be the earliest start date and the latest finish date of its subtasks. For fields such as Work or Cost, the summary task field will show the sum of the subtasks. Summary tasks provide a great way to group tasks together. Now when you select a task in the upper pane, the lower pane will show data that pertains to the selected task.įigure A shows two sets of summary tasks, each with three subtasks. Click into the lower pane and then click View | More Views | Task Details. To access this form, simply click on the Split command on the Windows menu bar. This form can be very helpful when entering your task data. Figure A shows the Task Details form in the lower pane of the Gantt Chart view. MS Project makes it easy to enter your task information by providing forms that you can quickly tab through to enter all the important data. Don’t be afraid to ask around if you’re unsure. This information can be invaluable in creating a good task list. Talk with people who may have done the project before. If you’re entering tasks for a type of project that’s new to you, give yourself more time to research the requirements. If you’re entering tasks for a type of project you’ve done before, you may breeze through this step because you already know what has to be done. There is no hard-and-fast rule for how long this step should take. Many people take this step for granted and hurry though it, but it’s worth your while to give it the time and attention it deserves. In this article, I’ll examine each of the following: Building a plan-defining how you and your resources will achieve your project goals by laying out the tasks-is the heart of your project planning process. Today, I’ll cover how to build a plan in Microsoft Project. You can also read part 3 and part 4 online. ![]() “ Microsoft Project tutorial: Duration and task types” explained Microsoft Project’s core formula and task types. This article is the second of four articles designed to provide an introduction to this popular project management solution. Learn how to make work estimates, create dependencies between tasks, and more. In part two of our Microsoft Project series, we show you how to build your project management plan. Microsoft Project tutorial: Building your plan ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |