99 Tricks and Traps for Microsoft Office Project 2013 and 2016projanco.com/Library/99 Tricks and...
Transcript of 99 Tricks and Traps for Microsoft Office Project 2013 and 2016projanco.com/Library/99 Tricks and...
99TricksandTraps
for
Microsoft®Project
2013and2016TheCasualUser’s“SurvivalGuide”
By
PaulEHarris
of
EastwoodHarrisPtyLtd
©Copyright2016byEastwoodHarrisPtyLtd.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedorusedinanyformorbyanymethodwithoutthewrittenpermissionoftheauthor.
Windows,XP,Microsoft®Project2000,Microsoft®ProjectStandard2003,Microsoft®P33rojectProfessional2003,Microsoft®ProjectStandard2007,Microsoft®ProjectProfessional2007,Microsoft®ProjectStandard2010,Microsoft®ProjectProfessional2010,Microsoft®ProjectStandard2013,Microsoft®ProjectProfessional2013,Microsoft®ProjectStandard2016,Microsoft®ProjectProfessional2016,PowerPoint,Word,VisioandExcelareregisteredtrademarksofMicrosoftCorporation.
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ScreencaptureswerereprintedwithauthorizationfromMicrosoftCorporation.
ThispublicationwascreatedbyEastwoodHarrisPtyLtdandisnotaproductofMicrosoftCorporation.
DISCLAIMER
Theinformationcontainedinthisbookistothebestoftheauthor’sknowledgetrueandcorrect.Theauthorhasmadeeveryefforttoensureaccuracyofthispublication,butcannotbeheldresponsibleforanylossordamagearisingfromanyinformationinthisbook.
AUTHORANDPUBLISHER
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Pleasesendanycommentsonthispublicationtotheauthor.
IwouldliketothankJesicaPaulaYaboforherassistanceinupdatingthisbookfromMicrosoftProject2007andMartinVaughnforproofreadingandvaluablesuggestions.
ISBN:978-1-925185-33-1Paperback
ISBN:978-1-925185-34-8eBook
25February2016
CURRENTBOOKSPUBLISHEDBYEASTWOODHARRIS
99TricksandTrapsforMicrosoftOfficeProject-IncludingMicrosoftProject2000to2007
PlanningUsingPrimaveraProjectPlannerP3Version3.1-Revised2006
PlanningUsingPrimaveraSureTrakProjectManagerVersion3.0-Revised2006
ProjectPlanningandSchedulingUsingPrimaveraContractorVersion6.1-IncludingVersions4.1,5.0and6.1
PlanningandSchedulingUsingMicrosoftOfficeProject2007-IncludingMicrosoftProject2000to2003-Revised2009
PlanningandControlUsingMicrosoftProjectandPMBOK®GuideFourthEdition
PlanningandControlUsingMicrosoftProject2010andPMBOK®GuideFourthEdition
ProjectPlanning&ControlUsingPrimaveraP6Version7-ForallindustriesincludingVersions4to7Updated2012
PlanningandSchedulingUsingMicrosoftProject2010-Updated2013IncludingRevisedWorkshops
PlanningandControlUsingMicrosoftProject2010&PMBOK®GuideFifthEdition
PlanningandControlUsingMicrosoftProject2013
PlanningandControlUsingMicrosoftProject2013&PMBOK®GuideFifthEdition
PlanningandControlUsingMicrosoftProject2013
PlanningandControlUsingMicrosoftProject2013or2016&PMBOK®GuideFifthEdition
PlanningandControlUsingOraclePrimaveraP6-Versions8.2&8.3EPPMWeb
99TricksandTrapsforMicrosoftProject2013and2016
OraclePrimaveraP6Version8and15EPPMWebAdministratorsGuide
PlanningandControlUsingOraclePrimaveraP6Versions8.1to15.2PPMProfessional
PlanificaciónyControlUsandoOraclePrimaveraP6Versiones8.1a15.1PPMProfesional
规划和控制OraclePrimaveraP6应用版本8.1-15.1PPM专业版
PlanningandControlUsingOraclePrimaveraP6-Versions8.2to15.1EPPMWeb
SERVICESOFFEREDBYEASTWOODHARRISPTYLTD
EastwoodHarrisspecializesinsettingupandrunningprojectcontrolssystemswithafocusonPrimaveraSystemsandMicrosoftProjectsoftware;weofferthefollowingservices:
ProjectPlanningandSchedulingTrainingCoursesusingOraclePrimaveraP6andMicrosoftOfficeProject
EastwoodHarrisoffersone-to-onetrainingtogetyournewschedulersupandrunningquickly,withoutthedelayofwaitingforthenextcourseandatthesametimebuildingupyourownprojectschedule.
Wealsorunin-housetrainingcoursesonanyofthesesoftwarepackages.Thisisaverycostefficientmethodoftrainingyourpersonnel.
Weareabletoassistyouinsettingupaschedulingenvironment.Thisincludesdesigningcodingstructures,writingprocedures,trainingandotherimplementationprocesses.
EastwoodHarriscanwritespecializedtrainingmaterialthatwillincorporateyourorganization’smethodologyintotheEastwoodHarristrainingmanualsanddevelopstudentworkshopstailoredtoyourrequirements.Projectpersonnelwillbeabletousethesebooksasreferencebooksafterthecourse.
SelectionandImplementationofProjectManagementSystems
EastwoodHarriswillassistyoubyconductinganinternalreviewofyourrequirementsandmatchthisrequirementanalysisagainstthefunctionalityofpackagedsoftware.
Wearethenabletoassistyouintheimplementationofthesesystems,includingwritingpoliciesandproceduresandtrainingpersonnel,toensureasmoothtransitiontoyournewsystem.
DisputeResolution
EastwoodHarrisisabletoanalyzeyoursubcontractor’sschedulesintheeventofclaimsandprovideyouwithaclearpictureofthescheduleinrelationtotheclaim.
ScheduleConversion
EastwoodHarrisisabletoconvertyourschedulesfromonesoftwarepackagetoanother.Theconversionofschedulesisoftentimeconsuming,soletusdoitforyou.
Pleasecontacttheauthorformoreinformationontheseservices.
TABLEOFCONTENTS
1 IMPORTANTTHINGS
1.1 The“Delete”Key
1.2 TypingaDateorDraggingaTaskSetsaConstraint!
1.3 IndicatorsColumn
1.4 WhyAreTasksScheduledbeforethePredecessors?
1.4.1 UnderstandingtheActualStartDate
1.4.2 TasksWillAlwaysHonorTheirConstraintDates
1.5 TheProjectWillNotOpen!
1.6 TheLogicKeepsChanging!
1.7 WhyDoNewTasksHaveanEarlyStartConstraint?
1.8 RecommendedScheduleOptions
1.9 ManuallyScheduledandAutoScheduledTasks
1.10 SortingouttheMenus
2 CALENDARSURVIVALGUIDE
2.1 RoleoftheProjectCalendar
2.2 GuidelinesforCreatingCalendars
2.3 DisplayofDurationinDays
2.4 HowtoAssignTaskCalendars
2.5 OtherThingsTaskCalendarsAffect
2.5.1 Float
2.5.2 Lags
2.6 ResourceCalendars
2.7 WhichCalendaristheTaskUsing?
2.8 DefaultStartandEndTime
2.9 FinishVarianceCalculation
3 TRICKYSTUFF
3.1 TaskNamingIssues
3.2 TaskSplitting
3.2.1 WhatisSplitting?
3.2.2 SplittingaTaskManually
3.2.3 SplittingIn-progressTasks
3.2.4 RemovingaBarSplit
3.2.5 HidingaBarSplit
3.3 DeadlineDate
3.4 NegativeandFreeFloatBars
3.5 WhereistheGantChartWizard?
3.6 AsLateAsPossibleConstraint
4 INTERESTINGFEATURES
4.1 WildcardFiltersforTextSearching
4.2 InteractiveFilters
4.3 AutoFilters
4.4 SelectingDates
4.5 UnderstandingStartandFinishMilestones
4.6 ConvertingaFinishMilestoneintoaStartMilestone
4.7 CreatingaHammockoraLEOTask
4.8 ElapsedDurations,LeadsandLags
4.8.1 ElapsedDurations
4.8.2 FloatonTaskswithElapsedDurations
4.8.3 ElapsedLeadsandLags
4.9 EstablishingTwoRelationshipsbetweenTwoTasks
4.10 Ladderscheduling
4.11 %Lags
4.12 TracingLogic
4.12.1 TaskDriversandTaskInspector
4.12.2 TracingtheLogic
4.12.3 TaskPath
5 MAKINGITLOOKRIGHT
5.1 DateFormatDangers
5.2 PreventingtheDateFormatfromChangingonOtherComputers
5.3 TheSmartWaytoCreateViews
5.4 BarFormatting
5.4.1 BarDateFormat
5.4.2 BarHeights
5.4.3 AlwaysRollUpGanttBars
5.4.4 RoundBarstoWholeDays
5.5 PuttingTextonBars
5.6 FormatColors
5.7 HowtoStopTextWrapping
5.8 DisplayTaskswithoutSuccessorsasCritical
5.9 PreventingDescriptionsfromIndenting
5.10 ReducingColumnWidths
5.11 HowtoDisplayaTaskIDthatWillNotChange
5.12 HidingTaskInformation
5.12.1 HidingBars
5.12.2 HidingText
5.12.3 MarkingTasksInactive
5.13 AnchoraVerticalLinetoaMilestone
5.14 ZoomSliderDangers
5.15 WhyistheNon-workingTimeDisplayedIncorrectly?
5.16 DisplayinganS-Curve
5.17 DisplayingCumulativeHistogram
5.18 DisplayingaProjectSummaryTask
6 GETTINGITOUT-PRINTING
6.1 PrintingtoOnePageWide
6.2 PrintingaDateRange
6.3 PrintingaGanttChartandResourceGraphorUsageTableonOnePage
6.4 PrintingtheCalendar
6.5 HidingUnwantedBarsintheLegend
6.6 WhathasHappenedtotheManualPageBreaks?
7 RESOURCEBASICS
7.1 HowManyResourcesShouldIHave?
7.2 TheBalanceBetweentheNumberofActivitiesandResources
7.3 DurationsandAssignmentsChangeasResourcesareAssigned
7.3.1 TaskType–FixedDuration,FixedUnits,FixedWork
7.3.2 EffortdrivenorNonEffortdriven?
7.3.3 TaskTypeandEffortdrivenOptions
7.4 AssigningResourcestoTasks
7.5 ResourcesandSummaryTasks
8 UPDATINGESSENTIALS
8.1 BaselinesandUpdatingaProject
8.2 WhichBaselineShouldBeUsed?
8.3 PrinciplesofUpdatingaProgram
8.4 In-progressTaskFinishDateCalculation
8.5 CurrentDateandStatusDate
8.6 AutoUpdatingUsingUpdateProject
8.7 MovingIncompleteWorkintotheFuturebySplitting
8.8 WhereistheTrackingToolbar?
8.9 WhyDoCalculationOptions–MoveendofcompletedpartsNotWork?
8.10 ComparingProgresswithBaseline
8.11 ProgressLines
8.12 SimpleProcedureforUpdatingaSchedule–UsingAutoStatus
8.13 ProcedureforDetailedUpdating
8.14 PreparingtoUpdatewithResources
8.15 UpdatingResources
9 CREATINGNEWPROJECTS
9.1 StandardizingProjects
9.2 Global.mpt
9.3 MicrosoftProjectTemplateChanges
9.4 UnderstandingTemplates
9.5 EastwoodHarrisTemplate
9.6 CopyingViews,TablesandFilters
10 OTHERTHINGSOFINTEREST
10.1 EditingToolBars
10.2 DynamicallyLinkingCells
10.3 HowDoesNegativeFloatCalculateforSummaryActivities?
10.4 FloatandConstraints
10.5 UsingCustomFields
10.6 CustomColumnsFormulasandDrop-DownList
10.7 CustomOutlineCodes
10.7.1 DefineaCustomOutlineCodeStructure
10.7.2 AssigningtheCustomCodes
10.7.3 GroupingwithCustomData
10.7.4 GroupingwithCustomDatawithAutoFilters
10.8 ExportingtoExcel
10.9 TurningOffGettingStartedandotherPOPups
10.10 ContingentTime
10.11 EarnedValue
10.12 DoIHaveAlltheScope?
10.12.1 StakeholderAnalysis
10.12.2 RiskAnalysis
10.13 PreparingforDisputeResolution
10.13.1 KeepingElectronicCopiesofEachUpdate
10.13.2 ClearlyRecordtheEffectofEachChange
11 INDEX
1IMPORTANTTHINGSReadersofthisbookshouldbefamiliarwith:
❖ ThebasicfunctionsofMicrosoftProjectand
❖ ThetheoryofCriticalPathincludingEarlydates,LatedatesandFloatcalculations.MicrosoftProjectusesSlackfortermFloat.
MicrosoftProjecthasfunctionsthatcatchoutusers.Youshouldunderstandthesefunctionsandbeabletoidentifywhentheyhavebeenusedinadvertently.
1.1The“Delete”KeyStrikingthedeletekeywilldeletedatawithoutwarning.Sokeepyourfingersawayfromit.ItisrecommendedthatyouplacetheTasksIDinthedescriptionofthelasttasksoyouknowifyouhavedeletedataskinerror.
1.2TypingaDateorDraggingaTaskSetsaConstraint!Functionsthatsetaconstraintwithoutwarningare:
❖ TypingorselectingastartdateinaStartdatefieldwillsetaStartNoEarlierThanconstraint
❖ TypingorselectingafinishdateinaFinishdatefieldwillsetaFinishNoEarlierThanconstraint
❖ DraggingabarintheGanttChartViewwillsetaStartNoEarlierThanconstraint
Note:Youneedtobeverycarefulwhendraggingtasksortypingintodatefieldsasthiswillsetaconstraintandthetaskswillnotmoveforwardintimewhenpredecessorsareremovedorfinishedearlier.
1.3IndicatorsColumnTheIndicatorscolumnisaveryusefulfeaturethatidentifieswhenataskhasanattributethatisdifferentfromanormaltaskwhichhasbeencreatedbyinsertinganewtask.TheindicatorscolumnwilldisplayaConstrainticonwhenaconstrainthasbeenset:
❖ BeforeenteringadateinaStartorFinishfieldorDraggingaTask,theindicatorcolumnisblank:
❖ AfterenteringadateinaStartorFinishfieldorDraggingaTask,aconstraintisset.TherenowisaConstraintindicatorintheIndicatorcolumn:
❖ Anoteisdisplayedwhentheindicatorfieldhasthemousepointerplacedovertheindicatorcell:
❖ TheindicatorcolumnshowsadifferenticonwhentaskshaveNotes,TaskCalendaroraConstraintconflictcausingNegativeFloat(Slack):
Note:NoindicatorisdisplayedwithaDeadlineDate,unlessNegativeFloatiscreated.
1.4WhyAreTasksScheduledbeforethePredecessors?Thereareacoupleofreasonswhytaskswouldbedisplayedbeforeapredecessorrelationshipwouldallowthemtobescheduled:
❖ AnActualStartdatehasbeenset,or❖ Taskswillalwayshonortheirconstraintdatesissetandthetaskhasa
Lateconstraint.
1.4.1UnderstandingtheActualStartDate
AnActualStartissetbyenteringadateintheActualStartfieldorenteringa%Complete.
❖ OnceanActualStartdatehasbeensetapredecessorrelationshipdoesnotaffecttheActualStartdate.
❖ Apredecessorrelationshipmaycauseanin-progressTaskwithanActualStartdatetosplitwhentheFILE,Options,ScheduletabSplitinprogresstasksoptionhasbeenchecked.
1.4.2TasksWillAlwaysHonorTheirConstraintDates
ThereisanoptionintheFILE,Options,ScheduleformtitledTaskswillalwayshonortheirconstraintdates.ThisoptionforcesatasktobescheduledbeforethepredecessorswhenthesuccessorhasaFinishnolaterthanorStartno
laterthanconstraint.Ineffect,thisoptionwillmakeallconstraintsoverriderelationships,moreonthisoverthepage.
Withthisoptionset,ataskwithaMustStartOnconstraintsetpriortoapredecessor’sFinishdatewilldisplayanEarlyStartontheconstraintdateandnotthescheduleddate.TheTotalSlackmaynotcalculateasthedifferencebetweenLateStartandEarlyStart.
Examinethefollowingtwoexampleswiththeoptionboxcheckedandunchecked:
❖ Taskswillalwayshonortheirconstraintdates:optionboxchecked:
Task3startsbeforethepredecessorfinishesandtheTotalSlackofthesecondtaskiscalculatedasminus2days,whichisnotthedifferencebetweentheEarlyFinishandtheLateFinishdates.ThisconstraintdoesnotadheretocommonlyacceptedTotalFloatcalculations.
❖ Taskswillalwayshonortheirconstraintdates:optionboxNOTcheckedandtheTotalFloatiscalculatedcorrectly:
Note:ItissuggestedthatthisoptionisNEVERswitchedon,astheschedulemayappeartobeachievablewhenitisnot.
1.5TheProjectWillNotOpen!AllMicrosoftProjectfileshavea*.mppfileextension,soitisdifficulttodeterminetheversionthataMicrosoftProjectfilewascreatedwith.
MicrosoftProject2016,2013and2010sharethesameformatandmaynotbeopenedbyearlierversionsofMicrosoftProject.MicrosoftProject2016,2013and2010maysaveto2007and2000-2003format.
TheFILE,Options,TrustCenter,TrustCenterSettings…,LegacyFormatoptionalsodeterminesifyouareabletoopenearlierformats,itisrecommendedthatyouselectthePromptwhenloadingfileswithlegacyornon-defaultfileformatsoyouwillknowwhenyouareopeninganearlierfileformat.
Whensavingtoearlierversionstheremayalossofdataanddifferentsoftwareversionscanresultindifferentcalculationsinsomecircumstances.Forexample
MicrosoftProject2000-2003formatdoesnotsupporteitherCostResourcesorthenamingofCalendarNonWorkDays.
YoushouldusetheGanttChartWizardtoformatthebarswhenopeningaprojectfromMicrosoftProject2016,2013or2010thatwascreatedwithMicrosoftProject2007orearlierversion.IfyouusetheRibbonfunctionalities,thebaselinewillbehiddenbehindthecurrentbars.
Note:Oneofthewellknowmethodsofobtainingacorruptfileistoworkinolderversionsorchangingversionformatsonaregularbasisandboththesepracticesshouldbeavoided.
1.6TheLogicKeepsChanging!ThelogicwillchangeifataskisdraggedtoanotherpositionwhenFILE,Options,Scheduletab,Autolinkinsertedormovedtasksoptionchecked.
Thisoptionisintendedtobeusedtoautomaticallylinknewinsertedtaskswithapredecessortothetaskaboveandasuccessortothetaskbelow.
Thedownsideofthisfunctionisthatwhenthetaskismovedthisfunctionwillchangetheexistingpredecessorsandsuccessorsofthefollowing:
❖ Movedtask,
❖ Originaltasksthatwereaboveandbelowthemovedtask,and
❖ Newtasksthatarenowaboveandbelowthemovedtasks.
Thisfunctionwillpotentiallymakesubstantialchangestoyourprojectlogicandmayaffecttheoverallprojectduration.
Note:ItisstronglyrecommendedthatthisoptionisNEVERswitchedon,asdragginganactivitytoanewlocationmaycompletelychangethelogicofaschedulewithoutwarning.
Anexampleofthisprocessisshownbelow:
❖ OriginalLogic:
❖ TaskDdraggedwithAutolinkinsertedormovedtaskschecked.Notethelogichaschangedonmanytasks:
❖ TaskDdraggedwithAutolinkinsertedormovedtasksunchecked.Thelogichasnotchanged:
1.7WhyDoNewTasksHaveanEarlyStartConstraint?Unlikeotherschedulingsoftware,MicrosoftProjectnormallyignorestheStatusDatewhencalculatingaschedulewithprogress.ItschedulestaskswithoutanActualStartorpredecessorsorconstraintsontheProjectStartDate,orasclosetotheProjectStartDateascalendarspermit.ItdoesnotautomaticallyscheduletheincompleteportionsofTasksaftertheStatusDate.
TheFILE,Options,ScheduletabhasanAutoscheduledtasksscheduledon:optionthatmaybesettoeither:
❖ StartonCurrentDate,or❖ StartonProjectStartDate.
❖ WhensettostartonCurrentDate,newtasksarecreatedwithanEarlyStartConstraintsettotheCurrentDate,whichissettothecurrentdateofthecomputersoperatingsystem,e.g.today’sdate.
❖ WhensettostartonProjectStartDate,newtasksarecreatedwithoutaconstraintandallnewtaskswillscheduleontheProjectStartDate.Thisistherecommendedsettingandnewtaskswillnotbeassignedaconstraintwhencreated.
1.8RecommendedScheduleOptionsItisbesttokeepascheduleassimpleaspossible.ItisrecommendthatyouconsiderthefollowingFILE,Schedule,Optionsasagoodstartingpointifyouhavelimitedexperienceinschedulingsoftware.
IfyouensureALLPROJECTSARECLOSEDbeforeyoustartsettingyouroptionsthenallchangesthatyoumaketotheoptionswillbeappliedtonewprojectscreatedusingtheFILE,NewcommandwhichusesyourGlobal.mpttemplate:
Note:Mostoftheotheroptionsarecoveredinthisbookbuttheoptionsthatmustbeswitchedofftoensurethesoftwareoperatesinapredictablewayare:
❖ Autolinkinsertedormovedtasks,❖ Splitin-progresstasks,and❖ Taskswillalwayshonortheirconstraintdates.
1.9ManuallyScheduledandAutoScheduledTasksTheFile,Options,Schedule,Newtaskscreated:allowstheselectionofManuallyScheduledorAutoScheduled.
❖ TheManuallyScheduledoption(newtoMicrosoftProject2010)overridestheschedulecalculationsfortasksmarkedasManuallyScheduled,allowingthesoftwaretobeusedlikeawhiteboardfortheselectedtasks.
❖ ItisnormallyconsideredgoodschedulingtoselectAutoScheduledsotaskswillacknowledgetherelationshipsandconstraints.
❖ ThereforetheFile,Options,Schedule,Newtaskscreated:shouldalwaysbesettoAutoScheduled.
Ifyourscheduleisbehavingstrangelyorthereisunfamiliarbarformatting,thiscouldbebecausesometaskshavebecomeManuallyScheduled.Tofixthisyoumayeither:
❖ DisplaytheTaskModecolumnandsearchforManuallyScheduledtasksandfixtheminthecolumn,or
❖ ClickontheSelectAllbuttonandthenclickonthe AutoSchedulebutton.
Note:SometimesMicrosoftProjectwillchangeaTaskfromManuallyScheduledtoAutoScheduledwithoutawarningandthentheschedulewillstartbehavingstrangely.SowhenascheduledoesnotreschedulecorrectlyortherearesomestrangelookingbarsyoushouldapplytheManuallyScheduledfilterandchangeanyManuallyScheduledtaskstoAutoScheduled.
1.10SortingouttheMenusThegroupingoftheRibboncommandsisbysoftwarefunctions;suchasProject,Tasketc.andnotbyschedulingfunctionssuchascreatingorupdating.ThereforeUserscontinuallyswapfromoneRibbonmenutoanotherwhileoperatingthesoftware.Therearesomeactionsyoushouldconsiderchangingonyourmenustomakethesoftwareeasiertouse:
❖ RightclickontheRibbontoolbartoopenamenu:
❖ TheQuickAccessToolbarshouldbemovedbelowtheRibbonToolbarbyclickingontheShowQuickAccessToolbarBelowtheRibbon.ThisoptionallowsmorebuttonstobedisplayedandthetoolbarisnottruncatedbytheProjectNameatthetopofthescreen.
❖ TheCollapsetheRibbon…commandhidestheRibbonToolbarandjustleavesthemenudisplayedatthetop,providingmorescreenspace.ThiswascalledMinimizetheRibboninMicrosoftProject2010.ClickingononeofthemenucommandswilldisplaytheRibbonToolbar.
❖ YoushouldbuildyourownQuickAccessToolbarbyusingtheCustomizeQuickAccessToolbar…optionwhichopenstheProjectOptionsformQuickAccessToolbartabwherebuttonsmaybeaddedtoorremovedfromorreorderedontheQuickAccessToolbar.
❖ TheAddtoQuickAccessToolbarcommandwilladdaselectedRibbonToolbarbuttontotheQuickAccessToolbar.BydefaulttheQuickAccessToolbarispositionedatthetopleft-handsideofthescreenandisalwaysdisplayed.
Note:TodothisallthesechangesinonehityoushouldconsiderdownloadingtheEastwoodHarrisQuickAccesstoolbarfromwww.eh.com.au,Software&DownloadspageandimportitfromtheFILE,Options,QuickAccesstoolbar,Import/Exportcommand.
UnfortunatelyMicrosoftProject2016hasplacedlargegapesbetweenthebuttonsontheQuickAccesstoolbarwhichmakethisfunctionlessusefulaslessbuttonsaredisplayedontheQuickAccessToolbar:
MicrosoftProject2016
MicrosoftProject2013
2CALENDARSURVIVALGUIDE2.1RoleoftheProjectCalendarTheprojectcalendarisassignedtoaprojectintheFILE,Info,ProjectInformationform:
❖ Newtasksarenotassignedacalendarbydefault.
❖ AlltasksthathavenotbeenassignedaTaskCalendarcalculatetheirEarlyFinishdatefromtheirEarlyStartdateplustheDurationcalculatedfromtheProjectCalendar.
❖ Therefore,afive-daydurationtaskwithafive-dayworkweekcalendar,startingWednesday,withSaturdayandSundayasnonworkdays,willfinishattheendoftheworkdayonthefollowingTuesday,seethepicturebelow:
Note:AchangetotheProjectCalendarmaymakesubstantialchangestotheelapseddurationofallactivitiesthathavenotbeenassignedaTaskCalendar.
2.2GuidelinesforCreatingCalendarsCalendarsarecreatedandeditedusingthePROJECT,Project,ChangeWorkingTimeform.
Anunlimitednumberofcalendarsmaybecreated:
❖ OnecalendarisassignedastheProjectCalendar.
❖ Eachtaskandresourcemaybeassignedauniquecalendar.
❖ Thecalendarassignedtoaresourcemaybefurthereditedtorepresenttheresource’suniqueavailability.
Therearesomeguidelinesthatshouldbeconsideredwhencontemplatingtheuseofmultiplecalendars.Thesearesummarizedbelow:
❖ Ifyouareabletoscheduleaprojectwithonlyonecalendarthendoso;keeptheschedulesimple.
❖ Theworkhoursperdayforallcalendarsonaprojectshouldbethesameforeachworkday,otherwisetheSummaryTaskDurationsindayswillnotallcalculatecorrectly.
❖ KeeptheStartandFinishtimesforallcalendarsthesame,otherwisetheDefaultStartandFinishTimewillbeincorrectforsometaskswhenConstraintsorActualDatesareassignedwithouttimesbeingdisplayed.
❖ WhenresourcesareassignedtoataskwithoutaTaskCalendarthentheResourceCalendartakespreferenceovertheProjectCalendar,unlessSchedulingignoresresourcecalendarsischeckedintheTaskInformationform.
2.3DisplayofDurationinDaysMicrosoftProjecteffectivelycalculatesinhours.ThevalueofthedurationindaysiscalculatedusingtheparameterenteredintheHoursperday:fieldintheFILE,Options,Schedule,Calendaroptionsforthisprojectsection.ItisVERYIMPORTANTtounderstandthatalldurationsindaysarecalculatedusingONLYthisparameterwithEVERYcalendarirrespectiveofthenumberofhoursperdayinanycalendar.
Forexample,whentheOptionsformHoursperday:valueissetto“8”thentasksassigned:
❖ An8-hoursperdaycalendarwillhavedurationsindaysdisplayedcorrectly,and
❖ A24-hoursperdaycalendarwillhavedurationsindaysdisplayedincorrectly,
Thepicturebelowshows:
❖ Task1hasthecorrectdurationof5days,but
❖ Task2alsoshowsa5-daydurationthatisclearlymisleading.
❖ Tasks4and5displaythedurationinhoursandthisisnotasmisleadingbecausethecalendarcolumnisalsodisplayed.
ItisSTRONGLYRECOMMENDEDthatyouavoidassigningcalendarswithadifferentnumberofhoursperdaywhereverpossible.
Therearesomeworkableoptionstoensurethatthedurationsindaysarecalculatedand/ordisplayedcorrectly:
❖ Allthecalendarsusedonaprojectscheduleshouldhavethesamenumberofhoursperdayforeachday.ThisvalueisenteredintheHoursperday:fieldintheFILE,Options,Scheduletab.
❖ Whenthereisarequirementtouseadifferentnumberofhoursperday(ineitherthesamecalendarorindifferentcalendars)thenalldurationsshouldonlybedisplayedinhoursandtheTaskCalendarshouldalsodisplayedinacolumn.TheDurationisenteredin:fieldintheFILE,Options,Schedule,SchedulingoptionsforthisprojectsectionshouldbesettoHours.Thusalldurationswillbeenteredbydefaultinhours.
❖ ACustomizedFieldmaybeusedtocalculateanddisplaythecorrectdurationindaysusingaformula.TheformulabelowmaybeusedtocalculatethecorrectdurationinaDurationCustomizedFieldoftasksscheduledona24hoursperdaycalendarwhentheProjectCalendarisan8hourperdaycalendar:IIf([TaskCalendar]=“24hr/day”,[Duration]*0.33,[Duration])
2.4HowtoAssignTaskCalendarsAtaskmaybeassignedacalendarthatisdifferentfromtheProjectCalendarby:
❖ DisplayingtheTaskCalendarcolumnandeditingtheTaskCalendarfromthiscolumn,or
❖ Double-clickingonthetasktoopentheTaskInformationformandselectingtheAdvancedtab.
Afteracalendarhasbeenassigned,aniconwillappearintheIndicatorscolumnandthecalendarnamedisplayedintheTaskCalendarcolumn,asshowninthepicturebelowfortheInstallationRequirementstask:
❖ ThetaskFinishdate,TotalFloat,FreeFloatandVariancesfromaBaselinewillbecalculatedontheTaskCalendar.Thisoftenleadstoconfusionfornewusersastasksona24-hour/daycalendarwillhavedifferentFloatthantasksonan8-hour/daycalendar.
❖ WhenresourcesareassignedtoaTask,theFinishdateiscalculatedontheResourcecalendar;unlesstheTaskhasbeenassignedacalendarandtheboxintheTaskInformationformAdvancedtabSchedulingignoresresourcecalendarsischecked,thenthetaskdurationiscalculatedbasedontheassignedTaskCalendar.
2.5OtherThingsTaskCalendarsAffect2.5.1Float
Float(Slack)iscalculatedontheTaskCalendar.Bothtasksbelowhavebeenscheduledtofinishat17:00hoursbuthavedifferentFloatvalues:
2.5.2Lags
LagsarecalculatedontheSuccessorCalendar,andthereforeaffectthestartdateandtimeofsuccessors:
Note:MicrosoftProject2000usestheProjectCalendartocalculatelags,thereforefilesmaycalculatedifferentlyin2000fromlaterversions.TheexamplebelowisthefilefromthepictureaboveandopenedinMicrosoftProject2000:
2.6ResourceCalendarsEachresourceiscreatedwithitsveryowneditablecalendar.Herearesomeimportantpoints:
❖ EachnewresourceisassignedacopyofthecurrentProjectCalendarasitsBaseCalendar.
❖ ThisResourceBaseCalendarmaybechangedintheResourceSheetorChangeWorkingTimeformtoanotherBaseCalendar.
❖ AnychangetoaBaseCalendarwillbereflectedinanyResourceCalendar.
❖ TheResourceCalendarmaybeeditedtosuittheavailabilityoftheresource.Daysmaybemadenonworkdaystorepresentholidays,etc.
❖ NormallythedurationofaresourcedtaskiscalculatedfromtheResourceCalendar.
❖ AtaskwillfinishattheendofthelongestresourceassignmentwhentherearetwoormoreresourcesassignedtoataskthathavedifferentenddatesduetodifferentResourcecalendarsorassignmentdurations.
❖ WhenaTaskhasbeenassignedacalendarandthecheckboxintheTaskInformationform,Advancedtab,Schedulingignoresresourcecalendarsischecked,thenthetaskdurationisthencalculatedfromtheTaskcalendar.
❖ TheFinishdatemaybecalculateddifferentlyafterataskisassignedoneormoreresourceswhentheResourcesCalendarsarenotthesameastheTaskCalendar.
2.7WhichCalendaristheTaskUsing?TrythechecklistbelowwhenitisdifficulttounderstandwhichcalendarisbeingusedforcalculatingataskFinishdate:
❖ ChecktheProjectCalendarinthePROJECT,Project,ProjectInformation…form,
❖ ThenchecktheTaskCalendarintheTaskInformationformAdvancedtaboraTaskCalendarcolumn,
❖ Nextcheckifresourcesareassignedtothetask,
❖ FinallychecktheResourceCalendarforholidays.
Therulesareasfollows:
❖ WhenNOTaskCalendarandNOresourcesareassigned,thentheProjectCalendarisused.
❖ WhenaTaskCalendarisassignedandthereareNOresourcesassignedthentheTaskCalendarisbeingused.
❖ WhenResourcesareassignedandNOTaskCalendarthentheResourceCalendarisused.
❖ WhenResourcesandaTaskCalendarareassigned,thenthecommonlyavailabletimefrombothcalendarsisusedtoschedulethetask.
❖ WhenResourcesandaTaskCalendarareassignedandtheSchedulingignoresresourcecalendarsischecked,theTaskCalendarisused.
Note:Acommonmistakeisassigningataskaneditedtaskcalendar,thenatalaterdateassigningresourceswithouteditingtheresourcecalendarstomatchthetaskcalendarsandnotrealizingthatthetaskdurationsnolongercalculatethesame.
2.8DefaultStartandEndTimeYoumaynoticetasksspanonedaylongerinthebarchartthantheirduration.ThisoftenoccurswhenthecalendarstartandfinishtimesareeditedbuttheDefaultstarttime:andDefaultendtime:arenotadjustedtomatchthetaskcalendars.
ThesoftwareassignsaDefaultstarttime:andDefaultendtime:whenadateisenteredinafieldbutatimeisnotentered.
ThesetimesMUSTbealignedtotheProjectCalendarwhen:
❖ Constraintsareassignedtotasks,and
❖ ActualStartorActualFinishdatesareassigned.
Whenthesetimesarenotalignedthentasksmaybedisplayedonedaylongerthantheirassignedduration.Thepicturebelowshowsa3-daytaskspanningfourdaysbecausetheCalendarstarttimeis8:00amandtheDefaultstarttimeis9:00am.
ThesetimesaresetintheProjectOptionsform,Scheduletabwhichmaybeaccessedby:
❖ Clickingthe buttoninthePROJECT,Propertiestab,Changeworkingtimeform,or
❖ SelectingtheFILE,Options,Scheduletab.
Toassistinreadingandinterpretationofaschedulethathascalendarswithdifferentstartorfinishtimesthen:
❖ TheTaskCalendarshouldbedisplayedincolumns,and
❖ ThetimeshouldbedisplayedwiththedateinstartandfinishcolumnsbyselectingFILE,Options,_Generaltab,ProjectViewsectionandselectinganappropriatedateformat.
2.9FinishVarianceCalculation❖ TheFinishVarianceisthedifferencebetweentheEarlyFinishandBaseline
Finish.
❖ VariancesarecalculatedontheTaskCalendar.
ThepicturebelowshowstwomilestonesthathavetheirBaselinessetandhavebeendelayedoneweek:
❖ Themilestoneona5-dayperweekcalendarhasa5-dayvariancewhichisnottheelapsedvariance,and
❖ Themilestoneona7-dayperweekcalendarhasa7-dayvariancewhichistheelapsedvariance.
Note:Whenyouneedtocalculateamilestonevarianceincalendardays,itisbesttoplacethemilestoneona7-dayperweekcalendarwithoutholidaystoensuretheVariancecalculatestheelapsedduration.
3TRICKYSTUFF3.1TaskNamingIssuesItisoftenbestinMicrosoftProjecttomakeallTaskNamesunique,soforexamplewhenyouhaveabuildingwithmanyfloorsandtradeseachTaskNameshouldincludethetradeandfloor.
❖ Thismakesiteasiertounderstandtheschedulewhenafilterhasbeenappliedandtofindpredecessorsandsuccessorsinalargeschedule.
❖ InMicrosoftProject2010,2013and2016thisisevenmoreimportantbecausethetasksarelistedinthepredecessorandsuccessorlistsinalphabeticalorderandnottheorderintheschedule.Soifyouhave20Floorswithaconcreteactivitytitled“Concrete”,thentheseactivitieswillbelistedalltogetherinalistanditwillbedifficulttoknowwhichflooreachconcretetaskbelongstoo.
ThesedescriptionsmaybecreatedinaspreadsheetbyusingtheConcatenatefunction,thepicturebelowdemonstrateshow.Textmaybeaddedbyincludingitindoublequotationmarks:
Asyoucanseebelowthetasksarenowlistedin“Floor”orderinthepredecessorlist.
Note:WheninsertingtheTaskNamecolumnyouwillfinditistitledName.
3.2TaskSplitting3.2.1WhatisSplitting?
SplittingataskputsoneormorebreaksinaTask,leaving:
❖ TheDurationvalueunchangedwithaFixedUnitstaskbuttheelapsed
durationisincreased,
❖ TheDurationvaluechangedwithaFixedDurationtasktoequaltheelapsedduration,and
❖ Resourcesassignedtoasplittaskarenotassignedworkduringthesplits:
InthepictureabloveyouwillseethatWorkisnotscheduledduringthesplit.
3.2.2SplittingaTaskManually
Tosplitataskmanually,
❖ Left-clickonthe SplitTaskbuttonlocatedontheTASKtoolbar,Schedulesection,
❖ TheSplitTask:boxwillappear,❖ ClickonthepointontheGanttChartbarwherethesplitistobemadeand
click.
❖ Thendragthetask:
Note:
Thefinishandstartdatesandtimesofeachsplitarenotavailablethroughtheuserinterface.
3.2.3SplittingIn-progressTasks
WhentheSplitin-progresstasksoptionisenabledintheFILE,Options,Scheduleform,ataskwillSplitautomaticallywhenataskcommencesbeforeitspredecessorfinishes.
Note:ThisfunctionissimilartothePrimaveraRetainedLogicfunctionandoftenproducesunwantedNegativeSlack.
3.2.4RemovingaBarSplit
Asplitisremovedby:
❖ Amanuallycreatedsplitisremovedbydraggingthesplitpartbackwiththemouse.
❖ AnautomaticallycreatedsplitisremovedbyTurningoffSplitin-progresstasksintheFILE,Options,Scheduleform.
Notes:
❖ YouthereforeneedtopaycarefulattentiontoanywarningmessagesMicrosoftProjectpresents,ifyouhavenotswitchedthewarningmessagesoff.
❖ SometimesatailofdotsisleftafterthesplithasbeenremovedfromaFixedDurationtask.Thisistheresultofasplitattheendofatask,thistailhastobedraggedbacktothefinishofthetaskandthentheDurationresetforthetasktocalculatecorrectly:
AlsoyoumayreceiveasplitatthestartofataskwhentheFILE,Options,Schedule,Splitin-progressoptionisselectedandanActualStartDateissetearlierthanthepredecessorfinish.Topreventthiseither:
❖ TurnoffAutomaticschedulingbeforeupdatingthetask,thenpressF9torecalculatethescheduleor
❖ SettheActualDurationbeforeenteringtheActualStart.
3.2.5HidingaBarSplit
Eventhoughthetaskhasbeensplit,barsplitsmaybehiddenby:
❖ SelectingFORMAT,Format,LayouttoopentheLayoutformand❖ UnchecktheShowbarsplits.
❖ The10-dayFixedUnitsactivitybelowhasasplitwithanelapseddurationof17days:
❖ The10-dayactivitybelowhasahiddensplitandanelapseddurationof17days,whichmaybemisleading:
3.3DeadlineDateMicrosoftProjectdoesnotallowsettingtwotaskconstraints;exceptinthecaseofaDeadlineDate.
❖ ADeadlineDateissetintheTaskInformationformAdvancedtaborintheDeadlineDatecolumn.
❖ DeadlineDateallowsthesettingofadatebywhichataskshouldbecompleted.
❖ ADeadlineDateissimilartoplacingaFinishNoLaterThanconstraintandaffectsthecalculationoftheLateFinishdateandfloatoftheactivity.
❖ AconstraintsuchasanEarlyStartconstraintmayalsobeassignedtoataskwithaDeadlineDate.
❖ TheDeadlineDatemaybedisplayedasacolumnandappearsonthebarchartasadownarrow .
❖ AnIndicatoricon isplacedintheIndicatorcolumnwhentheDeadlineDatecreatesNegativeFloat(Slack).
❖ ThepicturebelowshowhowaDeadlineDateisdisplayed,thisallowsthedatetobechangedbydraggingtheiconintheGanttchart.
❖ ItalsodisplayshowNegativeFloatiscalculatedwhentheDeadlineDateissetbeforetheTaskEarlyFinish.
3.4NegativeandFreeFloatBarsTherearesomeissueswiththedefaultMicrosoftProject2016and2013barformatting:
❖ BydefaultMicrosoftprojectonlydisplaystheFreeFloatBarwiththeFORMAT,BarStylesgroup,SlackbuttonnottheTotalFloatBarthatwouldnormallybeexpected.
❖ AlsotheNegativeFloatBarisnotautomaticallydisplayedbyanyMicrosoftProjectfunction,norisitincludedinanystandardView.
Thesearetwoofthemostimportantbarstoshowwhenaprojectfinishdatehasbeensetusingaconstraintandthesebarsmustalwaysbemanuallycreated.
❖ NegativeFloatisgeneratedwhentheLatedateiscalculatedearlierthantheEarlydateandrepresentstheamountoftimethattheschedulemustcatchuporhowmuchearlieraprojectmuststarttofinishontime.SettingaLateconstraintorDeadlinedateearlierthanthecalculatedEarlyFinishdatenormallycausesNegativeFloat.
❖ FreeFloatistheamountoftimeataskmaybedelayedwithoutdelayingasuccessortask.
ThesetwobarswillhavetobeaddedmanuallyusingtheBarStyleformby:
❖ SelectingFORMAT,BarStyles,Formatdropdownbox,BarStylesordouble-clickanywhereintheGanttChartareaexceptonanexistingbar(thiswillopentheFormatBarformandnottheBarStylesform)toformatanindividualbar.
❖ Thenaddtheadditionalbarsasindicatedbelow:
Note:Unlikesomeothersoftware,theNegativeFloatisdrawnfromtheStartDateofataskandnottheFinishDate.ThereforeonebarisrequiredforNegativeFloatandoneforPositiveFloat.
Therearesomeoptionstopermanentlyresolvethislackofformattingfunctionality:
❖ YoumaywishtoconsiderrecordingamacrotocreatethebarsandthiscanberunwhenaTotalFloatandNegativeFloatbarisrequired.
❖ YoucouldcreateaViewwiththesebars,saveyourowntemplatewiththisviewandthenusethetemplatetocreateallnewprojects.
❖ TheauthorhasfoundthattheseadditionalbarsproduceabetterpresentationanddonotinterferewiththedrawingofrelationshipswhencreatedatthebottomofthelistintheBarStylesform.
❖ YoumayalsodownloadanEastwoodHarrisMicrosoftProject2016and2013templateprojectfromtheEastwoodHarriswebsiteatwww.eh.com.au,Software&Downloadspage.ThishasaninbuiltViewwhichdisplaysboththeTotalandNegativeFloatbars.AlsootherissueswithMicrosoftProject
2016and2013havebeenresolvedandarecoveredinthetemplatedescriptiononthewebsite
3.5WhereistheGantChartWizard?TheGanttChartWizardwasthemainmethodofformattingthebarsinMicrosoftProject2007andearlier.
ItisstillavailableinMicrosoftProject2016,2013and2010andmaybeaccessedbyadding icontotheRibbonorQuickAccesstoolbar.
TheGanttChartWizardshouldonlybeusedtoformatprojectscreatedwithMicrosoftProject2007andearlier.IfitisusedtoformatprojectscreatedwithMicrosoftProject2016or2013or2010thensomestrangethingshappenliketheBaselinebarscoverupthecurrentscheduleSummarybars.
3.6AsLateAsPossibleConstraintThisconstraintmustbeusedwithcautionasitconsumesTotalFloat(Slack)andthereforedelaysallsuccessoractivities;itdoesnotjustdelaythetaskthattheconstraintisappliedto.
❖ AllTasksinthepicturebelowhaveTotalFloat:
❖ WhenTaskCismadeAsLateAsPossiblethenTaskBdevelopsFreeFloat:
❖ WhenTaskCismadeAsSoonAsPossibleandTaskAismadeAsLateAsPossiblethenTaskAconsumesallavailableTotalFloatanddelaysallthesuccessors:
Note:SomesoftwarepackagesofferaZeroTotalFloatfunction,whichallowsactivitiestobedelayedandconsumeFreeFloatwithoutdelayinganysuccessor
activities.
AStarttoFinishrelationshipwilldragasuccessorinfrontofitandactlikeaZeroFloatconstraint,buttheuseofthisrelationshipisusuallyconsideredbadpractice.
ThePrimaveraAsLateAsPossibleconstraintiscalculatesasaZeroFreeandnotasaMicrosoftProjectAsLateAsPossibleconstraint.
4INTERESTINGFEATURES4.1WildcardFiltersforTextSearchingTheWildcardfunctionsaresimilartotheDOSWildcardfunctionsandaremainlyusedforfilteringtext:
❖ Youmayreplaceasinglecharacterwitha“?”.Thus,afiltersearchingforawordcontaining“b?t”willdisplaywordslike“bat”,“bit”and“but.”
❖ Thefunctionisnotcasesensitive.
❖ Youmayreplaceagroupofcharacterswithan“*”.Thus,afiltersearchingforawordcontaining“b*t”willdisplay“blot”,“blight”and“but.”
Note:FortheWildcardfunctiontooperatethe“equals”Testmustbeused.Thisfunctiondoesnotworkwiththe“contains”andinthismode“equals”worksasa“contains”operand,seethepicturebelow.
❖ NAallowstheselectionofablankvalue.ThefilterbelowdisplaystaskswithouteitheraBaselineStartorBaselineFinishdate:
4.2InteractiveFiltersThesefiltersallowyoutoenterarangeofValuesafterapplyingthefilter.Thusfilteristailoredeachtimeitisappliedviaauser-prompt.Thefilterbelowwillaskyoutoenterarangeofdates.ThisfilterisveryusefultolookatatimesliceofactivitiesandwouldbeusedtocreateaLookAheadfilterwhenupdatingaschedule.
Forthisfunctiontooperateproperly,thetextintheValue(s)fieldmustcommencewithadoublequoteandendwithadoublequoteandquestionmark,e.g.theformatshouldbe“Question”?.Thetextisuserdefinedandmaybeanyrelevant
text:
4.3AutoFiltersAutoFiltersareturnedonbyclickingonthe button.Theymaybeusedto:
❖ FilteringtasksbyeitherusingthecheckboxesinthelowersectionorselectingfromtheoptionsundertheFiltersoption
❖ Sortisusedtosortonaselecteddataitem,butthisalsojumblesuptheSummaryTasks,
❖ GroupisusedtoGrouptasksbytheselectdatafield.Thisonlyallowsasinglelevelofgrouping.UsetheGroupby:functionifthetasksaregroupedbymorethanonefield.
ThepicturebelowdisplayssomeoftheoptionsfoundwithAutoFiltersfunction:
Note:AutoFilterswillalwaysshowSummaryTasks.
4.4SelectingDatesTherewasaslickwayofselectingdatesindatefieldsin2000to2003byscrollingthroughdays,monthsandyearsbutthisfunctionwaseliminatedin2007andtherewerenoimprovementsinversions2010,2013or2016.
In2010,2013and2016acalendarformisdisplayedbyclickingonadatecellwiththemousepointer:
❖ Tochangetheday,clickontherequiredday.
❖ Toselecttoday’sdate,clickonthe button.
❖ Tochangethemonthand/oryear;scrollamonthatatimebyclickingonthearrowsonthetopleft-handortopright-handsideoftheform;
Note:Whenadateisselectedfromacolumn,MicrosoftProjectwillsetaconstraintwithoutinformingtheuser.Thismayresultinunintentionallysettingaconstraint.
4.5UnderstandingStartandFinishMilestonesAMilestoneiscreatedbyassigningataskazeroduration:
❖ AMilestoneisaStartMilestonewhenithasnopredecessors,seeTask1below.
❖ AStartMilestoneisattheStartofaTimePeriod,forexample,8:00am,seeTask1below.
❖ AMilestoneisaFinishMilestoneifithasoneormorepredecessors,seeTask3and5below.
❖ AFinishMilestoneisattheEndofaTimePeriod,forexample,5:00pm,seeTask3and5below.
❖ AtaskmayalsobemadetolooklikeaMilestonebycheckingtheMarkasamilestoneintheTaskInformationformAdvancedtab,seeTask2below.
❖ ThetaskmadetolooklikeaMilestonemaybesettodisplayattheStartorFinishoftheTasksbyeditingtheFromandTofieldsofMilestonesintheBarStylesform:
Note:Unlikesomeotherschedulingsoftwareitisnotpossiblefortheuserto
assignaMilestoneaseitheraStartorFinishMilestoneinMicrosoftProject.AlsoensureyourMilestonedescriptionmatchesthepurposeoftheMilestone;forexampleaFinishMilestonewouldhave“Completed”inthedescription.
4.6ConvertingaFinishMilestoneintoaStartMilestoneSometimesitisimportanttohaveaStartMilestonethathasapredecessor.Forexample,Task5inthepicturebelowmayberequiredonFridaymorningnotThursdayafternoon:
Oneworkaroundtoachievethis:
❖ AssignashortdurationtotheStartMilestone.Thedurationisnotimportant,say1min.
❖ ChecktheMarkasaMilestoneintheGeneraltaboftheTaskInformationform.
❖ EnsureallsuccessorsoftheStartMilestoneareStarttoStart,otherwiseallsuccessorswillspan1daylongerthantheirassignedduration:
WithoutaStarttoStartsuccessor:
WithaStarttoStartsuccessor:
4.7CreatingaHammockoraLEOTaskAHammockorLevelOfEffort(LOE)taskisdefinedasataskthatspansbetweentwotasksormilestonesandwillchangeindurationwheneitherofthe
drivingdateschange.
ThisisnotaSummaryTaskcreatedbyOutliningandisnotaMicrosoftProjectfunctionbutonemaybecreatedby:
❖ AssigningaTaskTypethatmustnotbeFixedDurationotherwisethedurationwillnotchange,
❖ ArelationshipiscreatedbetweenStartdateofthedrivingStartmilestoneorTaskandHammockStartdateusingtheCopyCell…andPasteSpecial…,PasteLink…linkcommand,
❖ ThenarelationshipiscreatedbetweenFinishdateofthedrivingFinishMilestoneorTaskandHammockFinishdateusingtheCopyCell…andEdit,PasteSpecial…,PasteLink…command.
❖ AseitheroftheDrivingmilestonesortasksismovedtheHammockwillrecalculateitsduration.
❖ InthepictureabovetherehasbeenalinkcreatedbetweentheStartdatesofTask2andTask1andtheFinishdatesofTask3andTask1.
Note:Alinkedcellhastriangleinthebottomrighthandcorner:
4.8ElapsedDurations,LeadsandLags4.8.1ElapsedDurations
IfyouassignataskanElapsedduration,thetaskwillignoreallcalendarsandwillbescheduled24hoursadayand7daysperweek.Toenteranelapsedduration,typean“e”betweenthedurationandunits.
❖ Thisisusefulfortaskssuchascuringconcreteorcomputerprocessesrunning24hoursperday.
❖ TheTotalFloatwillcalculateapproximatelythreetimeslongerthanataskonan8-hourperdaycalendar(dependingonthelengthofthelunchbreak)andthismaybemisleading.
Theexamplebelowshowsthedifferencebetweena7-ElapsedDaytaskanda7-
daytaskonaStandard(5-dayperweek)calendar.
4.8.2FloatonTaskswithElapsedDurations
TheFloatonElapsedDurationtasksiscalculatedona24-hourperdaycalendarandwillbedifferentthanataskonan8-hourperdaycalendar:
4.8.3ElapsedLeadsandLags
Anelapsedleadorlagmayalsobeassignedtorelationshipsandthesealsoignoreallcalendars:
4.9EstablishingTwoRelationshipsbetweenTwoTasksSometimesitisdesirabletoputtworelationshipsbetweentwoactivities,forexample,aStarttoStartandaFinishtoFinish.Thisisoftenreferredtoas“LadderScheduling”.ItisnotpossibletoputtworelationshipsbetweentwotasksinMicrosoftProjectunlessaMilestoneisinsertedintheloop:
Note:Task3intheupperpictureabovehasbeendraggedAsLateAsPossiblebytheFinishtoFinishrelationship.
4.10LadderschedulingLargenegativelagsarenormallyunacceptableandLadderSchedulingisusedtolinkasetoftasksthathavesubstantialoverlap,suchaspipelayingoperations.
Mostproductsallowmultiplerelationshipsbetweentwotasks,aspertheP6examplebelow,wherethetasksarelinkedusingtworelationships,aSS+3dandaFF+3d:
MicrosoftProjectdoesnotallowtworelationshipsbetweentasks.LadderSchedulingmaybeachievedby:
❖ CommencingachainwithaStartMilestone,
❖ ConnecttheStartMilestonetoeachtaskwithaStarttoStartplustheappropriatelagand
❖ ConnecteachtasktotheirsuccessorwithaFinishtoFinishrelationshipplustheappropriatelag:
4.11%LagsAPercentageLag,orNegativeLag,increasestheLagdurationasthepredecessordurationincreases:
ThelagdurationiscalculatedontheSuccessorCalendar.Whenthesuccessortaskischangedfroman8-hourperdaycalendartoa24-hourperdaycalendar,theelapseddurationofthesuccessorisreduced,aswellastheelapseddurationofthelag.NowtheFloatiscalculatedona24-hourperdaybasis.Thingsgetabittrickyhere!
Note:MicrosoftProject2000calculatesthelagontheProjectCalendar.
4.12TracingLogicItsometimegetquitehardtotracelogicinacomplexprojectwithrelationships
flyingupanddownaGanttChart.
Therearesometoolsyoumayconsiderusingtoresolvetheseissuesincluding:
❖ TaskDrivers❖ RelationshipDiagramand
❖ TaskPath4.12.1TaskDriversandTaskInspector
ADrivingRelationshipisthepredecessorthatdeterminestheEarlyStartofanon-criticaltaskthathastwopredecessorswhichhavedifferentfinishdates.
MicrosoftProject2000–2003doesnotidentifythedifferencebetweenDrivingandNon-drivingRelationships,whichoftenmakesanalyzingascheduledifficult.IntheseearlierversionsofMicrosoftProject,thesimplestwaytodeterminethedrivingrelationshipfortasksnotonthecriticalpathandwithmorethanonepredecessorwastodeletetherelationshipsuntilthetaskmoved.
MicrosoftProject2007introducedaTaskDriversformthatindicatesthedrivingpredecessorandwhethertheschedulehasbeenResourceLeveled.Italsodisplaystheeffectsofleveling.ThiswasrenamedTaskInspectorinMicrosoftProject2013.
InMicrosoftProject2013and2016,gotoTASK,TasksgroupandfromthedropdownmenucontainedinInspect,select toopentheTaskInspectorpane,whichdisplaysinformationasinthepicturebelow:
InordertoseetheDrivingPredecessorsand/orDrivingSuccessors,clickonthe TaskPathiconlocatedintheFormattoolbar:
4.12.2TracingtheLogic
AnothermethodtotracethelogicistodisplaytheBarChartintheTopPaneandtheRelationshipDiagramintheBottomPane.ScrollupanddownintheGanttCharttoidentifythepredecessorsandsuccessors:
AnothermethodistodisplaytheRelationshipDiagramintheTopPaneandtheTaskFormintheBottomPane.ClickonthepredecessorsorsuccessorsintheRelationshipDiagramtofollowthelogic:
4.12.3TaskPath
MicrosoftProject2013introducedafunctiontitledTaskPathfoundbyselectingFORMAT,BarStyles,TaskPathandselectingoneoftheoptions:
Thisfunctionwillhighlightthetasksthatmatchthecriteriainthecolorsindicatedinthemenu.
5MAKINGITLOOKRIGHT5.1DateFormatDangersThereisoftenconfusiononinternationalprojectsbetweenthenumericalUSdatestyle(mmddyy)andthenumericalEuropeandatestyle(ddmmyy).Forexample,intheUnitedStates020719isreadas07Feb‘19,andinmanyothercountriesas02Jul‘19.Consideradoptingtheddmmmyystyle,06Jan’09ormmmddyystyle,Jan06’09toavoidexpensivelitigationwhendatesaremisunderstood.
SelectFILE,OptionstodisplaytheOptionsformandselecttheGeneraltabDateformat::
Thisoptionselectsthedisplaystyleofthedatesforallprojects.Thedateformatoptionsavailablewillbedependentonyoursystemdefaultsettings.YoumayadjustyoursystemdateformatundertheControlPanel,RegionalandLanguageOptions.
5.2PreventingtheDateFormatfromChangingonOtherComputers
ThedateformatselectedintheFILE,Options,_Generaltabappliestoallprojectsopenedononecomputer.Someprojectsmayberequiredtodisplaythedayandtimeformatandothersdayandmonth,soyouhavetokeepchangingtheformateachtimeyouopenadifferentproject.
Ifyouareinthissituation,youmayoverridethedateformatselectedintheFILE,
Options,GeneraltabbyadateformatselectedinaVIEW,Data,Tables,MoreTables…form:
Eachprojectcouldhaveitsownsetoftablesallwiththeirownproject-specificdateformat.
Whenyousendthisprojecttosomeoneelse,theywillhaveabetterchanceofseeingthesamedateformatasyouespeciallyiftheirControlPanel,RegionalandLanguageOptionsarethesameasyours.
5.3TheSmartWaytoCreateViewsASingleGanttChartViewismadefromaGanttScreenandincludesaTable,anoptionalGroupandanoptionalFilter.AViewalsoholdstheBarformattingandPrintsettings.
IfyourprojectrequiresmultiplebutsimilarViews,forexample,headersandfootersmayneedtocontainthesameprintsettingsandbarformattingconsistent,thenthefollowingprocessisrecommended:
❖ EachViewshouldhaveauniquename.ThisnameshouldbeusedfortheTable,GroupandFilternamesassociatedwiththeView,soeachviewhasitsownuniqueTable,FilterandGroupwiththesamename.
❖ CreatetheTables,FiltersandGroupsforeachView.
❖ CreatethefirstViewandmakesuretheBarformattingandthePrintsettingsarecorrect.
❖ TheuniquelynamedTables,GroupsandFiltersshouldnotbedisplayedinthemenustoavoidtheirinadvertentapplicationandcorruption.
❖ TheprintpreviewHeader,FooterandLegendshouldreadallthetextdatafromtheFILE,Info,ProjectInformation,AdvancedPropertiesform.ThusachangetotheheaderorfootertextcanbemadeinoneplaceforallViews,theFILE,Info,ProjectInformation,AdvancedPropertiesform.
❖ EnsurethatyouhavehiddenallthebarsthatyoudonotwantdisplayedintheLegend,byplacingan“*”infrontofthebarnameintheBarsform.SeePara6.5.
❖ CreatenewViewsbycopyingthefirstViewonlyafterithasbeenchecked,double-checked,andcheckedagain.
5.4BarFormattingSelectFORMAT,Format,LayouttoopentheLayoutform,whichhassomeinterestingfeatures:
5.4.1BarDateFormat
TheBarDateformatoptionsetstheformatfordatesdisplayedonbarsonly.
Theoptiontodisplaydateson:
❖ OneormoreselectedbarsismadeusingtheFORMAT,BarStyles,Format,Baror
❖ OnallbarswiththeFORMAT,BarStyles,Format,BarStylesform.
5.4.2BarHeights
TheBarheight:optionsetstheheightofallthebars.
Individualbarsmaybeassigneddifferentheightsbyselectingabarshapeinthestylesform.
5.4.3AlwaysRollUpGanttBars
AlwaysrollupGanttbarsandHiderollupbarswhensummaryexpandedworksasfollows:
❖ Tasksbeforerollup:
❖ TaskswithAlwaysrollupGanttbarscheckedandHiderollupbarswhensummaryexpandedunchecked,resultsinbothSummaryandDetailedtasksdisplayedintheBarChartwhenrolledup:
❖ TaskswithbothAlwaysrollupGanttbarsandHiderollupbarswhensummaryexpandedchecked,resultsintheSummaryTaskbarbeinghiddenwhentheNonSummaryTasksarerolledup:
❖ AnindividualbarmayberolleduptoasummarytaskusingtheRollupoptionintheTaskInformationform,GeneraltabwhenAlwaysrollupGanttbarsoptionsareunchecked.
5.4.4RoundBarstoWholeDays
TheRoundbarstowholedays:isusedtomakeiteasiertoseeshortdurationbarsonalongdurationschedule:
❖ Whenthisoptionisunchecked,thelengthofthetaskwillbeshowninproportiontothetotalnumberofhoursworkedperdayoverthe24-hourtimespan.Forexample,an8-hourworkingdurationbarisshownbelow:
❖ Whenthisoptionischecked,thetaskbarisoftendisplayedandspannedoverthewholedayirrespectiveofcalendarworkingtime:
5.5PuttingTextonBarsTextmaybeplacedonallbarsusingtheFORMAT,BarStyles,Format,BarformorselectedbarsusingtheFORMAT,BarStyles,Format,BarStylesformandtheFontSizeisspecifiedintheTextStylesform.
Note:ThelengthoftheBarChartmaybereducedbyplacingthetextontopofthebarinsteadoftheend:
5.6FormatColorsColorsareformattedinanumberofforms:
❖ NonworkingtimecolorsintheGanttChartareformattedintheTimescaleform;double-clickonthetimescale.
❖ TextcolorsareformattedintheFORMAT,Format,TextStylesandFontforms.
❖ GridlinecolorsareformattedintheFORMAT,Format,Gridlinesform.❖ HyperlinkcolorsareformattedunderFILE,Options,Advancedtab.❖ TimescaleandColumnHeadercolorsareformattedwiththesystemcolor
schemeselectedfromtheFILE,Options,General,OfficeTheme.❖ TheLogicLines,alsoknownasDependencies,Relationships,orLinks,
inherittheircolorfromthepredecessor’sbarcolorintheGanttChartviewandmaybeformattedintheNetworkDiagramviewbyselectingFORMAT,Format,Layoutform.
5.7HowtoStopTextWrappingManypeoplegetfrustratedwiththewayMicrosoftProjectseemstowraptextwithoutwarningwhencolumnsareadjustedinwidthandclickingontheWrapText buttondoesnotsolvetheproblem.
ThefieldthatcontrolsthewrappingoftextistheTextWrappingfieldfoundintheVIEW,Data,Tables,MoreTablesformandselectingaTabletoedit:
TostopALLTextWrappingyoueither:
❖ OpentheTablesformandsetallcolumnstoNointheTextWrappingfield,or❖ IfyouwishtousetheWrapText buttonthenyoumustselectthecolumn
first,thenclickontheWrapText buttonandthereadjusttherowheightsbyselectingtheSelectAllbuttonandadjustingonerow.
5.8DisplayTaskswithoutSuccessorsasCriticalNormallyataskthatdoesnothavesuccessorswilldisplayFloat,aspertask4below:
❖ SelecttheFILE,Options,Advancedtab,Calculationoptionsforthisproject:section,
❖ ChecktheCalculatemultiplecriticalpathsboxandthentasks:WithoutsuccessorswillhavetheirLatedatessettoequaltheirEarlydatesandwillbecalculatedwithzeroTotalFloat(Slack),
Displayedascriticalinthebarchartand
AreindicatedcriticalintheCriticalcolumn.
Youmightconsiderusingthisfunctionwhen:
❖ YouwouldliketodisplayMultipleCriticalPaths.Thishappensinaschedulewithseveralareasofseparablepartsandyouwishtodisplaythecriticalpathforeacharea.
❖ Youhavefewornorelationshipsinthescheduleandyouwanttofoolpeopleintothinkingthatyouhavecreatedaschedulewherealltasksareonthecriticalpath.Inthissituation,don’tforgettohidetheIndicators,PredecessorandSuccessorcolumns!
5.9PreventingDescriptionsfromIndentingWhenaprojecthasanumberofSummaryTasklevelsandthetaskdescriptionsarelongthentheTaskNamecolumnmayhavetobewidenedtodisplaythefulldescription:
TopreventtheTaskNamefromindentingselecttheFILE,Options,QuickAccessToolbartab,Choosecommandsfrom:Allcommands,selecttheIndentNameoptionandpressAdd.GotothequickaccesstoolbarandunchecktheboxforIndentname:
Note:SmallindentsmaybecreatedbytypingspacesatthestartoftheTaskNames.
5.10ReducingColumnWidthsItisusefultoreducethewidthofcolumnssomoredatamaybedisplayedonscreenandinprintouts.Thereareseveralwaystoreducecolumnwidths:
❖ TopreventtheTaskNamefromindenting,gototheQuickAccessToolbarandunchecktheIndentnameoption.Refertopara5.9forinstructionsonhowtoaddthiscommand.
❖ ToreducethewidthoftheDurationcolumn,selecttheFILE,Options,AdvancedtabandunderDisplayoptionsforthisproject:
Minutes:,Hours:,Days:,Weeks:,Months:,Years:–Fromthedrop-downboxes,selectyourpreferreddesignatorsfortheseunits.Change“days”to“d”and“hr”to“h”tomakethedurationcolumnsnarrower.
Addspacebeforelabel–Placesaspacebetweenthevalueandthelabel;uncheckthistomakedurationcolumnsnarrower.
ChangethecolumntitlefromDurationtoDur:
❖ ChangethedateformattoashorterformatintheFILE,Options,Generaltab.
5.11HowtoDisplayaTaskIDthatWillNotChangeOnefrustratingpartofusingMicrosoftProjectisthattheTaskIDisnotuniqueandasnewtasksareinsertedthentheIDchanges.TheTaskIDisthereforeaLineNumber.TheUniqueIDfieldhelpsresolvethisissue,whichisoftenveryimportantindisputeresolution.EachtaskisassignedaUniqueIDwhenitiscreated.Thisnumberisnotusedagainintheschedule,evenifthetaskisdeleted.
TherearetwoothercolumnsthatmaybeusedtoeditanddisplayrelationshipsusingtheUniqueID:
❖ TheUniqueIDPredecessor,and❖ TheUniqueIDSuccessor.
TheTaskUniqueIDallowsuserstoidentifyeasilywhichactivitieshavebeenaddedordeletedorwhenarevisedschedulehasbeensubmitted.
Ontheotherhand,ifonewantstoresettheUniqueID,orhidetheadditionordeletionoftasks,thencreateanewschedule,transferthecalendars,etc.withOrganizer,andcopyandpasteallthetasksintothenewscheduleafterexportingtheResourcesandCalendars.
Notes:
CutandPastingTaskwillalsochangetheirUniqueIDs.
ThereisalsoauniqueResourceIDandaResourceAssignmentUniqueID.
5.12HidingTaskInformationSometimesitisdesirabletohidesomeinformationinabarorcellaboutaspecifictask.
5.12.1HidingBars
Tohideabar:
❖ OpenTaskInformationfromtheGeneraltab,and
❖ ChecktheHidebaroption.5.12.2HidingText
Tohidetextinoneormorecells:
❖ Selectthecells,
❖ RightClickandusetheTextStylesfunctiontomaketheTextcolorthesamecolorastheBackground,usuallywhite.
5.12.3MarkingTasksInactive
ToinactivefunctionfoundontheTaskInformationform,GeneraltabinProfessionalversionsonlymakesataskinactive:
❖ Thisallowsyoutoeffectivelyremoveataskfromtheschedulecalculations,
❖ ThepicturesbelowshowthebeforeandaftermakingataskInactive:
Note:ThisisusefultoshowscopebeingremovedfromaprojectbutmaintainavisiblehistoryandonlyavailableintheProfessionalVersionsandnotStandardVersions.
5.13AnchoraVerticalLinetoaMilestoneItisoftenusefultohaveaverticallineontheBarCharttoshowtheendofaPhaseorStagethatwillmoveastheprojectisrescheduled.
❖ InsertaverticallineontheBarChartusingtheFORMAT,Drawings,Drawingfunction.
❖ SelecttheLineoptionanddrawitonthescreen.
ToattachtheverticallinetoaTasksoitmoveswhenthetaskmoves:
❖ Double-clickontheverticallinetoopentheFormatDrawingform,❖ SelecttheSize&PositiontabandselecttheTaskIDtoattachthelineand
therelativepositiontothebar:
5.14ZoomSliderDangersTheZoomSliderwasintroducedwithMicrosoftProject2010andreplacedtheView,Zoom…function.Thismaybefoundatthebottomright-handsideofthescreenandprovidesasimplewayofscalingthetimescaleintheGanttChartandallothertimescaledviewssuchastheCalendar,UsageandNetworkDiagramView.
Thisfunctionworksdifferentlytootherschedulingsoftwareinthatitchangesthescaleandthedisplayedtimeunitsatthesametimeandmayresultinsomeundesirabletimeunitsbeingdisplayed,suchas3and11daytimeintervals.
Oncethisfunctionisused,youroriginaltimescaledateformattingwillbelostandmayonlyberecoveredwithundoasthisfunctionappliesitsownformattingsuchasdateformats.
Theauthorhasfoundthatmorepredictableresultsareachievedbyusingthetraditional ZoomInandZoomOutfunctionswhichmaybeaddedtotheQuickAccessToolbar.
Note:YoumaywishtoremovetheZoomSliderfromtheStatusbaratthebottomonthescreen.
5.15WhyistheNon-workingTimeDisplayedIncorrectly?TheTimescaleformprovidesanumberofoptionsfortimescaledisplayincludingtheshadingofNonworkingtime.
ToopentheTimescaleformDouble-clickonthetimescale.TheNonworkingtimetaballowsyoutoformathowthenonworkingtimeisdisplayed.Youmayselectonlyonecalendar.Thenonworkingtimemaybepresentedasshadingbehindthebars,infrontofthebarsorhidden.
Notes:
BydefaultthisissettotheStandardCalendarforeachviewanddoesnotchangewhentheProjectDefaultCalendarischanged.
ThereforeifyouchangetheProjectBasecalendarintheProjectInformationandyouwishtoseethisnewcalendarinallviews,thenyouwillhavetoeditalltheviews.
5.16DisplayinganS-CurveAsingleS-CurvemaybecreatedgraphicallyanddisplayedbyMicrosoftProjectby:
❖ DisplayingtheResourceSheetinthetoppaneandselectingalltheresources,
❖ TheResourceGraphinthebottompane,❖ Right-clickinganddisplayingtheCumulativeCosts,and❖ Right-clicking,openingtheBarStyles…formandformattingasshownbelow:
WhenmorethanoneS-CurveisrequiredthenitissuggestedthatthedatashouldbeexportedtoExcelwiththeREPORTtoolbar,VisualReportsbutton andgraphedoryoucouldconsiderusingaproductlikeDecisionEdge.
5.17DisplayingCumulativeHistogramThismaybeachievedinasimilarwayasanS-Curveby:
❖ SelectingCumulativeWorkand❖ SelectingtheBaroptionintheBarStyles…formunderTotalallocatedwork
forSelectedresources.
5.18DisplayingaProjectSummaryTaskAProjectSummaryTaskmaybedisplayedbycheckingtheShowprojectsummarytaskboxfromtheFILE,Options,Advancedtab,Displayoptionsforthisproject:section.
❖ Thistaskspansfromthefirsttothelasttaskintheprojectandis,ineffect,abuilt-inLevel0OutlineLevelTask.
❖ TheProjectSummaryTaskdescriptionislinkedtotheProjectTitleintheFILE,ProjectInformation,AdvancedPropertiesform.
❖ AProjectSummaryTaskisavirtualtaskandmaynotbeassignedresources,relationshipsorconstraints.
Note:UnfortunatelyinlaterversionstheProjectTitleinPropertiesformislinkedtothefilenametheprojectissavedwithandthislinkmaynotbebroken,sotheProjectSummarytaskisalwaysthesameastheFileName.
6GETTINGITOUT-PRINTING6.1PrintingtoOnePageWidePrintinginMicrosoftProjecthasalwaysbeenalittleproblematicandrequiresalittlepatiencetogetright,butthefollowingsuggestionsmayassist:
❖ CreateViewsthatarejustusedforprintingandoncetheyworkdonoteditthemorusethemforday-to-daymaintenanceoftheschedule.
❖ Ifyouwishtofitascheduletoonepagewideitisusuallybesttomakesurethatmostoftheschedulefitsontothescreen,oratleastthatthecolumnsandbarseachdonotoccupymorethan2/3ofatypicalalaptopscreen.
❖ TryprintingtoapdfwriterwithanA3or11”x17”papersizeandthenreducethepapersizewhenprintingtoanA4orLetterpapersize.
Toreducethewidthofcolumns,asdiscussedearlier:
❖ Selectanarrowdateformat,
❖ SelecttheFILE,Options,Edittabandselectanarrowformatforthedurations;forexample,use“d”andnot“days”.
❖ SelecttheFILE,Options,AdvancedtabandunchecktheAddspacebeforelabeloption.Thiswillremovethespacebetweenthedurationvalueandunits.
❖ ConsiderincreasingtherowheightsotheTaskNamecolumnwidthmaybereducedandtextdisplayedontwoormorelines.
6.2PrintingaDateRangeAdaterangemaybeselectedfromthePrintform.InearlierversionsofMicrosoftProject,thishadtobeselectedfromtheFilemenu,butinlaterversionsthesedatesmaybeeditedbyselectingPrintfromthePrintPreviewform.
ThesedatesaresavedwiththeViewsoyoumaywishtoconsidercreatingaviewforeachdaterange.
Inaddition,afiltermaybecreatedtoremovetasksthatarenotinthedaterangetobeprinted.
6.3PrintingaGanttChartandResourceGraphorUsageTableonOnePage
MicrosoftProjectallowsthedisplayofaGanttChartintheTopPaneandaResourceGraphorUsageTableinthebottompanebutdoesnotprintthetwopanesinoneprintout.
❖ Oneoptionistoprintbothreportstoapdfwriterandthenusethepdfsoftwaretocreateonefilewithbothpages.TheGanttChartandTableorHistogramwillnotbeonthesamepagebutwillbeonereport.ProgramslikeAdobeAcrobatenablethis.
❖ AnotheroptionistouseascreencaptureprogramlikeSnagItandcopyboththetopandbottompanetoExcelorWordtocreateacombinedreport.
6.4PrintingtheCalendarItisalwaysusefultobeabletoprintoutthecalendarforpeopletoreviewtheworkinghoursandnon-workperiods.
MicrosofthasremovedtheoldReportsfrom2013andthereforetheabilitytoprint
textWorkingDaysreport,whichlistedtheNonWorkdayshasbeenlost.Theoptionstoprintonlythecalendarare:
❖ Saveyourproject,deletealltasks,displayandprinttheCalendarview,or❖ Downloadathirdpartysoftwarethatwillprintthecalendars,suchasAsta
Powerproject,or
❖ UsingaScreenCaptureprogramlikeSnagitandScreenCapturepicturesoftheCalendar,monthatatime.
6.5HidingUnwantedBarsintheLegendYouwillfindalargenumberofbarsaredisplayedintheLegendwhenprintingandtheseareoftenundesirableinreportsastheyconsumealotofspaceatthebottomofthepage.
TheseshouldnotbedeletedfromtheBarStylesformascertainfunctionssuchasRecurringTasksrelyontheseformatstodisplaythesespecialtaskbarsintheGanttChart.
Tohideabar,typeintheLegendan“*”infrontoftheNameintheBarStylesform.ThesebarswillstillbedisplayedintheGanttChartbutwillnotbedisplayedintheLegendinPrintPreview:
6.6WhathasHappenedtotheManualPageBreaks?TheManualpagebreakscheckbox,whichallowedprintingandignoringmanualpagebreaks,inthePrintformhasbeenremovedfromMicrosoftProject2013and2016.
YouwillneedtoaddtheInsertPageBreak ButtonontheQuickAccessToolbartoaddmanually-insertedbreaksPageBreaks.
7RESOURCEBASICS7.1HowManyResourcesShouldIHave?Aresourcedschedulemaybecreatedforthefollowingpurposes:
❖ Estimating.Thistypeofscheduleisusedforestimatingthecostanddurationofaprojectorpartofaproject,suchasarepeatableprocess.Manyresourcesmaybeassignedtoeachtaskinanestimatingschedulebecauseitisnotintendedtostatustheschedule.
❖ Control.Thistypeofscheduleisusedtomonitorandcontroltheprogressofaproject.Inthissituationthenumberofresourcesshouldbeminimizedasfaraspossible.Thisisbecauseeachresourceassignmentshouldbereviewedandpossiblyupdatedwhenthescheduleisupdated.Updatingalargeschedule,withmanytasksandmanyresourcesassignedtoeachtaskbecomesaverytimeconsumingoperation.Inthissituationtheschedulermaylosesightoftheirprimaryaimofforecastingtheprojectenddate,resourcerequirementandpossiblytheFinalForecastCost.Thescheduleisnowindangerofbecominganexpensivetimerecordingsystemandthusunabletoprovideessentialforecastinformation.Thusthenumberofresourcesinacontrolscheduleshouldbelimitedtothemaximumnumberrequiredtosatisfycontrolandreportingrequirements.
7.2TheBalanceBetweentheNumberofActivitiesandResourcesOnlargeorcomplexschedules,youneedtomaintainabalancebetweenthenumberofactivitiesandthenumberofresourcesthataretobeplannedandtracked.Asageneralrule,themoreactivitiesaschedulehas,thefewerresourcesshouldbecreatedandassignedtotasks.
Whenaschedulehasalargenumberoftasksandalargenumberofresourcesassignedtoeachtask,theschedulermayendupinasituationwhereprojectteammembersareunabletounderstandthescheduleandtheschedulerisunabletomaintaintheschedule.
Youmayconsiderinthissituationusingresourcesthatrepresentskillsortradesinsteadofindividualpeople,andonverylargeprojectsusingcrewsorteams.
Updatingaprojectwithresourcesissubstantiallyharderthanwithoutresources.Thesoftwareishardenoughtousewithoutaddingthecomplexityoflotsofresourcesthatmaynotaddvaluetotheschedule.
Itiscriticaltoentertheminimumnumberofresourcesintoaschedulebecausetheyconsumeasubstantialamountoftimetoupdate.
7.3DurationsandAssignmentsChangeasResourcesareAssigned
MicrosoftProjecthassomecomplexuserdefinablerelationshipsthatdeterminewhichparameterschangewhenresourcesareaddedtotasks.Forexampletheserelationshipsmayresultindurationsorhoursperresourcereducingasresourcesareaddedtotasks.
Thissectionwillexplainhowresourceassignmentscalculateandmakesomesuggestionsonhowtosetupthesoftwaresothetaskscalculatethewayyouexpect.
7.3.1TaskType–FixedDuration,FixedUnits,FixedWork
Usersmustunderstandtherelationshipbetweenthefollowingparameters:
❖ ThetaskDuration,❖ TheWork(thenumberofhoursrequiredtocompleteatask),and❖ TheUnitsperTimePeriod(therateofdoingtheworkornumberofpeople
workingonthetask).
Therelationshipis:
DurationxUnitsperTimePeriod=Work
Forexample,a2-daytaskat8hoursperdayhasaDurationof2x8=16hours.If2peopleareassignedtothetasktheUnitsperTimePeriodis2.00or200%andtheworkis16x2=32hours.
TherearethreeDefaulttasktype:optionsandthedefaultisassignedintheFILE,Options,Scheduletab.EachnewtaskissetwiththisTaskType.ItmaybechangedatanytimeforeachtaskintheTaskTypefieldwhichmaybeaccessedinanumberofplacessuchastheTaskTypecolumnintheTaskform,TaskDetailsformandtheTaskInformationform.
TheDefaulttasktypedecideshowthisrelationshipoperateswhenoneparameterchanges.Theyare:
FixedDurationTheDurationstaysconstantwheneithertheUnitsperTimePeriodorWorkarechanged.
AchangetotheDurationchangestheWork.
FixedUnits
TheUnitsperTimePeriodstayconstantwheneithertheDurationorWorkischanged.
AchangetotheUnitsperTimePeriodchangestheDuration.
Note:Thisistheauthorspreferreddefault.
FixedWork
TheWorkstaysconstantifeitherDurationorUnitsperTimePeriodarechanged.
AchangetotheWorkchangestheDuration.
ThereforeyourestimatewillnotchangewhenyouchangeDurationorUnitsperTimePeriod.
7.3.2EffortdrivenorNonEffortdriven?
TheTaskEffortisthesumoftheWork(hours)ofallWorkTyperesourcesassignedtoatask.TheEffortdrivenoptiondetermineshowtheeffortiscalculatedasresourcesareaddedorremovedfromaFixedUnitsorFixedDurationtask.Therearetwooptions:
Effortdriven
Whenaresourceisaddedorremovedfromatask,theTaskEffortassignedtoataskremainsconstant.ThereforetheWorkofexistingResourcesisreducedwhenanewresourceisassigned.Addingorremovingresourcesfromataskwillleavethetotaleffortassignedtoataskconstant,unlessallresourcesareremovedorachangeismadetotheworkofexistingresourceassignments.
NonEffortdriven
Whenaresourceisaddedtoorremovedfromatask,theResourceEffortorWorkofotherresourcesremainsconstant.Addingordeletingresourcesincreasesordecreasesthetotaltaskeffortandwillnotchangetheeffortofassignedrecourses.
Note:Thisistheauthorspreferreddefault.
Insummary,asyouassignresources:
❖ IfyouwantthetotalnumberofhoursassignedtostayconstantthenmakethetaskEffortdriven.
❖ IfyouwishtoassigneachresourcewithitsownhoursorunitspertimeperiodthenmakethetaskNonEffortdriven.
Note:AFixedWorktaskisautomaticallyEffortdriven.
7.3.3TaskTypeandEffortdrivenOptions
IfyouarenotsurewhichoptiontousethenitisrecommendNonEffortdrivenasadefault.ThisoptionpreventschangestoTaskDurationsand/orexistingResourceassignmentsasResourcesareaddedorremovedfromatask.
❖ SelectFixedUnitsforactivitieswhentheUnitspertimeperiodmuststayconstantaseithertheDurationorWorkischanged.Forexample,acrewof1Excavatorand3TrucksmuststayconstantastheDurationorWorkischanged.
❖ SelectFixedDurationforactivitieswhenthedurationmustnotchangeaseitherresourceUnitspertimeperiodorWorkischanged.
❖ SelectFixedWorkifyouwishtheWorktostayconstantasthedurationischanged.TheTaskwillbemadeEffortdrivenautomaticallywiththeEffortdrivenoptiongrayedout.Forexample,aprogrammerassignedfulltimeforaweekwillhave40hours’work.Whenthedurationisdoubledtoaweek,theprogrammerwillwork50%ofthetimeover2weeksbutstillwork40hours.IfyouassignanotherpersontohelpthenthetotalWorkwillremainat40hoursandtheDurationnotchange.
ThedefaultfornewTasksissetintheFILE,Options,Scheduletab,Schedulingoptionsforthisproject:,select fromthedropdownboxandallnewprojectswillhavetheseastheirdefaultoptions.
7.4AssigningResourcestoTasksTherearemanymethodstoassignresourcestotasks.Insummary,theyare:
❖ Highlightoneormoretasksthatyouwanttoassignresources.ClicktheAssignResourcesicon ontheResourcestoolbartodisplaytheAssignResourcesform.
❖ OpenthebottomwindowanddisplaytheTaskDetailsFormorTaskFormorTaskNameForm,thenselecttheResourceWorkorResourceCostoptionfromtheFormat,Detailsoptionorbyright-clickingintheform.
❖ Double-clickonaTasknameorclickontheTaskInformationicon toopentheTaskInformationformandselecttheResourcestab,
❖ DisplaytheResourceNamescolumnandtypeintheresourceassignment.
7.5ResourcesandSummaryTasks❖ SummarytasksmaybeassignedFixedCostsandResources.❖ AsummarytaskissettoFixedDurationandNonEffort-Driven.Thissetting
maynotbechanged.AnincreaseindurationwillincreaseWorkandtheResourceUnitswillstayconstant.
❖ ItisrecommendedthatunlessaSummarytaskWorkresourceassignmentandcostsarerequiredtovaryinproportiontotheSummarytaskduration,thenWorkresourcesshouldnotbeassignedtoaSummarytask.YoushouldconsiderusingFixedCosts,CostresourceoraMaterialresourceifappropriate.
8UPDATINGESSENTIALS8.1BaselinesandUpdatingaProjectAfteraschedulehasbeenreviewedandapproved,itshouldbebaselinedbeforeitisupdatedforthefirsttime.SettingtheBaselinecopiestheEarlyStartandEarlyFinish,theOriginalDurationandeachresource’sCostsandWorkintoBaselinefields.
AMicrosoftProjectBaselineisnotacompletebaselinebecauseitdoesnotrecordConstraints,Relationships,FloatortheCriticalPath.
OncetheBaselineissetyouwillbeabletoupdateyourplanandcomparetheprogresswiththeoriginalplanandbeabletosee:
❖ Iftheplannedprogresshasbeenachieved,
❖ Iftheprojectisaheadorbehindschedule,and
❖ Byhowmuchintimeandcost.
ABaselineissetbyselectingPROJECT,Schedulegroup,SetBaseline.
ThereareanumberofoptionsandformsavailabletoupdateprojecttasksaftersettingtheBaseline.
Irrespectiveofwhichformsareused,therearetwomainmethodstoupdateaproject:
❖ AutoStatustheschedulebyallowingthesoftwaretoautomaticallyupdatethetasks,asiftheprojectprogressedexactlyaccordingtoschedule.Then,ifrequired,adjusttaskstoreflectactualeventsandrevisions,or
❖ Updateeachtaskonebyone.
8.2WhichBaselineShouldBeUsed?AfteraprojecthasprogresseditmaybenecessarytosetanewBaseline.
Thismayoccurwhenthescopeofaprojecthaschangedandanewbaselineisrequiredtomeasureprogressagainst,butatthesametimeyoumayalsowanttokeepacopyoftheoriginalbaseline.
AnewBaselinemaybeusedtodisplaytheeffectofscopechangesonaplanbysettingaBaseline,addingthescopechangeandcomparingtherevisedschedulewiththeBaseline.
TheBaselinedatamaybereviewedinsomeViewssuchastheTaskDetailsForm,incolumnsandontheBarChart.YouwillbeabletodisplaytheBaseline1to10andInterimPlandatesanddurationsincolumnsandasbarsontheGanttChartbutnotintheforms.Baseline1to10alsodonothavevariancecolumns.
Therefore,itisrecommendedthatthecurrentbaselinebesavedastheBaselinesincethedataismoreaccessiblefromtheBaselinethanBaseline1to10.PreviousbaselinesshouldbecopiedtoBaselines1to10andpreservedasarecord.
AnotherbenefitofusingBaselineisthatithasVarianceStart,VarianceFinishandVarianceDurationcolumnsthatarenotavailablewithotherBaselines,butmaybecalculatedusingaCalculatedField.
Note:ThedownsideofusingoneoftheBaselines1to10isthatitisnotpossibletoeasilyidentifywhattheBaselinewassetforasthereisnotinbuiltwayofnamingthesebaselines.
8.3PrinciplesofUpdatingaProgramIdeally,schedulingsoftwarehasonecurrentDataDateandthefunctionofitisto:
❖ Separatethecompletedpartsoftasksfromincompletepartsoftasks,
❖ CalculateorrecordallcostsandhourstodatebeforetheDataDate,andtoforecastcostsandhourstogoaftertheDataDate,
❖ CalculatetheFinishDateofanin-progresstaskfromtheDataDateplustheRemainingDurationovertheTaskCalendar.
ThereforeaproperlyupdatedMicrosoftProjectprogramtheStatusDateshouldbeusedastheDataDate:
❖ CompletedTaskswouldhaveActualStartandActualFinishDatesinthepast.
❖ InprogresstaskswouldhavetheActualStartandActualDurationinthepast,andtheEarlyFinishandRemainingDurationintheFuture.
❖ Unstartedtasksshouldbeinthefuture.
InMicrosoftProjectisrelativelysimpletobeinasituationwhereyouhavecompleteorin-progresstaskswithstartdateslaterthantheStatusDate,and/orincompleteorunstartedtaskswithafinishdateearlierthantheStatusDate.Thisisanunrealisticsituation,whichismoredifficulttoachieveinotherschedulingsoftwarepackages.Careshouldbetakentoavoidthissituationandchecksmadeaftertheschedulehasbeenupdated.
Note:TheEastwoodHarristemplatefoundatthewww.eh.com.auwebsiteSoftware&DownloadspagehasaTrackingTablewithanadditionalcolumnshowingwhatisrequiredtodotoensurethetasksarecorrectlyupdated.
8.4In-progressTaskFinishDateCalculationManyplanningandschedulingpackagescalculateataskFinishDatefromtheDataDateplustheRemainingDurationovertheTaskorResourceCalendar,
whicheverisapplicable.
Unlikemostplanningandschedulingsoftwarepackages,MicrosoftProjectignorestheCurrentDateandStatusDatewhencalculatinganin-progresstask.ItcalculatesataskFinishDatefromtheActualStartDateplustheDurationandeffectivelyignorestheRemainingDurationfornormalprogresscalculation.
Thereisanin-builtproportionallinkbetweenDuration,%Complete,ActualDurationandRemainingDuration.Itisnotpossibletounlinkthesefields(asinotherschedulingsoftware)andthereforenotpossibletoentertheRemainingDurationindependentlyofthe%Complete.
Thus%Completefieldisthe%Durationofatask.
8.5CurrentDateandStatusDateMicrosoftProjecthastwoprojectdatadatefieldsthatmaybedisplayedasverticallinesontheschedule.ThesedatesmaybeeditedfromthePROJECT,Properties,ProjectInformationform:
❖ CurrentDate–Thisdateissettothecomputer’sdateeachtimeaprojectfileisopened.ItisusedforcalculatingEarnedValuedatawhenaStatusDatehasnotbeenset.ThetimeoftheCurrentDateissetbydefaulttothestarttimeofaday,seethepicturebelow.
❖ StatusDate–ThisfieldisblankbydefaultwithavalueofNA.TheStatusDatewillnotchangewhentheprojectissavedandreopenedatalaterdate.ItoverridestheCurrentDateforcalculatingEarnedValuedataandissetbydefaulttothefinishtimeofaday,seethepicturebelow.
Note:ItisrecommendthattheStatusDateissetanddisplayedasaverticallineonaprogressedscheduleandtheCurrentDatenotdisplayed,becausetheCurrentDaterepresentsthedatetodayanddoesnotnormallyrepresentanyschedulingsignificance.
8.6AutoUpdatingUsingUpdateProjectTheMicrosoftProjectfacilitytitledUpdateProgressisusedforupdatingaprojectasifithadprogressedaccordingtoplan.ThisfunctionsetsActualStartandActualFinishdates,%CompleteandRemainingDurationsinproportiontoauser-assigneddate,andalsosetstheStatusDate.
SelectPROJECT,UpdateProjectlocatedintheStatusgrouptoopentheUpdateProjectform:
TherearetwooptionsunderUpdateworkascompletethrough:whichapplytoin-progresstasksonly.
❖ Set0%–100%completeandthisistherecommendedoptionwhichsetstheprogressinlinewiththeStatusDate,or
❖ Set0%or100%completeonly.Thisoptionleavesthe%Completeatzero
untilthetaskis100%complete.Thisoptionsupportstheprogressmeasurementphilosophyofnotawardingprogressuntilthetaskiscomplete,buttasksoftenlookbehindscheduleandtheActualandRemainingDurationsarecalculatedincorrectly.
8.7MovingIncompleteWorkintotheFuturebySplittingThereisafeaturewhichwillscheduletheIncompleteWorkofanIn-Progresstasktostartonaspecificdateinthefuture:
❖ Ifyouwanttoapplythisoperationtosometasks,thenthesetasksshouldbeselectedfirst.
❖ SelecttheFILE,Options,ScheduletabandensuretheSplitin-progresstasksoptionischeckedotherwisethisfunctionwillnotoperate.
❖ SelectPROJECT,UpdateProjectlocatedintheStatusgrouptoopentheUpdateProjectform:
❖ ClickontheRescheduleuncompletedworktostartafter:radiobutton.❖ Specifythedateafterwhichincompleteworkshouldcommenceinthedrop-
downboxtotherightandclickonthe button.
Note:ThisfunctiondoesnotsettheStatusDateandmaybedifferenttotheStatusDate.ItisthereforeeffectivelyanotherDataDate.
8.8WhereistheTrackingToolbar?MicrosoftProject2010,2013and2016donothaveadedicatedTrackingtoolbarasinearlierversionandsometrackingcommandscanbefoundintheTASK,SchedulegroupandPROJECT,Statustab.
TocreateacompleteTrackingtoolbar;gotoFILE,Options,CustomizeRibbon,clickon ,clickon andnameboththetabandthegroupTracking.NowselectandaddthecommandslistedontheleftsideofthepanetothenewlycreatedTrackingtoolbar.
Alternativelyyoumayaddthemissingbuttonstotheexistingtoolbars.
YoumayfindthefollowingcommandsveryusefulandshouldbeaddedtoyourQuickAccessToolbar:
❖ MarkonTrackupdatestheselectedtaskasifithasproceededexactlyasitwasscheduled.Anin-progressorcompletedtaskcouldbedraggedtowhereitactuallyhappenedandthenthebuttonclickedtoprogressthetask.
❖ RescheduleWorkwillsplitataskthatisbehindscheduleandplacetheincompleteportionaftertheStatusDate.ForthisfunctiontoworkthechecktheSplitinProgresstaskboxintheFILE,Options,Scheduletab,Splitin-progresstasksmustbechecked.
Thefollowingcommandsyoumayalsofinduseful:
❖ ProgressLinewilladdaprogresslinethatshowsiftasksareaheadorbehindschedule.RightclickontheGanttCharttoopenthemenuandselectProgressLinestoopentheProgressLinesformwherethelinesareformatted.ABaselineshouldbesettoprovideacomparisontotheoriginalplan.MultipleProgresslinesmayberecorded.
❖ PercentCompletebuttonssetthepercentcompleteasindicatedbythebuttonandmaybeusedinconjunctionwiththeRescheduleWorkbutton.
❖ UpdateTasksopenstheUpdateTasksformwhereyoumayupdateindividualtasks.
❖ UpdateProjectopenstheUpdateProjectformwhereyoumayupdateacompleteprojecttoanewStatusDateasifitwentaccordingtoplan.
❖ DisplaystheProjectStatisticsform.
8.9WhyDoCalculationOptions–MoveendofcompletedpartsNotWork?
ThesenewfunctionswereintroducedinMicrosoftProject2002intendedtoassistschedulerstoplacethenewtasksastheyareaddedtothescheduleinalogicalpositionwithrespecttotheStatusDate.ThisfunctionisdifficulttouseandsomepracticeisrequiredtomakeitworkproperlyandyoushouldconsiderNOTusingit.
Herearesometipsifyouareunabletogetittowork:
❖ TheseoptionsareactivatedfromtheFILE,Options,Scheduletab,undertheSchedulingoptionsforthisproject:‘ProjectName’:
❖ IftheStatusDatehasnotbeensetthentheCurrentDateisused,andthisisoftenanirrelevantdate,soensureyousettheStatusDate.
Foralltheseoptionstooperateallfourofthefollowingparametersmustbemet:
❖ TheSplitin-progresstasksoptionintheScheduletabmustbechecked,and
❖ TherequiredoptionontheScheduletabmustbecheckedbeforethetaskisaddedoredited,and
❖ TheUpdatingtaskstatusupdatesresourcestatusoptionontheCalculationoptionsforthisproject:sectionmustbechecked,and
❖ TheTaskMUSTNOTBEassignedTaskDurationTypeofFixedDuration.❖ TheseoptionsmayNOTbeturnedonandofftorecalculatealltasks.The
optionsonlyworkonnewtaskswhentheyareaddedtoascheduleorwhenataskisupdatedbychangingthe%Complete.
❖ ThisfunctionwillignoreconstraintsevenwhentheScheduleOptionTaskswillalwayshonortheirconstraintdateshasbeenset.
❖ Thisfunctionmaynotbeappliedtoexistingschedules,butonlytonewtasksiftheoptionsaresetbeforethetasksareaddedorwhenatask%Completeisupdated.
Thisfunctionhassomerestrictions:
❖ Existingschedulesmaynotbeopenedandthefunctionapplied.
❖ WhentheMovestartofremainingpartsbeforestatusdateforwardtostatusdateisused,itwillchangeanyActualStartdatethatyouhaveenteredpriortoenteringa%Complete.ChanginganActualDateisnotadesirableevent.
Notes:
Thisoptionshouldbeusedwithcautionandusersshouldensuretheyfullyunderstandhowthisfunctionoperatesbyupdatingasimplepracticeschedulemultipletimes.
ItisrecommendthatthisfunctionshouldnotbeusedandtasksupdatedmanuallyasitisverydifficulttoperfecttheuseofthesefunctionsanditissimpletomakeundesirablechangestoActualData.
8.10ComparingProgresswithBaselineTherewillnormallybechangestothescheduledatesandmoreoftenthannotthesearedelays.ThefullextentofthechangesmaynotbeapparentwithoutaBaselinebartocomparewiththeupdatedschedule.
TodisplaytheBaselineBarintheBarCharteitheruse:
❖ TheFORMAT,BarStylesfunction,or❖ ManuallycreateaBaselineBar,or
❖ CreateaViewwiththeBaselinebardisplayed.
❖ YoumayusetheGanttChartWizard,butthisshouldonlybeusedwithprojectscreatedwithschedulescreatedwithMicrosoftProject2007andearlierduetotheincompatibilityoftheformattingoptionsbetween2007andearlierversionsand2010andlaterversions;resultinginsomebarsbeinghidden.
❖ YouwillneedtoaddtheaddGanttChartWizardbuttontotheQuickAccessToolbartouseit.
8.11ProgressLinesSomeusersliketodisplayProgressLines,whichareusuallyshownaszigzaglinesontheGanttChartshowinghowfaraheadorbehindtheprojecttasksare.
SelectFORMAT,Gridlines,andselectProgressLinesfromthedropdowntoopentheProgresslineformwheretheprogresslinesmaybeformatted:
8.12SimpleProcedureforUpdatingaSchedule–UsingAutoStatus
Thefollowingprocessshouldbeconsideredforpeoplewhorequireonesimplemethodofupdatingaschedule.Thismaynotsuitallsituationsespeciallywhenaprojectiswayoffplan:
❖ SettheBaselinebyselectingPROJECT,Schedule,SetBaseline.❖ DisplaytheBaselinebarsbyselectingFORMAT,BarStylesfunctionand
selectthenewlycreatedbaseline.
❖ DisplaytheStatusDategridline,selectFORMAT,Format,Gridlines,selectStatusDate.
❖ SelectPROJECT,Status,UpdateProjecttoopentheUpdateProjectformandselectSet0%–100%Complete,setthedateintheformtothenewStatusDate,
❖ TheprojectwillbeupdatedasifithasprogressedexactlyasplannedandtheStatusDateshouldnowbedisplayedinthebarchart.
❖ DisplayingtheTrackingTablemayassisthere.Note:TheEastwoodHarristemplatefoundatthewww.eh.com.auwebsiteSoftware&DownloadspagehasaTrackingTablewithanadditionalcolumnshowingwhatisrequiredto
dotoensurethetasksarecorrectlyupdated.
❖ Nowadjustthetaskdatesbydraggingthebarsorenteringthedatesintheappropriatecolumn;theorderthattheactionstakeplaceisimportant:
CompletetasksshouldhavetheActualStartandthentheActualFinishdatesadjusted,inthisorder,tomatchthedatesthatthetaskactuallystartedandactuallyfinished.IfyouadjusttheFinishdatefirstthentheStartdate,youwillthenhavetoreadjusttheFinishdateagain.
CompletedMilestoneswillbechangedtoaTaskwhenanActualFinishdateisentered,soensureyouonlyenteranActualStartand100%ifaMilestoneiscomplete,DONOTENTERANACTUALFINISH,In-ProgresstasksshouldhavetheActualStartenteredfirst,thenthetaskbardraggedorDurationadjustedsothefinishdateiswhereitisexpectedtofinish,andfinallythe%Completeadjusted.The MarkonTrackisusefulhereasupdatestheselectedtaskasifithasproceededexactlyasitwasscheduled.
Unstartedtasksshouldhavetheirlogicanddurationsrevised.❖ Addanyscopechangestotheschedule.
❖ Savetheprojectwithanewfilenameandsaveforfuturereference.
8.13ProcedureforDetailedUpdatingThisprocedureissuitedtopeoplewhowishtoupdateascheduleproperlyandmakesuretheActualdatesandRemainingDurationsofeachTaskiscorrect.Ithassmallbutimportantdifferencestothepreviousprocess:
❖ Ensurethateveryoneontheprojectteamisawareofthereportingcycle,theupdatingprocedureandreviewprocess.
❖ Collectaccurateandcompletestatusinformation.
❖ SettheBaselinebyselectingPROJECT,Schedule,SetBaseline.❖ DisplaytheBaselinebarsbyselectingFORMAT,Format,Baselineandselect
thenewlycreatedbaseline.
❖ SelecttheGanttChartviewandyoumayfindtheTrackingTableusefultoapply.
❖ DisplaytheVariancecolumnsasrequired;theFinishVarianceisalwaysapopularcolumntodisplay.
❖ DisplaytheStatusDategridline,selectFORMAT,Format,Gridlines,andselectStatusDate.
❖ Nowenterthetaskstatusforeachtaskoneatatimebyenteringtheinformationintheappropriatecolumn.
❖ Theorderinwhichtheactionstakeplaceisimportant:
CompletetasksshouldhavetheActualStartandthentheActualFinishdatesadjusted,inthisorder,tothedatethatthetaskactuallystartedandactuallyfinished.IfyouadjusttheFinishdatefirst,thentheStartdate,youwillhavetoreadjusttheFinishdateagain.
CompletedMilestoneswillbechangedtoaTaskifanActualFinishdateisentered,soonlyenteranActualStartand100%whenaMilestoneiscomplete,DONOTENTERANACTUALFINISH,In-ProgresstasksshouldhavetheActualStartenteredfirst,thenthetaskbardraggedorDurationadjustedsotheFinishDateiswhereitisestimatedtofinishandfinallythe%CompletemaybeadjustedwiththeMarkonTrackbuttonasthisfunctionupdatestheselectedtaskasifithasproceededexactlyasitwasscheduled.
Tasksthatarebehindschedulemaybesplitwiththe RescheduleWorkiconontheTrackingtoolbar.MakesurethattheFILE,Options,Scheduletab,Splitin-progresstasksboxischecked:
Unstartedtasksshouldhavetheirlogicanddurationsrevised.❖ Addanyscopechangestotheschedule.
❖ Savetheprojectwithanewfilename.
8.14PreparingtoUpdatewithResourcesUpdatingMicrosoftProjectscheduleswithresources:
❖ Usesanumberoffeaturesthatareveryinteractiveanddifficulttocomprehend,
❖ Requiresexperienceinthesoftware,
❖ Needssignificanttimetocompletetheprocess,and
❖ Asaresultitisoftendifficulttoachievethedesiredresult.
Itissuggestedthatbeforeyouworkonaliveprojectthatyou:
❖ Createasimpleschedulewithacoupleoftasksandassigntwoorthreeresourcesagainsteachtask,
❖ SettheOptionstoreflectthewayyouwanttoentertheinformationandhowyouwantMicrosoftProjecttocalculate,and
❖ Gothroughtheupdatingprocesswithdummydataandthencheckthatthe
resultsareasyouexpected.
Youwillneedtoconsiderhowthemeasureofprogressatthesummarytasklevelwillbedisplayed:
❖ The%Completeisthe%DurationCompleteandtheSummaryTask%CompleteisbasedontheproportionofalltheDetailsTasksActualDurationsdividedbythesumofalltheDetailsTasksDurations.Thesummary%Completemayoftenbeverymisleading.Thepicturebelowshowstheprojectis20%throughthedurationbutthe%Completeshows60%:
❖ The%WorkfieldiscalculatedfromtheproportionoftheActualWorktoWorkandissummarizedatsummarytaskcorrectly:
❖ The%Workand%CompletefieldsmaybeunlinkedwiththeFILE,Option,Calculationoptionsforthisproject:tabUpdatingtaskstatusupdatesresourcestatus:option.Ifunlinked,the%Workmaybedifferentfrom%Complete.Seethepictureabove.ThisallowstheeditingofResourceWorkwithoutthe%Completebeingchangedwithsomeoptions.
Otherpointstoconsiderare:
❖ DoyouwishMicrosoftProjecttocalculatetheresourceActualCostswiththeoptionFILE,Option,Calculationoptionsforthisproject:,ActualcostsarealwayscalculatedbyMicrosoftProjectchecked?
❖ DoyouwishyourincompletetaskstobesplitandscheduledtostartafteradateusingPROJECT,Statusgroup,UpdateProjectbutton ,andcheckRescheduleuncompletedtaskstostartafter:radiobuttoninconjunctionwiththeSplittaskoption?
MicrosoftProject2013and2016calculatesdifferentlytoearlierversionswhentheoptionActualcostsarealwayscalculatedbyProjectareuncheckedwhentheactivityisat100%.
❖ InearlierversionstheActualCostwasunchanged,butcouldbemanuallychangedthatpointon,
❖ InMicrosoftProject2013and2016,thesoftwarechangestheActualCoststozerowhenunchecked,whichwouldnormallybelessdesirable,andtheActualCostsmustthenbemanuallyentered.
8.15UpdatingResourcesThereareanumberofplacesthatresourcesmaybeupdated:
❖ TheTaskDetailsform,TaskInformationform,Taskform,Resourceform,ResourceNameformmaybeusedtoenterthequantitiesandcoststodateandquantitiestocomplete.Usingthismethoditissimpletoendupwithactualworkandcostsinthefutureorremainingworkandcostinthepast,whichisillogicalandshouldbeavoided.
❖ TheTaskUsageViewandResourceUsageViewmaybeusedtoenterthedataperdayorweekdependingonthetimescale.ThismethodtakesmoreeffortbutwillensureActualsareinthepastandRemainingWorkandCostsareinthefuture.
Acoupleofotherpoints:
❖ FixedCostsupdatesautomaticallyinproportiontothe%Complete.CostResourcesdonothaveaQuantity,allowsalittlemoreflexibilitythanFixedCosts.
❖ WhenActualcostsarealwayscalculatedbyProjectisuncheckedActualCostsareNOTcalculatedandyouwillneedtoenteryourown.ThisoptionalsoappliestoFixedCostswhichmayresultintheFixedCostandTotalCosthavingadifferentvalue,whereaswithresourcestheCostalwaysequalstheActualCostplusRemainingCosts.
❖ CosttoCompleteareALWAYScalculatedbyMicrosoftProjectfromtheResourceRates.
❖ IfyouassignOvertimetoaresourcemakesureyouhaveanOvertimerate;otherwise,asyouassignOvertimetheForecastCostwillreduce.
9CREATINGNEWPROJECTS9.1StandardizingProjectsItisoftenimportanttobeabletocreatenewschedulesthathavestandardcharacteristicssuchascalendarstailoredwithyourlocalororganization’sholidays,orlayoutsandfilterstopresentschedulesinastandardformat.Thereareseveralmethodsofstandardizingnewprojects:
❖ Global.mptwhichisusedtocreatenewprojectswhentheFILE,New,BlankProjectoptionisused,
❖ CreatingandsavingaTemplates,❖ Creatinga“StandardProject”andcopyingit.
9.2Global.mptTheGlobal.mptfunctionmaybeusedtostandardizeprojects,onlyifyouaretheonlypersoncreatingnewprojects.
❖ AnewblankprojectcopiesdefaultvaluessuchastheStandardCalendarfromtheGlobal.mptfile.
❖ TheGlobal.mptfilemaybeeditedusingtheFILE,Info,Organizeutility.ThesourceprojecthastobeopentocopydataintotheGlobal.mpt.
❖ TheGlobal.mptmaynotbeopenedwithMicrosoftProjectandispartoftheMicrosoftProjectInstallationoneachcomputer.
Note:TheauthorhasfoundanumberofissueswiththeGlobal,mptfileshippedwithastandardloadofMicrosoftProject2013and2016andrecommendsusinganeditedPersonalTemplate.
9.3MicrosoftProjectTemplateChangesMicrosoftProject2013and2016templatesoperatedifferentlytoearlierversionsofMicrosoftProjectandtherearesomeimportantchangesthatneedtobeunderstoodbyusersofearlierversionsofMicrosoftProject.
❖ TemplatesthataresavedonyourcomputerarenowtitledPersonalTemplatesinMicrosoftProject2013and2016,
❖ AdefaultlocationforyourpersonaltemplatesneedstobecreatedandyoursoftwaremappedtothislocationbeforethePersonalTemplatesfunctionwilloperate:
❖ SelectFILE,Options,SaveandsetyourDefaultpersonaltemplateslocation:here,
❖ AtthispointintimePersonalTemplatesmaynowbesavedandusedtocreateprojects.
Note:TousePersonalTemplatesyouMUSTsetyourPersonaldirectoryinFILE,Options,Save.
9.4UnderstandingTemplatesAtemplateisacompleteprojectthatissavedandthencopiedintheprocessofcreatinganewproject.
❖ *.mptfileformatisusedforsavingMicrosoftProjectPersonalTemplates.❖ ThedefaultlocationforPersonalTemplatesissetintheFILE,Options,
Savetab,Savetemplatessection.❖ SelectFILE,Newtoopenthestart-upTaskPane.Thereareseveraloptions
fortemplatelocations:
FEATURED,thisprovidesanumberofsampletemplatesandtheabilitytosearchforavailableonlinetemplates.
PERSONAL,thiswillallowyoutoopentemplatesonyourcomputer.Asmentionedearlier,aTemplatedirectorymustbespecifiedfirstforthisoptiontobecomeavailable.
❖ Organizationaltemplatesmaybeaccessedby:
Allowingpeopletocopytheorganizationaltemplatesfromacorporatelocation,orreceivethembyemail,andsavethemonthelocaldrive.Thisprocessissuitablewhentheusersdonotalwayshaveanetworkconnection.
MappingtheUsertemplatesdirectorytoalocationonacorporatenetworkdrive.
9.5EastwoodHarrisTemplateAMicrosoftProjecttemplatein*.mppformatmaybedownloadedfromtheEastwoodHarriswebsiteatfromthewww.eh.com.au,Software&DownloadspagethathasanumberoftheissueswithMicrosoftProjectdefaultsandothersettingresolved.ThechangestotheGlobal.mptdefaultsettingsarelistedonthewebsite.
Youmaywishtodownloadthisfile,openitandsaveitasaPersonalTemplateandusethisfileinsteadoftheBlankProjectoptionasithassomeformattingissuesresolved.
9.6CopyingViews,TablesandFilters
AspartofcreatingaTemplateorworkingonaprojectyoumaywishtobringinViews,TablesorFiltersfromanexistingproject.
TheOrganizerfunctionisusedtocopyinformationbetweenprojectsortoupdatetheGlobal.mpt.
❖ SelectFILE,Info,OrganizertoopentheOrganizerform.❖ Theprojectsyouwanttocopysettingstoandfromwillhavetobeopenedin
ordertocopydatafromonescheduletoanother,exceptfortheGlobal.mptproject.
❖ TheOrganizerfunctionisusedforrenaminganddeletingmostitemssuchasTables,ViewsandCalendars.
❖ Thetwotabswithtitlesthatarenotself-explanatoryare:
Maps–Thesearepredefinedtablesforexportingdata,andModules–TheseareVisualBasicMacros.
10OTHERTHINGSOFINTEREST10.1EditingToolBarsItisrecommendyoucustomizeyourmenusby:
❖ FirstlytoallowmorebuttonstobedisplayedontheQuickAccessToolbar,rightclickontheToolbarandselectShowQuickAccessToolbarBelowtheRibbontomovetheQuickAccessToolbarbelowtheRibbonToolbar.
❖ SecondlyitisrecommendthatyouhidetheRibbonToolbarbyRight-clickingontheRibbonToolbaranddisplaytheRibbonToolbarMenu.ThenclickonCollapsetheRibbontohidetheRibbonToolbar.WhenyouclickintheGanttChartareatheRibbonwillminimizeandmoreworkareawillbeavailableallowingyoutoseemoretasks.
❖ ThirdlyitisrecommendthatyoudownloadtheMicrosoftProjectQuickAccessToolbarfromthewww.eh.com.auwebsiteSoftware&Downloadspage,unzipitbydoubleclickingonthefileanddraggingittoyourDesktop.ThenimportthetoolbarusingFILE,Options,QuickAccessToolbar,Import/Export.ThishasallthecommonlyusedcommandsontheQuickAccessToolbar.
TodofurthereditingtotheToolbaricons:
❖ Right-Clickinthetoolbararea,❖ SelectCustomizetheRibbon…,
❖ SelecttheAllCommandsoption,❖ Dragiconsontotherequiredtoolbar,or
❖ Dragiconsoffthetoolbartoremovethem.
Note:UnfortunatelyMicrosoftProject2016haswidespacingbetweentheQuickAccessToolbarandthusdisplayslessbuttonsthanMicrosoftProject2016makingtheQuickAccessToolbarlessuseful.
10.2DynamicallyLinkingCellsItisalsopossibletodynamicallylinkdatatootherprogramssuchasanExcelspreadsheet:
❖ Copythedatafromthespreadsheet,
❖ SelectthecellpositioninthetablewherethedataistobepastedinMicrosoftProject,
❖ SelectPasteSpecialandthenselectthePasteLinkandTextDataoptions,❖ Thedatawillbepastedintothecell(s)andchangestolinkedcellsinthe
spreadsheetorotherprogramwillbereflectedinMicrosoftProject.
❖ Thelinkedcellwillhavealittletriangleinthebottomright-handside:
❖ Becarefulwhenlinkingdatefieldsasthismaysetanunwantedconstraint.
❖ Whenyoureopentheprojectscheduleatalaterdateyouwillbeaskedifyouwishtorefreshthedatafromtheotherapplication.
❖ Deleteorchangethecelldatatoremovealink.
❖ Double-clickonthelittletriangleinthebottomrighthandsideofthecelltoopenthelink.
❖ Itisalsopossibletolinkoneormorecellsinaschedulewithanothercellinthesameschedulesoachangeinonecellwillchangealltheotherlinkedcell(s).AgainusethePasteLinkoption.
10.3HowDoesNegativeFloatCalculateforSummaryActivities?ThelowestvalueoftheTotalFloatofincompletetasksisadoptedbythesummarytask,SubTask1inthepicturebelowandhasadopted3days:
Inthepicturebelow,TaskCisthelatesttaskunderSubTask1andhasFloat,butSubTask1hasadoptedzerofloatfromTaskDthelowestfloatvalue.
Nowtheprojecthasprogressedandthetaskwithzerofloatiscomplete.SubTask1has3days’Float:
10.4FloatandConstraintsThefollowingprinciplesapplytoconstraints:
❖ EarlyconstraintsoperateonEarlydates,❖ LateconstraintsoperateonLatedates,❖ StartconstraintsoperateonStartdates,and❖ FinishconstraintsoperateonFinishdates.
ThepicturebelowdemonstrateshowconstraintsaffectTotalFloat(Slack)calculationsoftasks(withoutpredecessorsorsuccessors)againstthefirsttaskof10daysduration.
Tasks9and10haveaDeadlineDateassignedwhichallowsasecondconstrainttobeappliedtoataskandoperateslikeaFinishNoLaterThanconstraint.
TheLateconstraintsreducetheamountofTotalFloat(Slack)ataskhasandmaygenerateNegativeFloat.
TheMustconstraintsactlikeanEarlyandLateconstraintinone.
10.5UsingCustomFieldsSelectthePROJECT,Properties,CustomFieldstoopentheCustomFieldsform.ThisfunctionincludesanumberofpredefinedfieldsforbothTaskand
Resources.
❖ TaskfieldsmaybeusedforrecordingadditionalinformationaboutTasks(suchasresponsibility,location,floor,system)andmaybedisplayedinTaskViewssuchastheGanttChart.
❖ Resourcefieldsmayrecordinformationsuchastelephonenumber,address,officeandskillsandmaybedisplayedinResourceViewssuchastheResourceSheet.
❖ Thefieldsmayberenamed.Forexample,theTaskText1fieldmayberenamed“Responsibility”andthenameofthepersonresponsibleforthetask(thismaynotbetheresourceassignedtothetask)placedintheResponsibility(Text1)column.
❖ ArenamedfieldisthenavailableintheTaskInformationorResourceInformationCustomFieldstab.
❖ Formulasmaybecreatedtopopulatethetaskfieldswithcalculateddata.
❖ TasksandResourcesmaybeGroupedusingCustomFields.
Thesepredefinedfieldsfallintothefollowingcategories:Cost,Date,Duration,Finish(date),Flag,Number,OutlineCode,Start(date)andText.
10.6CustomColumnsFormulasandDrop-DownListTheCustomAttributessectionoftheCustomFieldsformisusedtodefineLookuplistsandFormulas:
❖ TheoptionNoneallowsdatatobeentered,withoutanyrestrictions,fromeitheracolumnortheTaskorResourceInformationforms.
❖ openstheEditLookupTablewhereatableofvaluesanddescriptionsmaybeentered.TheValueisdisplayedincolumnsandDescriptioninbandswhenthetasksaregroupedbythisfield.Dataentryrestrictionsmaybesethere.
❖ allowstheassigningofformulasforthecalculationoffieldvaluesfromothertaskandprojectfields.
TheCalculationfortaskandgroupsummaryrowsspecifieshowSummaryTaskscalculatetheirvalues,suchasMaximum,Minimum,Sum,NoneandAverage:
❖ DatescouldbeMinimumorMaximum,and
❖ CostwoulduseSum.
CalculationforassignmentrowsdeterminesifthefieldvalueisdisplayedagainsttheresourceortheresourceandassignmentinTaskUsageandResourceUsagefields.
Valuetodisplayallowstheoptionsofdisplayingthevalueinthecellorgeneratinggraphicalindicatorssuchastrafficlights.
10.7CustomOutlineCodesTherearetenhierarchicalTaskCustomOutlineCodesandtenhierarchicalResourceCustomOutlineCodesthatmayberenamedtosuittheprojectrequirements.
❖ TaskCustomOutlineCodesmaybeusedforanyhierarchicalprojectbreakdownstructure,suchasaPRINCE2ProductBreakdownStructure,ContractBreakdownStructure,WorkBreakdownStructureand
❖ ResourceCustomOutlineCodesmaybeusedfororganizationalbreakdownstructuressuchasthehierarchyofauthority,locationsanddepartments.
Theprocesstousethisfunctionhasthefollowingsteps:
❖ DefinethenewOutlineCodestructure,
❖ Assignthecodestothetasksorresources,and
❖ CreateaGrouptoorganizethetasksunderthenewCustomOutlineCodestructure.
10.7.1DefineaCustomOutlineCodeStructure
SelectthePROJECT,Properties,CustomFields:
❖ AnOutlineCodemaybecreatedforeitherTaskorResourcedatabyclickingontheappropriateradiobuttonunderthetitleField.
❖ SelecttheOutlineCodethedrop-downboxintoprighthandside.
❖ The functionallowsyoutocopyacodestructurefromanotherprojectinamethodsimilartoOrganizer.
❖ The buttonopensaformtoeditthenameoftheOutlineCode.
❖ The buttoninMicrosoftProject2013and2016openstheEditLookUpTableformfortheselectedOutlineCodetocreatetheLookuptable.
❖ DefinetheMaskorcodestructurebyclickingonthe buttonatthetopright-handsidein2007-2016,beforeenteringthecodes.ThiswillopentheOutlineCodeDefinitionformwherethecodestructureisdefined:
EachLevelisassignedanumber.TheSequencedefinesthetypeoftextthatmaybeenteredforthecode:Numbers,UpperCase,LowerCaseorCharacters(text).
TheLengthspecifieshowmanycharacterstheCodeLevelmayhave:any,oranumberbetween1and10.
TheSeparatordefinesthecharacterthatseparateseachlevelinthestructure.
❖ Thepicturedisplays4levelseachusingadifferentoptionfortheircode:
❖ Clickthe buttontoreturntotheEditLookupTableformwheretheCodeValuesandDescriptionsareentered.ThepictureshowstwolevelsforaPowerStationUnitandEquipment:
10.7.2AssigningtheCustomCodes
Thecodesareassignedby:
❖ Displayingtheappropriatecolumn:
❖ OrbyopeningtheTaskInformationorResourceInformationform:
10.7.3GroupingwithCustomData
GroupingallowsgroupingoftasksunderdataitemssuchasCustomizedfields,Durations,Constraints,etc.Thisfunctionisusefultogrouprelatedtasksthatarespreadthroughoutaprojectschedule.
TheGroupingfunctionworksinasimilarwaytoFiltersandTables.ApredefinedGroupmaybeassignedby:
❖ SelectingVIEW,Data,Groupby:dropdowntoopenupasubmenu,❖ Theneither:
Selectingagroupfromthelist,or
SelectingMoreGroups…toopentheMoreGroupsform,clickingontheTaskorResourceradiobutton,andthenselectingonefromthelist,or
Note:FieldsaresortedalphabeticallywhendisplayedonthescreensoyoumayneedtobecarefulwithyourCodeValuesandconsiderprefixingthemwithanumbersotheysortintheorderyoudesire.
TocreateanewGroup:
❖ SelectVIEW,Data,Groupby:dropdown,NewGroupBy…toopentheGroupDefinitionform,
❖ Nowcreatea“Grouping”whichmaybereappliedatalaterdateorcopytoanotherprojectusingOrganizer.
❖ TheDefineGroupIntervalformisavailablewithadditionalGroupByoptionsforcertainfields,suchasStartorFinish.Thisallowsfurtherformattingby
definingtheintervalsofthebanding.Forexampleallthetasksthatstartinaweekormonthmaybebandedtogether:
ThepicturebelowshowsaprojectGroupedbytwotextfieldsthathavebeenrenamedSystemsandBuilding.NotetheorderoftheTaskIDs:
10.7.4GroupingwithCustomDatawithAutoFilters
GroupingwithonebandmayalsobeachievedbyturningontheAutoFilterfunctionbyeither:
❖ SelectingVIEW,Data,Filter:andselectingDisplayAutoFilteratthebottomofthelist,oraddtheAutoFilterbutton totheQuickAssesstoolbarandclickingonit.
❖ Therewillnowbeadownarrow inthecolumnheader,
❖ Clickonthecolumnheadertoopenthemenu,
❖ ClickonGroupby,
❖ Dependingonthedatacontainedinthecolumnyouwillbeofferedlogicaldataoptionstogroupyourtasks,
❖ ThepicturebelowdisplaystheoptionswhenGroupingbyDuration:
10.8ExportingtoExcelTheAnalysistoolbarisdesignedtoexporttime-phaseddatatoExcelinearlierversionsofMicrosoftProjectisnolongeravailableinVersion2010andlater.
TheoptionstoexporttoExcelare:
❖ SelectthedatainMicrosoftProjectandCutandPasteandyouhavetheoptionofkeepingornotkeepingtheformattingwhenPasting.
❖ TimescaledatamaybecopiedandpastedfromtheResourceUsageandTaskUsageviewsbutthedateinformationmustbemanuallyaddedtotheExcelSpreadsheet,
❖ TheREPORT,Export,VisualReportsexporttoExcelinPivotTableformat,soyouwillneedtohoneuponyourPivotTableskillstousethisfunction.
❖ TheFILE,SaveAs,ExcelformatallowsthemappingofspecificfieldstoandfromanExcelSpreadsheet.MapsmadebesetupandusedtomapdatatoandfromMicrosoftProjectandExcel.
10.9TurningOffGettingStartedandotherPOPupsTheseguidesoftenslowdownexperiencedusersastheyhavetobecontinuallyclosed:
❖ TopreventthepanetitledGettingStartedfromappearingeverytimeMicrosoftProjectisopened,selectFILE,Options,GeneralandunchecktheShowthestartscreenwhenthisapplicationstartsbox.
TheHelpsuggestionsofferedbyMicrosoftprojectisoftenmisleading,theseshouldbeswitchedoffbyselectingFILE,Options,Scheduleandunchecking:
❖ ShowschedulingMessages,❖ Showtaskschedulewarningsand❖ Showtaskschedulesuggestions.
❖ TheselecttheAdvancedtabanduncheckAdvicefromPlanningWizard.
10.10ContingentTimeThistopicshouldbeconsideredandContingentTimemaybeincludedusinganumberoftechniques:
❖ Addingoneormoretasksthatmaybereducedindurationtokeeptheprojectenddateconstantastheprojectprogressesandincursdelays.
❖ Increasingalltaskdurationsbyafactor.
❖ Makingsomecalendarworkdaysnonwork.
10.11EarnedValueThemethodthatMicrosoftProjectusestocalculatetheEarnedValuedataisdocumentedintheHelpfileandshouldbereadcarefully,asdifferentversionsofMicrosoftcalculatethesefieldsdifferently.ShoulddifferentEarnedValuecalculationsberequiredthenCustomDataFieldsshouldbeconsideredasanalternative.
ThecolumncalculationsshouldbecheckedandyouwillseethewayMicrosoftProjectcalculatesthevaluesandyoumaydisagreewiththeirmethod.
YoumaywishtouseCustomFieldsorthirdpartysoftwaretocalculatetheseEVfields.
10.12DoIHaveAlltheScope?ManyschedulesareunrealisticordonotcalculatearealisticCriticalPathbecausethewholescopehasnotbeenenteredintoaschedule.Thereareacoupleoftechniquesthatmaybeemployedtoensurethewholescopehasbeenincluded:
❖ StakeholderAnalysis,and
❖ RiskAnalysis.
10.12.1StakeholderAnalysis
ManyprojectmanagersconductaStakeholderAnalysisatthestartofaproject.Thisprocessidentifiesallthepeopleandorganizationswithaninterestintheprojectandtheirinterests.
❖ Youmayuseastakeholderanalysistoidentifyallthestakeholdersandtheirassociatedactivities.Theactivitiesmustbeincludedintheschedule.
❖ Keyprojectsuccessfactorsmaybeidentifiedfromtheinterestsofthemostinfluentialstakeholders.
❖ Thestakeholderanalysismaybeusedasthebasisofacommunicationsplan.
10.12.2RiskAnalysis
Theprocessofplanningaprojectmayidentifyrisksandaformalriskanalysisshouldbeconsidered.Ariskanalysismayidentifyriskmitigationactivitiesthatshouldbeaddedtotheschedulebeforeitissubmittedforapproval.
10.13PreparingforDisputeResolutionDisputeresolutionisbecomingmorefrequent.Therearesomestepsthatmaybetakentoprepareforthiseventualitywhichshouldreducethecostofthisprocess.
10.13.1KeepingElectronicCopiesofEachUpdate
Eachtimeyoureporttotheclientormanagement,itisrecommendedthatyousaveacopyofyourprojectandchangethefilename(perhapsbyappendingadatetothefilenameorusingarevisionorversionnumber)orcreateasubdirectoryforeachversionoftheproject.Thisallowsyoutoreproducethesereportsatanytimeinthefutureandanelectroniccopywillbeavailablefordisputeresolutionpurposes.
10.13.2ClearlyRecordtheEffectofEachChange
Eachchangeshouldbeclearlyrecorded.Considerifyoushould:
❖ Createacopyofthescheduleforeachscopechangeanalysis,
❖ SettheBaselinebeforeenteringscopechanges,
❖ Forclarityaddnewtask/sforthescopechangesanddonotextendexistingtasks,
❖ Showdelaysastasks,notaslagsorconstraints,
❖ EnsurewhentheelapseddurationofthedelayisrequiredcalculatethisbyplacingadelayMilestoneona7dayperweekcalendar.
11INDEX%Lags44
ActualcostsarealwayscalculatedbyMicrosoftProject?96,97
AddProgressLine86
Addspacebeforelabel59,67
AddtoQuickAccessToolbar12
AlwaysrollupGanttbars53
Analysistoolbar65
AsLateAsPossibleConstraint32
AutoScheduled10
AutoFilters35
Autolinkinsertedormovedtasks5,9
Bars
Baseline89,90
FormatStyle30
Height53
NegativeFloat31
Styles70
Text55
Baseline79
Calculatemultiplecriticalpaths57
CalculatedFilters33
CalendarNonWorkDays5
CalendarTask17
ChangeWorkingTime14,19
Changeworkingtimeform21
CollapsetheRibbon11
ColorsFormat55
Concatenate24
ContingentTime116
CurrentDate82
CustomOutlineCodes108
CustomizeFieldsForm106
CustomizeQuickAccessToolbar12
CustomizetheRibbon102
Date
Format49,52
OnBars52
DeadlineDate29
Defaultendtime:21
Defaultstarttime:21
Defaulttasktype:74
DefineGroupIntervalform113
DeleteKey1
DisputeResolution119
DrivingRelationships45
Durationisenteredin:16
DynamicallyLinkingCells103
EarnedValue82,117
Effortdriven75
ElapsedDurations41
ElapsedLeadsandLags42
Excel115
Exporting115
FeaturedTemplates100
FilterCalculated33
FinishNoEarlierThanconstraint1
Fixed
DurationTaskType73
UnitsTaskType73
WorkTaskType73
Float18
FloatBars31
Form
CustomizeFields106
DefineGroupInterval113
FormatBar30
MoreGroups112
ProjectStatistics86
Timescale64
Format
BarStyle30
BaselineBar89,90,92
Date49
NonworkingTime64
FreeFloat30
GanttChartWizard32,89,90
Global.mpt98,101
GridlinesColors55
Hiderollupbarswhensummaryexpanded53
Hidetaskbar61
HidingText61
Hoursperday:15,16
HyperlinkColors55
Import/Export12
IndentName58,59
Indicatorscolumn2,17
InteractiveFilters35
InterimPlan79
Ladderscheduling43
Lags18
LegacyFormat5
Legend70
Macros101
ManualPageBreaks70
ManuallyScheduled10
Maps101,115
Markasamilestone38
Milestones37
Modules101
Movestartofremainingpartsbeforestatusdateforwardtostatusdate88
mptFileType99
MultipleCriticalPaths57
NegativeFloat30
Newtaskscreated:10
NonEffortdriven75
Non-drivingRelationships45
NonworkingTime64
NonworkingTimeColors55
OrganizerOverview101
PageBreaks70
PasteLink103
PersonalTemplate99,100
PredecessorUniqueID60
ProgressLines86,89
ProjectInformationform13
ProjectStartDate8
Project,ProjectInformationform20
QuickAccessToolbar11
RelationshipDiagram47
RelationshipsDriving45
RemainingDuration81
Reports115
Rescheduleuncompletedtaskstostartafter:96
RescheduleWork85,93
ResourceAssignmentUniqueID60
RetainedLogic26
RiskAnalysis118
RollupGanttbartosummary54
RoundBarstoWholeDays54
ScheduleOptions9
Schedulingignoresresourcecalendars14,17,19,20
S-Curve65
Showprojectsummarytask66
ShowQuickAccessToolbarBelowtheRibbon11
ShowschedulingMessages116
Showtaskschedulesuggestions116
Showtaskschedulewarnings116
Split
RemovingaBarSplit27
ShowBarSplits28
Task26
Splitin-progresstasks3,9,26,84,85,87
StakeholderAnalysis118
StartNoEarlierThanconstraint1
StartonCurrentDate8
StartonProjectStartDate8
StatusDate8,82
TaskCalendar17
TaskDrivers45
TaskInformation17
TaskInspector46
TaskPath46
TaskSplitting25
TaskType
FixedDuration73
FixedUnits73
FixedWork73
Taskswillalwayshonortheirconstraintdates3,4,9,88
Templates99
TextColors55
TextWrapping56
Timescale64
TimescaleFormatColors55
TrackingToolbar85
UniqueID60
Predecessor60
Successor60
UniqueResourceAssignmentID60
UniqueResourceID60
Units59
UnitsperTimePeriod73,74
UpdateasScheduled85,91,93
UpdateProjectform83,90
UpdateTasks86
Updatingtaskstatusupdatesresourcestatus87,95
VisualBasicMacros101
VisualReports115
Wildcard34
WrapText56
ZoomSlider63