Ensuring Tasks in Planning Stages are NOT Published

[Anthony Teixeira]

Hi,



We are trying to find a way where we can input tasks, load the resources
(for planning purposes) in MS Project and not publish them to the Project
Web Server.



For example, I want to try and plan out the work required for the release
the next couple of iterations of software that we develop. The functionality
that will be implemented defines the tasks. Resources on our team have
different skill sets and levels of expertise. Thus certain tasks need to be
done by certain team members. Our challenge is to ensure that we have the
right team member(s) available at the right time and not overloaded.



Our normal operating procedure is, once a task is actually assigned for
resolution, a corresponding task would be added to MSP and published. This
is generally accomplished by clicking on the "Publish All Information"
button. Since there is more than one user that can publish, the inevitable
effect will be that tasks that are still in the planning stages will be
published.



Ideally we would like to know if there is any way that we can flag tasks so
that they would not get published.



Any assistance on the following would be appreciated.



Tony

 

[Doug]

Tony:

I have a solution on the Project level using Project 2003. You have the
option of specifying that resources are "projected" rather than "committed".
You have to set this for each resource in the project. Resources that are
"projected" will not see the tasks in their project web access pages.

Good Luck

 

[Anthony Teixeira]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for responding.

Unfortunately, the solution I need is on a Task Level. As an example, the
team is presently working on Construction Build 1 and all resources are
committed. We are now looking ahead to Construction Builds 2 and 3 with the
resources that are now committed.

Thanks Again

Tony

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Anthony:

It sounds like you need to learn about the other functions under Collaborate

Publish. Using Publish all information as your only method is like trying

to drive a car with only two throttle settings: full and none. You also need
to learn to use the features in the publish dialogs where you can select all
tasks, by resource, or selected tasks. Another good thing to know is how to
filter views. For instance, if you were to set a simple custom task-level
flag, you could easily filter your view to show only the tasks that you want
to publish.