Fixed Work becomes Broken Work

[Gavin Jacobs]

There is an old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
For MS Project, I've found myself saying "If it's Fixed don't break it!".

The reason for my anguish occurs as follows:
1. Define a task as "Fixed Work" with a nonzero value for Work
2. Assign one or more resources to the task
3. Enter Actual Work for the resource, but less than the value for Work
4. Increase or decrease Actual Work; observe that Remaining work is
calculated correctly (Work - Actual Work)
5. Increase Actual Work equal to or greater than Work; Remaining work is set
to 0, Work = Actual Work
6. Decrease Actual Work
Now we observe something strange: the value for Work also decreases! i.e.
once Remaining Work has reached zero, Work is no longer fixed (arghh, it's
Broken!).

If you then increase Work or Remaining Work, the situation returns to Fixed
Work with Actual Work < Work

How can we prevent the Broken Work scenario?
a) make sure Remaining Work is never 0?
b) tell users to never make mistakes on entry of Actual Work?
c) other?

Of course a) and b) are facetious answers. Does anyone have a real answer?

Gavin

 

[JackD]

There is an old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
For MS Project, I've found myself saying "If it's Fixed don't break it!".

The reason for my anguish occurs as follows:
1. Define a task as "Fixed Work" with a nonzero value for Work
2. Assign one or more resources to the task
3. Enter Actual Work for the resource, but less than the value for Work
4. Increase or decrease Actual Work; observe that Remaining work is
calculated correctly (Work - Actual Work)
5. Increase Actual Work equal to or greater than Work; Remaining work is set
to 0, Work = Actual Work
6. Decrease Actual Work
Now we observe something strange: the value for Work also decreases! i.e.
once Remaining Work has reached zero, Work is no longer fixed (arghh, it's
Broken!).

If you then increase Work or Remaining Work, the situation returns to Fixed
Work with Actual Work < Work

How can we prevent the Broken Work scenario?
a) make sure Remaining Work is never 0?
b) tell users to never make mistakes on entry of Actual Work?
c) other?

Of course a) and b) are facetious answers. Does anyone have a real answer?

Gavin

As you have found Work = Actual Work + Remaining Work.
If Actual Work is 5 and Remaining Work = 0 then Work must equal 5.

Fixed work has a different meaning than you think it does.
Fixed work refers to the way that project solves the equation Work =
Duration x Units. In that equation Work is held constant and if more Units
(resources) are added then the duration decreases. Likewise Fixed Duration
will hold Duration constant and changes Units or Work.

If you want to keep some idea of what the original work was use a baseline.
That is what they are there for.

-Jack

 

[Gavin Jacobs]

Jack,
I understand all that you said, and I agree that Baseline is useful, but I
think you missed my question:

The equation you show for Work is mathematically correct; but by empirical
observation, that isn't what is programmed into MSP. When a task starts, the
independent variable is Actual Work and the dependant variable is Remaining
Work; i.e. it starts by calculating Remaining work:
(1) Remaining Work = Work - Actual Work (This is Good)

but once Remaining Work hits zero, the calculation changes to:
(2) Work = Actual Work (This is
normally Good; unless Actual Work DECREASES!)
In other words, Work changes, even though I have NOT changed Duration nor
Units.

What I want, is a way to get from scenario (2) back to scenario (1), without
having to train all our PMs to "Watch out for ..."

So, I'm hoping someone can explain how to control the transition; but if
not, just say that it is impossible.

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Gavin,

I'm afraid once the task has the property of 100% finished the only way to
get rid of it is by explicitly introducing more work, any quantity of
remaining work or a %complete different from 100.

Sorry, I have other customers who don't like this either (I met one
yesterday, that is why I bump in )

HTH

--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
Project Management Consultancy
Prom+ade BVBA
32-495-300 620