Is something effecting the non-efffort driven check box

[BruceC]

I'm admin'ing an EPM (Proj 2003 SQL 2000 SP's OK) where the standard
tasks are set to non-effort driven fixed duration. Since our Proj.
Mgrs. are exactly in the "mature" category, when I have found a couple
of tasks here and there set to effort driven, I'll just fix'm. But
recently, several members of the PMO have asked me about this same
issue which is leading me to think that perhaps its something that we
are doing that we just don't know about yet. ( I hate that when it
happens)

anybody have ideas about what would change the check box ?

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Bruce:

By default, the Project client has the checkbox New Tasks are effort driven
selected on the Options > Schedule tab. Does this give you any insight into
what you're seeing?

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

BruceC --

Ask ALL of your project managers to do the following:

1. Launch Microsoft Project Professional and log into Project Server
2. Click Tools - Options - Schedule
3. Set the Default task type value to "Fixed Duration"
4. Deselect the "New tasks are effort driven" option
5. Click the Set as Default button and then click the OK button
6. Open an enterprise project
7. Repeat steps 2-5 for the enterprise project
8. Save and close the project
9. Repeat steps 6-8 for every project owned by the project manager

My suspicion is that one of your PM's had not completed steps #2-5 and then
added one or more new tasks to a project, which would have made the new
tasks effort driven and perhaps Fixed Units as well. Be sure to complete
steps #2-5 for every enterprise project in your system as well. Hope this
helps.

 

[BruceC]

Gary / Dale:

Sorry, maybe I'm not clear enough
I've defaulted the enterprise global to NEFDuration. So, I'm pretty
sure new tasks are NEFD, and the templates are set that way.
Folks are using plans created that way. Then after months of use, team
members entering actuals and PM's accepting etc, a few plans show some
of these defaulted (existing) tasks as now being effort driven. The
PM's swear they didn't change the check box. So, I was smiling at
them, thinking yeah, sure, and just fixing their plans back to NEFD.
But recently a couple of folks from the PMO (ie better PMs) reported
the same issue.

So my question goes to what things, hidden deep inside the product, (or
perhaps better described as things I don't know about), other then out
and out changing the parameter might cause a task to change from NE to
effort driven. I don't unknow of any Microsoft process, function etc
that would change the task information that way.

You do have a point, that maybe, somebody changed the options tab
parameter and new tasks are incorrect, but that leaves existing tasks,
and that's my principle concern here, unexplained.

I guess I would like to say I asked the experts and they agree with me
, thats this is PM error. Or is it the force, luke

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Bruce:

You "think" you changed this in the Enterprise Global, and you very well may
have gone through those steps. One problem, though, this setting is not
controlled by the Enterprise Global. You can set it in a project template
and have everyone use the template to start new projects, or you can set it
as a default on each installation. Does that help explain things?

 

[BruceC]

Gary:

Let me ask this question a differently.

Given your above statements are followed, is there any situation where
Project Pro would change a task from non-effort driven to effort
driven, or can it only be done by a steps that a PM would do?

Thus, what I am asking is: is there no series of events that would
cause Project Pro's functions or processes to flip the task without the
PM knowledge?

I am, of course, excluding VBA and macro's there are none, the focus of
the question is enterprise project underlying assumptions and processes
that under a the right set of circumstances flip the effort bit.

Thanks, I'm sorry if I'm not getting my point across, or I'm too thick
to understand yours. I'm just trying to explain what I'm seeing
happen to my PMs.

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Bruce:

There's nothing in the software logic that changes the effort driven setting
unless you change the task type. Fixed Work tasks, for instance, are
considered effort driven. There's nothing in the software logic that changes
task type for you. More importantly, the steps you took to set the default
value were invalid.

 

[BruceC]

Gary:

Thank you very much. I have noted the inappropriate attempt to default
NEFD task type. And will proceed with the underlying knowledge that MS
Project is not changing the task type option from NE to effort driven.

Thank you for your contribution
Best Regards
Bruce

 

[BruceC]

Gary:

Thank you very much. I have noted the inappropriate attempt to default
NEFD task type. And will proceed with the underlying knowledge that MS
Project is not changing the task type option from NE to effort driven.

Thank you for your contribution
Best Regards
Bruce