Move Dates Automatically in Microsoft Project

[richardharwood]

Hello,

BACKGROUND:

I currently use Microsoft Project to chart/display the forthcoming
operations of our company. We do not use Project for any CPA or other
uses - we simply print out the months chart to use as a production
schedule.

Each row contains the name of a workshop operative. Each column
represents a different day of the week sequentially. Blocks are shown
to represent which jobs each employee will be working on at any given
point.

THE PROBLEM:

Occasionally we have to shuffle or ammend the production schedule,
typically once a week. For example;

John Smith is scheduled to be working on Project A for July
1st,2nd,3rd,4th and 5th. However, Project B has been brought forward
and therefore John will now work on Project A for 1st, 2nd and 3rd
July, but will work on Project B for 4th and 5th July.

Whenever I create a new project, or shorten an individual timespan, all
the blocks which follow (i.e. 6th July onwards) remain in their
original places. Ideally I want these to automatically shift left, so
that they again meet the shortened length of Project A. At the moment,
I have to do this manually and it does take some time...

Is there any way that blocks can be made to automatically move left
where possible, rather than staying at their original dates?

Any help on this matter would be much appreciated.

Thank You.

Richard

 

[John]

Hello,

BACKGROUND:

I currently use Microsoft Project to chart/display the forthcoming
operations of our company. We do not use Project for any CPA or other
uses - we simply print out the months chart to use as a production
schedule.

Each row contains the name of a workshop operative. Each column
represents a different day of the week sequentially. Blocks are shown
to represent which jobs each employee will be working on at any given
point.

THE PROBLEM:

Occasionally we have to shuffle or ammend the production schedule,
typically once a week. For example;

John Smith is scheduled to be working on Project A for July
1st,2nd,3rd,4th and 5th. However, Project B has been brought forward
and therefore John will now work on Project A for 1st, 2nd and 3rd
July, but will work on Project B for 4th and 5th July.

Whenever I create a new project, or shorten an individual timespan, all
the blocks which follow (i.e. 6th July onwards) remain in their
original places. Ideally I want these to automatically shift left, so
that they again meet the shortened length of Project A. At the moment,
I have to do this manually and it does take some time...

Is there any way that blocks can be made to automatically move left
where possible, rather than staying at their original dates?

Any help on this matter would be much appreciated.

Thank You.

Richard

Richard,
It sounds like what you really want is a good graphics package and
Project may not be the best application for you. Nonetheless it is
simplest form let's see if we can help you out. First, we need some
clarification of your terms. Here's why. Project's structure describes a
list of tasks (rows) that most often are grouped under one or more
levels of summarization (summary lines). The graphic display on the
right side of the view normally shows Gantt bars representing the
duration in time (hours, days, weeks, etc.) of each task. People (or
material) that actually performs (or is used in) the work on each task
are called resources. These are listed on the Resource Sheet and are
assigned at various levels of utilization for each task.

Given the above project structure, what exactly is a "workshop
operative"? If is was a workshop operation then it sounds like a task in
Project. However you use the term "operative" and to me that sounds like
a person, which in Project is a resource.

The columns representing days of the week are no problem. Project's
timescale setting does exactly that.

What are the "blocks"? I might interpret blocks as the Gantt bars since
they do look like rectangular blocks. On the other hand, blocks might be
groups of subtasks under a common summary line.

Once we understand the terms, then we can help with a possible solution.

John
Project MVP

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Richard,

It's the way YOU use iot that's uncommon, what you ask for is normal:
Project is made to move tasks.
Alas, your explanation isn't completely clear to me.
For starters, it would be useful that yiu talk the Project vocabulary such
that I could immediately situate what you mean.

Sometimes I am under the impression that you talk avbout the Resource Usage
View, then it looks more like the Gantt Chart or even the Calendar View.

By all means try the following.
Enter these "projects-man" combinations as tasks
assign a resource to the tasks
Fill out the past or fix what you want to be totally fixed by declaring it
"Actual Work" in the Resoruce or Task Usage View
Now perform resource leveling.
HTH