MSProject: Allow durations in years and also calendar months.

[Phillip Stephenson]

Currently, MSProject only allows durations to be entered in minutes (m),
hours (h), days (d) and months (mo). A month in Project is logically defined
as four (4) weeks. However, there are thirteen (13) months (four-week
periods) in a year. (i.e. 12 x 4 = 48 weeks vs. 13 x 4 = 52 weeks/year.)

It would be advantageous to have years (y) and calendar months (cm)
available for entry into less sophisticated, global overview type schedules.

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

Duration is defined in terms of working time only but all calendar months
don't have a uniform number of working hours in them. What single factor
would you use to convert an entry of, say "3 months" into working time
minutes (whcih is the unit all durations are stored in) that would hold true
for all possible 3 month sequences and take leap years into account as well?

 

[David]

This would only work if duration was relative to start... and that opens
another level of complexity.

 

[John]

Calendar months is obtained using em (Elapsed Month) a ew (Elapsed Week is
also available

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

Duration IS relative to start <grin>. The textbook definition of duration
is "the number of work periods (not including holidays or other non-working
periods) required to complete an activity or other project
element...sometimes incorrectly equated to elapsed time." (PMBOK 2000,
p.200) What that amounts to in MSP is the number of minutes during which
work is regularly scheduled according to the working time calendar governing
the task or element, between when it begins and when it is completed.
--
Steve House [MVP]
MS Project Trainer/Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

Only trouble is that screws up your work values. With the default calendars
there are 8 working hours in a duration day but 24 working hours in an
elapsed day.