Multiple Projects

[bytek]

I posted the below on another forum and got mixed answers. You guy
have been very helpful so far so I wanted to see what you thought:

--I am new to MS Project and am hoping that someone can give me som
direction on this. I am familiar with how to make one large (or small
project w/multiple tasks in MS Project. However, what I am trying to d
is have one file with multiple projects in it. Maybe giving you
little background will help...

-"I work for a company that builds web sites. Quite a few of our dail
"projects" are updates to exsisting web sites which can take anywher
from 5 minutes to 4 hours for a programmer to complete. -

I was thinking that I could just have one file named "reoccurin
projects" or something like that and track them that way putting eac
"project" as an actual "task" on the sheet. Would that be the way t
do it? Let me know if that doesn't make sense!"--

The more I have been playing with it, the more I have been wonderin
whether I should just have one file for each worker and put all o
their tasks under one large file. When there are larger projects wher
more than one resource is used then I could create a file that ha
multiple resources...

I tell ya, the "Step by Step" book I read has gotten me through th
basics but there are so many things left unsaid. I suppose that i
because everyones business is different. I sure wish there wer
training classes for this in my area! I have looked into it and the
are all quite far away.

Suggestions?

Thanks

 

[John]

I posted the below on another forum and got mixed answers. You guys
have been very helpful so far so I wanted to see what you thought:

--I am new to MS Project and am hoping that someone can give me some
direction on this. I am familiar with how to make one large (or small)
project w/multiple tasks in MS Project. However, what I am trying to do
is have one file with multiple projects in it. Maybe giving you a
little background will help...

-"I work for a company that builds web sites. Quite a few of our daily
"projects" are updates to exsisting web sites which can take anywhere
from 5 minutes to 4 hours for a programmer to complete. -

I was thinking that I could just have one file named "reoccuring
projects" or something like that and track them that way putting each
"project" as an actual "task" on the sheet. Would that be the way to
do it? Let me know if that doesn't make sense!"--

The more I have been playing with it, the more I have been wondering
whether I should just have one file for each worker and put all of
their tasks under one large file. When there are larger projects where
more than one resource is used then I could create a file that has
multiple resources...

I tell ya, the "Step by Step" book I read has gotten me through the
basics but there are so many things left unsaid. I suppose that is
because everyones business is different. I sure wish there were
training classes for this in my area! I have looked into it and they
are all quite far away.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

bytek,
With regard to having a single file or multiple files, it depends on
several factors. If only one person, (e.g. yourself), is going to
maintain the files, then a single large file is the way to go. If on the
other hand, each project is maintained by separate individuals, then you
probably want to keep the files separate and then combine them into a
master consolidated file (Insert/Project) for the total picture.

Another consideration is the way the tasks are broken out. If building
or updating a website ("project") is primarily done by one individual in
a short span of time, then I would put all those into a single file and
perhaps group them under summary lines by performer, location, web type
or some other common element that makes sense. If on the other hand, the
building or updating process is composed of several discrete elements,
then each of those should be laid out as individual tasks.

Let me give you a couple other resources. First, you can go to our MVP
website at, http://www.mvps.org/project/links.htm, and click the link
for fellow MVP, Mike Glen's tutorials on Project. If you are looking for
a class on-line, you should check out http://msprojectexperts.com.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP