Performing tasks seqentially

[Andrew Black]

I have setup a project with about 100 tasks and subtasks. In most
cases, no task necessarily has to preceed another one. I would like
Project to automatically calculate start and end dates based on the
duration of each task and the resources assigned to it.

For example, I have a certain groups of tasks which will each take one
day. I've assigned one resource to it and setup his schedule in the
resource manager. Yet Project is assuming that that one resource can
do 20 1 day tasks in one day.

One solution is to make each task have a predecessor of the previous
task (so 1 is a predecessor of 2, etc.), but this takes a long time to
enter. Further, if I assign another resource to the group of tasks, it
won't calculate start and end time accurately anymore.

Is there some way I can configure Project so that it realizes there's
just one resource for a group of tasks and have it calculate the total
duration as the sum of each task duration?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Rob Schneider]

Project didn't "assume" that one resource can do 20 1-day tasks in one
day. Project doesn't think. You told Project to model your project
that way.

Either you have to decide the order in which the tasks are done and then
input that info Project (my preference), or use Leveling (I would
recommend you avoid that approach).

It is easy to make each task have a predecessor of the previous task.
Select all tasks, then press the little chain link icon on the tool bar.
This may not be how you actually will do the project, but it will
correctly model a project that you plan to execute by doing sequential
tasks.

(Make sure you remember you re-calculate, via F9 key to see results).

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi Rob,

I don't know why you do not recomment levelling - this feature in Project is
specifically designed to do exactly what Andrew is asking for.

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP

 

[Steve House]

Roy doesn't favour leveling but I differ. I think of dependency links as
fundamentally being driven by the "physics" of the project process itself.
You can't built the roof in midair and stuff the walls in under it later,
hence the link of "erect walls" as predecessor and "install roof" as
successor. I'd use resource leveling to sequence those tasks where there is
no obligatory order required by the process logic itself.

You have 20 1-day duration tasks, initially scheduled on the same day.
Assign Fred to them. Fred is now allocated 2000% for the day. Perform
resource leveling. Project will scoot those tasks out, cascading them into
the future with 1 task ending up on each day of 20 days. If there is a
preferred order, in contrast to a mandatory order, use the task priority
setting to get Project to obey the desired sequence - the lower the priority
the less important it is for that task to finish early. So if there are
some tasks that it is more important to get done sooner, perhaps the boss
wants to take prototype built in the "fidget widgets" task to the board
meeting in 2 weeks, set a higher priority on those tasks than the others and
Project will schedule them to occur earliest in the sequence. With 1000
priority levels possible that means you can set a preferred sequence of 1000
tasks for each resource without using links at all.

 

[Andrew Black]

Thanks for your response, Rob. Sounds like the gentlemen after you
thinks levelling is the way to go. I have no idea what that is, but
I'll check into it. I thank you both.

Andrew

 

[Andrew Black]

Mike -

Levelling looks like what I want to do. I have but one problem with
it. I ran it, and for most task groups, it comes up with a ridiculouly
high number of days given the tasks under it.

For example:

Group of Tasks -> 21 days

Task 1 -> 2 days
Task 2 -> 1 day
Task 3 -> 1 day
Task 4 -> 1 day
Task 5 -> 1 day

It makes no sense to me at all how it comes up with 21 days when the
sum of the days is 6.

Now, an observation. It calculates the total days fine IF there are
only 1 day tasks involved. Once I add a 2 day task, it inflates (and
in some weird reverse order, where as I decrese the days involved with
the task, it increases the total group days). What I noticed is that
for all of the multi-day tasks, the dates are off. If I had the above
group of tasks with Task 1 being 2 days, it would have that task
starting a month before the others. If I change it back to one day,
however, they all come in line.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Andrew

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Andrew,

I can't explain this, it is not normal, every step leveling does vcan be
explained.
Did you assign one and only one resource to each task?
You didn't assign resources to summary tasks did you?
Are these the only tasks using this resource or are there others (if tasks
in this group are delayed the total duration of the group is larger -
remember duration of a summary tasks IS NOT necessarily the sum of
durations...

HTH

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi Andrew,

When Project does its levelling, it ONLY DELAYS tasks until the resource
becomes available - nothing more. So, if you see a Duration of 21 days, it
is because tasks have been delayed in favour of other tasks. Remember that
the Duration of the Summary Task is the working time between the start of
the first task to the end of the last task. If you examine the Gantt Chart,
you will see gaps in this group of tasks where a task from another group has
been "given" the resource.

I thoroughly recommend you take a short introductory course on Project to
get you up and running quickly. No project management software is easy to
pick up - the more so if you're not familiar with the project management
techniques on which it is based.

In the meantime, you might like to have a look at my series on Microsoft
Project in the TechTrax ezine, particularly # , at this site:
http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc (Perhaps you'd care to rate it before leaving the
site, Thanks.)

FAQs, companion products and other useful Project information can be seen at
this web address: <http://www.mvps.org/project/>

Hope this helps - please let us know how you get on

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP

 

[Andrew Black]

Steve -

Thanks for your input. I did exactly this and it works if the tasks
are all 1 day, but if any task in a group is 2 days or more, it
inflates the time for the task drastically. Any ideas?

Andrew

 

[Rob Schneider]

I just had a hunch it was a couple of steps too far at this juncture for
this sitution... that's all. I'm not against leveling.

rms

 

[Steve House]

Make sure "leveling can split tasks" is turned off.
--
Steve House [MVP]
MS Project Trainer/Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

 

[Andrew Black]

Steve -

I unchecked "leveling can split tasks" (it was checked before) and
re-leveled, reducing the total number of days per group of tasks. But
it's still way off. 13 hours is being summarized as 91 (but it was 130
before unchecking that box). This just seems crazy. Any help would be
greatly appreciated.

Andrew

 

[Steve House]

Remember the summary task duration might not be the simple arithmetic sum of
the subtask durations - indeed, it is the sum only under the very specific
conditions where all the subtasks are sequential with no gaps or overlaps.
It is the time defined as working time in the project calendar between the
earliest starting subtask's start time and the latest finishing subtask's
finish time, whether work takes place during all of those minute or not. We
could, for example, have two 1 hour subtasks in our summary, one on Monday
from 0800-0900 and the other on Friday from 1600-1700. In that case, the
total duration of the summary task would be 40 hours even though the sum of
the durations of the two subtasks is only 2 hours. (Work, OTOH, is
additive. Remember you can NEVER "mix and match" duration and work - they
are totally different measures.) I suspect that is what is happening in
your situation.
--
Steve House [MVP]
MS Project Trainer/Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

 

[Andrew Black]

Steve -

Thanks so much for your detailed response. Is there a way, then, to
get it to show the summaries I want by not breaking subtasks apart?

Andrew

 

[Andrew Black]

Mike -

As per my message to Steve, I'd like the total days for each group to
total the days underneath. That's the only logical way that I can plan
the the project. Thoughts?

Andrew

 

[Steve House]

What are the summaries you want?
Steve House [MVP]

 

[Steve House]

Replied to your previous before I saw this. You say "that's the only way I
can plan the project" but I urge you to think that through a bit farther.
If this summary represents a phase of the project, isn't the first priority
in planning to knw the DATE it will start so you can tell the resource when
to expect to begin work and the DATE it will end so you'll know when the
next phase can begin? The way Project summarizes information gives you that
knowledge. The way it sounds like you want it does not. Your way gives you
a sum of the number of days on which work occurs but that's NOT the same
thing as the days of work required OR the length of time it will take to
finish that phase of the project. It's only a number and it doesn't
actually give you anything useful to help guide the management decisions you
must make.

Steve House [MVP]

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

I've been waiting patiently for this question to come up...
Give subtasks within a summary the same priority (a different one for each
summary) and level Priority, Standard.
HTH