Project has a mind of its own!

[Lamby74]

I am evaluating Project 2003 as potential PM software for
an engineering group of a large company.

I will admit right away that I am new to Project, and am
likely ignorant of certain features and options the
software has, and I am only beginning to really understand
how the software functions (how it "thinks").

My problem is that I do not trust Project. I do not trust
that the reports (which are very nice, though I am
disappointed that there is no report-builder function) are
accurate.
I can enter data for a Resource (an engineer in my case).
For example, I want him to work for one hour on Task 1.
Sometimes Project will schedule my engineer for 6 minutes
per hour for six hours! Sometimes project will schedule
him in for repeating one hour increments all day (when it
is only a one hour task. It can't seem to manage such
simple things - it wants to make everything complicated.

It has a mind of it's own. I don't control it - it
controls me (or tries to! ;-). I don't like that about
Project one bit. Is there any way to get it to stop
rearranging my resources? Also, it will insist I have a
resource conflict, when in reality there is none. When I
try to change the software to match reality, either it
won't let me, OR it changes the data I enter to some crazy
number.

I have varied from effort driven, to un-checking that box
on each task, but that makes no difference. Also, I have
tried changing the task type - from fixed
work-duration-units. No help.

More knowledgeable users, please advise me. What am I not
doing? What am I doing wrong. I'd like to give Project a
fair shake, but right now, IMHO, it's like the QuickBooks
of PM software!

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi Lamby74,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

Project is not a product that you can pick up quickly. You have to know how
the relationships work. Is your case, you need to come to terms with the
work - Units * Duration formula. Might I suggest, in the absence of
attending a course to get you up and running quickle, you might like to have
a look at my series on Microsoft Project in the TechTrax ezine, particularly
#5—Working With Resources, 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

 

[Ian Coletti]

Hi Lamby74,

Just to add on what Mike has stated, I would also advise learning about &
understanding the algebraic equation that MS Project uses when adding
resources to a task (Units * Duration = Work). You also should understand
that the "Task Type" (Fixed Work, Duration, or Units), which you may have
noticed already, has some input to how hours may be distributed for a
resource.

The "effort driven" check box only affects resource's assigned hours when
adding more than one resource to a task (or unassigning a resource). For
example, if Effort Driven is checked on a task where resource A has 40 hours
and you add another resource, the 40 hours is then split between both
resources. When un-checked, the both resources would have 40 hours assigned.

My advice is to definitely check into some training if you are going to use
the tool. In particular, look for a course that has a process around using
the tool rather than just "point and click" training so that you can learn
how the tool works rather than just how to fill out some forms. Since
Project isn't as user-friendly as say, Excel (if you want to call it that),
training will reduce the amount of frustration yourself and others in your
company *will* have with the tool. That being said, I think it's a very
powerful tool when used properly.

Good luck!

Ian Coletti, PMP
Edwards Industries, LLC

 

[Lamby74]

Thank you for your responses thus far. I very much
appreciate it.

I agree with both of you.
Right now I am self-teaching via 2 books - one is the
Project 2003 Dummies book, the other is Project 2003 Step
by Step by Carl Chatfield.

Mike - thanks for the Ezine link. I like that you give
your opinion as to how you prefer to do things. That is
helpful and is another step up from the books I am working
through.

Ian - You hit the nail on the head - the reason why I have
not done in-person training with anyone is because there is
not anyone in my area who gets in depth with Project. All
the training centers around here offer are the
point-and-click things. I can figure that out on my own!
It is extremely disappointing that training centers treat
people like they are idiots and shy away from getting into
the real "meat" of the software.

I am aware of the work + duration * units rule. It is
logical to me. For instance, a task may take 8 hours of
work time. But since a resource may not always be able to
be dedicated to one task the whole work day, the duration
may be 3 days, due to the need for that resource to
simultaneously work on other tasks. (If I am incorrect on
this, please correct me.)

However, what is not logical to me are the goofy addition
rules Project uses. It is why I do not trust the software.

Here is an example (just the facts listed here) from the
project file I am working with right now:

-A three-day task
-18 working hours available in that three days, according
to the project's standard calendar.
-One resource assigned to the three-day task, that resource
uses the standard calendar.
-Five subtasks
-One supertask (summary task?)
-No other tasks in the entire project are scheduled on
those three days, so I am positive there are no other
conflicts.

This is what I see in my Gantt chart view:

Task Name Duration Work
Supertask 14.5 Days 41.67 Hours
Subtask1 19.75 Hrs 1 Hr
Subtask2 20 Hrs 2 Hrs
Subtask3 20 Hrs 2 Hrs
Subtask4 12.01 Hrs 6 Hrs
Subtask5 17.14 Hrs 7 Hrs

How on earth could Project possible come up with a Duration
of 14.5 days, and a total Work time of 41.67 work hours?!?!
It's absurd! This is what I mean when I day Project has a
mind of its own and that it is completely out of touch with
what is actually going on in reality.

As you can see, the Subtasks Work Hours add up to 18 hours
(1+2+2+6+7), the exact amount of time my resource has in
those 3 days.
Yet, Project says my resource has a conflict, but he is not
assigned anywhere else.

This is just nuts! My gratitude in advance to the
mastermind out there who has ideas about what might be
going on here.

Thanks all!

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

You need to be aware that *how* you enter the data for tasks and resources
and how you go about matching the two has big influence on the outcome but I
must admit I'm puzzled what sequence of events could cause 1 one hour task
to be scheduled in 6 minute intervals for 6 hours, especially since 6*6 = 36
minutes. Even Project at its worst isn't that weird! <grin> Nor can I see
how your second example could come about either. When you enter a task you
should have some idea of what the resource you're going to assign will be
and how much of his time he'll devote to it, i.e., is hw going to work on it
to the exclusion of everything else (100% assignment) until it's done or
does he have something else on his plate that will be going on at the same
time so each hour of work only results in half an hour's worth of progress
on the task in question (50% assignment)? Enter the task with the duration
you expect it will take at the work intensity you expect the resource is
going to put in. Do not specify start or finish dates, calculating those is
Project's job. Assign the resource at the percentage effort you based your
duration estimate on. Useing the default setting your weirdness should
dissappear.

 

[JackD]

Is your resource by any chance assigned to the "super task" too? 18hours +
(3*8hours) = 42 hours. Certainly seems like this is the cause of your
problem.
Remove them from the "super task" - aka "summary task" to avoid double
counting.

Resources should only be assigned to summary tasks in certain situations
(perhaps they need to be present to manage the entire set of tasks or
something similar)

-Jack

 

[Guest]

Yes, the resource WAS assigned to the supertask. Did not
know that it should not be....thanks.

When I delete it from the supertask, Work hours in the
supertask column go to Zero, and the duration remains the
same. (also weird).

 

[JackD]

The super task is not a super task. It is a summary task.
It summarizes the information from the tasks below it.
Think of it as a heading and you will have fewer problems with it.

-Jack

 

[Lamby74]

it gets weirder yet.....

I took all of your suggestions (or at least, the intent was
there! , whether I did it right or not is another story!

I decided to do a test - I started a whole new project and
merely copied the outline of the tasks from the old Project
file - nothing else.

1.I went to Project - Project Information. I put today as
the start date and chose Schedule from : Project Start
Date. calendar = Standard
Closed out.

2. When to View-Resource sheet and added one engineer.
Type = Work
Max Units = 1 (it won't let me put 100%, only "1".,
Base Calendar = Standard

3. I went to Gantt view and assigned Durations to all my
subtasks.

4. While remaining in Gantt view, I chose this one
engineer to be assigned to all the subtasks - and not to
any supertasks.


46.5 hours is the total in-reality duration of this
project. Supertask Duration totals add up to be only 40 hours.

Project has not automatically modified dates, and "start"
to "finish" every day says "Tue 9/28/04" all down both of
the columns. So Project has assigned this project to be
completed in one day (impossible for a 46.5 hour project).

I go to Resource Sheet view, expecting to see my lone
engineer in an overallocation conflict. Nope. There is no
warning exclamation point, the type is the color black (not
red as I should expect).

When there is no conflict, it says there is, and when there
IS a conflict, it indicates that there isn't.

 

[JackD]

The duration of the summary task is not the sum of the durations of the
subtasks. It is the duration from the start of the first subtask to the
finish of the last subtask.

There is no rule that you can not do 100 hours of work in 1 day. It depends
on the amount of resource units.

Adding a resource to the resource sheet does not assign the resource to any
tasks. Therefore the resource is not overloaded. After you have defined the
resource on that sheet you need to assign them to a task.

Why don't you start fresh with two or three tasks and figure out how it
works, then build more complex schedule after that.

I suggest you start with the project tutorial or Mike Glen's tutorials.

-Jack

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

Go to the Tools menu, Options. Select the Calculation tab and make sure
recalculation is set to automatic. While you're in Options you might want
to decide decide whether you want to represent resource assignments by
percentages (1 man fully committed = 100%) or units (1 man fully committed =
1). Most people use percentage but MSP does give you the option.

You have input your list of tasks but have you set precedence links between
them? If not, Project will show them running in parallel starting the same
day. Only after leveling will the overallocation of the resource be
resolved by shifting tasks out into a sequence.

Subtask durations are not additive. 5 1-day subtasks may or may not result
in a summary task duration of 40 hours. The "supertask" duration is the
working time units between the start of the earliest subtask and the finish
of the last ending subtask. Depending on the links, gaps, and overlaps of
the subtasks, that summary duration could be anything from 1 day up.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mike Glen]

Have you assigned the resource to the individual tasks?


Mike Glen
Project MVP

 

[Lamby74]

Steve - You are a genious.
You were right on.
This bit of help was just the nudge I needed to keep trying
with Project.

I had read that project had a huge learning curve, but I
never could have fathomed it would be this bad!

Thank you - I will keep at it.

And thanks to all who have offered help.
I'm sure I'll be around - either lurking, or posting cries
for help!
-Lamby

 

[Lamby74]

(....and I'm not a genius because I can't spell genius!
hahahaha!)
(that's what happens when you're running on 3 hours sleep
from staying up late to learn Project! ha!)