Scheduling nightmare!

[Email Signatures]

Very new to project and appreciate any help.

I have 28 tasks, each task is split into three sub tasks 2 x .5d and 1 x 2d
total for each task is 3d.

All 28 tasks start today but need to be completed by Dec14, what I want to
display is that each resource is allocated 3 days to work on an assigned task
but they can take any time upto the deadline of 14 Dec to carry out the work,
in esscence pick their own days.

Can this be done simply??

Many thanks

Kev

 

[Gerard Ducouret]

Hello Kev,
Assign your resources on each sub-task (Unit = 1 or 100% means "full time
assignement)
Set a milestone on Dec14.
and try a smoothing :
Tools / Level resources... / Level only within available slack / Level now

Tell us if it works !

Gérard Ducouret

 

[Email Signatures]

Hi Gerard,

Thanks for the prompt reply, I am missing something here, I think it is all
in the layout! I tried what you suggested but saw no change perhaps you
would look at this layout and suggest if wrong?

Task one Control of Documents | 3d |Thu 11/11/04 | Named Resource
task one is the main task for three days
Review Process and Document New Process are the sub tasks
Review Current Docs, Issue Change Request and Document New process are the
actual tasks under the headings.

Do I need to sign a resource to all three tasks, just the top level or what?

Darn tricky this Project thingy but do not want to let it beat me!!

Thanks for the help

Kev

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi Kev,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

Yes, Project is tricky! However, I've tried to ease learning curves in a
series on Microsoft Project in the TechTrax ezine, particularly #5-Working
With Resources and #11-TaskTypes, at this site: http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc or
this:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23
(Perhaps you'd care to rate the articles before leaving the site,
Thanks.)

I assume you have 28 resources: one for each set of tasks? In that case, I
would concentrate of the last of the 3 tasks, make the task fixed duration,
make the Duration 23 days (assuming you have 24 working days to 14 Dec) and
assign 26h of work.

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

 

[Steve House [MS Project MVP]]

Jumping in here -- Never EVER assign your resources to summary tasks as your
example suggests you've done. Your schedule is a breakdown of decreasing
levels of deliverable until you get down to the work packages, the actual
activities that create those deliverables. Resources are always assigned to
the bottom level tasks only - the summaries, well, summarize the various
metrics from their subtasks. The work is performed at the subtask - 4
man-hours on A, 2 man-hours on B, etc. The summary that they are sub to
would then sum that to 6 man-hours total. A hint that can help with your
task list, by the way, is to always start your task names with an action
verb - that helps you keep mentally focussed on the idea that tasks always
represent measureable activity of some sort carried out by a resource.

 

[Email Signatures]

Very many thanks to you all for your replies and am busy trying to get the
best results from the suggestions you have all contributed. Special thanks
to Mike for the pointer to the tutorials which will make the weekend go by
very quickly I warrant!!

Where there was despair, now there is hope and a lot of work and re-work but
will keep plugging away and shall no doubt be back here in the not to distant
future as things get more complex.

Regards

KevD

 

[Mike Glen]

You're welcome, Kev

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP