start/finish/time it takes to do

[rachel]

I want to enter that a task has a start date of June 10
(get started now) and it has to be done July 10. But I
also want to enter that the task really only takes that
particular resource 8 hours. I am now in the gannt view
entering the data into columns. I can't seem to get it to
work. Is there another column or view I should use. So I
can enter 8 hours to do work. Start now and must finish
in a month.

 

[Guest]

Go to Task properties/advanced

Make the task fixed work.
Enter finish no later than July 10.
dismiss that window and
Enter 8 hours work (you need to add a column to your view
to show work or else pop up custom forms (on the taskbar)
and select "work tracking"

That does what you asked for. When you assign a resource,
if you make them full-time, project will show the task
being done in one day, well ahead of your "must finish
by". That is ok, if you plan to enter time in timesheet
format - the actual finish will be the date you post the
8th hour.

However, if you want the task to actually TAKE until July
10, then assign the resource at 5% and the duration will
stretch out with the work remaining constant. Tyhe easy
waty to come up with the 5% is just to assign the
resource, then keep increasing duration until project
tells you you've exceeded your "must finish by"
constraint. Then back off one day and voila, your resource
will be at the necesary low commitment to maike it take a
month. If you look at the resource usage view, you'll see
they are planned for .37 hr/day on the task.



Enter duration of 22 days
when you assign a resource, project will adjust the
commitment to make the 8 hours take 22 days

 

[Steve House]

I'm a big believer that the duration should be an estimate of the actual
time it will take a task to complete once it starts and is NOT the total
time you're allowed to do it in. If I have a task that can start June 10
and is due July 10, is going to take 8 hours to do, and I expect that the
resource will devote their full attention to it once it starts, that defines
a task with an 8 hours duration NOT 1 month, a resource assigned 100%, a
scheduled start of 10 June, a scheduled finish of 11 June ( or start 10 June
8am, finish 10 June 5pm) , and a deadline of 10 July. How strongly I
communicate to the resource that they need to start it on time on 10 June
depends on whether there are tasks dependent on it - if so I'm going to be
pretty firm they need to start on time. If not, say there's another
parallel task that doesn't finish until July 10 anyway, I'm still going to
*schedule* this task to start June 10 but not worry so much about whether it
starts on time. But in any case, remember you're not just listing deadlines
with a project plan - you determining when the work needs to be done in
order to finish the project in the most efficient and expeditious manner and
if you can get it done before the deadline so much the better (that way you
have a safety cushion to absorb the inevitable delays). Resources don't
tell you when they're going to work on tasks. *You* tell *them* when they
need to work on them. Likewise, you don't tell project what dates a task
will occur on - you give it the info on how long a task will take, what
other tasks it's dependent on, and when the resources are available to work
on it and it calculates and reports the dates you're going to get, the
required work schedule you communicate to the resources

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi All,


Hear Hear!
Steve, I couldn't agree more.
And how fine Project can help you by showing on demand either Latest Start
or Total Slack!