Task calendar and resources

[DavidC]

Hi, hope I can get some confirmation of how I believe the calendars for tasks
and resources operate together.

First I do understand that a task will first follow the calendar with the
greatest level of restriction of work time. Often this is the resource
calendar as many tasks are not necessarily constrained by time it is the
availablitity of a resource to carry out the task.

My project consists of activties which are calendar dependant and others
which are 24/7 tasks. Some tasks are carried out in the same location and
cannot be concurrent for H&S reasosn as well as simply cannot have two tasks
happening at the same time for lack of space. To identify if there is a
clash of tasks at a location I have set a resource labeled 'Location1' and
set that calendar to 24/7 since it is space used for both 24/7 tasks and
tasks which operate on a 'standard' calendar.

I have set a specific project calendar for the project NOT ther default
'standard'. However some tasks retain the 'none' default for the calendar.
When I apply the resource calendar to those tasks with a calendar 'none' it
changes start and finish dates. However when I set the task calendar to the
project calendar and again set the resource to the task it retains the
correct start and finish dates.

This leads me to the conclusion that by leaving the task calendar at 'none'
it allows the task to follow whichever calendar is available and if there are
no resources it uses the project calendar, but if a resource is applied the
dates use the resource calendar.

If my assumption is correct that helps in explaining to others why it is
important to always set a sepcific celndar to a task and not leave it at the
default 'none'.

I would appreciate feedback either positive and in agreement or negative to
explain where I have misunderstood the calculation of start and finish dates
and th interaction of task and resource calendars.

Many thanks

DavidC

 

[JulieS]

Hi David,

My comments are inline.

Hi, hope I can get some confirmation of how I believe the calendars
for tasks
and resources operate together.

First I do understand that a task will first follow the calendar
with the
greatest level of restriction of work time. Often this is the
resource
calendar as many tasks are not necessarily constrained by time it is
the
availablitity of a resource to carry out the task.

[Julie] No, not necessarily. If you have a project calendar that is
defined as 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and you assign a resource to the task
with a working time definition of 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, assuming a
multi-day task, the task start and finish time will adjust to the 7:00
am to 6:00 pm. Resource calendars drive the scheduling of tasks and
each resource assigned can have a different working time on the task.

My project consists of activties which are calendar dependant and
others
which are 24/7 tasks. Some tasks are carried out in the same
location and
cannot be concurrent for H&S reasosn as well as simply cannot have
two tasks
happening at the same time for lack of space. To identify if there
is a
clash of tasks at a location I have set a resource labeled
'Location1' and
set that calendar to 24/7 since it is space used for both 24/7 tasks
and
tasks which operate on a 'standard' calendar.

I have set a specific project calendar for the project NOT ther
default
'standard'. However some tasks retain the 'none' default for the
calendar.
When I apply the resource calendar to those tasks with a calendar
'none' it
changes start and finish dates. However when I set the task
calendar to the
project calendar and again set the resource to the task it retains
the
correct start and finish dates.

This leads me to the conclusion that by leaving the task calendar at
'none'
it allows the task to follow whichever calendar is available and if
there are
no resources it uses the project calendar, but if a resource is
applied the
dates use the resource calendar.

[Julie] You are correct. The "none" showing in the task calendar
drop-down is a bit misleading. When it shows "none" the task is being
scheduled based upon the project calendar (set in Project > Project
Information) OR the resource calendar if a resource is assigned. If
you add a task calendar to a task where a resource is assigned,
Project will schedule the task for working time in common between the
resource's calendar and the assigned task calendar. If there is no
task calendar, the resource's calendar drives the scheduling. If
there is no common working time between the task calendar and the
assigned resource's calendar, the task will be scheduled based upon
the task calendar (Project will show an error message and inform you
of this change.) You can also select the option "Scheduling ignores
resource calendar" when you assign the task calendar to avoid the
error message and always schedule according to the task calendar, over
riding the resource's calendar.

If my assumption is correct that helps in explaining to others why
it is
important to always set a sepcific celndar to a task and not leave
it at the
default 'none'.

[Julie] I won't go that far. If your project calendar is 24-7 I
wouldn't want to schedule work for a single resource for 24 hours a
day. I also want to respect a resource's calendar when the resource
may have a different working schedule (only work Monday through
Wednesday for example) and not have that schedule over ridden by a
calendar that has Monday through Friday as working time.

I would appreciate feedback either positive and in agreement or
negative to
explain where I have misunderstood the calculation of start and
finish dates
and th interaction of task and resource calendars.

Many thanks

DavidC

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project

 

[DavidC]

Thanks, you have confirmed by belief.

I may have not been as clear as I could have been, I agree that if the task
calendar shows a task being able to operate 24/7 and a resource only 40hrs
per week, 5 ays per week etc, then the dates are calculated on the resource
calendar. The reason I out it in the terms I did, was where I had a resource
which was 24/7 and (being lazy) I set the task calendar in general to only be
able to be carried out during working hours to reflect that people only work
those hours, then the start and finish dates are calculated on the task
calendar as it sets the more restrictive start times.

The reason for this approach is that I need to schedule most of my projects
without allocating resources since I dont know who, nor how many and what
their work time will be. Hence I need to assume that the task duration is
not dependant on the number of resources assigned to the task and that the
resources will only be working a normal week. Most of my work is scheduling
out over two to three years covering activities not yet fully identified and
allocated or awarded.

The reason for my last comment is that at times I have been asked to advise
on setting up a schedule, and among other things I will tell people to always
set task calendars specifically and not leave them at 'none'. Problme was
that whilst I knew it was not good practice to leave the task calendar at
'none' I never really had a full understanding of the likely problems this
would cause. Now I have a good understanding of why and can explain it to
others.

Many thanks again

DavidC

Hi David,

My comments are inline.

Hi, hope I can get some confirmation of how I believe the calendars
for tasks
and resources operate together.

First I do understand that a task will first follow the calendar
with the
greatest level of restriction of work time. Often this is the
resource
calendar as many tasks are not necessarily constrained by time it is
the
availablitity of a resource to carry out the task.

[Julie] No, not necessarily. If you have a project calendar that is
defined as 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and you assign a resource to the task
with a working time definition of 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, assuming a
multi-day task, the task start and finish time will adjust to the 7:00
am to 6:00 pm. Resource calendars drive the scheduling of tasks and
each resource assigned can have a different working time on the task.

My project consists of activties which are calendar dependant and
others
which are 24/7 tasks. Some tasks are carried out in the same
location and
cannot be concurrent for H&S reasosn as well as simply cannot have
two tasks
happening at the same time for lack of space. To identify if there
is a
clash of tasks at a location I have set a resource labeled
'Location1' and
set that calendar to 24/7 since it is space used for both 24/7 tasks
and
tasks which operate on a 'standard' calendar.

I have set a specific project calendar for the project NOT ther
default
'standard'. However some tasks retain the 'none' default for the
calendar.
When I apply the resource calendar to those tasks with a calendar
'none' it
changes start and finish dates. However when I set the task
calendar to the
project calendar and again set the resource to the task it retains
the
correct start and finish dates.

This leads me to the conclusion that by leaving the task calendar at
'none'
it allows the task to follow whichever calendar is available and if
there are
no resources it uses the project calendar, but if a resource is
applied the
dates use the resource calendar.

[Julie] You are correct. The "none" showing in the task calendar
drop-down is a bit misleading. When it shows "none" the task is being
scheduled based upon the project calendar (set in Project > Project
Information) OR the resource calendar if a resource is assigned. If
you add a task calendar to a task where a resource is assigned,
Project will schedule the task for working time in common between the
resource's calendar and the assigned task calendar. If there is no
task calendar, the resource's calendar drives the scheduling. If
there is no common working time between the task calendar and the
assigned resource's calendar, the task will be scheduled based upon
the task calendar (Project will show an error message and inform you
of this change.) You can also select the option "Scheduling ignores
resource calendar" when you assign the task calendar to avoid the
error message and always schedule according to the task calendar, over
riding the resource's calendar.

If my assumption is correct that helps in explaining to others why
it is
important to always set a sepcific celndar to a task and not leave
it at the
default 'none'.

[Julie] I won't go that far. If your project calendar is 24-7 I
wouldn't want to schedule work for a single resource for 24 hours a
day. I also want to respect a resource's calendar when the resource
may have a different working schedule (only work Monday through
Wednesday for example) and not have that schedule over ridden by a
calendar that has Monday through Friday as working time.

I would appreciate feedback either positive and in agreement or
negative to
explain where I have misunderstood the calculation of start and
finish dates
and th interaction of task and resource calendars.

Many thanks

DavidC

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project

 

[JulieS]

You're welcome David and thanks for the feedback.

Julie

Thanks, you have confirmed by belief.

I may have not been as clear as I could have been, I agree that if
the task
calendar shows a task being able to operate 24/7 and a resource only
40hrs
per week, 5 ays per week etc, then the dates are calculated on the
resource
calendar. The reason I out it in the terms I did, was where I had a
resource
which was 24/7 and (being lazy) I set the task calendar in general
to only be
able to be carried out during working hours to reflect that people
only work
those hours, then the start and finish dates are calculated on the
task
calendar as it sets the more restrictive start times.

The reason for this approach is that I need to schedule most of my
projects
without allocating resources since I dont know who, nor how many and
what
their work time will be. Hence I need to assume that the task
duration is
not dependant on the number of resources assigned to the task and
that the
resources will only be working a normal week. Most of my work is
scheduling
out over two to three years covering activities not yet fully
identified and
allocated or awarded.

The reason for my last comment is that at times I have been asked to
advise
on setting up a schedule, and among other things I will tell people
to always
set task calendars specifically and not leave them at 'none'.
Problme was
that whilst I knew it was not good practice to leave the task
calendar at
'none' I never really had a full understanding of the likely
problems this
would cause. Now I have a good understanding of why and can explain
it to
others.

Many thanks again

DavidC

Hi David,

My comments are inline.

Hi, hope I can get some confirmation of how I believe the
calendars
for tasks
and resources operate together.

First I do understand that a task will first follow the calendar
with the
greatest level of restriction of work time. Often this is the
resource
calendar as many tasks are not necessarily constrained by time it
is
the
availablitity of a resource to carry out the task.

[Julie] No, not necessarily. If you have a project calendar that
is
defined as 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and you assign a resource to the task
with a working time definition of 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, assuming a
multi-day task, the task start and finish time will adjust to the
7:00
am to 6:00 pm. Resource calendars drive the scheduling of tasks
and
each resource assigned can have a different working time on the
task.

My project consists of activties which are calendar dependant and
others
which are 24/7 tasks. Some tasks are carried out in the same
location and
cannot be concurrent for H&S reasosn as well as simply cannot
have
two tasks
happening at the same time for lack of space. To identify if
there
is a
clash of tasks at a location I have set a resource labeled
'Location1' and
set that calendar to 24/7 since it is space used for both 24/7
tasks
and
tasks which operate on a 'standard' calendar.

I have set a specific project calendar for the project NOT ther
default
'standard'. However some tasks retain the 'none' default for the
calendar.
When I apply the resource calendar to those tasks with a calendar
'none' it
changes start and finish dates. However when I set the task
calendar to the
project calendar and again set the resource to the task it
retains
the
correct start and finish dates.

This leads me to the conclusion that by leaving the task calendar
at
'none'
it allows the task to follow whichever calendar is available and
if
there are
no resources it uses the project calendar, but if a resource is
applied the
dates use the resource calendar.

[Julie] You are correct. The "none" showing in the task calendar
drop-down is a bit misleading. When it shows "none" the task is
being
scheduled based upon the project calendar (set in Project > Project
Information) OR the resource calendar if a resource is assigned.
If
you add a task calendar to a task where a resource is assigned,
Project will schedule the task for working time in common between
the
resource's calendar and the assigned task calendar. If there is no
task calendar, the resource's calendar drives the scheduling. If
there is no common working time between the task calendar and the
assigned resource's calendar, the task will be scheduled based upon
the task calendar (Project will show an error message and inform
you
of this change.) You can also select the option "Scheduling
ignores
resource calendar" when you assign the task calendar to avoid the
error message and always schedule according to the task calendar,
over
riding the resource's calendar.

If my assumption is correct that helps in explaining to others
why
it is
important to always set a sepcific celndar to a task and not
leave
it at the
default 'none'.

[Julie] I won't go that far. If your project calendar is 24-7 I
wouldn't want to schedule work for a single resource for 24 hours a
day. I also want to respect a resource's calendar when the
resource
may have a different working schedule (only work Monday through
Wednesday for example) and not have that schedule over ridden by a
calendar that has Monday through Friday as working time.

I would appreciate feedback either positive and in agreement or
negative to
explain where I have misunderstood the calculation of start and
finish dates
and th interaction of task and resource calendars.

Many thanks

DavidC

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional
information
about Microsoft Project

 

[Steve House]

I would disagree that one should ALWAYS assign a task calendar. The project
calendar is the default calendar that controls scheduling of a task until a
resource or resources are assigned to it. Task calendars are EXCEPTION
calendars, specifying hours for the few tasks that aren't covered by the
normal situation. Adding to the mix, tasks typically represent the work
done by ONE resource or a team of resources working together as a single
package of skills present or absent on the same schedule for the group. So
IMHO, the Project calendar should represent the work schedule of a "typical"
member of the project team. And never, ever the 24/7 calendar! That
calendar implies that when work starts on a task it will proceed 24/7
without interuption until it's complete. But since we're going to
eventually detail that task to a single person, it's not going to go for day
upon day withjout interuption - he's going to work his shift on Monday, go
home, come back on Tuesday and work his shift, and so on until the task is
done. If we have a task that requires 40 hours of work that can start on
Monday and the Project calendar is the default, when we first enter it it
will show starting Mon and ending Fri. If we subsequently assign Bob
Dayshift to it, it will show Mon 8am to Fri 5pm. If we instead choose to
assign Bill Swingshift, it will change to show Mon 3 pm to Fri midnight,
different times of day but not a radical shifting from the preliminary
schedule before resources. IF we assign Susie Graveshift it will change to
now show starting at 11pm and ending 8am 5 days later but it's still
essentially running from Mon through Fri, not a radical change. And if it
IS one the tasks that we need to run continuously we can assign all three
resources to it so it ends up starting Mon 8am and ending Tuesday night, 5
"days" ie consecutive shifts later.

Just some thoughts to ponder


--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://project.mvps.org/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Thanks, you have confirmed by belief.

I may have not been as clear as I could have been, I agree that if the
task
calendar shows a task being able to operate 24/7 and a resource only 40hrs
per week, 5 ays per week etc, then the dates are calculated on the
resource
calendar. The reason I out it in the terms I did, was where I had a
resource
which was 24/7 and (being lazy) I set the task calendar in general to only
be
able to be carried out during working hours to reflect that people only
work
those hours, then the start and finish dates are calculated on the task
calendar as it sets the more restrictive start times.

The reason for this approach is that I need to schedule most of my
projects
without allocating resources since I dont know who, nor how many and what
their work time will be. Hence I need to assume that the task duration is
not dependant on the number of resources assigned to the task and that the
resources will only be working a normal week. Most of my work is
scheduling
out over two to three years covering activities not yet fully identified
and
allocated or awarded.

The reason for my last comment is that at times I have been asked to
advise
on setting up a schedule, and among other things I will tell people to
always
set task calendars specifically and not leave them at 'none'. Problme was
that whilst I knew it was not good practice to leave the task calendar at
'none' I never really had a full understanding of the likely problems this
would cause. Now I have a good understanding of why and can explain it to
others.

Many thanks again

DavidC

Hi David,

My comments are inline.

Hi, hope I can get some confirmation of how I believe the calendars
for tasks
and resources operate together.

First I do understand that a task will first follow the calendar
with the
greatest level of restriction of work time. Often this is the
resource
calendar as many tasks are not necessarily constrained by time it is
the
availablitity of a resource to carry out the task.

[Julie] No, not necessarily. If you have a project calendar that is
defined as 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and you assign a resource to the task
with a working time definition of 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, assuming a
multi-day task, the task start and finish time will adjust to the 7:00
am to 6:00 pm. Resource calendars drive the scheduling of tasks and
each resource assigned can have a different working time on the task.

My project consists of activties which are calendar dependant and
others
which are 24/7 tasks. Some tasks are carried out in the same
location and
cannot be concurrent for H&S reasosn as well as simply cannot have
two tasks
happening at the same time for lack of space. To identify if there
is a
clash of tasks at a location I have set a resource labeled
'Location1' and
set that calendar to 24/7 since it is space used for both 24/7 tasks
and
tasks which operate on a 'standard' calendar.

I have set a specific project calendar for the project NOT ther
default
'standard'. However some tasks retain the 'none' default for the
calendar.
When I apply the resource calendar to those tasks with a calendar
'none' it
changes start and finish dates. However when I set the task
calendar to the
project calendar and again set the resource to the task it retains
the
correct start and finish dates.

This leads me to the conclusion that by leaving the task calendar at
'none'
it allows the task to follow whichever calendar is available and if
there are
no resources it uses the project calendar, but if a resource is
applied the
dates use the resource calendar.

[Julie] You are correct. The "none" showing in the task calendar
drop-down is a bit misleading. When it shows "none" the task is being
scheduled based upon the project calendar (set in Project > Project
Information) OR the resource calendar if a resource is assigned. If
you add a task calendar to a task where a resource is assigned,
Project will schedule the task for working time in common between the
resource's calendar and the assigned task calendar. If there is no
task calendar, the resource's calendar drives the scheduling. If
there is no common working time between the task calendar and the
assigned resource's calendar, the task will be scheduled based upon
the task calendar (Project will show an error message and inform you
of this change.) You can also select the option "Scheduling ignores
resource calendar" when you assign the task calendar to avoid the
error message and always schedule according to the task calendar, over
riding the resource's calendar.

If my assumption is correct that helps in explaining to others why
it is
important to always set a sepcific celndar to a task and not leave
it at the
default 'none'.

[Julie] I won't go that far. If your project calendar is 24-7 I
wouldn't want to schedule work for a single resource for 24 hours a
day. I also want to respect a resource's calendar when the resource
may have a different working schedule (only work Monday through
Wednesday for example) and not have that schedule over ridden by a
calendar that has Monday through Friday as working time.

I would appreciate feedback either positive and in agreement or
negative to
explain where I have misunderstood the calculation of start and
finish dates
and th interaction of task and resource calendars.

Many thanks

DavidC

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project