Parallon Business Solutions
Microsoft Project Server 2010
Project Server 2010
Concepts of Working with Tasks
Training Outline
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Project Planning Process
Task Development
Fine Tuning Task Details
Effort-Driven Scheduling
Project Baselines
Inter-Project Links
Project Planning Process
3
Project Planning Process
Task Development
5
Task Development
• Entering Project Tasks
• Be “action” oriented. Tasks represent the work to be done to
accomplish the goals of the project.
• Techniques:
Tasks should begin with action words. For example: Build, Conduct,
Manage, etc.
Remove all checklists, questions, and notes from the task list and put
them in the notes.
Use a top-down approach. Identify major phases or products
(deliverables) of the project before filling in the tasks required to
complete those phases.
Sometimes less is more.
Task Development
• Creating Milestones
• Milestones represent important events reached on a project, such as
the completion of a phase or deliverables.
• Techniques:
- Use milestones to identify the completion of a phase or project
deliverables.
- Milestones should have zero duration.
- Milestones are marked by entering a task with a zero duration or
by flagging them as milestones within the Task Information dialog
box (Advanced tab).
Task Development
• Task Durations
– Tasks that are too long are more difficult to manage.
– Techniques:
• If tasks have long durations, determine if they can be broken
into additional smaller tasks.
Develop App
Develop App
Conduct Unit Testing
 If not, consider dividing the task into 32h work
packages.
Develop App
Develop App – Week 1
Develop App – Week 2
Fine Tuning Task Details
9
Fine Tuning Task Details
• Task Links
– Projects require tasks to be done in a specific order. Task links
provides the necessary predecessor/successor relationships.
– Techniques:
• Most tasks should have a task link.
• Let the system build your project schedule. Representing task
relationships and handling changes to scheduled start and
finish dates is one area where using a scheduling engine like
Microsoft Project really pays off.
• When working with links between multiple summary tasks, its
preferable to link the summary tasks than to link the subtasks.
However, you can NOT link summary tasks to one of it’s own
subtasks.
Fine Tuning Task Details
Finish-to-Start
(FS)
The finish date of the predecessor task
determines the start date of the
successor task. This is the system
default.
Start-to-Start
(SS)
The start date of the predecessor task
determines the start date of the
successor task
Finish-to-Finish
(FF)
The finish date of the predecessor task
determines the finish date of the
successor task
Start-to-Finish
(SF)
The start date of the predecessor task
determines finish date of the successor
task (rarely ever used).
Fine Tuning Task Details
• Demonstrations:
• Creating task links
- Toolbar
- Gantt chart
- Task Information dialog box
• Establishing lag time (delays)
• Establishing lead time (overlap)
Fine Tuning Task Details
• Task Constraints
– Every task you enter into Microsoft Project has some type of
constraint applied to it. A constraint controls the start or finish
date of a task and the degree to which that task can be
rescheduled.
Flexible
Semi-flexible
Inflexible
As Soon As Possible
Task is occur as soon as it can occur. This is the default for
a project scheduled from start date.
As Late As Possible
Task will occur as late as it can occur. This is the default
for projects scheduled from finish date.
Start No Earlier Than
Task to start on or after the constraint date you specify.
Start No Later Than
Task to start on or before the constraint date you specify.
Finish No Earlier Than
Task to finish on or after the constraint date you specify.
Finish No Later Than
Task to finish on or before the constraint date you specify.
Must Start On
Task to start on the constraint date you specify
Must Finish On
Task to finish on the constraint date you specify
Fine Tuning Task Details
• Splitting Tasks
– You can split tasks to indicate when work times will be
interrupted.
– Techniques:
Use the split task button on the toolbar to show work
interruptions.
Fine Tuning Task Details
• Recurring Tasks
– Many projects require repetitive tasks, such as attending project
status meetings, creating status reports, or running quality
control inspections.
– Technique:
• To create recurring tasks, click Recurring Task within the Insert
menu.
Fine Tuning Task Details
• Changing Task Types
• Microsoft Project used the scheduling formula to calculate a task’s
work value.
• Scheduling Formula: Duration x Units = Work
- Examples:
• 5 days x 100% (1 resource) = 5 days Work
• 5 days x 200% (2 resources) = 10 days Work
• 5 days x 50% (resource working 1/2 day) = 2.5 days Work
• A task type determines which of the three scheduling formula values
remains fixed if the other two values change.
Fine Tuning Task Details
…and you change the
Duration
If the task
type is
Units
Work
Fixed Duration
Work
Work
Units
Fixed Units
Work
Duration
Duration
Fixed Work
Units
Duration
Duration
…then
Microsoft
Project
recalculates
Effort-Driven Scheduling
18
Effort-Driven Scheduling
• Effort-Driven Defined
• When effort driven is applied, a task’s work value remains constant
regardless of the number of additional resources you assign. The most
visible effect of effort driven scheduling is seen when you apply
additional resources to a task, the tasks duration will decrease (work
stays constant).
• Technique:
The effort-driven flag is found within the Task Information dialog box
(Advanced Tab).
You define the amount of work a task represents when you initially
assign a resource or resources.
If effort-driven scheduling is on, when additional resources are
added or subtracted, work will remain constant. Think about the
scheduling formula and reference the task type to assess how your
task will change.
Effort-Driven Scheduling
Effort-Driven =
Fixed Work
or
Effort-Driven =
Work Changes
Considered First
Effort-Driven Scheduling
• Effort-Driven Questions:
How will the task change with regards to duration, units, and work?
Task Change
Task Type
Effort-Driven
Add resource
Fixed Units
Yes
Add resource
Fixed Units
No
Add resource
Fixed Duration
Yes
Add resource
Fixed Duration
No
Add resource
Fixed Work
N/A
Hint: Duration x Units = Work
Answers
Duration Decreased
Work Increased
Units Decreased
Work Increased
Duration Decreased
Effort-Driven Scheduling
• When should Effort-Driven Scheduling Apply?
• How would you configure these tasks with regards to task type and the
effort-driven flag?:
- 3 hour Requirements Gathering Sessions
- Development Tasks
- System Testing
• Techniques:
No single rule exists about when you should apply effort-driven
scheduling and when you should not. As the project manager, you
should analyze the nature of the work required for each task in your
project and use your best judgment.
Project Baselines
23
Project Baselines
• Defined
• The baseline represents the original project plan,
saved for later comparison. The baseline includes the
planned start and finish dates of tasks and
assignments, as well as their planned costs.
• Techniques:
From the Ribbon in Project Professional 2010, select
Ribbon  Project (Tab)  Schedule (Section)  Set
Baseline (Icon)  Set Baseline… (Option)
Microsoft Project plans can have up to 11 baselines
Usually set at project kick-off , you must save a
baseline before project tracking can take place
Inter-Project Links
25
Inter-Project Links
Without Opening Each Project:
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To create a link between Enterprise Projects without opening each Project,
select the successor Task and open the Task Information dialog box. Go to the
Predecessors tab.
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Beneath the ID column, enter the following information:
<>\predecessor project\task #
For Example: <>\SoftwareDevProjectPlanV1\10
By Opening Each Project:
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To create a link between Enterprise Projects by opening each Project, select the
source Task and then, while holding down the [Ctrl] key, select the target Task in
the other opened Project.
•
Click on the [Link Tasks] option in the Ribbon under the Schedule section..
Questions & Answers
Training End
27
Reference Books
Project Managers
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Step by Step – Microsoft Office Project 2010
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By Carl Chatfield & Timothy Johnson
Dynamic Scheduling
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By Eric Uyttewaal
Project Management Office
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Lean Project Management – Eight Principals For Success
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By Lawrence P Leach
Critical Chain Management
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By Lawrence P Leach
Enterprise Architecture & Strategy
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By Jeanne W Ross, Peter Weill & David C Robertson
100 Questions to Ask your Software Organization
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By Mark I Himelstein
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