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Task Types in Microsoft Project

 

TASK TYPES

 Microsoft Project calculates your project's finish date using the latest finish dates of its tasks. The duration of each task is determined by the formula duration = work/resource units. For any task, you can choose which piece of the equation Microsoft Project calculates by setting the task type.

SUMMARY TASK

 A summary task is the top-level task with sub-tasks expanding below.

 

Develop Strategy is a summary task. 

FIXED WORK TASK

 In a fixed work task, the amount of work is a fixed value and any changes to the duration of the task; the number of assigned units or the number of assigned resources does not impact the task.  For example, if your project has a fixed contracted number of hours the task should be set to Fixed Work task. 

Work = Duration * Units

 Work is the effort required to do a task. There are two types of work: the work of individual resources on a task and the total work for the task.

In the example below, Work is fixed at 8 hrs so the two men allocated to paint the ground floor get the job done in ½ a day. (Duration decreases)

Increase units, Jim and Robert, duration will decrease.  If you decrease duration, units must increase because work is fixed.

Using one of the Table view menus shows this more clearly.

The first example shows the Entry View and the second example shows the Work view.

The current view is showing .5 days duration but because work is fixed, the Work view shows 8 hours work to be completed.

Therefore, the two men are working 4 hours each. The Work amount has stayed the same.

FIXED DURATION TASK

In a fixed duration task, the duration stays the same regardless of the number of resources assigned to the task.

 Duration = Work / Units

 To calculate a fixed duration task, you only need to define a time-period for a specific task.  For example, five-day review can be created as a fixed-duration task regardless of how many people execute the review.

The example below shows a fixed duration where two painters have be allocated to a one day task, they can both work 8 hours but because the duration is fixed they are only allocated four hours each.  This is an example of Effort Driven Fixed Duration.  A Non-Effort Driven fixed duration task is costed at the full rate; whereas the Effort Driven fixed duration task shares the cost between attendees.

  

EFFORT DRIVEN TASK/FIXED UNITS

When you add or remove resources from a task Project will extend or shorten the duration of the task to accommodate the additional or reduced resources applied to the task.

Effort driven tasks are set as default prior to Project 2010, after 2010 the default is set to not Effort Driven.

 

When the Effort Driven option is activated it is important to understand the difference between initial resource allocation and additional resource allocation because Project does not reduce the duration on the initial allocation only to changes to that allocation positive or negative.   The example below shows a series of tasks with columns displaying, task type, Effort Driven and cost.

 

 

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Resource Pool

Introduction

A resource Pool is a set of resources that are made available across multiple projects.  In Microsoft Project sharing resources from a Pool is available from the Resources tab of the ribbon.

How to create a resource pool

The first step in creating a resource pool, is to add a resource list without any tasks to a file.  Name the resource file as pool.  Make sure all the allocated resources for the project are in the resource pool.

Share Resources

To share resources, open a project file and select the resource tab and then resource pool.  From this box select the file called pool.

Allocate resources from the pool

Once the resource pool is connected to the file all the resources in the pool it will appear in the project file's resource sheet.

Over Allocated resources

If a resource is allocated to more than one file at the same time the resource will display red in all the allocated files, including the pool.

Resource Pool Management

A resource pool must be managed otherwise chaos will reign.  If a resource is requested, a manager should agree to it to avoid duplication of the resource.

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FORMULAE

Spreadsheet formulae usually contain numbers, arithmetical operators and cell references.  They can be typed in directly or Excel can help build them for you.  You can use all the standard mathematical operators in your formula; e.g. () + - / *. A spreadsheet is an excellent platform to work out sums and functions.

ENTERING A FORMULA

Activate the cell in to which you want to enter the formula.

Enter "= (equals)"

Type in the formula by hand or:

Click in to each of the cells, adding the relevant operators (+/* - etc.) where appropriate.

Click on the tick to accept the formula or press enter.

In the example below; column B holds information on the Cost Price of the products listed in column A. 

Column C requires a formula to calculate a 10% Mark Up on the Cost Price for each product. Cell D3 requires the total of the Cost Price and the Mark Up columns giving the Retail Price.

Once the Mark Up price has been calculated, working out the Retail Price is quite easy.Type = in cell D3 (this is the cell where you want the answer to appear), click in to cell B3, select the plus option and click in to cell C3. 

The last thing that you should always do is check the formula, if you are happy with it, click the tick or press enter.

The next step in the process is utilising the AutoFill feature to fill the formula down each row. There are always several ways to complete the task in Excel.  In the previous example, the formula that you have just completed to work out the Retail Price can be repeated for each product.  It is quite permissible for you to repeat the process and type each formula out manually on each row.  However, because both parts of the formula are on the same row in this example you can use the AutoFill feature.

AutoFill

The small black cross will appear when you move your mouse pointer over the bottom right hand corner of any selected cell or cells. 

Once the small black cross appears simply click and drag down the appropriate number of rows and the formula will be copied down.  Note:  You can also double click the small black cross and the formula will fill down, until it hits a gap or information in a cell.

The next step in our little example is to total each column.  There are two ways that we can do this.  One, use the formula =B3+B4+B5 etc. or two, use a Function called AutoSum.  This function has been designed to add up lists or ranges, as they are called in Excel.

Both examples will provide the correct result however; you will be restricted by using multiple + symbols. 

AutoSum function

The AutoSum function is the most common function used Excel and therefore it appears in more than one place on the Ribbon.  The AutoSum feature is at the right side of the home ribbon.

The first thing you must do is click in the cell where you want the answer to appear. Then click the AutoSum button. 

The function will guess what you want to add up, you must check that it is correct before clicking the tick or pressing enter. 

In the example below the function has guessed correctly so it is safe to click the tick or press enter.

Once again, all the elements in this formula are in the same column so you can use the AutoFill feature to drag the formula in to column D. 

Make sure that you see the small black cross in the bottom right hand corner before you start to drag.

The results are displayed under each column as shown below.

In the following example, I want to look at what happens when the AutoSum or any other function for that matter does not pick up the correct range of cells.

As you can see from the example above the blank row has caused a problem. 

The AutoSum feature guesses that you want to add up the figures up to the gap and not beyond it.

You will now need to intervene if you want all of column B to be added together.

In the example above, I have selected the first cell that I want to add and then with the large white cross, selected the rest of the cells. 

Make sure that you check the formula, before clicking the tick.

Steve Says   I cannot emphasise enough; how important it is to check the cell references on the formula bar.  I always recommend that new users select the tick on the formula bar to accept formulae rather than pressing enter, that way they are always physically checking a formula before accepting it.   If things go wrong, click the Red Cross on the Formula bar and start again.

Sums and functions are easy to do in Excel but checking the formula is the most important part when dealing with sums and functions

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Connecting Shapes in Microsoft Visio

 

BASIC DIAGRAMS

 The following example shows some of the basic drawing principles. To add shapes simply drag them on to the drawing canvas.

 

Several shapes are positioned onto the drawing canvas.

 

 

When you drop the shape on the grid it will snap to the nearest grid line.

 

The white circles facilitate size changes; the small circle at the top of each shape provides rotation options.

When the connector tool is activated shapes display connection points when the mouse hovers over the shape.

 

 

Some of the shapes will have yellow circles (Control handles) these have distinctive features for each shape.  If you hold your mouse over the shape, you will see a text box description as shown below.

 

 

If you want to move several shapes in one go, you can use your shift key to select each shape or drag over them with your mouse and then move them as a group.

 

 

 

There are two types of shapes, one-dimensional and two-dimensional as shown below.

 

 

CONNECTING SHAPES

 In Microsoft Visio, drawings such as flowcharts, block diagrams and organisational charts are all connected drawings.

There are three main types of connector in Visio, Inward, Outward and Inward/Outward.

Inward connectors:

Most shapes have inward connection points, which means that you can glue connectors or other shapes with Outward connectors to them. (Black Squares)

 

Outward Connectors:

A 2-D shape with an Outward connection point can be glued to another 2-D shape with an Inward connection point. Right click on the connection point to change the type.  Firstly, activate the Connection Tool.

 

 

 

Once the connector is changed it will glue to the Inward connector on the other shape and move as one.

 

Inward/Outward Connector

 Use inward/outward connection points to allow shapes to be glued together in any order. An inward/outward connection point behaves like an inward connection point when you glue a 1-D connector or the outward connection point of a 2-D shape to it. It behaves like an outward connection point when you glue it to another 2-D shape. For example, in the Office Layout template, the work surface shapes have inward/outward connection points at each end so that work-surface components can be glued together in any order.

When you create your own shapes, you can set their connection point type.

Use inward connection points in drawings that use connectors (connector: Any one-dimensional (1-D) shape that can be glued between two shapes in a drawing to connect the shapes.) to connect shapes, such as flowchart diagrams.

Use inward or outward connection points when you want to glue 2-D shapes together in a particular direction or order. For example, in an office layout diagram, if you want outlet shapes to be attracted to walls:

Set the outlet shape to have an outward connection point.

Add inward connection points to the Wall shape (perhaps spaced according to electrical wiring code).

Use inward/outward connection points to allow shapes to be glued together in any order. For example, if you have a wall shape with inward/outward connection points, it won't matter which wall segment you drag first; it will always glue to another shape. However, if you have an outward connection point on one end of the wall and an inward connection point on the other end, you will need to drag the outward end to an inward end to glue the walls together.

There are two types of glue in Visio

Shape to Shape and Point to Point

Shape to Shape

With shape-to-shape glue (also known as dynamic or "walking" glue), a connector stays glued to shapes by moving to the closest available connection points as the shape is repositioned.

Point to Point

With point-to-point glue (also known as static glue), a connector stays glued to its specific connection point on each shape when you reposition the shapes.

A shape's connection point turns red when you glue a connector to a specific point on a shape.

To create a shape-to-shape connector, click the connector tool on the toolbar.

 

 

 

 

Drag the first shape into position and leave it selected then drag the second shape into position.  The connector will snap into place.

 

Shape – To – Shape the outline on the boxes turn green as you float over them (not over a connection point).

 

When the shape is moved the connector moves to the nearest point.

Point-to-Point connections

 Use the pointer tool to drag two shapes on to the grid.

Click the connector tool and hover over the first shape until the connection point is highlighted, then drag to the other shapes connector point.

 

 

 

If you move either of the shapes, the connection will be glued to the original position.

 

Although shapes have pre-set connection points, you can add additional connection points by selecting the connection tool.

 

 

Hold the Control Key down and click on the shape to apply the new connection point or points.

 

 

You can use the connector tool to join the new connection points as shown above.

 Remember connection point properties are changed by right clicking the point.

 

 

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Saving a Template in Microsoft Project

 

Templates in Microsoft Project

Saving a template in Microsoft Project, saves time, focusses teams and keeps plans standard. Templates in Project are stored in either the personal templates folder or a network folder. Use Project options to change folder location.

How to create a template

Template setup

Design the task list and add the links. Embed any external documents. Once the task list and links are sorted you can format the Gantt chart to display as required.

Resources

Add resources as normal to the resource sheet. Select the Assign resource feature to allocate resources for each task. Do not overallocate resources. Any resource displaying a red symbol is over allocated.

Reports

Creating a template report saves time and standardises reporting.

Custom Fields

Add custom fields to the Gantt chart table or create a new table with the custom fields.

Saving a Template

When all elements of the template are complete, select Save from the menu.
In the save as dialogue box, select the template option. Navigate to the
template folder indicated in project options and save. To use the template,
select file and new.

Templates sit in either the personal folder or a network folder both are shown in Project options..

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There are three course formats. The first format is, one to one, this is a tailored session covering topics selected by the student. The second format is Classroom based courses, this is a structured session. Online, this course follows the format of either of the other two.