#PROJECTLIBRE PROJECT EXAMPLE SERIAL#

So how do you know which one to use? Here are some guidelines. Note! Most of the time I leave “Effort-driven” unchecked.Īs I stated earlier, you must set your task to be one of three types.

Select the Effort Driven checkbox if desired. Use the Task type: drop-down menu to select the appropriate task type.

If you only select one task, you can double-click anywhere on the task row to open the Task Information dialog box.

Select the Task Information button and go to the Advanced tab.

#PROJECTLIBRE PROJECT EXAMPLE SERIAL#

If choosing multiple tasks, you can click and drag for serial tasks or click and Ctrl-click to select non-serial tasks. Open your project plan and select the task or tasks you desire to change.Here are the steps for selecting a task type for one or more tasks in Project 2007: (Keep in mind that when you add resources to a task, this does cause some increase to the task’s duration due to increased communication needs between the resources.) Effort-driven scheduling only occurs if you keep this option clicked in the Task Information dialog and you add or remove resources from a task. One person or 10 can back up a computer - it will still take the same amount of time. Another example is backing up a computer. No matter how many instructors one assigns to a three-day training course, it will still take three days. For other tasks, adding resources won’t decrease the duration, such as training. The duration of a task will shrink or grow as resources are added or removed, while the amount of total effort expended on that task stays the same.įor example if you have a week long task to test several units, you can decrease the amount of duration by adding more testers. This is called effort-driven scheduling, which is Project’s default. Regarding work, there are some tasks that you can add more resources to and the task’s duration will decrease. The total work for a task is the sum of all those time units, no matter how many resources are assigned to the task. Work is the amount of effort a resource must expend on a task, usually measured in units such as hours per week.

I should note that in my experience, resources are rarely available a hundred percent of the time unless they work on only a single project. For example, if a person is available 10 hours per week (assuming a standard 40-hour week), this represents a quarter of her available time. Units is the number of resources assigned to work on a task. For any tasks, you can choose which piece of the equation Project will calculate by setting the task type.ĭuration is the length of a task measured in business or calendar day. To understand these, you have to learn the underlying formula used by the scheduling engine:īefore I explain each aspect of the formula, please note that with this formula, as you change any given component, that will change the other components too. In this article I explain the basics of task types.įor each task in your project, you must set three task type choices: If you understand that, then Project can become the most powerful weapon in your project management arsenal. When people stumble in their use of Microsoft Project, frequently the problem stems from a lack of understanding of how task types work.

Projectlibre project example