When you can’t get more resources to do the work - your resources are fixed.When the number of resources you have for the task is the first or main thing you know.Use Fixed Unit tasks in situations such as: Fixed Units Tasksįixed unit tasks means that in the formula Duration * Units = Work the units are fixed. 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.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. Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Training.Project Management Office (PMO) Training.Enterprise Project Management (EPM) Training.Project Management Certification Training.
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