remaining work and capacity - issue

[alex]

Hi,

Knowledege of EPM 2007:
2 years.

Issue:
Remaining work impact duration.
Understand the capacity of the resource.

Context:
I create a project with one task during 5 days(monday to friday, 8 hours by
day) with 5 resources assigned.
The task is type fixed duration, each resource has 40 hours planified during
this week.
Each resource record hours between the begin and the end.
The planified hours haven't been totally consummed.
So there is remaining work on the task.
Specially one resource records:
9 - 2.5 - 8 - 4 - 2.5.
the system decides to put the remaining work to the next monday: 14 hours.
the duration change to 5.85 but my point of view is the duration should be 6
(monday to monday).
For continu, I see the % units of the resource, it's 206%.
I know the %units is associate to the most important value of planified work
or real work.
So in that case, the maximal is 14 hours in the work.
I try to understand, but what is the relation between 206% and 14hours?.

Picture about the project:
http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dgq4sw2r_20428bms5gfc

I appreciate a return, it's not the first time I see this weird behavior.
And for the project manager it's difficult to understand this point and take
the right decision.

thanks,
best regards,
Alexandre BARAULT

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,



--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
+32 495 300 620
For availability check:
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/Calendar.pdf

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Alex,

First, your task does not start on monday morning. I can't figure out why
from here since you do not show time of day nor the predecessors etc. Change
the date format in Tools, Options, View and you will see.

So it also ends somewhere in the middle of the following Monday.
Project does not plan by day, it plans by minute. That is not an option,
that is how it works.
Without knowing the detils of the task's start and finish, of the definition
of "a day" in Tools, Options, Calendar, and of the exact working toimes by
day, the rest is guesswork.

I advise you the reading of FAQ 5 in
http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm
That will clarify things I hope.

Bien à vous,




--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
+32 495 300 620
For availability check:
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/Calendar.pdf

 

[Dave]

Your issue with the duration is essentially the difference between the
definition that you use and the one that Project uses. If you use a
different definition to it, then the answers will never be the same.

If you simply want to display the number of days between the start and
end of a task, then you can insert a formula to do that and you can even
rename the column duration if you are so inclined.

To set this task as Fixed Duration was clearly not correct as the
duration was able to change. It seems that fixed work would have been a
more appropriate choice.

The resource's percentage displayed on the Gantt chart is
counter-intuitive but since your resource worked more hours on Monday
that his maximum number, that must be greater than 100% (the Gantt chart
shows peak units, either actual or planned).

The Resource Graph allows you to select units other than peak units if
you want to see how your resources are allocated.

 

[alex]

Hi Dave and Jan,

Thank you for your answer.

I update the document
http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dgq4sw2r_20428bms5gfc according to your
answer.

First I answer to Jan and after to Dave in the same post.
Please read this entire part Jan before to do any comment.
I add a summary understanding at the end to conclude all points.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEGIN JAN PAR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Alex,

First, your task does not start on monday morning. I can't figure out why
from here since you do not show time of day nor the predecessors etc. Change
the date format in Tools, Options, View and you will see.
So it also ends somewhere in the middle of the following Monday.
Project does not plan by day, it plans by minute. That is not an option,
that is how it works.
Without knowing the detils of the task's start and finish, of the definition
of "a day" in Tools, Options, Calendar, and of the exact working toimes by
day, the rest is guesswork.
I advise you the reading of FAQ 5 in
http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm
That will clarify things I hope.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
END JAN PAR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEGIN DAVE PAR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your issue with the duration is essentially the difference between the
definition that you use and the one that Project uses. If you use a
different definition to it, then the answers will never be the same.

If you simply want to display the number of days between the start and
end of a task, then you can insert a formula to do that and you can even
rename the column duration if you are so inclined.
To set this task as Fixed Duration was clearly not correct as the
duration was able to change. It seems that fixed work would have been a
more appropriate choice.
The resource's percentage displayed on the Gantt chart is
counter-intuitive but since your resource worked more hours on Monday
that his maximum number, that must be greater than 100% (the Gantt chart
shows peak units, either actual or planned).
The Resource Graph allows you to select units other than peak units if
you want to see how your resources are allocated.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
END DAVE PART
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


To conclude my understanding:
Best regards,
Alexandre BARAULT

 

[alex]

Hi,

With your advise I go on Office Online.
And I undertand the duration is the total work and not as I wish.
So I add this formula on one column
ProjDurConv(ProjDateDiff(Début,Fin),pjDays)
and I can obtain the duration.

My conclusion in the previsous answer is keep opened to comments.

Best regards,
Alexandre BARAULT

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

Nous avançons.
D'abord, la durée de cette tâche "à durée fixe" n'est pas 5 jours mais bel
et bien 5,85 jours (peut-être dû à des pointages d'autres ressources: vous
devez avouir eu le message que la durée de cette tâche à durée fixe doit
être modifiée...)

Soit, à l'heure actuelle la durée est de 5,85 jours (toujours à durée fixe)
et la tâche se termine à 3:47.
La durée admise pour la tâche ce Lundi est donc de 6hrs 47 min soit 407
minutes
Le travail planifié pendant ce temps-là est de 14 heures soit 840 minutes
Les unités doivent donc être de 840:407=2,06... d'où 206%

Ce qui me laisse perplexe c'est que tout en mettant la tâche à durée fixe,
après vous vous demandez pourquoi Project obéit à votre souhait et justement
ne répartit pas le travail sur plusieurs jours!
Si vous voulez que Project respecte les unités introduites (100% ici)
pourquoi pas choisir Unités fixes??

Lisez le Help sur type de tâche. C'est pas facile, mais cela vaut la peine.

Summary in English
Task is Fixed duration and has to plan 14 hrs of work between 8:00 and 15:47
be it 407 minutes.
The end time cannot be changed because of the Fixed duration option.
Hence units= 14 hrs/407 minutes=206%

HTH


--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
+32 495 300 620
For availability check:
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/Calendar.pdf

 

[Dave]

I was thinking of something more along the lines of:

-Int( -ProfDateDiff( [Start] , [Finish] , "Standard" ) / [Minutes Per Day] )

This is probably about the closest you can get without resorting to VBA.

 

[alex]

Hi,

--------------BEGIN FR
VERSION---------------------------------------------------------
Nous avançons.
D'abord, la durée de cette tâche "à durée fixe" n'est pas 5 jours mais bel
et bien 5,85 jours (peut-être dû à des pointages d'autres ressources: vous
devez avouir eu le message que la durée de cette tâche à durée fixe doit
être modifiée...)
Soit, à l'heure actuelle la durée est de 5,85 jours (toujours à durée fixe)
et la tâche se termine à 3:47.
La durée admise pour la tâche ce Lundi est donc de 6hrs 47 min soit 407
minutes
Le travail planifié pendant ce temps-là est de 14 heures soit 840 minutes
Les unités doivent donc être de 840:407=2,06... d'où 206%
Ce qui me laisse perplexe c'est que tout en mettant la tâche à durée fixe,
après vous vous demandez pourquoi Project obéit à votre souhait et justement
ne répartit pas le travail sur plusieurs jours!
Si vous voulez que Project respecte les unités introduites (100% ici)
pourquoi pas choisir Unités fixes??
Lisez le Help sur type de tâche. C'est pas facile, mais cela vaut la peine.
Summary in English
Task is Fixed duration and has to plan 14 hrs of work between 8:00 and 15:47
be it 407 minutes.
The end time cannot be changed because of the Fixed duration option.
Hence units= 14 hrs/407 minutes=206%

HTH
--------------END FR
VERSION-----------------------------------------------------------

--------------BEGIN ENG
VERSION---------------------------------------------------------
Hi,

We are moving.
First, the duration of this "fixed term" is not good but 5 days
and 5.85 days (perhaps due to recorded hours of other resources you
must admit was the message that the duration of this task is fixed
be changed ...)
Is at present the duration is 5.85 days (always fixed)
and the task ends at 3:47.
The period allowed for this task is therefore to Monday 6hrs 47 min or 407
minutes
The work planned for that time is 14 hours or 840 minutes
The units should be 840:407 = 2.06 ... where 206%
What puzzles me is that while putting the task to fixed duration,
You're wondering why Project obeys your wish and just
Do not leave work on several days!
If you want Project respects the units introduced (100% here)
why not choose units fixed?
Read the Help on type of task. It is not easy, but it's worth.
---------------------------------------------------

Really I appreciate your help.
I would send you a coffe break to thank you, it's difficult by the post (the
post doesn't have some special package to keep hot )

Best regards,
Alexandre BARAULT