Thanks Julie, that is helpful.
I understand by definition :
Project Calendar is the Calendar that shows up under Tools / Options /
Calendar
Nope, that is not true at all! The Tools/Options/Calendar menu DOES NOT
adjust the Project Calendar (although the times you see there should conform
to it). You set the working hours for the Project Calendar by going into
the Tools/ChangeWorkingTime menu and either creating a new calendar
reflecting your general hours of work or modifying on of the existing
calendars. You also enter in any company recognized holidays as non-working
days. Then you go to Project/ProjectInformation and designate the calendar
you have created as being the Project Celandar.
Task Calendar is the selected in Task Information / Advanced /
Calendar "dedicated cell"
Resource Calendar is selected in the Resource sheet "dedicated cell".
I am producing a schedule to accompany a proposal for large project.
Different companies will be working different no of hours / day AND
some work Saturday. Some durations are specified in hours and some
durations are specified in days.
In the Tools/ChangeWorkingTime menu you can create as many "base calendars"
as you want. Create one for each company perticipating in your project
and/or any large block of resources working a unique calendar. Only ONE of
the base calendars is your Project Calendar, the project's "master clock" as
it were.
In the Gant Chart I enter the resource in the "dedicated resource
cell" and expect the finish date to look at the number of days entered
for duration, then provide a finish date based on the Resources
dedicated calendar. BUT it gives incorrect finish date.
Never "provide" start or finish dates! Project's job is not to document the
schedule you think you should have. Its job is to tell you the schedule you
will be ABLE to have. It's not giving you the "wrong" date. It's telling
you the date the task WILL end if the resource works that schedule. ITS
date is the "right" date - your preconceived "ought to finish" date is the
wrong one.
I have tried specifying the Calendar specified for the resource in the
Task Info calendar section as well but still does not give a finish
date as expected. It still it looks at the definition of a day as per
the Tools / Options / Calendar (Project calendar) This is limiting
as the definition of a day should be what the resource will be working
particularly when there is no need for a task calendar (no
restrictions to the days worked as far as the task is concerned)
I am expecting the finish date to align the duration with the
dedicated resources calendar.
There can be only one definition of a "day" for duration. All duration
calculations are stored and calculated in minutes. The ability to use units
of hours, days, weeks, etc are only there at all as a concession to user
convenience. The setting on the Tools/Options/Calendar page are the
conversion factors, telling Project how many minutes a duration entry of "3
days" actually represents. If it's the default, a 1 day task lasts 480.0
working minutes. Then the working time calendar governing the task kicks in
to tell it WHICH minutes out of the 24 hour day should be counted against
the duration number. If Joe works 8 to 5 "1 day" for him starts at 8am and
ends at 5pm, 480 of his working time minutes later. If Mary works 9 to 4,
"1 day" for her starts at 9am and ends the following day at 11am, exactly
the same number of HER working time minutes, 480 working minutes, later.
The start and ending time for her is different because different minutes out
of the 24 hour civil day counts for her than it does for Joe - but both of
their tasks last exactly the same length of time. Duration is a length in
minutes, not a count of days.
I have colleagues who have worked around this for years by fudging and
thereby creating inaccuracies because through trying to achieve the
above they continually fail.
They Give up and either :
. only specify hours , as hours don't seem to be affected.
. Have all resources work off the project calendars times even though
the resources work different hours / day and no days / week.
To summarize from your response:
Your 1st Paragraph (below) seems to state that the duration entry will
always look at the Tools > Options Calendar to determine days, weeks
and months definition for all resources through the schedule. (This is
very limiting not being able to customize days, weeks and months to
specific resources calendars.)
It is difficult to understand given the reputation of project re
versatility, that to have true "uniqueness" to resources working
times, only hours can be specified in the duration column (not days,
weeks and months)
As per Your 2nd paragraph , I am only interested in using resource
Calendars for all tasks. I enter the resource in the applicable Gant
Chart cell, and up till receiving your response as per the 1st
paragraph expected days, weeks and months to be as per the resource
calendar I specified.
Resource calendars are automatically applied to each task when the resource
is assigned. The Project Calendar governs the task when no resources have
been assigned to it. When a resource is assigned, his or her calendar
becomes the governing calendar, the idea being that the only time work can
proceed on a task is when the resource required is physically present and
the majority of the time the resource's work hours are engraved in granite.
Task calendars give you the flexibility to have exceptions when necessary to
cover the oddball cases. Task calendars can either supercede the resource
calendars or work can be scheduled only where they overlap.
I understand everything you stated in the 3rd paragraph, but as per
your 1st paragraph, it only works correctly when the calendar
referenced is the Project calendar in Tools > Options , (not a
resource calendar with different times) again this is very limiting.
Re your 4th paragraph, I understand but I don't need to get to the
evel of task calendar limitations. On this particular presentation I
am only interested in presenting accurate finish dates over varying
unique resource calendars in days. As per 1st paragraph seems not
possible.
You are presenting accurate dates you just don't seem to recognize it. If
we have a task that requires 40 man-hours of work to produce its
deliverable, it requires 40 man-hours regardless of whether the "man" works
8 hours a day, 4 hours a day, 2.7 hours a day or what have you. If it can
start Monday and is given to Bill who works 8 to 5, it will start Mon 8am
and end Fri at 5pm. IF we give it to Sally who works 9 to 4, it will start
Mon at 9 and end a week from Tuesday at 2 pm, in both cases taking exactly
the same length of time and ending when 40 man-hours of work has been done
and the deliverable completed.
HTH
