Can I set a task to be "timeless"?

[JTZedak]

How do I create a task in project that needs to be done, but it doesn't
matter when it's done. It seems that there is a way to set the task to be
"timeless", so that it is listed as something to be done, but it doesn't have
a date associated with it.

 

[John]

How do I create a task in project that needs to be done, but it doesn't
matter when it's done. It seems that there is a way to set the task to be
"timeless", so that it is listed as something to be done, but it doesn't have
a date associated with it.

JTZedak,
Sorry, Project only deals in realities. If a task is worth doing (i.e.
really necessary to the end result), then it has to have a set of dates
- a start and a finish. Now, those dates can encompass the entire length
of the plan but there is no "timeless" with Project.

You might be interested in something called a Hammock Task. Go to our
MVP website at: http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm
and take a look at FAQ 19 - Hammock tasks.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

 

[Redneck David]

JT

Absolutey not. At least to be displayed normaly using the start and finish
fields.

JT are you a PM? I don't know of a scheduler would ever propose such a
idea. You must have a plan. Change it if you must but there must be a plan
for each task.

There is always the baseline dates or white-out if you don't want to see a
date. It is possible to show the baseline date fields in a table and not
have baseline date values for that task. In that case you would see NA.

David

 

[Steve House [Project MVP]]

I can't imagine how a "timeless" task could possibly exist. There is always
a time element, a management horizon, on everything an enterprise does. As
the project manager you need to set priorities on tasks and advise the
resources when they need to work on them in order to finish the project as
efficiently as possible, to achieve the objextives within the management
horizon while they still matter. A project is undertaken to meet a
particular business objective and that objective always has a time element
involved - the new toy has to be in the stores in time for the Christmas
shopping season, that sort of thing. So in that sense, everything in the
project has a deadline by which it needs to finish in order to achieve the
project's objectives in the timeframe required. Likewise everything in the
project has a time that is the earliest time it is possib le to start. If
nothing else controls it, it can't happen before the project begins. Most
of the time, there are things that have to happen first or a requried
resource won't be available until a certain time, that sort of thing. If
you say as a given that you want to finish the project efficiently, then the
schedule project develops is telling you earliest you CAN schedule the task
and the earliest date you can achieve your objective. If it truly doesn't
matter when you achieve it, it also doesn't matter IF you achieve it, and
it's a waste of resources even to do the project in the first place - kill
it before it even starts.

 

[davegb]

How do I create a task in project that needs to be done, but it doesn't
matter when it's done. It seems that there is a way to set the task to be
"timeless", so that it is listed as something to be done, but it doesn't have
a date associated with it.

Every definition of a "Project" that I've ever seen includes the
limitation that it takes a finite amount of time. A project must have a
start and an end date. This is basic to the concept. Ergo, you can't
have a task that can be done at any time, with no limitations as part
of a project. If is doesn't have to be done to complete the project,
it's not part of the project.
Hope this helps in your world.

 

[JTZedak]

Thanks.

JTZedak,
Sorry, Project only deals in realities. If a task is worth doing (i.e.
really necessary to the end result), then it has to have a set of dates
- a start and a finish. Now, those dates can encompass the entire length
of the plan but there is no "timeless" with Project.

You might be interested in something called a Hammock Task. Go to our
MVP website at: http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm
and take a look at FAQ 19 - Hammock tasks.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

 

[JTZedak]

Thanks

JT

Absolutey not. At least to be displayed normaly using the start and finish
fields.

JT are you a PM? I don't know of a scheduler would ever propose such a
idea. You must have a plan. Change it if you must but there must be a plan
for each task.

There is always the baseline dates or white-out if you don't want to see a
date. It is possible to show the baseline date fields in a table and not
have baseline date values for that task. In that case you would see NA.

David

 

[JTZedak]

Thanks

I can't imagine how a "timeless" task could possibly exist. There is always
a time element, a management horizon, on everything an enterprise does. As
the project manager you need to set priorities on tasks and advise the
resources when they need to work on them in order to finish the project as
efficiently as possible, to achieve the objextives within the management
horizon while they still matter. A project is undertaken to meet a
particular business objective and that objective always has a time element
involved - the new toy has to be in the stores in time for the Christmas
shopping season, that sort of thing. So in that sense, everything in the
project has a deadline by which it needs to finish in order to achieve the
project's objectives in the timeframe required. Likewise everything in the
project has a time that is the earliest time it is possib le to start. If
nothing else controls it, it can't happen before the project begins. Most
of the time, there are things that have to happen first or a requried
resource won't be available until a certain time, that sort of thing. If
you say as a given that you want to finish the project efficiently, then the
schedule project develops is telling you earliest you CAN schedule the task
and the earliest date you can achieve your objective. If it truly doesn't
matter when you achieve it, it also doesn't matter IF you achieve it, and
it's a waste of resources even to do the project in the first place - kill
it before it even starts.

 

[John]

Thanks.

JTZedak,
You're welcome.
John