Confirmation of duration calculations

[DavidC]

Hi,

I am explaining why a schedule submitted by a contractor would not achieve
the end date.

The contractor had a calendar set for 12 hours per day, seven days per week,
but set the options to 10 hours oper day, 56 hours per week.

Clearly this has caused the problem.

Trying to explain why this casued a problem to non project users is now my
task.

What I want to confirm is that the setting in options sets the work
associated to a task, and that work is then applied to the calendar, which
determines whether or not the work can be done within the available time
availbe to carry out the work.

Is this a reasonable explanation to use to non project users? They are
nonetheless engineers and Project Managers so will understand the concepts.

Many thanks

DavidC

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi David,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

You might like to see FAQ Item: 5. Default Working Hours

FAQs, companion products and other useful Project information can be seen at
this web address: http://www.mvps.org/project/

Hope this helps - please let us know how you get on

Mike Glen
Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for Project Tutorials

 

[DavidC]

Hi,

Thanks for the reference. It seems to confirm my thoughts on the best way
to explain the problem to others. That is that the default settings rflect
the work (manhours) and this is then applied to the period available to work
as set in the calendar.

Many thanks DavidC

 

[DavidC]

Sorry,

I should also explain why it is important for me to explain this succinctly
and ina way that others will readily understand.

I am working on what may yet become a 'bun fight'. There is some large LD's
potentially to be applied for late completion, and what I have foudn is that
the contractor's schedule coudl never have achieved the end date using the
durations and settings thay applied.

Hence the question has more than just an understanding request to set up a
project, as that is one of the traps learnt many aeons ago.

Thanks again though for your comments, and yes those FAq's are helpful.

Regards

DavidC

 

[Mike Glen]

You're welcome, David

However, I would explain it as the Options only define what you mean when
you enter a Duration of day/week/month, whereas the Calendar ensures the
work is done only during the hours/days specified in the Calendar.

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for Project Tutorials

 

[Steve House]

Sort of 'affects the work' is more accurate. The numbers on the Calendar
Options page are only conversion factors and don't directly enter into
calculations in and of themselves. Durations, etc, are always stored in
minutes. If the options 'hours per day' is set to, say, 10 and you enter a
task as having a duration of '3 days,' Project multiplies 3 days by 10 hours
per day by 60 minutes per hour and enters the result into the database as
the duration of the task and that is the number that is subsequently used
for computation of work, duration, etc. When you display task data is uses
the conversion in reverse, taking the current value for duration in minutes
from the database and dividing it by 60* the CURRENT setting of 'hours per
day' to arrive at the number of days duration that is diplayed.

 

[Steve House]

Sounds like you're experincing the consequences of the contractor's
considering the schedule of task dates, etc to be a pre-determined INPUT
document into Project rather than an OUTPUT document computed by Project!!!!
That's exactly why I'm so preachy here about not juggling the calendars and
using constraints to force the schedule to conform to what one thinks it
ought to look like or what will make the sales department happy rather than
giving Project a free hand to predict what it actually WILL shake out to
have been when the dust settles and all the work is done. My condolences.