Oestas said:
The problem situation is like this: I have a list of 49 upgrade tasks that I
need to implement on 52 machines split in three geographic areas. The list of
tasks is not final and is continously being updated. I need to link this list
of 49 tasks to each of the 52 machines to be able to track progress on each
machine in each geographical area and being able to alter the list of tasks
as well. Is this possible in MSProject and how do I set up the files/links
needed?
Oestas,
There are various ways to set up the scenario you describe, some are
better than others. Let's look at what is known and what is not known.
First, the 52 machines and 3 geographical locations are fixed (at least
you don't mention that they could change). On the other hand, the 49
tasks is a variable. It might be 49 now but that can and probably will
change.
What else seems apparent. Well, it sounds like the upgrade to each
machine is independent, that is, there is no synergy in the upgrade
process. The upgrade for one machine has no effect or link to the
upgrade on the others, other than perhaps the resources necessary to do
the upgrade (i.e. labor and material).
Based on the above I would set up 52 summary lines in three separate
Project files. Why three files, because the resources are most likely
independent (i.e. Joe works at location "A" and Bill works at location
"B", etc.). It is also possible the work schedule is different due to
time zones (i.e. location "A" is in the USA, location "B" is in Europe,
etc.).
Under each of the 52 summary lines (which obviously represent the 52
machines), list the upgrade tasks as they are presently defined. Create
the logic network to link the upgrade tasks and assign the necessary
resources. You might want to do this as a template file so it can be
easily replicated. As the upgrade task definition changes you will
unfortunately have to modify the plan but with a basic template that
should be a little easier.
Granted, this approach is not an ideal situation because changes are
multiplied by 156 (52 x 3), but then, that's what sometimes happens in
the real world - life ain't easy.
John
Project MVP
