duration question

[GreenMonster]

If I have a task "Order Materials" and the time it takes for the materials
to arrive, once ordered, is 30 days, would it be correct to set my task
duration to 30 days even though the actual ordering of the materials takes a
few minutes?

The resources for the task are all "material" resources, no "work"
resources.

 

[Dominic Moss]

The delivery period is purely the passing of time, not a task itself.. To
model instances like delivery periods I favour entering a task for ordering
and another for delivery with a lag of whatever the delivery period is.

You might regard this as being a bit over-complicated but I frequently
create schedules to indicate the latest date key information is required by
so that, taking into account delivery periods, materials are available in
line with the schedule. Illustrating to other people why certain dates need
to be achieved and the consequence of missing them helps dissuade people
from the Manana complex that can occur.

You indicate 30 days delivery , is that 30 working days (30D) or 30
calendar days (30ED)? The ED option will ignore any non-working time you may
have in your schedule.

--
Dominic Moss

www.projectability.co.uk

Helping people achieve more with Microsoft Project

Tel +44 8707 303 400
Fax +44 8707 303 500

 

[Martin Wilkinson]

See my earlier post "Calendar Durations (again)" if you don't get the results
you expect from this.

martin

 

[Steve House [Project MVP]]

Adding a comment to Domnic's answer ...

A task is a block of work done by a resource resulting in a specific
deliverable. Duration is the time period over which the task takes place.
Since placing of the order ends when the order is placed, that constitutes a
discrete task. The delivery of whatever the order was for is another
totally different event. Thus the sequence is

[Place Order (1 hour task)] --> 30day wait --> [Item Received
(milestone)] --> [Task that uses item]

Note: If no work takes place, it's not a task. Materials don't
self-assemble themselves into a deliverable. You might choose not to name
or track the work resources involved but that's a different matter. Tasks
in the WBS ALWAYS represent activity performed by work resources, without
exception.