Formula

[Sandy]

I need the formula to calculate estimates for tasks.
You know the optimistic * 6 or something. Can anyone help? Thanks!

 

[John]

I need the formula to calculate estimates for tasks.
You know the optimistic * 6 or something. Can anyone help? Thanks!

Sandy,
Say what? I'm sorry, your post doesn't have enough information to make a
whole lot of sense. Please elaborate and maybe we can help.

John
Project MVP

 

[JD]

Sounds like you are talking about PERT.
I think the formula they used was
((1*optimistic)+(4*expected)+(1*pessimistic))/6
There are better ways to do probabilistic scheduling now.
You can try monte carlo simulation. I have a free simulation macro here:
http://masamiki.com/project/blackjack.htm
Of course for all of these techniques getting proper estimates to begin with
is the hardest part.

-Jack Dahlgren

 

[Sandy]

Got it, thanks.

Sandy,
Say what? I'm sorry, your post doesn't have enough information to make a
whole lot of sense. Please elaborate and maybe we can help.

John
Project MVP

 

[Frank Cox, PMP]

PERT: ((1*optimistic)+(4*expected)+(1*pessimistic))/6 ... however, keep in
mind that the standard formula (and the default in Project) is weighted for
expected/most likely. You can manually change the weighting based on
criteria used to determine whether to take another view, such as optimistic
or pessimistic. You can also set the weights in Project to correspond to
your view. If you estimate using PERT in Project and do not pay attention to
weighting then resulting durations may be unrealistic--so think about the
nature of each task and weight accordingly, then calculate using an
appropriately adjusted PERT formula.