How do I track time reported on an ongoing operation

[Sunanda]

How do I track time reported on an ongoing operation like a maintenance
project which might involve some bug fixes / address a minor usability issue
using MS Project ?

 

[John]

How do I track time reported on an ongoing operation like a maintenance
project which might involve some bug fixes / address a minor usability issue
using MS Project ?

Sunarda,
One method that is often used for on-going support effort that doesn't
really have a defined set of tasks is to use a level-of-effort approach.
Basically a single long term task is set up for the whole project span
or maybe a weekly or monthly set of tasks over the span of the project.
Then progress is taken based on the passage of time. For example, let's
say you have a maintenance task that you are defining for a one man
level each month over the span of the project. Each month you would take
credit for that one man effort regardless of whether any actual work was
performed. Some months, there may be no maintenance, in which case the
plan is paying for nothing. But other months maybe the maintenance guy
is overwhelmed and ends up working overtime. No matter, for that month
the program will still only pay for a one man level.

Obviously this type of task isn't perfect in all cases but by using a
periodic sequence of tasks (i.e. weekly, monthly) if things get "out of
hand" with regard to not enough planned effort or too much planned
effort, it is easy to adjust the future maintenance tasks.

Another method which may be more palatable to some users is to simply
come up with the best estimate for what the maintenance task will take
over the span of the project. Then fill in the actual hours as they
occur each reporting period and live with the variances.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

 

[Sunanda]

--
Sunanda

Sunarda,
One method that is often used for on-going support effort that doesn't
really have a defined set of tasks is to use a level-of-effort approach.
Basically a single long term task is set up for the whole project span
or maybe a weekly or monthly set of tasks over the span of the project.
Then progress is taken based on the passage of time. For example, let's
say you have a maintenance task that you are defining for a one man
level each month over the span of the project. Each month you would take
credit for that one man effort regardless of whether any actual work was
performed. Some months, there may be no maintenance, in which case the
plan is paying for nothing. But other months maybe the maintenance guy
is overwhelmed and ends up working overtime. No matter, for that month
the program will still only pay for a one man level.

Obviously this type of task isn't perfect in all cases but by using a
periodic sequence of tasks (i.e. weekly, monthly) if things get "out of
hand" with regard to not enough planned effort or too much planned
effort, it is easy to adjust the future maintenance tasks.

Another method which may be more palatable to some users is to simply
come up with the best estimate for what the maintenance task will take
over the span of the project. Then fill in the actual hours as they
occur each reporting period and live with the variances.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

Thankyou John for the detailed reply. I was contemplating on the idea of
using an administrative project for such a requirement.. can you please
comment on the usage of administrative project for such a requirement !

 

[John]

--
Sunanda



Thankyou John for the detailed reply. I was contemplating on the idea of
using an administrative project for such a requirement.. can you please
comment on the usage of administrative project for such a requirement !

Sunanada,
Sorry, I don't know anything about administrative projects since they
are a part of the Project Server environment. You might try posting on
our sister newsgroup: microsoft.public.project.server.

John
Project MVP