Merging two project files... ??

[Jonathan E. \(NZ\)]

Hi there,
I am fairly new to MS Project - yet relatively proficient with software
and
computers in general.
I have two MS Project (2003) files.
One is the Plan for a project (prior to it being carried out).
The other is the actual project as carried out.
They differ because the project did not go according to the original plan.
I have extracted both Projects into Excel and standardised them so that
the
are at least structured in the same way. The dates and number of instances
of certain tasks still vary.

What I would like to know is if there is some easy way (i.e. automated) to
merge the two project files? Can I save the data in PLANNED as a baseline,
and then import the other project file and use that data as the current
project plan?

At this stage it is looking like I have to do this whole thing manually...
yet I have a hard time believing that, as I am sure it's not that uncommon
for projects to end up in a before and after file.

Can anyone suggest a relatively easy and sensible way of merging before
and
after project files?

As mentioned... using MS Project 2003.

With my regards and thanks,


Jonathan

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Jonathan,

As you expect, Project has several nice features to compare baseline data to
actuals.
Alas, you should have wondered before.. the way to do it is to save a
baseline (tools, tracking, save baseline) before the project starts; to
record the actuals IN THE SAME FILE, then use things like the Tracking Gantt
View and the Variance table to compare baseline to actuals.

In the state you're in now all I can think of is to write a VBA procedure
that reads each task in the initial file, finds the corresponding task in
the "Actuals" file and copies start/finish to baseline start/finish in the
actuals file.

Of course, if your tasks are absolutely the same left and right, you could
copy start and finish colulmns and paste them in the actuals file
baselinestart and baseline finish.

Hope this helps,

 

[Jonathan E. \(NZ\)]

Hi Jan,

Yes, I agree that they should have been in the one file.
I am enquiring about this on the behalf of a client...

So I hear you confirming what I have suspected (after looking right
through
most of the features in MS Project)... that there is no simple way to go
about this.
That a VBA routine might be the only way to automate it. Hmmm...

The actual tasks also very between files.
For instance... there might be:
[PLANNED FILE]
1. Site X
1.1 Site X - Section 1
1.1.1 TASK Z (Summary Line)
1.1.1.1 Task Z
1.1.1.2 Task Z
1.1.1.3 Task Z
1.1.1.4 Task Z
1.1.2 TASK W
1.1.2.1 Task W
1.1.2.2 Task W
1.2 Site X - Section 2
etc

[ACTUAL FILE]
1. Site X
1.1 Site X - Section 1
1.1.1 TASK Z (SUMMARY)
1.1.1.1 Task Z
1.1.1.2 Task Z
1.1.2 TASK W (Summary line)
1.1.2.1 Task W
1.1.2.2 Task W
1.1.2.3 Task W
1.1.2.4 Task W
1.1.3 TASK T (Summary Line)
1.1.3.1 Task T
1.1.3.2 Task T
1.2 Site X - Section 2
etc

As you can see... at outline level 1 - 3 there is the same structure. But
then at outline level 4 (the actual tasks with start/finish dates etc)
things start to differ. There might even be a task in Actual under say 1.1
that doesn't exist on the PLANNED (Task T for instance in the above
example).

My VBA is not adequate to do something like this so I think I will get
back
to the client and suggest they go about it another way.

Thanks for the help...

Jonathan