Multiple schedule options in one schedule

[jeremy.bilham]

In constructing and costing a bid it would be useful to be able to
select a certain number of development/delivery options and then we
can present the customer with a number of costed options.
I would like to keep it all in one schedule rather than create a
series of different schedules.
For example, the main project development is to create a widget and
you put the necessary tasks and resources into the plan. Now if the
customer wants a quote for a enhanced widget you need the original
plan plus a number of development/delivery options.
At the moment I have created new fields for each option to flag up
which task lines are included in each option. This I then filter on
when necessary. The trouble is all the summary tasks always include
all the options whatever and I have to resort to Excel to sort it out.
Anyone found a more elegant way of coping with this?

Thanks very much.

 

[Jim Aksel]

Keep the options and baseline project at the same level of indenture. This
way, they see a summary task for "Baseline Widget" and then other tasks for
"Add Gold Plating", "Add Spinning Widget", etc.

If the enhancements also require additional effort in the baseline model
then you may have to create a custom group (Project/Group By...) and group by
your flagging. Of course the whole thing will reflect in a project summary
task (it will include all options), but the summaries at the correct level of
indenture will allow you to price each one separately.

You can also create two custom fields, one for the baseline and one for the
desired options. Then you create an "Or" filter to create your combinations
of options and baseline.

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi Jeremy,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

You could always turn off the summaries in Tools/Options.../View tab, down
at the bottom.

FAQs, companion products and other useful Project information can be seen at
this web address: http://project.mvps.org/faqs.htm

Hope this helps - please let us know how you get on

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for Project Tutorials

 

[jeremy.bilham]

Thanks for your prompt replies.
I have included the options at the same summary task level. This does
give a decent view of everything in one schedule apart from the
overall summary task.
Our company outputs the whole schedule into a pricing sheet where all
the adders (contingency, margin etc.) get included. The way we cope
with options is to have a new field which identifies (by way of a
number) whether to include an option or not. The pricing model (in
Access and Excel) then sorts this out.
I am aware the summary tasks can be turned off but then you lose the
summaries for each area and that is probably worse than just ignoring
the top level summary.

Thanks again.

 

[Mike Glen]

You're welcome, Jeremy

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for Project Tutorials