Reverse master project

[×רז]

Many companies use generic template for planning their projects.
Our generic template contains X major summery tasks, summery task per
department.
We have dependencies between those Summery tasks (departments)
We would like to do the following:
Separate the file to X small files and keep the dependencies between the
summaries tasks (the new files).

What do you think will be the best way for doing it?

I think that the following macro will do the work

Run over the file and for every summery task at outline level one, cut the
rows and past them in to a new file (it is important to find a way to keep
the dependencies between the tasks (outer connections))

The new file name will be the project name as prefix and the suffix will be
the summery task name.

Save the file into the project server

Maybe you are familiar with such macro?
Maybe you are familiar with a smart copy past that will keep the
dependencies between the original summery tasks?

Appreciate your thoughts

 

[Jim Aksel]

Dependencies external to the copied block are not carried forward by the
copy/paste actions. You will have to have your macro remember the taskID of
the linkages, along with the complete filename and path. This can be
programmed into an array or some type of collection object. You will then
have to programmatically recreate the link in the new file. Recall the links
between files are of the form: \\path\TaskID.

However, if you are going to paste these tasks into new files, the taskID
(and Unique IDs) are going to change in the new file. Somehow you are going
to need to modifiy your collection of links to change the link ID: It used
to be line 456 in file A, but now I am in file B and the TaskID is now 13.

Those comments are going to hold true no matter where the links are.

Opinion: Linking tasks at the summar level is very poor practice, and it is
recommended by many people not to do it. Instead create start and complete
milestone tasks underneath the summary level. Link to those. However,
nothing in my above comments would chanage as for the technique.

PLease see this FAQ for additional information:
http://project.mvps.org/faqs.htm#Summary Task Linking._
You may also want to read the FAQ on summary task resources.
--
If this post was helpful, please consider rating it.

Jim

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for FAQs and more information
about Microsoft Project

 

[×רז]

Thanks
Do you familiar with such macro?

 

[Jim Aksel]

I am familiar with this type of coding, and have done something similar but
not exactly this macro. This type of effort is not freeware. I do not know
of anyone who has already completed this type of assignment, including me.

The theroy is straight forward. The specification, architecture, design,
and implementation do not warrant pages of requirements. If you have less
than about 100 departments (new project files) involved, it is probably the
same between effort doing it manually and creating/testing and implenting
code. There are many details to think about in the code.

What ever you decide for a solution, please seriously consider not linking
summary level tasks. Instead, create a series of "Giver" and "Receiver"
milestones at the top of each file. Click on names in this news group and
you will be surprised what you can find -- people who can do the work for you.

--
If this post was helpful, please consider rating it.

Jim

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for FAQs and more information
about Microsoft Project

 

[John]

Thanks
Do you familiar with such macro?

Person,
I agree with Jim but let me be a little stronger. You do NOT want to do
this. Linking summary lines will bring you nothing but trouble unless
you are an expert in Project and have many years of experience. For
reference, I never do it myself. You should go to our MVP website at,
http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm, and read FAQ 48 - Summary task
linking.

It doesn't sound like you have a real master file but rather a single
large file with several phases. Normally a master file is a dynamic
consolidation of two or more subprojects. In that case the individual
files (i.e. subprojects) already exist and they may or may not have
interdependencies between tasks in the subprojects.

I suggest you re-structure your "template" to eliminate summary line
links and then consider whether you still need/want to break it into
separate projects. A macro could assist in doing that, and several years
ago I wrote a macro that does the opposite, but here again I tend to
agree with Jim, on a one time basis it might be almost as easy to
manually break a single large file into separate individual files as it
would be to develop the code. The most difficult part will be to set up
the cross-project links in the separate files. If this is something you
will need to do on a periodic basis, then a VBA macro is the best
approach.

John
Project MVP