Almost anything is possible with VBA but I'm wondering if the benefits and
timesavings would be worth the cost of writing such a system. IF you have
"100's of tasks" it would require the data entry person to memorize hundreds
of task codes or wast a lot of time looking them up. Entering tasks names
instead of codes would require either perfect typing skills to avoid typos
or very elaborate error checking routines to match a typed name to the list
of tasks. Since about the only data you'd be picking up from the database
would be the task name and either a duration estimate or a work estimate and
perhaps a resource name, it seems an awfully lot of trouble for very little
benefit.
I'm a very big believer in the idea that project management is a truly
management level function, NOT a clerical or administrative function. When
tasks are input into the schedule it is not just pumping data into a list to
make a picture, it is a creative process done by the person who has the
actual operational responsibility for insuring the project is completed
successfully, meeting the time and budget requirements, and who also has the
operational authority to make the decisions that are required to achieve
those results. It's not something you can delegate to an automated process
or to a clerical assistant. The way you enter tasks, organizing them into
summary tasks and their component subtasks, and the way you link them all
together is essentially designing the workflow of the project. It's
building the basic tool you will use to exercise managment control and part
of those controls are the decisions you make about the workflow design as
you build the schedule in the first place. (Just one guy's opinion).
