Summary Task Calculation

[Jason Vogrinec]

Hi All...

I am looking to enter sub-tasks below a summary level item. However, I
do not want these tasks to be calcuated in the durration, work, or
start/end date calculation for the summary task above. Is this possible
to do?

Thoughts? Thanks.

Jason

 

[DavidC]

Hi Jason,

Short answer is No. The summary task does just as it's name suggests. It
provides and overview (summary) of the underlying tasks. Hence it will start
on the earliest start of the underlying tasks and finsih on the latest date
of the underlying tasks. The duration is then calculated as the time between
the start and finish dates. Progress is simillarly calculated as overall
progress of all tasks under the summary task.

The only way that a task would not be part of the summary calculation is if
it starts after the earliest start date of the other tasks and finishes
before the lastest finish date of the other underlying tasks.

Hope this helps.

Regards

DavidC

 

[Dave]

You haven't really given enough information to go on. If you don't want
the results of the calculations, why don't you just ignore them? Or is
it the case that this is only a requirement for some of the summary
tasks and associated tasks (and if so, why?)?

Dave

 

[Rok]

Hi,

I have similar problem with MS project 2003. I have some tasks in my project
and I don’t want this tasks to be calculated into the project summary task
(costs and hours). I tried with a filter in a task sheet view, but filter
only hides unwanted tasks and they are still calculated in the project
summary task .

Can anyone help?

 

[John]

Hi,

I have similar problem with MS project 2003. I have some tasks in my project
and I don’t want this tasks to be calculated into the project summary task
(costs and hours). I tried with a filter in a task sheet view, but filter
only hides unwanted tasks and they are still calculated in the project
summary task .

Can anyone help?

Rok,
I'm a little confused as to exactly how a task or group of tasks can
both be under a summary line but yet not be a part of it. It sounds like
the structure of your file is not correct. In that case the obvious
choice is to do a little re-structuring and put the nondescript tasks
under their own summary line.

Nonetheless, try the grouping function (Project/Group By/Customize Group
By). Group summary lines will show only the summed up values for the
items in that group.

John
Project MVP

 

[John]

Hi John,

Thank you for the reply. I wrote that I have a similar problem. but maybe I
was not quite exact and I didn't choose quite right topic.

Ok, I will try again. My problem are not summary tasks but "project summary
task" (Tools/Options/Outline options for .../Show project summary task).
I have in my project some tasks (some main tasks and also some subtasks)
that have influence on entire project duration and have to be considered -
but only for duration of the entire project and for the start of the next
tasks (finish-to-start task link). On the other hand, this tasks will be done
for free and I don’t want their hours and costs to be calculated into the
project summary task. And the resources are the same, which will do also
paid task, so I cant do just another resource name.
So the question is - how can I exclude some task from project summary task?
I already tried with a filter in a task sheet view, but filter only hides
unwanted tasks and they are still calculated in the project summary task .

Thank you

Rok

Rok,
Sorry, I didn't see your reply until today.

A summary line is a summary line and it doesn't matter if it is the top
level summary or an intermediate level summary, they all show and
represent the same thing - summarized data of performance tasks below
them. So, you do NOT have main tasks and subtasks, rather you have
various level of hierarchy but the only REAL tasks are those that
describe some type of activity to be performed in order to complete the
overall schedule plan. These are called performance tasks and they
normally are the only task lines with resources assigned. Everything
else is a summary.

Ok, if you have some performance tasks that will be performed for free,
I first question why they are even included in the plan, but I suppose
if you want to track the resource allocation, it does make some sense to
include them. There are a couple of choices. One is to set the work for
these free tasks to zero. After all, in a "loaded" schedule, work effort
costs money but you don't want to pay for these tasks, so they
effectively have no work. No work hours or costs will be accrued so it
won't contribute to any summary line values. The problem with this
approach is that having no work for these tasks will not allow Project
to track resource allocation (or potential overallocation). A second
approach would be to use the grouping function I described previously
and look only at the data shown on the group summary lines. A third
approach might be to utilize some custom fields and/or VBA to separate
the paid from the free work and show that information in spare fields at
summary level.

John
Project MVP

 

[Steve House]

How about using the Rate Tables feature for this situation? It won't help
with the hours for the 'free' tasks being included but IM HO they shouldn't
be excluded anyway. They are a part of the total effort required to bring
off the project and the fact that you don't have to pay for them
out-of-pocket doesn't mean they aren't as real as the hours you do pay for.
For that matter, they aren't really 'free' either since the fact the
resource is tied up doing your task means they're not available to do some
other economically productive task and the cost to the firm of that lost
opportunity is as real a cost as is dollars paid out on a paycheque. But
anyway, if you display the Resource Information dialog you'll see there is a
rate table page with 5 tables. Set the rate of the resource on rate table A
to be what they earn for tasks they are paid for and set rate table B to
zero per hour. When you assign a resource, the costs in table A are used by
default. But for the unpaid tasks, display the assignment details from the
Task Usage view and set the rate table used for those tasks to Table B. Now
the costs of those hours will be zero when added into the total project
budget. You'll still be totaling all hours, both paid and unpaid, but costs
will only include the costs for paid tasks.