Task Summary and subtask setup

[dennisc]

how to set up subtasks which are not dependent of one another (they start on
the same date, but don't need to start in any particular order). The summary
task must account for the cumulative duration of the subtasks. That is if
task # 1 is 1 week, and task #2 is 2 weeks, then the summary duration would
be 3 weeks.

 

[Jim Aksel]

If they all start on the same date, and in no particular order, may I assume
they may run concurrently? In this case, the summary task would maintain the
duration of the longest subordinate task.

Might you be trying to say these tasks are resource constrained? They may
be worked in any order but only by the resource available: Fred can work A,
B, and C but only one at a time and in no particular order. If this is the
case, use resource leveling to level the subordinate tasks. The summary task
will then take on the duration set by the leveling algorithm. In the example
case, it would be the sum of the durations for A/B/C although there would be
no predecessor relationships.


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

Jim Aksel, MVP

Check out my blog for more information:
http://www.msprojectblog.com

 

[dennisc]

If they all start on the same date, and in no particular order, may I assume
they may run concurrently? In this case, the summary task would maintain the
duration of the longest subordinate task.

Might you be trying to say these tasks are resource constrained? They may
be worked in any order but only by the resource available: Fred can work A,
B, and C but only one at a time and in no particular order. If this is the
case, use resource leveling to level the subordinate tasks. The summary task
will then take on the duration set by the leveling algorithm. In the example
case, it would be the sum of the durations for A/B/C although there would be
no predecessor relationships.


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

Jim Aksel, MVP

Check out my blog for more information:
http://www.msprojectblog.com

The tasks are not concurrent. and they are not resource constrained. Maybe
I am asking too much of this program????...............Dennis

 

[JulieS]

The tasks are not concurrent. and they are not resource constrained. Maybe
I am asking too much of this program????...............Dennis

Hello Dennis,

If the tasks are not resource constrained, then you are correct,
resource leveling will not shift the schedules.

Just a quick question however, are you sure you need the summary
*duration* or the summary *work* to show the total? If you have
resources assigned to the subtasks then adding the Work field to
the table will show Work on the summary task as the sum of the
work on the subtasks. Duration is the answer to the question
"how long" will it take. If both tasks can be done currently
then the summary *duration* in your example above is 2 weeks.
However, assuming one resource assigned at 100% the summary
*work* is 120 hours.

If you truly want to show the *duration* as 3 weeks, you can show
that with a custom duration field -- duration1 for example.
Set the formula for duration1 to:
[Duration]

Ensure that the option for "Calculation for task group or summary
rows" is set to "Sum."

I hope this helps.

Julie
Project MVP

 

[dennisc]

The tasks are not concurrent. and they are not resource constrained. Maybe
I am asking too much of this program????...............Dennis

Hello Dennis,

If the tasks are not resource constrained, then you are correct,
resource leveling will not shift the schedules.

Just a quick question however, are you sure you need the summary
*duration* or the summary *work* to show the total? If you have
resources assigned to the subtasks then adding the Work field to
the table will show Work on the summary task as the sum of the
work on the subtasks. Duration is the answer to the question
"how long" will it take. If both tasks can be done currently
then the summary *duration* in your example above is 2 weeks.
However, assuming one resource assigned at 100% the summary
*work* is 120 hours.

If you truly want to show the *duration* as 3 weeks, you can show
that with a custom duration field -- duration1 for example.
Set the formula for duration1 to:
[Duration]

Ensure that the option for "Calculation for task group or summary
rows" is set to "Sum."

I hope this helps.

Julie
Project MVP

Thank you Julie. This almost gets me to the illustration that I would like
to show. However, the duration "bar" stays at two weeks rather than three
weeks. I realize that if I just link the two tasks, the proper duration will
be illustrated. But the two task are really not linkable (or dependent on one
another). You could partially work on one task or the other. I want to
illustrate this fact but also illustrate that no matter in what order you do
the work, all of the work of the two tasks must be complete in three weeks
(by one worker, or in 1.5 weeks if two workers are assigned). Maybe some of
my questions are more related to adding information to the project
environment??? Thank you again for your help....Dennis

 

[JulieS]

:

If they all start on the same date, and in no particular order, may I assume
they may run concurrently? In this case, the summary task would maintain the
duration of the longest subordinate task.

Might you be trying to say these tasks are resource constrained? They may
be worked in any order but only by the resource available: Fred can work A,
B, and C but only one at a time and in no particular order. If this is the
case, use resource leveling to level the subordinate tasks. The summary task
will then take on the duration set by the leveling algorithm. In the example
case, it would be the sum of the durations for A/B/C although there would be
no predecessor relationships.


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

Jim Aksel, MVP

Check out my blog for more information:
http://www.msprojectblog.com



:

how to set up subtasks which are not dependent of one another (they start on
the same date, but don't need to start in any particular order). The summary
task must account for the cumulative duration of the subtasks. That is if
task # 1 is 1 week, and task #2 is 2 weeks, then the summary duration would
be 3 weeks.

The tasks are not concurrent. and they are not resource constrained. Maybe
I am asking too much of this program????...............Dennis

Hello Dennis,

If the tasks are not resource constrained, then you are correct,
resource leveling will not shift the schedules.

Just a quick question however, are you sure you need the summary
*duration* or the summary *work* to show the total? If you have
resources assigned to the subtasks then adding the Work field to
the table will show Work on the summary task as the sum of the
work on the subtasks. Duration is the answer to the question
"how long" will it take. If both tasks can be done currently
then the summary *duration* in your example above is 2 weeks.
However, assuming one resource assigned at 100% the summary
*work* is 120 hours.

If you truly want to show the *duration* as 3 weeks, you can show
that with a custom duration field -- duration1 for example.
Set the formula for duration1 to:
[Duration]

Ensure that the option for "Calculation for task group or summary
rows" is set to "Sum."

I hope this helps.

Julie
Project MVP

Thank you Julie. This almost gets me to the illustration that I would like
to show. However, the duration "bar" stays at two weeks rather than three
weeks. I realize that if I just link the two tasks, the proper duration will
be illustrated. But the two task are really not linkable (or dependent on one
another). You could partially work on one task or the other. I want to
illustrate this fact but also illustrate that no matter in what order you do
the work, all of the work of the two tasks must be complete in three weeks
(by one worker, or in 1.5 weeks if two workers are assigned). Maybe some of
my questions are more related to adding information to the project
environment??? Thank you again for your help....Dennis

You're welcome Dennis. If you need to show that the summary task
must be complete in 3 weeks, why not add a deadline to the
summary task line? You can still use the formula I note above to
calculate the sum of the subtasks durations.

As far as the bars; again, you can "fake" information in the
Gantt chart to show what you describe.

If you've added the Duration1 column and are showing the summary
task duration as the sum of the subtask durations, you can go
further and calculate a finish1 date showing task start plus
duration1 and draw that line for the summary task.

Add a spare finish field (Finish1) with the following formula:

ProjDateAdd([Start],[Duration1])

Set the summary task to use the formula. This will calculate the
Finish1 date as the sum of the subtasks. You can then add a new
bar (Format > Bar Styles) for summary tasks drawn from Start to
Finish1.

I still think that showing work at the summary line will be much
less confusing that trying to calculate durations. As you say,
the work (effort) will stay stable but the duration will vary
depending how many resources you assign. Much clearer to my mind
than trying to deal with "fake" bars. If you prefer, you can
also show work in days.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

 

[Jim Aksel]

Mike - this seems to be the best blend of all the posts. If the tasks can be
worked in parallel, then dennisc can establish "this group of tasks must all
be completed in "x" days. Assigning Resource A to all tasks at less than
100% utilization shows Resource A is not overloaded, and is working the tasks
simultaneously.
--
If this post was helpful, please consider rating it.

Jim Aksel, MVP

Check out my blog for more information:
http://www.msprojectblog.com

Hi Dennis,

The only way I can figure this is to make both tasks' Duration 3 weeks. If you go to Window/Split, in the bottom pane, select the "2 week" task, select Fixed Work and click OK. Now enter the resource name and 80 hours Work and click OK. It should assign the resource at 67%. Repeat for the "1 week" task and Project will assign the resource at 33%. That will, in effect, give you the nearest to what you want.

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

:

If they all start on the same date, and in no particular order, may I assume
they may run concurrently? In this case, the summary task would maintain the
duration of the longest subordinate task.

Might you be trying to say these tasks are resource constrained? They may
be worked in any order but only by the resource available: Fred can work A,
B, and C but only one at a time and in no particular order. If this is the
case, use resource leveling to level the subordinate tasks. The summary task
will then take on the duration set by the leveling algorithm. In the example
case, it would be the sum of the durations for A/B/C although there would be
no predecessor relationships.


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

Jim Aksel, MVP

Check out my blog for more information:
http://www.msprojectblog.com



:

how to set up subtasks which are not dependent of one another (they start on
the same date, but don't need to start in any particular order). The summary
task must account for the cumulative duration of the subtasks. That is if
task # 1 is 1 week, and task #2 is 2 weeks, then the summary duration would
be 3 weeks.

The tasks are not concurrent. and they are not resource constrained. Maybe
I am asking too much of this program????...............Dennis

Hello Dennis,

If the tasks are not resource constrained, then you are correct,
resource leveling will not shift the schedules.

Just a quick question however, are you sure you need the summary
*duration* or the summary *work* to show the total? If you have
resources assigned to the subtasks then adding the Work field to
the table will show Work on the summary task as the sum of the
work on the subtasks. Duration is the answer to the question
"how long" will it take. If both tasks can be done currently
then the summary *duration* in your example above is 2 weeks.
However, assuming one resource assigned at 100% the summary
*work* is 120 hours.

If you truly want to show the *duration* as 3 weeks, you can show
that with a custom duration field -- duration1 for example.
Set the formula for duration1 to:
[Duration]

Ensure that the option for "Calculation for task group or summary
rows" is set to "Sum."

I hope this helps.

Julie
Project MVP

Thank you Julie. This almost gets me to the illustration that I would like
to show. However, the duration "bar" stays at two weeks rather than three
weeks. I realize that if I just link the two tasks, the proper duration will
be illustrated. But the two task are really not linkable (or dependent on one
another). You could partially work on one task or the other. I want to
illustrate this fact but also illustrate that no matter in what order you do
the work, all of the work of the two tasks must be complete in three weeks
(by one worker, or in 1.5 weeks if two workers are assigned). Maybe some of
my questions are more related to adding information to the project
environment??? Thank you again for your help....Dennis