Open one of the following project files as the background for this lesson:

LESSON_B1_END.MPP

   your own project file

LESSON_B2_START.MPP

   sample project file

Walkthrough

6m 44s
 

Reference

B2.1
Adding more detail to tasks
 
  Additional information can be added to tasks to describe them in greater detail.  The 'Administration' task needs to be broken down into a list of operations.  Instead of breaking these operations down into a discrete list of tasks, this list can be added in the form of a note.  To accomplish this:
 
 

  1. Select the required task:

  1. Click Task Notes ( ).

  2. Click in the notes area (to position the cursor) and enter text, followed by OK.

In addition to notes, further task information can also be provided in the form of a hyperlink to another document.  The specifications for the booth are held in a Word file contained on the local PC.  To create this hyperlink:

  1. Select the required task:

  1. From the Insert menu, choose Hyperlink ( ).
  2. Select an appropriate target document, confirmed with OK.  Note that the example below creates a link to a Microsoft Word document that can be found within the 'Sample data' folder.  No further lesson objective depends upon this hyperlink if you are unable to create it.
  If you are using Microsoft Project Professional version 2002 or later, together with Project Server, consider using a document library managed by sharepoint as an alternative to using hyperlinks.  
Using notes for to do lists can cut down the number of tasks within a project to only the tasks that are really necessary.  
  Notes and hyperlinks can be seen within the indicators column:
   

 
 

Reference

B2.2
Entering task durations
 
  As it's highly unlikely that all the tasks within the Trade Show project will take just one day, they should all be given duration values.  These durations can be in hours, days, and weeks, as determined by a duration suffix.  The current best estimate of duration values are as follows:
Task name Duration

Design booth

5 days

Ready to manufacture 0 days (milestone)
Manufacture booth 20 days
Create signage 10 days
Prepare mailing list 3 days
Create invitations 4 days
Print invitations 5 days
Post invitations 5 days
Administration 1 day

Hold team briefing 

1 day

Ship to venue 1 day

Construct booth

3 days
Show opens 0 days (milestone)
 
  There are a number of ways to enter durations:
  • Using the keyboard or the spin control to enter a value in the duration cell:

  • By dragging the right side of a task's bar to increment the duration based upon the currently displayed timescale:

Task durations for the Trade Show project should look like:
Duration suffixes are established on the Edit tab of the Options dialog box (Tools..Options), with the default suffix for tasks or assignments defined on the Schedule tab.  
  New tasks have estimated durations by default.  If durations are dragged by the mouse, they will remain as estimated.  When durations are entered (keyboard / spin control), the estimated flag is set to no.  
  Durations can not be entered against summary tasks.  A summary task's duration is calculated as the longest part within its subtasks.
  When dragging a duration, ONLY use the cursor and NO OTHER.

 
 

Reference

B2.2
Tasks and task calendars
 
  All tasks within the Trade Show project are currently scheduled to have working time Monday through Friday and non working time Saturday and Sunday.  This is set within the project's base calendar: Standard.  The task 'Construct booth' needs to be able to work over a weekend if necessary.  As such, it needs to have a task calendar that contains the appropriate working time definition.  To apply a task calendar:
 
 
  1. Select the required task:

  1. Click Task Information ( ).
  2. On the Advanced Tab, select a calendar for the task, confirmed by OK.
For a straightforward schedule, only apply task calendars when it is necessary to use them.  
  Task calendars can be seen within the indicators column:
   

Walkthrough

6m 17s
 

Reference

B2.3
Linking tasks together
 
  In order to create the schedule for the Trade Show project, links need to be established between related tasks.  These links will state that a task can not begin until its predecessor (or predecessors) is complete.  The predecessor list is:
 
 
Task name Predecessor(s)

Design booth

None
Ready to manufacture Design booth
Manufacture booth Ready to manufacture
Create signage Ready to manufacture
Prepare mailing list None
Create invitations None
Print invitations

Prepare mailing list

Create invitations
Post invitations Print invitations
Administration Ready to manufacture

Hold team briefing

 Administration
Ship to venue

Manufacture booth

Create signage

Construct booth

 Ship to venue
Show opens

Post invitations

Hold team briefing

Construct booth

Links can be created by:

  • Selecting tasks and using the Link Tasks tool button ( ):

  • Dragging a link from a predecessor and dropping it on a successor:

The Trade Show project with links established as above should look like:
Use Click and CTRL+Click to select non-adjacent tasks prior to linking them together.  
  As their subtasks become linked, summary task durations are calculated from the start of their earliest subtask to the finish of their latest subtask.  
  When dragging and dropping links, with the cursor selected, drag up or down to create the link icon .
  When links have been created within a project, save it to disk ( ).

 
 

References

B2.2
B2.3
Using change highlighting and undo/redo to emphasize schedule changes (Project 2007 only)
 
  When task duration values change or links between tasks are established, the task's schedule (and possibly that of summary tasks and the overall project itself) changes.  This change can be seen within highlighted cells within the current table.  A good way to see how change highlighting works is to use multi-level undo and redo.
 
 
  • Before: Project with all links established:

  1. Use Undo to reverse the most recent action:


    • Undo has removed the link from task 15, 'Construct booth' to task 16, 'Show opens'.
    • Although schedule of the 'Show opens' task has changed, change highlighting is not evident in this case.  This is because the schedule of the 'Show opens' task is not affected by its previous link operation (from task 13, 'Hold team briefing') as its schedule is controlled by the finish if the task 10, Post invitations'.
  2. Use Undo to reverse more than one action:

In this case, several actions have been undone, reverting the project's link back several steps:

  • These two undo steps have removed all predecessor links from the 'Show opens' task, thus rescheduling it at the project start date.
  • The change highlighting is now illustrating the scheduling of task 15, 'Construct booth'.  If a further undo step was accomplished, the link that is affecting this current highlighting (from task 14, 'Ship to venue' to task 15, 'Construct booth') would be removed.
  1. Use redo to reverse all undo actions and revert the project back to having a complete set of links.
By default, up to 20 undo/redo operations can be accomplished.  This value is set within the General tab of the Options dialog box.  
Change highlighting is shown by default.  To hide change highlighting, choose Hide Change Highlighting from the View menu.  
  When using undo, change highlighting reflects the schedule of the project prior to the operation that has now been undone.  This may not be the same as the change to the schedule as affected by the undo process.  
  When a project is saved to disk, the undo/redo buffer is cleared.

 
 

Reference

B2.4
Using the network diagram
 
  A useful view to check that the correct links have been established between tasks is the Network Diagram.  This view shows diagrammatically how the tasks in the Trade Show project depend upon each other.  To display the Network Diagram:
 
 
  • From the View menu, choose Network Diagram.

A number of navigation options are available:
Tasks can be created, deleted and linked together within the Network Diagram.  
  Display and formatting options for the Network Diagram can be found on the Network Diagram toolbar:
   

Lesson quiz
 

Save your project with the following filename:

LESSON_B2_END.MPP

© Project Learning International Limited 2007
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