LECTURE -02 CREATING A TASK LIST

CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: GOAL

In chapter 2, well learn how to:

Enter task information Estimate and enter how long each task should last. Create a milestone to track an important event. Organize tasks into phases. Create task relationships by linking tasks. Record task details in notes and insert a hyperlink to connect on the

Internet.
Check a project plans overall duration.

CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

In the first cell directly below the Task name column heading,

type Site Work and then press the enter key on your keyboard.

ID number

Default estimated duration

Bar representing task

CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

The duration the question mark means its an estimate you

havent entered anything in for it, so it defaults to:

1 day?

The default start date is the same as the project start date.

CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

Enter the following task names below Site Work, pressing

Enter after each one:

Substructure Excavation Foundation concreting Superstructure Masonry walls Formwork Placement of reinforcement Concreting Curing Finishing work
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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

So, your Gantt chart view should look like this:

CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

What if I already have a lot of tasks entered into another application, like

Excel?
From Microsoft Office Project Help: Click Open. In the Files of type box, click the file type you want to import data

from.
Click Open. Follow the instructions in the Import Wizard to import the data you

want into the proper Microsoft Office Project 2003 fields.

CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

Now, the Wizard is most straightforward if you have a heading

in your Excel file for your tasks, named Name.

Heres an example. Simple Excel spreadsheet

CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

Now, in Project, with a project file open already, click on the

File menu, and then click Open.

Youd think wed be looking for an import choice, but no.

In the Files of Type drop-down menu, choose Microsoft Excel

Workbooks (.xls)
Browse to the Microsoft Excel file, select it, and click Open.

CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

The Project Import Wizard will appear:

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

Click Next. Itll ask you if you want to create a new map or use an existing

map. Choose New Map, and click Next.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

Itll ask you How do you want to import this file? The

choices are:
As a new project Append data to the active project Merge the data into the active project

Try appending.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

And click Next.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

Itll ask you to select the types of data you want to import. Were trying

tasks, so choose Tasks. Also, under Microsoft Office Excel Options, check off Import includes headers. And click Next.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

First youll see this:

In here, source sheet name, select sheet 1

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

Then itll map the fields from Excel for you automatically, matching the

header named Name in your Excel file with the field named Name in Project, which is the Task Name field in the Gantt chart.

So, it filled this in:

And it found values from Excel

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING TASK

You can save your new map if you want to. Or, click Finish. It should import them:

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

A tasks duration can range from minutes to months in Project. Youll probably want to use hours, days, or weeks, not minutes

or months.
Lets say that youve set up your project calendar with working

time defined as 8:00am through 5:00pm, with a one-hour lunch break, Monday through Friday.
If you estimate that a task will take 16 hours of working time,

you could enter in 2d

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

So, if the task starts at 8:00am on Friday, when will it

complete?
The overall duration of a project is the difference between the

earliest start date and the latest finish date of its tasks.
A tasks duration and elapsed time are not necessarily the

same.
Working time and non-working time. Task relationships.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

In Project, you can abbreviate durations. 30m, 5h, 2d, 1w, 2mo, for example.
If you enter: m h d w mo It appears like: min hr day wk mon And means: minute hour day week month

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

Elapsed duration
If you want to schedule something that happens over nonworking

time. Like wait for concrete to cure or wait for paint to dry.
No ones on the clock during it. The next task after it is dependent upon its completion, though. Use the abbreviation ed, so 2ed is 2 elapsed days.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

So, try playing with these durations.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

By default, in Project:
One minute = 60 seconds One hour = 60 minutes

If you wanted to define non-standard durations for days,

weeks, months:
Go to the Tools menu > Options

Click the Calendar tab

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

Hours per day is 8. Entering

2d, for 2 days, is the same as entering in 16 hours.

40 hours per week. So, 3

wks is the same as 120 hours.

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days per month. So, 1 mo is the same as 160 hours.

8 hours per day x 20 days.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

Enter durations for the tasks youve entered.
For the task Excavation, click the Duration cell. Type 2d, and press enter. Similarly enter durations For the rest of them:

Check out how the bars in the Gantt chart change.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

On project management:
Coming up with accurate task durations
The overall project duration generally tends to correlate long projects have

long tasks. Short projects have short tasks.

Consider the level of detail you need and want to track. Too much detail

causes unnecessary work.

Measure down to the level of detail that you need to, to control the project.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

Durations and estimate task durations:
Historical information from past, similar projects Estimates from the people working on the project Expert judgment of people who have managed similar projects Professional or industry standards

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ESTIMATING DURATIONS

The 8/80 rule
The smallest task should be no smaller than 8 hours The largest should be no larger than 80 hours Its just a rule-of-thumb. It depends highly on your project.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING A MILESTONE

Entering a Milestone Click the name of task 5, Superstructure and insert New Task. Type Substructure Complete. In the Duration field, type 0d and then

press the Enter key. It adds a milestone to your plan.

Milestone

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ENTERING A MILESTONE

If you want to make a task that has a duration into a milestone:
Double-click the task name, to open the Task Information dialog box. Click the Advanced tab. Select Mark task as milestone.

Select the checkbox

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ORGANIZING TASKS INTO PHASES

Substructure, Superstructure
A summary task behaves differently from other tasks. You cant edit its duration or start date, or other calculated

values. Theyre derived, or rolled-up from the subtasks contained within the summary task.
Top-down and bottom-up planning

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ORGANIZING TASKS INTO PHASES

Create summary tasks
Select the names of tasks 2 through 3. On the Project menu, go to Outline, and then click Indent. Task 1 becomes a summary task.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ORGANIZING TASKS INTO PHASES

You can use the indent/outdent buttons instead. If you dont see those buttons on your toolbar, then
At the right end of your toolbar, click on the down arrow. Click on Add or Remove Buttons. Click on Formatting. Check off Indent and Outdent.

(Illustrated on the next slide)

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ORGANIZING TASKS INTO PHASES

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: ORGANIZING TASKS INTO PHASES

Next select the names of task 6 through 10. Go to Project > Outline > Indent.

Summary Task

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

Projects require tasks to be performed in a specific order. For

example, the task of Formwork must be completed before the task of Concreting can occur. These two tasks have a finish-tostart relationship (also called a link or dependency) that has two aspects:
The second task must occur later than the first task; this is a sequence. The second task can occur only if the first task is completed; this is a

dependency.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

In Project, the first task (Formwork) is called the predecessor

because it precedes tasks that depend on it.

The second task (Concreting) is called the successor because

it succeeds tasks on which it is dependent.

Any task can be a predecessor for one or more successor

tasks. Likewise, any task can be a successor to one or more predecessor tasks.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

Task Relationship Means Looks like this in the Gantt chart Remarks Formwork must be erected before concreting.

Finish-to-start The finish date of the (FS) predecessor task determines the start date of the successor task. Start-to-start (SS) The start date of the predecessor task determines the start date of the successor task.

Pouring and leveling of concrete should occur simultaneously. SS dependencies generally occur because you want the work of two tasks to overlap.. Tasks that require specific equipment must end when the equipment rental ends. This type of relationship is rarely used.

Finish-tofinish (FF)

The finish date of the predecessor task determines the finish date of the successor task.

Start-to-finish The start date of the predecessor (SF) task determines the finish date of the successor task.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

Linking Tasks
Finish to start (FS) Start to Start (SS) Finish to Finish (FF) Start to Finish (SF)

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

Ways to link tasks
The chain icon, unchain icon

Highlight two tasks, and then on the Edit menu, click Link Tasks.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

Linking tasks that arent next to each other
Select a task Hold down the control key Select another task Link tasks using any of the methods above

You can link summary tasks to each other. You can also link tasks right in the Gantt chart.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

Another way to link non-adjacent tasks
Select the task you want to be the successor task. Click the Task Information button on the Standard toolbar, and then

click the Predecessors tab.

In the Task Name column, select the predecessor task you want.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

To enter lead or lag time between linked tasks
Select the successor task. Click the Task Information button on the Standard toolbar, and then

click the Predecessors tab.

In the Lag field, enter the lag time (positive value) or lead time (negative

value) you want.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

To change the link type between two tasks
Select the successor task. Click the Task Information button on the Standard toolbar, and then

click the Predecessors tab.

Select the successor task, In the Type field, select the link type you want

(Finish to Start, Start to Finish, etcetera)

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: LINKING TASKS

So, we saw FOUR ways to link tasks
The Link Tasks button The Edit Menu > Link Tasks The Project menu > Task Information, Predecessors tab Clicking and dragging directly from one Gantt chart bar to another

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: DOCUMENTING TASKS

Documenting Tasks
Task notes Theres a Task Notes button on the Standard toolbar:

Project menu > Task Notes Right-click the task name, and choose Task Notes Screen tips

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: CREATING A HYPERLINK

Create a hyperlink
Select a task On the Insert menu, choose Hyperlink. You can also click the Insert Hyperlink button, or right-click on a task

and choose Hyperlink.

Text to Display and the Address

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: CHECKING THE PLANS DURATION

Checking the Plans Duration
Project has estimated the duration of the project for you. Project menu > Project Information

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: CHECKING THE PLANS DURATION

On that Project Information dialog box, click the Statistics

button.
Lets look at the current finish date and the current duration.

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CHAPTER TWO CREATING A TASK LIST: CHECKING THE PLANS DURATION

Change the timescale, so you can see the complete project
View menu > Zoom. Select Entire Project, and click OK. Look at the Gantt chart. It will have changed how far zoomed in it is. You can also use the zoom in and zoom out buttons to do the same

thing.

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CHAPTER TWO SUMMARY

Key Points
Essential aspects of tasks in a project plan include their duration and order of

occurrence.
Task links, or relationships, cause the start or end of one task to affect the start

or end of another task. A common task relationship is a finish-to-start relationship in which the completion of one task controls the start of another task.
In Project, phases of a schedule are represented as summary tasks. You can document additional details using task notes and create hyperlinks to

the Internet.
The Project Information dialog box (Project menu) is an excellent way to

observe the key values of a project plan, such as its scheduled finish date and duration.

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CHAPTER TWO IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY

Tasks: are the most basic building blocks of any project. Tasks

represent the work to be done to accomplish the goals of the project.

Baseline:

The original project plan, saved for later comparison. The baseline includes the planned start and finish dates of tasks and assignments and their planned costs. Each Microsoft Project file can have at most one baseline.

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CHAPTER TWO IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY

Bottom-up Planning: Developing a project plan by starting

with the lowest-level tasks before organizing them into broad phases.
Top-down Planning: Developing a project plan by identifying

the highest-level phases or summary tasks before breaking them into lower-level components or subtasks.
Deliverable: The final product, service, or event a project is

intended to create.

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CHAPTER TWO IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY

Dependency:

A link between a predecessor task and a successor task. A dependency controls the start or finish of one task relative to the start or finish of the other task. The most common dependency is finish-to-start, in which the finish date of the predecessor task determines the start date of the successor task.

Task ID: A unique number that Microsoft Project assigns to

each task in a project. In the Entry table, the Task ID appears in the far left column.

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CHAPTER TWO IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY

Duration: The length of working time you expect it will take

to complete a task.
Elapsed Duration: The total length of working and

nonworking time you expect it will take to complete a task.

Entry Table: The grid in the left side of the default Gantt

Chart view.
Field: The lowest-level information about a task, resource, or

assignment; also called a cell.

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CHAPTER TWO IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY

Gantt Chart View: One of several predefined views in

Microsoft Project. The Gantt Chart view consists of a table (the Entry table by default) on the left side and a graphical bar chart on the right side.
Link: A logical relationship between tasks that controls

sequence and dependency. In the Gantt Chart and Network Diagram views, links appear as lines between tasks.

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CHAPTER TWO IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY

Predecessor: A task whose start or end date determines the

start or finish of another task or tasks (successor), called Predecessor task.

Successor: A task whose start or finish is driven by another

task

or

tasks

(predecessor),

called

Successor

task.

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CHAPTER TWO IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY

Milestone: A significant event that might be reached within

the project or imposed upon the project. In Microsoft Project, milestones are normally represented as tasks with zero duration.
Sequence: The chronological order in which tasks occur. A

sequence is ordered from left to right in most views that include a time scale, for example, the Gantt Chart view.

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CHAPTER TWO IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY

Product Scope: The quality, features, and functions (often

called specifications) of the deliverable of the project.

Project Scope: The work required to produce a deliverable

with agreed-upon quality, features, and functions.

Relationship: The type of dependency between two tasks,

visually indicated by a link line. The types of relationships include finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, and startto-finish. Also known as a link, a logical relationship, a task dependency, or a precedence relationship.

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CHAPTER TWO IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY

Risk: Any event that decreases the likelihood of completing

the project on time, within budget, and to specification.

Shortcut Menu: A menu you display by pointing to an item

on the screen and then clicking the right mouse button. Shortcut menus contain only the commands that apply to the item to which you are pointing.
Summary task: A task that is made up of and summarizes

the subtasks below it. In Microsoft Project, phases of project work are represented by summary tasks.

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CHAPTER TWO IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGY

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