Welcome to PMConnection

     

Menu
· Home
· The Project Management Search Engine
· Exclusive Articles

Related Sites
There isn't content right now for this block.

Related Products
   
 

The Self-Driving Project: Using Artificial Intelligence to Deliver Project Success

 
  
 
Citizen Development: The Handbook for Creators and Change Makers
  
 
 
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK 7th Edition 2021
  

 
PMP Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide
    
 

 
Microsoft Project Step by Step


  

 
Microsoft Project
  

  

 
Managing Enterprise Projects: Using Project Online and Microsoft Project Server

MS Project: Understanding How Microsoft Project Thinks
Posted on Thursday, August 21 @ 06:47:34 EDT by webadmin

PMConnection Articles
There are a number of factors that dictate how Microsoft Project “thinks”.

The two main factors are:

  • The Scheduling Formula
  • The Task Type
The Scheduling Formula leverages three variables:

  • Units - The percentage of time required by a resource or resources to complete the task
  • Duration - The number of working days required to complete the task
  • Work - The effort required to complete the task
Many people say that the scheduling formula is: Units x Duration = Work

When you initially assign a Resource to a Task, this is the formula that is leveraged. Let’s demonstrate:

We will create Task 1 that is 5 days in Duration

clip_image002mt


We will now assign a Resource to this task

clip_image004mt

clip_image006mt

As soon as we assign this Resource to this task, Work changes to 40 hours.

Here is the how that number was calculated:

Units x Duration = Work
100% x (5*8) = 40
Or
100% x 40 = 40 hours


But using simple math, we can re-write our equation to solve for a different variable.

Our original formula solves for Work:
Units x Duration = Work


But we could re-write the formula to solve for Units:
Work / Duration = Units


Or we could re-write the formula to solve for Duration:
Work / Units = Duration


So we have shown that The Scheduling Formula can actually be written three different ways:

Units x Duration = Work
Work / Duration = Units
Work / Units = Duration


Now let’s prove that Microsoft Project also thinks this way.

In order to demonstrate this, we must introduce The Task Type or the Type field:

clip_image008mt

By default, Type is set to Fixed Units. But there are actually three different Task Type variables:

  • Fixed Duration
  • Fixed Units
  • Fixed Work
clip_image010mt


Now to test Microsoft Project

Using our original scenario, let’s force Microsoft Project to solve for Duration.

clip_image011mt


We will leave Type set to Fixed Units and change Work to 80 hrs

clip_image013mt

Here is how Duration was calculated:

Work / Units = Duration
80 / 100% = 80
Or
80 / 100% = (80 / 8)
Or
80 / 100% = 10 days


clip_image015mt


Returning to our original scenario, let’s force Microsoft Project to solve for Work.

clip_image011[1]mt

Leave Type set to Fixed Units and enter 10 days Duration

clip_image016mt

Here is how Work was calculated:

Units x Duration = Work
100% * 10 days = 80
Or
100% * 10 days = (10 * 8)
Or
100% * 10 days = 80 hours Work


clip_image018mt


Returning to our original scenario, let’s force Microsoft Project to solve for Units

clip_image011[2]mt

Change Type to Fixed Duration and enter 20 hours Work

clip_image020mt

Here is how Units was calculated:

Work / Duration = Units
20 / 5 days = 50%
Or
20 / 5 days = 20 / (8 * 5)
Or
20 / 5 days = 20 / 40
Or
20 / 5 days = 0.5


clip_image022mt


To Review:

There are three different Task Types:

  • Fixed Units
  • Fixed Work
  • Fixed Duration
There are three different variables of the Scheduling Formula:

  • Units
  • Work
  • Duration
Depending upon how the Task Type is set in combination with which Scheduling Formula variable is altered dictates which variable Microsoft Project solves for.

The Task Type and Scheduling Formula Cheat Sheet will help you control how Microsoft Project “thinks”:

clip_image024mt

See The Microsoft Project Task Type and Scheduling Formula Cheat Sheet here.

See this article in Slide format here.

See this article in Video format here.

Purchase “The Cheat Sheet” Mouse Pad here.






 
Related Links
· More about PMConnection Articles
· News by webadmin


Most read story about PMConnection Articles:
300 Project Manager Interview Questions


Article Rating
Average Score: 4.66
Votes: 6


Please take a second and vote for this article:

Excellent
Very Good
Good
Regular
Bad


Options

 Printer Friendly Printer Friendly


Associated Topics

PMConnection Articles

Sorry, Comments are not available for this article.


Copyright 2005-2024 PMConnection.com. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.pmconnection.com a
PHP-Nuke Copyright © 2005 by Francisco Burzi. This is free software, and you may redistribute it under the GPL. PHP-Nuke comes with absolutely no warranty, for details, see the license.
Page Generation: 0.10 Seconds