Last month we had a look at the assignment of multiple resources. This month we’ll see the effect of changing the Task Type settings.

Effort Driven – Task Type

By now, you will be getting sick of my repetition of the effort driven formula:

Resource Units X Duration = Work

I make no apologies, as it needs to be engraved in the brain so that whatever you do with resources you will automatically take the formula into account. Remember, the values in the formula are set up for each task when a resource is first assigned; subsequent changes will be governed by the formula.

As I mentioned last month, there are several places in Project where you assign resources, but as with multiple resources on one task, you need a view that shows all the relevant parameters. If you want to investigate and use the different settings that can be made to the Tasks, you need a view where all the parameters are shown. Again, I always recommend using the same split screen technique as we used last month. Using the same example for a project, make a garden with an initial plan that includes a pool of Gardeners. Make it start on 1 Mar 04, create a 10 day task: Make Terraces, select it and then Window/Split. Now assign a Gardener from the pool to get the following view:

In the bottom pane you can see the Effort driven box and the Task type selection. Use the drop-down arrow to see that the Task Type can be Fixed Units (the default), Fixed Duration or Fixed Work.

Effect of Changes to Task Type

So let’s experiment. First remove the Effort driven check and notice that the adjacent Previous button changes to OK. You must click the OK button to set Project in this new mode before changing any data – the button changing to OK, I hope, will prompt you to remember this. With Project in the Fixed Units default mode, try changing the Work. What happened? The Duration changes as Project won’t change the Units as that’s what you’ve told it to do. Now change the Duration – as you now would expect, the Work changes.

Try selecting Fixed Duration (don’t forget to click OK before continuing) and then change the Units and then the Work. Finally, select Fixed Work and change Units and Duration. I think you’ll find this straightforward and Project does what you expected.

A little experimentation along those lines shows how you can get Project to do what you want, provide you’re aware of the formula! You will have seen that Project will not change the element you’ve selected to be fixed.

Changes to the Fixed Parameter

However, there’s nothing to stop you from changing the parameter that you’ve “fixed” – the fixing is only an order to Project not to change it. So, Project has a built-in bias towards keeping the Units fixed if possible and then Work. In the Garden project, reset it to the original 100% units, 10 days and 80 hours of work. Try Fixed Units, and then change the Units – you will see that the Duration changes rather than the Work:

However, if we select Fixed Work and then change Work, it is also the Duration changes rather than the Units this time:

So, I'm sure as you have guessed, if we try the final type, Fixed Duration and then change the Duration, it is the Work that changes not the Units.

To summarise, therefore:

Changing Fixed Units will adjust Duration.

Changing Fixed Work will adjust Duration.

Changing Fixed Duration will adjust Work.

To put them all together, see the table below - I have it printed out on a card propped up in front of me whenever I want to set up anything other than the default effort driven and fixed Units.

Default Setting

If you would like to change the default parameters that Project will use, you must do this before you enter any data. Open Tools/Options…/Schedule tab and select the Task Type you want from the pick list and also select the box for New tasks are effort driven. If you wish these settings to be applied, not only to this project, but to all new projects, then click the Set as Default button before clicking OK.

All new data entries will then obey your settings. However, if you have already made assignments and you want to change their settings, select all the tasks first, then enter the changes you want in Project/Task Information…/Advanced tab. When you click OK, the new settings will be applied "globally" to all the selected tasks.

 Remember my two prime tips:

· Always use the split screen technique when you have more than one resource to assign so that you can see all the parameters and the resulting calculations that Project makes.

· If you run into problems, delete all the assignments from the task, select the parameter you want Fixed click on OK to set that mode and then reset the data to read what you want before you click the OK button.

As an aside, using the split screen technique is a good way to check all your entered data when you think you've finished. Select the first task and check the data in the bottom pane. When you're happy, click the Next button and check the second task's data, and so on. That way you will automatically be able to check through every task in turn. To be more sure, I usually repeat the process, checking from the last task using the Previous button this time. Things often look different checking from the end backwards!

Next Month 

Next month we’ll have a more detailed look at calendars and working time.