"TIPS AND TOOLS"

DID YOU KNOW…. you can display the task WBS codes in your schedule? This is a handy way to check your project outline and ensure the tasks are structured correctly?

Here’s how to do it:

Option 1

Add the WBS field to the Entry table of the Gantt Chart view.

1. Right-click the “Task Name” field header. Then, select Insert Column from the picklist.
2. Type and select “WBS” to insert the WBS field into the Entry table.

Option 2 

Display the task Outline Numbers with the task names.

1. Select the Format
2. In the Show/Hide group, select the “Outline Number” checkbox.

DID YOU KNOW...you can add columns to the entry table to view your settings? This is a good way to confirm you've chosen the right settings.

Here's how to do it:

Use the "Add New Column" field to add the Type column to show the Task Type for each task.

Use the "Add New Column" field to add the "Effort Driven" column to show if the Effort-Driven Scheduling feature is enabled for each task.

By default, when you open a new project plan, an empty “Timeline view” panel will be displayed beneath the ribbon. In Chapter 17 you’ll learn how to use this panel to summarize your project and create status reports.

When you’re not using the Timeline view, you may want it out of your way, to see more of the current view. 

Here’s how to do it:

1. Selecting the View
2. In the Split View group, uncheck the Timeline checkbox.

In Chapter 12, you’ll learn to use Constraints.

DID YOU KNOW… when you’re in the Automatic scheduling mode it’s generally a bad idea to enter task start or finish dates? Doing so will create constraints, which will limit your schedule’s flexibility.

For example, entering a start date will cause Project to create a Start No Earlier Than constraint, which will prevent the task from starting earlier.

By default, Project starts each task as soon as possible, and automatically calculates start and finish dates based on task relationships and other things like calendars. If you do wish to constrain your schedule, it’s best to create the constraint in the Task Information dialog box. This is covered in Chapter 12.

In Chapter 13, you’ll learn how to level over-allocated resources. One of the ways you’ll learn to resolve over-allocations is by splitting tasks. If you need to interrupt work on a task, you can split the task so that part of the work starts later in the schedule.

In Chapter 13, you’ll learn that tasks can be split in the Gantt chart view using the Split Task command and simply dragging the task bar to split the work. While this method is quick and easy, some users find it tricky to perform. Another way to split a task is by adjusting the work hours in the Resource Usage or Task Usage views. In either view, to split a task, zero out the work hours (enter 0h) on the days that you don’t want any work to occur.

Here are some additional tips for splitting tasks:

Change the Duration of a Split Task

You can change the duration of the entire split task (including all its sections) by typing the new duration in the Duration field. DID YOU KNOW…you change adjust the duration of each section of a split task?

Here’s how to do it:

1. Hover over the right end of any part of the split task until the cursor changes to an expansion arrow .
2. Drag to the left to shorten the duration of the part or drag to the right to lengthen the duration.

Customize a Split Task

Want your split task to stand out? DID YOU KNOW…you can modify the Gantt bar style for split tasks? By default, split tasks are represented in the Gantt Chart view with dotted lines connecting each split portion. You can change the appearance of the split by modifying the split bar style.

1. On the View tab, in the Task Views group, choose Gantt Chart.
2. On the Format tab, select the Format Bar Styles button in the lower right corner of the Gantt Chart Style
3. In the Bar Styles dialog box, select Split in the Name column of the table.
4. On the Bars tab, under Middle, select options for the split bar in the Shape, Pattern, and Color

In Chapter 17 you'll learn to use the Project reporting features to create dynamic project status reports. DID YOU KNOW you can make a report part of a split view so you can see the report update in real time as you work on project data? Here's how to do it!

First, create and customize the report you want (see Ch. 17 for details).

Next, split the view:

1. On the View tab, in the Split view group, select the Details check box.

Last, add a report to the split view:

1. Click anywhere in the top view to select that view. 
2. Add the report to the top view by selecting the report you want from the options on the Report tab. 
3. Click anywhere in the bottom view to select that view.
4. On the View tab, select a secondary view for the bottom view (e.g. Gantt chart view) from the Task Views or Resource Views groups.

In Chapter 8 you’ll learn how to add resources to your schedule. You’ll learn that in a Simple schedule, you can assign resources to tasks by simply typing their names directly into the Resource Names field of the Entry table.

DID YOU KNOW… once you initially enter resource names into the Resource Names field, Project automatically creates a picklist of the names, so you can quickly assign them to tasks? (see figure A below).  

In Chapter 16 you’ll learn about tracking project costs. When you build a Detailed schedule, Project calculates the cost of tasks by multiplying the Standard rate of pay of the resources assigned to it by the work required to complete the task.

DID YOU KNOW… Project DOES NOT calculate the cost of additional work hours (Overtime) by using the overtime rate that you entered until you specify those hours as overtime work? For example, if a resource is scheduled to work 8 hours a day and they enter 12 hours of actual work, Project doesn’t automatically consider the additional 4 hours as “overtime work” and won’t use the resources overtime rate until you tell it to.

Here’s how to do that.

1. Go to the Task Usage view.
2. Change the table to the Work
3. Add the Overtime Work column to the table.
4. In the Overtime Work field of the resource’s assignment for which you want to enter the overtime work, enter the amount of overtime work for the resource.

* Add the Overtime Cost field to a task view to view the overtime costs.

Watch the video below to learn how to configure Project to calculate overtime.