Re: Changing Estimate Durations

In a word, yes. Remember that Project is NOT intended to document a
project plan that you or your boss has already devised. You don't tell
it the project schedule you want to work, it tells YOU the project
schedule you CAN work <grin>. In the best of worlds, you give Project
one date and one date only - the project kickoff date. Then you give it
the working time calendar that defines when work can be done, what work
has to be done, what mandatory sequencing the creation of deliverables
requires (you have to build the walls before you build the roof because
Mother Nature doesn't allow you to park an unsupported roof in mid-air
and stuff the walls in under it later), how much work each task is
expected to require, and when the resources you're going to assign to
the task are available. Project's job is massage all that data for you
and come up with a set of start and end dates for all the tasks that
will get the project's work done in the shortest possible time. In a
very real sense, you CAN'T estimate the completion of Project Alpha to
be in 6 weeks because until you have developed the task schedule in
Project you have no quantifiable basis for that estimate - at best it is
merely a statement of a delivery target or management goal and at worst
it is simple wishful thinking, an expression of desire. Neither has any
bearing for planning other than establishing a completion deadline to
attempt to hit as you develop the plan. The finish date of the Project
is 100% driven by the amount of work required to produce all of the
component deliverables, the sequencing of the tasks, and the
availability of the resources to do the work and may come before, on, or
after that target date. It is not something that can be estimated a
priori without taking those factors into account..
--
Steve House
MS Project MVP
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs


"pmAgony" <fncuis@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1167409570.325696.223690@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Steve,

If so (and I thoroughly undestand your explanation) my projected
completion date for this project will be trumped by the duration of
each task and its project.

Scenario:
I estimate completion of Project Alpha 6 weeks from the 1st of 07
(putting us at 2/15) but I allow MS Project to progressively track and
manage my hours/days (beginning 1/07) as I assign them to each task.
Result: I will fall short of my estimated completion date of 2/15.

The time it takes to complete a task if I work uninterrupted and
systematically, is far less than what I am estimating, ultimately
allowing MS Project to yield a timeline that reflects days, not (6)
weeks.

I know I am missing the BIG PICTURE here - obviously this logic is
rendered moot when individuals like yourself and JulieS are using this
to track and manage project timelines.

I see the light, but the tunnel is black!

Steve House wrote:
You'll find that if you have set the duration of Task X to some
value and
then later indent tasks X1, X2, and X3 as children under it, the
original
duration of X that you input will be overridden by a new duration
calculated
from the durations of its children. All tasks with tasks indented
under
them in the outline structure are summary tasks. The durations of
summary
tasks are ALWAYS read-only calculated values. This reflects the
fact that
in a properly designed project task list, the children represent the
components of their parent - the summary task Foundation has as its
children
Dig Hole, Tie Rebar, Erect Forms, Pour Concrete, Remove Forms,
etc -all the
various elements that have to be done to make a completed
foundation. It's
logical that the duration of the parent is 100% a consequence of the
durations of all its pieces.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs


"pmAgony" <fncuis@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1167406214.667068.209530@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
JulieS,

Thanks for the quick response... I learned from tinkering with the
hierarchial buttons that I can adjust the time so long as I don't
create a child that's dependent on any task above it or below it.

I simply highlighted my tasks and made them the same rank, at
which
point the Duration, Start & End Dates fields were unlocked.

You literally have to assign duration, start and end dates 1 task
at a
time (OR do not assign hierarchy till after you've set time
parameters). Which I would imagine is the proper and logical way
of
creating tasks. My intentions were to create the tasks by name
first
then modify their specs thereafter.

I hope this makes sense.

BTW, I launched the site you recommended and have bookmarked for
later
retrieval.

Thanks so much for your help!

All the best,


JulieS wrote:
Hi PMAgony,

I am guessing that you are trying to change the duration of a
summary
task. (A task with other task indented underneath it.) The
durations of
summary tasks are calculated by Project based upon the amount of
working
time from the start of the earliest subtask to the finish of the
latest
subtask. If you create links between the subtasks, the duration
of the
summary task will automatically change.

As you are new to Project, I suggest taking a read of fellow MVP
Mike
Glen's excellent series of articles on MS Project. They can be
found
through the following link:

http://project.mvps.org/mike's_tutorials.htm

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional
information
about Microsoft Project


"pmAgony" <fncuis@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1167399096.893694.156390@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Good Day All,

Project Virgin here... I just defined my outline under the
tasks list
and unwittingly allowed Project to enter the default estimate
time of
1day?. Sweet...

However, now that I am done entering tasks, I'd like to go back
and
actually specify the duration of each task from 1day? say to,
2days.
Nothing I can do physically is allowing me to change the
estimated
(1day?) alotment.

Can someone please tell me how I can make a manual change.
I've tried
right-clicking the cell for options but its greyed out.
Nothing in
the
menus that indicates where to adjust the duration either.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

All the best,





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