Datasheet

12
Part I: Setting the Stage for Project
One handy thing about this outlining structure is that you can roll up all the
timing and cost data from the subtasks within your phases into summary-
level tasks. Three sequential subtasks that take a day each to complete and
cost you $200 apiece result in a summary task that spans three days and
costs $600. You can view your project at various levels of detail or get auto-
matic tallies of timing and costs if you prefer to simply view the summary
level of tasks.
For more about defining and creating tasks, check out Chapter 4.
All in the timing
They say that timing is everything: Rome wasn’t built in a day, a stitch in time
saves nine, and don’t even ask me about how long it takes to get to retire-
ment. The importance of timing applies to Project tasks, too. Almost all tasks
have timing — referred to as duration — which is the amount of time needed
to complete the task.
The only tasks without duration are milestones. A milestone — in most
cases — is a task of zero duration. In essence, it simply marks a moment in
time that must be reflected in your Project outline. Typical milestones are the
approval of a brochure design and flipping the switch to start up an assembly
line. Such tasks don’t involve any real work or effort, but they must be com-
pleted for the project to move ahead.
Project doesn’t provide magic formulas for duration: You assign duration
based on your own experience and judgment. Does designing a product pack-
age take three days or three weeks? Will obtaining a building permit happen
in a day or a month? (Remember that you’re dealing with city hall, so think
before you answer!) Project isn’t an oracle: You have to provide facts, figures,
and educated guesses to build your Project schedule. After that information is
entered, though, Project can do some wonderful things to help you maintain
your schedule and monitor your progress.
Task dependencies
The final piece in the puzzle of how long your project will take is the concept
of dependencies, or the timing relationships among tasks. If you have a sched-
ule that includes ten tasks that all begin at the same time, your entire project
will take as long as the longest task (see Figure 1-2).
After you define and implement timing relationships among tasks, your
schedule can stretch over time like a long rubber band. For example, one
task may begin only after another is finished. Another task can start halfway
through the preceding task. The second task cannot start until a week after
the first task is finished. Only after you start to assign these relationships can
you begin to see a project’s timing as related to not just each task’s duration
but also the specific ways in which the tasks relate to each other.
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