Last Updated: March 28, 2024

Activity 6 - Enter Estimates

Activity Page Outline

Application 1 - Enter Estimates Workflow (25 minutes)

Learn the Enter Estimates Workflow (10 minutes)

Update Journal on the Enter Estimates Workflow (15 minutes) jump to

Application 2 - Complete Exercises on Enter Estimates (4 hours 49 minutes) jump to

Exercise 1: Enter Scope (30 minutes) jump to

Exercise 2: Review Estimating Approaches (20 minutes) jump to

Exercise 3: Complete PERT Customization (40 minutes) jump to

Exercise 4: Enter Estimates for the Master Project (30 minutes) jump to

Exercise 5: Define Resources (30 minutes) jump to

Exercise 6: Define Resources for the Master Project (30 minutes) jump to

Exercise 7: Complete Assignment Calculations (10 minutes) jump to

Exercise 8: Determine Calculation Selections for Master Project (10 minutes) jump to

Exercise 9: Assign Resources (45 minutes) jump to

Exercise 10: Assign Resources to Master Project (30 minutes) jump to

Update Journal on Entering Estimates (15 minutes) jump to

There are two applications on the page. Complete each when directed in the MS Project Master Class Book.

This entire page should take 5 hours and 8 minutes to complete.

Enter Estimates Workflow (25 minutes)

A workflow is a set of sequential or parallel processes or steps performed to complete a specific Activity in a project life cycle. It typically involves a series of interdependent tasks that must be completed in a particular sequence, often with specific criteria or conditions that must be met before moving on to the next step. The workflow for each Activity in this MS Project Master Class is the Activity (chapter) outline.

Learn Enter Estimates Workflow (10 minutes)

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Complete Exercises on Enter Estimates (2 hours 4 minutes)

There are three things you are going to do in these enter estimates exercises:

Enter Scope: In an exercise and then for your Master Project, you will define the scope for detail tasks.

Calculate PERT: In an exercise, you will create custom fields to calculate PERT for the duration and enter estimates for your Master Project.

Define Resources: In an exercise and then for your Master Project, you will define resources.

Make Calculation Selections: You will make the calculation selections for all detail tasks in an exercise and then for your Master Project.

Assign Resources: You will assign resources for all detail tasks in an exercise and then for your Master Project.

Exercise 1: Enter Scope (30 minutes)

Timing, work, and cost estimates are summarized at the project level. The WBS is the project's scope estimate.

At the terminal element or the work package, what Microsoft Project calls a detail task, each task will have timing, work, and cost estimates. However, Microsoft Project does not have a feature related to capturing the scope of a detail task other than the actual name used for the task and what is explained in the task Notes field.

This project is already set up for entering scope statements in the note field.

This project's window is split with a Gantt Chart view on top and a Task Form on the bottom. The Note field is in the table applied to the Gantt Chart. This field can display up to 256 characters, although the notes field will hold thousands of characters and graphics. The Indicator field will show a little note icon if a task has any notes.

You can always double-click a task. The Task Information dialog box will open, and the Note field will be shown under the Notes tab.

Apply the Notes theme to the Task Form view at the bottom of the split window. To apply this or other themes to this type of view, select the view and right-click in the grey area to the right. The list of themes or details will open. Or, select the view and then select the Format tab on the ribbon.

You can split a window by going to the View tab on the ribbon and checking the Details box in the Split View group. Alternatively, if you can find the little line in the bottom right corner of Microsoft Project, you can click, hold, and drag the bottom view open or closed.

With these views open, you can easily walk right down your WBS in the top view and add your scope statements to each detail task.

The Notes field is designed for anything you want to add to it, but we think it is the perfect place for scope statements. The Notes field offers basic formatting and you can copy and paste between fields.

Let’s say, Task 3 is going be the perfect weekend you have been looking forward to. Rename the task to: Perfect Weekend. You have to spend an entire weekend doing exactly the things you love to do the most.

Then, enter notes and fully define this perfect weekend. Your definition categories could be:

• Description

• Deliverable

• Constraints

• Assumptions

• Tasks (Activities)

There is no reason to save this project.

Open your Master Project. Enter the Scope for each of your detail tasks and milestones. The scope is already defined if you have Project SMART-A Objectives as milestones.

If you enter information in the Notes fields for several tasks, it is easiest to split your view, apply the Task Form view as the bottom view, and apply the Notes detail to see the Notes field.

Project Example

I remember looking at one detailed task in a schedule at MacDill Air Force Base with costs of several million dollars. The commander said the project was broken down far enough for a billion-dollar project. However, for that task with a budget of several million dollars, the notes contained a full description, and of course, there was supporting documentation. The work package was decomposed, but it was decomposed in Microsoft Project.

At CP Ships, the IT organization's manager did not want the work packages in Microsoft Project’s WBS broken down further than 40 hours.

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Exercise 2: Review Estimating Approaches (20 minutes)

We will take a more in-depth look at resource assignment calculations, but generally, two approaches exist to enter our estimates and complete estimates by assigning resources. The first approach is to enter work estimates, decide how we want tasks to be calculated, and then assign resources. The approach is to enter duration estimates, determine how we want tasks to be calculated, and then assign resources.

In this exercise, you will review those two approaches.

First, take a minute to review Chart 3—Estimating Approaches.pdf file again. Although there are five different sets of calculations for how tasks can be calculated based on resource assignments, and we will review all five of them, most Microsoft Project users primarily use two. We have taken those two selections and turned them into two estimating approaches. These two approaches are consistent with the project manager industry perspective on taking two approaches to assigning tasks.

In general, the functionality of Microsoft Project encourages us to:

• Enter a Duration estimate, which will calculate Work and Cost when assigning resources.

• Or, enter a Work estimate to calculate Duration and Cost when assigning resources.

In the 6 - 2 Estimating Approaches.mpp file, there are three resources, each with different cost (standard) rates.

• Ted at $150 an hour

• Ben at $175 an hour

• Susan at $200an hour

Approach 1: Enter a Duration Estimate. This is often called Fixed Duration estimating.

• Task 1's estimated duration is 10 days. In the Resource Names column, check Ben and Ted to assign them to the task.

• The total assignment is 10 days in working time, 160 hours if they are working full time on the task for $26,000.

Approach 2: Enter a Work Estimate. This is often called Effort-Driven estimating.

• All detail tasks have a 1-day duration by default. If you are going to do effort-driven estimating, just leave the 1-day duration. You could also enter a duration estimate like in the example, but the work estimate is fixed. An estimate of 80 hours was entered.

• Assign Ben and Susan to the task.

• The duration stays at 5 days for $15,000.

• Assign Ted to the task. The duration goes to 3.33 days at $14,000.

• Remove Ben from the task. The duration goes back to 5 days, and the cost remains unchanged.

We will go into much more detail on how to refine these assignments and work with the calculation settings, but with a broad brush stroke, these are the two basic approaches to working with our estimates.

Before moving to a new step or section, let's look at two more things. First, do you remember where Project determines how to convert a duration so that if you say a task is two weeks duration and then you want to see duration in days, it knows how to make the correct conversion?

Go to the Project tab and then select the Change Working Time command. That conversion is a function of the interaction between how the project calendar is defined and schedule settings in Options. Click the Options… button.

Remember, as a general rule, the calendar definition should match the selections:

• Default start time

• Default finish time

• Hours per day

• Hours per week

• Days per month

In Options, in this same Schedule category, find the Duration is entered in: and Work is entered in:

These selections perform two distinct functions, first, they are the default setting for entering duration and work, and, they determine how data is displayed for duration and work.

Let’s play with these a bit. Do the following:

• Let’s say you want the default task duration to be in weeks. Before you make this change, look at your tasks. The durations are all in days. On the detail level, you can use days, but you can also use minutes, hours, weeks, and months. On the summary level, the units used will be the default setting.

• Change the Duration is entered in: to Weeks. Click Ok and then Ok again.

• Notice a couple of things, first, the duration conversion on the summary level turned to wks, and the detail task that Project calculated the duration turned to wk (weeks).

• Create Task 3, make it auto scheduled, and then type 3 in the Duration field. The default unit is now weeks, not days.

This feature works a little bit differently with Work. Change Work is entered in: and select Days. Note the difference on the detail and summary level. For Task 3, enter 20 in the work field. 20 is 20 days by default, not 20 hours.

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Exercise 3: Complete PERT Customization (40 minutes)

Breaking down the scope of a project and then estimating on the detail level is a bottom-up estimating technique. Another common technique is to account for uncertainty with your detail estimating. In general, this is referred to as a three-point estimating or PERT.

Three-point estimating is a technique used in project management to estimate the duration or cost of a task or project. It's beneficial in situations where uncertainty or risk is high. This method involves considering three different estimates for a more realistic view of the future. Here's a breakdown of the three key estimates used:

1. Optimistic Estimate (O): This is the best-case scenario. It assumes everything goes as well as possible, without any delays or unexpected costs. It's the minimum amount of time or money that it could take to complete the task or project.

2. Pessimistic Estimate (P): This is the worst-case scenario. It considers all possible challenges and obstacles, leading to the most extended duration or highest cost. This estimate is typically much higher than the optimistic estimate, reflecting the risk of significant delays or overruns.

3. Most Likely Estimate (M): This is the most realistic estimate based on the most probable events. It considers the usual, expected challenges and hiccups that might happen during the project's lifespan.

Once these three estimates are established, they can calculate an average or weighted average, giving a more balanced and realistic estimate. A popular way to combine these estimates is through the PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) formula:

Expected Time (E)=(O+4M+P)/6​

This formula assigns more weight to the most likely estimate, considering it four times, and treats the optimistic and pessimistic forecasts equally but with less weight. This weighted average helps balance the potential for over-optimism or over-pessimism.

Three-point estimating helps better risk management and decision-making by providing a range of potential outcomes rather than a single, possibly inaccurate figure. It's widely used in project management methodologies and is particularly valuable in complex or novel projects where uncertainty is a significant factor.

Several industries use three-point estimating because simulations can be run with these estimates to predict an expected outcome. Three-point estimating can be used with duration, cost, and work estimates, but it is most common in project management with duration.

In the following exercise, you will work with custom fields to make these calculations for duration.

This file has a macro, so enable macros if asked when opening the file. If you have macros disabled, select Disable all macros with notification, close the project, reopen, and enable macros.

Related to security issues, Disable all macros with notification is the best selection. That selection can be made in Options / Trust Center / Trust Center Settings.

In this step, we are going to customize a few basic fields so that you can quickly use the PERT calculation for any task when there is some uncertainty related to the duration of a task. While we do this, we are going to:

• Create a view.

• Create a table that can be placed in a task-based view that uses tables like the Gantt Chart view.

• Take a peek at the Visual Basic Editor.

• Attach some macros and place them as commands on the Quick Access Toolbar.

• Customize six fields.

• Manage all of the customizations in the Organizer.

The primary fields we are going to customize are for the PERT formula. One field is going to be a variance field we will use later in this MS Project Master Class. These are the custom fields we are going to use. They are duration fields and there are 10 custom duration fields available:

• Duration5

• Duration6

• Duration7

• Duration8

• Duration9

We are going to want a task table to use the PERT calculation so we are going to create a new view and a new table to apply to that view.

A table in Microsoft Project is a collection of fields or columns. Since a table is applied to a view, we are going to make the table first.

Follow these steps to create a new Table:

• On the ribbon, select the View tab / Tables command / More Tables….

• Select the Entry table and select Copy.

• Name this Table PERT Table. Spell and space the name correctly because we are going to use the view in a macro that is in the file you just downloaded.

• In the fields below, use the Table editing buttons (Cut, Copy, Paste, Insert and Delete) to create a table that has these fields displayed:

ID

Indicators

Task Mode

Name

Duration

Duration5

Duration6

Duration7

Duration8

Duration9

• Click OK to save this new view. There is no need to apply the table at this time.

Your custom table should look like the figure below.

Follow these steps to create a new Gantt Chart type of view that you will apply the PERT Table.

• On the ribbon go to the Task tab, select the lower part of the Gantt Chart command and then select More Views.

• Select the New button.

• This is going to be a Single view. A Combination view is a view that is a split window with a view on the top and bottom of the window.

• Name the new view PERT View. Spell and space the name correctly because we are going to use the view in a macro.

• The first decision is what type of view or screen to base this new view on. We are going to use the Gantt Chart screen but look at the list. There are 17 different types of views in Microsoft Project and you can create more than enough views based on these 17 different types.

• For this new view, select the PERT Table, the No Group Group, and the All Tasks filter and Show in menu.

When finished, Click OK to save this new view, and then Apply.

You created the PERT Table in this new view using the Table Definition dialog box. You can edit this table in that dialog box or when it is applied to a view. For instance, you can rearrange or add/hide columns with the table applied. Either way, you are permanently changing the table in either location.

The field customization we will do is pretty simple, so we will run a macro that does most of the work to save some time. Then, you will manually create one custom field.

In this next section, you will work with macros and run those macros from a custom command on the Quick Access Toolbar.

If you record a macro or write code, that information is available in the Visual Basic for Applications Editor. To access the editor, press Alt+F11 on your keyboard. Other ways to open the VBA Editor are to edit the ribbon, display the Developer tab, and then click on the Visual Basic command, or select the View tab, select the bottom part of the Macros command at the end of the ribbon, and select Visual Basic.

In the VBA editor, click View and select Project Explorer to view your list of projects. At least two projects will show in the explorer: the Global.MPT and the PERT.mpp. Under the PERT.mpp, expand the macros or Modules folder. There are two macros there.

Next, double-click on the Apply_PERT_View macro. This macro will apply the new table and view you just created regardless of what view you currently have applied. That is why you were asked to name them correctly. If you named them differently, you can edit the names or change the code in the macro. Or, in the Organizer, you can edit the name of the table and/or View.

These two macros are the type of macros you are likely to run routinely; such as before your weekly reports are due. One macro may make the appropriate checks or computations, and the other runs the correct reports. Completing this weekly routine only requires clicking a couple of commands, so recording or writing the macros is almost always worth the time.

Close the VBA Editor.

Next, we will attach these macros to the Quick Access Toolbar. Macros can be attached to the toolbar, to any “custom” group under each of the ribbon tabs, or to a new custom tab. Follow these steps to attach the macros.

• First, use the Organizer to add the two macros and the view and table you created to the Global.mpt. To make things less confusing in the next step, delete the macros from the project in the Organizer once they are added to the Global.mpt.

• Open Options and select Quick Access Toolbar.

• In the Choose commands from the drop-down menu, select Macros.

• Find and then select the two macros we just looked at. Add them to the toolbar, moving them to the very top of the toolbar.

  ApplyPERT_View

  PERT

• Select the PERT macro and click the Modify… button. Name this macro Run PERT Macro.

• Select the ApplyPERT_View macro and click the Modify… button. Name this macro Apply PERT View, and select the calculator icon to represent this command.

Click OK to save your edits to the toolbar.

• Then, on the toolbar, click the Apply PERT View icon to apply the PERT view and click on the Run PERT Macro icon. If you have done everything correctly, your custom duration columns will have custom names, and the Expected column will contain the formula.

([Duration2]+(4*[Duration3])+[Duration4])/6

• For Task 1, enter these estimates to test the Expected Duration formula; enter these values:

  • Optimistic Duration = 3 days

  • Most Likely Duration = 6 days

  • Pessimistic Duration = 10 days

The Expected Duration should equate to 6.17 days. Enter that expected duration into the Duration field.

The last thing to do is move the custom fields to the Global.MPT file so you can use them with any project. Once you have done that, you can remove the Run PERT Macro from the toolbar; you will not need it anymore. You can also delete that macro from the Global.MPT file.

Save the project.

Try the PERT calculation in a different project. Open your Master Project. Add Task 1, make it Auto Scheduled, and enter these duration estimates.

• Optimistic = 10 days

• Most Likely = 12 days

• Pessimistic = 20 days

If everything works correctly, you should have a calculated Expected Duration of 13 days. If this were an actual task for which you used the PERT formula, you would enter 13 days in the Duration field.

Let’s examine the Expected Duration field closely. Select the column header, right-click, and select Custom Fields.

Let’s review a couple of things about this dialog box.

• First, notice there are custom Task, Resource, and Project fields (if you are working in the enterprise). Each category has several fields, such as cost, date, duration, finish, etc.

• You can Rename a custom field or Delete the customization for one of these fields. You can not delete the actual field or create a new type of field for a category. Some fields, such as the Duration 1-10 fields, are available for customization in Microsoft Project. Using four of these custom duration fields means you only have six available for customization. You can also Import a custom field from another project into a custom field in the active project.

• The contents of the custom field can have attributes like selections from a Lookup… table that you create. For instance, you might have liked to specify any of the 120 store locations where the work could be performed for each task. Those 120 locations would appear in a drop-down list to choose from.

• In the case of our Expected Duration custom field, the macro added a Formula. This is why the radio button is selected for Formula. To view or edit the formula, select the Formula… button.

• You can write a formula for a custom field. Otherwise, the Field and Function buttons will help you search for the fields you need and add the functions you want.

As mentioned in the Master Class Book, PERT estimates are also an important input for risk analysis. Uncertainty increases risk, and risk analysis involves mitigating that risk by determining the cause. The difference between Optimistic and Pessimistic can be valuable if you have the following PERT estimates.

Optimistic Duration = 10 days

Most Likely Duration = 12 days

Pessimistic Duration = 20 days

The Optimistic estimate assumes that all risk has been mitigated. The pessimistic estimate assumes that everything that could go wrong will go wrong.

None of us have the time or money to address every perceived risk, but when there is a large gap between Optimistic and Pessimistic estimates, we should mitigate the risk.

Suppose you want Microsoft Project to flag you when the gap is over a certain amount of time. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Rename the Duration9 field to PERT Variance.

2. Using the Field selector button, Add a formula to the field that is Pessimistic minus Optimistic.

3. Next, flag any task where the difference is greater than five days. To do that, select the Graphical Indicators button and add the selections to the figure below.

Before you save and close this project, move this last custom field to the Global.MPT file.

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Exercise 4: Enter Estimates for Master Project (30 minutes)

By now, you should have a good idea of the best estimating approach for your Master Project.

Enter duration and/or work estimates for all the detailed tasks in your Master Project. Consider entering PERT estimates and the calculated duration in the duration field if you enter duration estimates.

Exercise 5: Define Resources (30 minutes)

This exercise is on defining resources. There are three types of resources in Microsoft Project, and each type is defined differently. Take a minute to review these types and their unique characteristics, and then define resources as directed.

Project Example

What is missing in Microsoft Project is a Variable Type of resource. Characteristics of this type of resource would include:

There is a base calendar for making exceptions in availability.

• Work is not calculated.

• The cost (standard) rate is calculated in minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or annually.

• Cost tables are available.

• Availability is viewed across the timeline.

At Abbott Laboratories, one group was using Microsoft Project to schedule labs. The software worked well for them, but they did not want it to calculate work, which skewed the project data. Microsoft Project should have a resource used for scheduling that does not calculate work. In the late 1980s, when I worked for Symantec, their project management software had that type, as did the competitive software at the time.

We have used MS Project to schedule training and consulting engagements. This is an unconventional use of the software but very useful. Given Microsoft Project's ability to schedule events, we are surprised it isn’t used more. We have had customers use the software to schedule training, street fairs, music festivals, and, in the case of one large paper corporation, the onsite engagements of engineers across three paper plants being built in three different countries.

Let’s suppose your company does training and development and it has sold a training workshop to a customer that has to be developed from scratch and you are the project manager. The job is time and materials, so the rates are those you are actually going to bill the customer. At the top of the next column, define the list of resources.

As mentioned in the Master Class Book, the best way to learn this functionality is to repeat the cycle 10 times, or as many times as it takes for you to get it. In general, our experience is that it takes most people around four times and the light bulb goes.

In the Resource Definition.mpp file, define these additional resources:

• Project Manager, Work type, Standard Calendar, Max Units of 100% standard rate of $1,000 per day. Enter Company in the Group field.

• Customer Contact. This one is a little more difficult to define because there is no cost on your end and they have told you they are not available for more than around 8 hours weekly, so you want to track their time.

  • Plus, your company has the initiative to develop a parametric database so that on future projects like this one, you want to be able to give a customer a realistic estimate of how much time will be expected from them.

  • In addition, this resource is on vacation for August 2021. Beginning September 1, 2021, when they hope to wrap up the project, they are available 20 hours a week.

  • The customer would be a Work type, Standard Calendar, with a Max Unit rate of 20% to start and a standard rate of $0. Enter the Customer in the Group field.

The figure below shows the definition of availability for the Customer Contact resource.

If you defined this correctly, you can go to the Resource Usage view, scroll out to August 2021, and zoom in on the monthly timescale; you will see that the resource is available at 20%. It is unavailable for August, and then availability goes up to 50% in September.

Go back to the Resource Sheet view and define these additional resources.

• Group Facilitator, Work type, Standard Calendar, Max Units of 100%, standard rate of $1,200 per day, Enter Contractor in the Group field.

• Video Studio Rental, Material type, and the rate is $900 per day, which would be $900 per unit. Weekends are $700 per day; enter $900 in Table A and $700 in Table B.

  • Each time you book the studio, there is a setup fee, regardless of the number of days. Enter $300 in the Cost/Use field.

  • Enter Studio as a Material Label. Enter

  • Enter Non-work in the Group field.

• Edit Suite, Material type, $300 per day, would be $300 per unit.

  • The price is going up to $400 in the fourth quarter of 2021.

  • Enter VEdit as a Material Label.

  • Enter Non-work in the Group field.

  • The setup fee is $100 initially, but it increases to $150 in the fourth quarter.

• Focus Group, Work type: you will need 24 people in two locations, and the focus group sessions will be on consecutive Saturdays.

  • Select the Saturday Calendar, Max Units 1,200.

  • You will pay them $100 each for three hours, but mark that up to the customer by 100%.

  • Enter Contractor in the Group field. This example is typical of the resource definition you must figure out independently depending on how you intend to use the project plan. In this case, let’s say you are going to be giving updates to the customer, so you want to enter a standard rate of $200 per three-hour session. If you round up, you could enter this as $67 an hour.

• Lunch for Focus Group. Cost type of resource. Enter Non-work in the Group field.

• Transcript Service to record the focus group. Material type: $500 per session, so $500 per unit.

  • Enter Transcript as a Material Label.

  • Enter Non-work in the Group field.

Use the flag field to mark your defined resources and highlight the background in yellow. Hint: Create a highlight filter using one of the flag fields.

If you sort the Group field A - Z, you should have the defined resource list shown below.

Save the project.

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Exercise 6: Define Resources for Master Project (30 minutes)

Define the resources for your Master Project.

In the Resource Sheet view, apply the Bridge Resources Defined table, and the common fields for defining resources will be displayed. If you have that are not using the Standard base calendar, insert the Base Calendar field and make the appropriate selections.

Exercise 7: Complete Assignment Calculations (10 minutes)

We are on the second step in learning how to complete our estimates by assigning resources. In this exercise, you assign resources to tasks representing the five ways tasks can be calculated when resources are assigned.

Notice in the project’s split window that the Type and Effort Driven fields are shown as columns in the top view. The bottom Task Form view will display the field information and Notes field. If the Notes is not showing,

Each task is labeled for one of the five ways estimates are calculated when resources are assigned.

First, notice the appropriate selections for each task the Type and Effort Driven fields.

Second, in the Notes field for each task, enter:

• Given the selection, what estimate would you start with, work, duration, or both?

• When you assign resources or adjust resource assignments, what are you expecting to happen?

Save the project.

Exercise 8: Determine the Calculation Selections for Master Project (10 minutes)

For all of the detail tasks in your Master Project, determine the calculation selections for each one.

Exercise 9: Assign Resources (45 minutes)

The objective of this simulation is not to master all of these calculations. However, you must discover how you want tasks calculated when you assign resources and become skilled at doing things your way.

The following is a review of each of the five sets of calculation settings.

Fixed Units

Expand the Fixed Units summary task.

• The first thing to do is always glance at is your calculation selections. Check to make sure each of these three tasks are Fixed Units.

• Apply the Work theme to the Task Form view on the bottom of the split window.

• Then open the Assign Resources dialog box, Resources tab / Assign Resources command. This is the only floating dialog box in Microsoft Project.

As you work through this exercise, remember that the undo and redo buttons are on the Bridge Quick Access Toolbar. Toggle back and forth to understand calculations.

Assign the Editor to Task 1.

• What was calculated?

• Why was the editor assigned at 100%, and why was $2,960 calculated?

Assign the Customer to Task 1.

• Why was the Customer assigned at 50%? Be sure to check the project start date.

• What happened to duration? But there are two people assigned now?

• Why was no additional cost calculated?

• Why is the Customer assigned 20 hours of work and the Editor 40 hours?

Assign the Instructional Designer to Task 1. Do those calculations make sense?

This might be what you would expect with Fixed Duration settings. The duration does not change, but the work and cost change based on the assignments. This is the confusing aspect of these calculation settings. Depending on how you assign resources, one set of selections may seem very much like another.

Task 2 has both a duration and work estimate.

Assign the Editor, Group Facilitator, and the Producer to Task 2. Do those calculations make sense?

Not to me. With the first assignment, the work estimate and duration seemed fixed. However, just because no theory or principle is driving this calculation, some users may want or need to calculate resource assignments this way.

Change the duration estimate for Task 3 to 2.5 days.

Assign the same three resources to Task 3.

• Are the calculations the same?

• Is that what you expected?

No, it doesn’t make much sense to me. Again, it is just a possible calculation.

What if you change the duration or work? Change the duration of Task 1 from 5 days to 3 days.

What if you change the work? Change the work of Task 2 from 120 hours to 60 hours.

Change Task 3 to 2.5 days.

Do calculations make sense? If not, toggle back and forth with undo and redo buttons. It seems now that the Units assigned are fixed, not the duration or work estimates. Perhaps the name of the setting Fixed Units means that once resources are assigned, those units are fixed. This makes sense when you think about it. Fixed Duration fixes the duration estimate, Fixed Work fixes the work estimates, and Fixed Units fixes the units once a resource is assigned.

What if you change Units? This is where the idea of Fixed Units starts to make more sense. Remember, for a Fixed Units task, the longest resource assignment determines the duration.

For Task 1, change the Instructional Designer’s assignment to 50%. The task will now be 6 days. Can you explain that calculation?

If the Instructional Designer is going to work 24 hours on the task and can only work 4 hours a day, the task must take 6 days.

If you swap out the bottom view with a Task Usage view and zoom in the timescale with the top view displaying every day, you will notice that the Editor works 8 hours for three days. The Customer works 4 hours for the first three days, and the Instructional Designer works 6 hours daily until they have completed 24 hours. At 4 hours a day, it will take 6 days to complete the task. The longest resource Unit assignment determines the duration of the task. It is Fixed Units.

Fixed Duration

Expand the Fixed Duration summary task.

The first thing to always do is glance at your calculation settings. Check to make sure each of these three tasks has a Fixed Duration.

With this calculation type, the duration estimate stays the same and the work and cost adjust accordingly based on resource assignments.

Assign the Group Facilitator and Instructional Designer to Task 1. What changed?

Adjust the assignments. The instructional designer only needs to work a few hours daily. In the bottom view, change Units to 20% and click OK. The Group Facilitator will conduct five days of classes upfront, so enter 40 hours in the Work field and then click OK.

Did the duration change? Try this: assign the Group Facilitator 120 hours on this task and click OK. The resource is going to be over-allocated, but did the Duration change?

No, because the duration estimate is fixed.

Let’s assign some non-work resources. Material or Cost resources do not change the duration or the work, regardless of the assignment calculations.

• Select Task 2.

• In the Assign Resources dialog box, filter for Material resources.

• Double-click on each resource to review the Standard Rates.

• First, assign the Video Studio Rental. We need the studio for 2 days. The Standard Rate for this resource is $900. Can you explain the cost?

• Next, we need 75 course materials, the Edit Studio for 3 days, and the Transcript Service 4 times.

• Then, filter for Cost resources. Assign the Lunch resource. We are budgeting $15 for each person, expecting 75 participants.

Notice that the duration does not change, and no work has been calculated.

Last, select Task 3 and filter all of the Work resources, select all of the resources, and assign them to the task.

Did the duration change?

You must make the change if you think the duration should change based on resource assignments. Change the duration to 2 days.

Cost and Work change accordingly.

Fixed Duration is a simple, reliable, and consistent way to calculate assignments.

Fixed Work

Fixed Work means that when you assign resources, the work estimate is kept constant, and the duration and cost change appropriately. The Fixed Work calculation is the closest setting to this Effort-Driven estimating and scheduling idea. Assign more resources to a task, and the duration goes down; remove resources, and the duration goes up.

The selection isn’t as robust as we would like; the setting fails to calculate sensibility in complex situations. However, this is likely the best setting if you want an effort-driven approach.

Expand the Fixed Work summary task.

The first thing to remember is to always glance at your calculation selections. Check to make sure Task 1 is Fixed Work.

• Assign the Project Manager. The task will take 10 days because they will spend 80 hours on it.

• Assign the Seminar Leader. The duration is cut in half, and both resources share 80 hours of work.

• Assign the Writer to Task 1. The duration goes down.

• Remove the Writer and the duration goes back up.

Change the Work from 80 hours to 60 hours; what changes?

Change the Project Manager’s Work to 20 hours and click OK. What changes?

Change the Seminar Leader’s Work to 40 hours and click OK. What changes?

As mentioned in the MS Project Master Class Book, this setting can be useful in the early planning phases, especially if you start with Work estimates. With this setting, you could quickly complete a “What if” on a large schedule: “What if I assign five people to this task, three to that task, and seven to that task?”

Of course, real people are not all equal, do not have the same level of skill, and work at the same speed. When you get to the point of assigning the actual people, you could change every task to a Fixed Duration and refine your assignments. If you switch like this, none of the calculations will change until you change the assignments.

Fixed Units Effort-Driven

The next two selections have no theoretical basis that I am aware of, but they are calculations that may work well for you.

This calculation setting is closely related to Fixed Work. Some users find this calculation suitable, especially since it was the default setting for at least the first 10 versions of Microsoft Project.

Expand the Fixed Units Effort-Driven summary task.

The first thing to always do is glance at your calculation setting. Check to ensure each of these three tasks is Fixed Units and Effort Driven is Yes.

By now, you know what calculations to look at when you make an assignment possible changes to:

• Duration

• Work

• Cost

• Individual Work assignments

Assign the Project Manager and Seminar Leader to Task 1. Then, adjust the Work on the task to 60 hours, change the Project Manager’s units to 50%, and click OK.

Does this calculate differently than Fixed Work?

To see the difference between these settings and Fixed Work, do the following:

• Enter 80 hours for Task 2.

• Enter 80 hours for Task 3 and make the task Fixed Work and make the task 1 day duration.

• Assign the Project Manager and Seminar Leader to both tasks. You can select both tasks and resources and assign them all at once. So far, the calculations are the same.

• Then, change the Duration of Task 2 and Task 3 to 10 days. The calculation for each task is much different.

Fixed Duration Effort-Driven

Expand the Fixed Duration Effort-Driven summary task.

The first thing to always do is to glance at your calculation settings. Ensure these three tasks are Fixed Duration and Effort Driven is Yes.

Assign the Project Manager and the Seminar Leader to Task 1. The calculations should be self-explanatory.

What is the difference between Fixed Duration Effort-Driven and Fixed Duration?

To see a difference between Fixed Duration vs. Fixed Duration Effort Driven, do the following:

• Make sure Task 2 and Task 3 are 10 days in duration.

• Make Task 3 just Fixed Duration and Effort-Driven is No.

• Assign the Project Manager and Seminar Leader to both tasks.

• Change the Work for both tasks to 80 hours.

• Change the Duration for both tasks to 5 days.

So far, the calculations have been the same. Now, do this:

• Assign the Editor to both tasks.

This calculation is a hybrid type of fixed duration. You tell Microsoft Project to keep the Duration fixed but attempt to share the work evenly across the resource assignments when it is Effort-Driven.

Save the project.

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Exercise 10: Assign Resources to Master Project (30 minutes)

You have defined resources and made the appropriate calculation selections for your detail tasks. Now, it is time to assign resources to your Master Project.

This is the best setup for making resource assignments:

A - Apply the Bridge Assignments view. This is a view with a Gantt Chart view on the top and a Task Form view on the bottom.

B - Select the bottom view and ensure the Work details is applied to the view.

C - Select the top view and apply the Bridge Duration Work Estimates table.

D - Insert the Cost field after the Work field.

E - Select the top view and open the Assign Resources dialog box.

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Review Microsoft Project Features Covered on Define (10 minutes)

Scope

A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is an essential component in project management, serving as a foundational tool for defining the scope of a project. It systematically breaks down the project into smaller, manageable parts, typically work packages. The WBS reflects the scope aspect of a project and is instrumental in planning, executing, and monitoring project progress.

Microsoft Project provides robust scheduling, resource allocation, and cost estimation functionalities. However, one of its limitations is the need for a direct feature to enter and manage the scope of individual work packages within the WBS. This gap can create challenges in ensuring that each work package's scope is clearly defined and understood.

To effectively manage and document the scope of each work package in Microsoft Project, a practical approach involves utilizing the task notes feature. Here is a step-by-step guide to implementing this approach:

• Select a work package (task or subtask) within your project plan.

• Right-click on the task and choose the "Task Information" option.

• Navigate to the "Notes" tab in the task information dialog box.

• Enter the detailed scope definition for the work package in the notes section. This can include specific deliverables, acceptance criteria, constraints, assumptions, and any relevant details that define the work package's scope.

Notes Fields

In Microsoft Project, integrating note fields is crucial in enhancing project detailing and communication. Three primary types of note fields are Task Notes, Resource Notes, and Assignment Notes. Each serves a specific purpose and is accessible in different views within the software.

Task Notes: These notes are accessible in task-based views and are pivotal for adding detailed information directly related to a specific task. Task Notes can include specific instructions, explanations of task complexities, dependencies, or any other relevant information that adds context to the task. This feature is particularly useful for clarifying task requirements or providing additional information that may not be evident from the task name or description alone.

Resource Notes: Found in resource-based views, Resource Notes are dedicated to adding comments or important details about the resources assigned to the project. These notes can encompass a wide range of information, from a team member's specific skills to the availability and constraints of a material resource. Resource Notes are invaluable for capturing nuances about resources not captured elsewhere in the project plan.

Assignment Notes: These notes are unique in that they can be accessed in either Task or Resource Usage views. Assignment Notes are where the specifics of a particular assignment are detailed. This could include information on how a resource is expected to approach a task, special conditions of the assignment, or any other details that bridge the task and the resource. Assignment Notes are handy for clarifying expectations and specifics of an assignment that are not fully captured by the task and resource information alone.

Together, these note fields provide a comprehensive mechanism for documenting all aspects of a project in Microsoft Project. They enhance the granularity of the project plan, allowing for a more detailed and informed approach to managing tasks, resources, and their assignments. By leveraging these note fields effectively, project managers can ensure a higher level of clarity and understanding among all stakeholders involved in the project.

Defining Resources

Resources in Microsoft Project are broadly categorized into human resources (team members, contractors, consultants), material resources (physical materials like hardware, software, machinery), and cost resources (expenses such as travel costs or permits). This categorization helps in accurately planning, tracking, and managing resource usage and allocation.

In Microsoft Project, adding resources begins with accessing the Resource Sheet, a dedicated space for resource information. Here, resources are meticulously entered, specifying their type: work (human), material, or cost. The nuances in defining these resources vary; for instance, human resources require details on availability and pay rates, while material resources necessitate a unit of measure. Furthermore, each resource is characterized by attributes like maximum units for human resources and standard and overtime rates, enabling a detailed, nuanced approach to resource management.

A key aspect of resource management is customizing individual resource calendars. This involves defining unique working times and accommodating individual schedules, holidays, and time off. Customizing these calendars is crucial for accurate planning and scheduling, ensuring that resource availability aligns perfectly with project timelines.

Cost assignment in Microsoft Project varies by resource type. Work resources have standard and overtime rates, material resources are assigned a cost per unit, and cost resources carry a fixed cost associated with a task. This granularity in cost assignment allows for a detailed financial plan, ensuring budget allocations are as accurate as possible.

Task Type

The "Task Type" concept in Microsoft Project is fundamental for understanding and controlling how the software handles task durations, work, and resource assignments. Microsoft Project offers three types of tasks: Fixed Units, Fixed Work, and Fixed Duration. Each type dictates how changes to one aspect of the task (like duration, work, or resource assignment) impact the other elements.

Fixed Units: This is the default task type in Microsoft Project, although no project management theory drives this classification and is the least recommended type. When a task is set as Fixed Units, the unit allocation (percentage of a resource's time assigned to a task) is fixed. So, if you change the task's duration, the total work (effort) recalculates, but the resource allocation stays constant. This task type is ideal when the resources assigned should determine the task duration.

Fixed Work: In tasks set as Fixed Work, the total work or effort required to complete the task is fixed. Adjusting the duration or the resource assignment will not change the total work. Instead, it recalculates the units or the duration. This type is beneficial when the task's effort is known beforehand, like in tasks where a specific amount of work needs to be completed regardless of the number of resources or time taken. Fixed Work scheduling helps calculate schedules quickly based on "What If" scenarios, such as What if I assign two people here and three people there? Seldom does fixed work scheduling match the reality of the people doing the work. With Fixed Duration Type, the Work of the task is fixed.

Fixed Duration: With Fixed Duration tasks, the task's duration is fixed. Adjusting the amount of work or the resources assigned does not affect the task's duration but instead changes the units (resource allocation). This task type is applicable in scenarios where the timeline is a priority and cannot change, like in tasks with fixed deadlines or events scheduled for specific dates. Fixed duration gives the project manager the most control over calculations. With Fixed Duration Type, the Duration of the task is fixed.

Effort Driven

Theoretically, Fixed Work is Effort Driven. Microsoft developed the three task types with the option of making Fixed Duration and Fixed Units, also Effort Driven. It is confusing, and my best advice is to not bother trying to make sense of some of these selections. The default selections have been Fixed Units Effort Driven in early versions and now Fixed Units not Effort Driven, so I have seen users going to great lengths in justifying the selections over the years. The easiest way to think about it is that Fixed Duration (not Effort Driven) and Effort Driven (which Microsoft calls Fixed Work) are common ideas about tasks and have been reviewed in the project management literature. That leaves three combinations of selections that have no basis in theory but are available to use if you have a reason to. People do find uses for these selections. For example, Fixed Duration Effort Driven keeps the duration Fixed but then attempts to spread the work evenly across the resources assigned. What is the value of that calculation? Well, it is valuable to the people who want it to work that way, and that is the best and only support I can suggest for the calculation.

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