Tasks & Resources

Microsoft Project ,

Putting Tasks in the Right Order

In Project, a relationship between two tasks is known as a task dependency or a task link. Defining the dependencies between tasks helps you determine which tasks start when, as well as when the project might finish.
To link the tasks for your cycling team, do the following:

1. Select the tasks related to signing up the team (“Research entry requirements” through “Team signup complete”).

You can select tasks in any number of ways. You can drag your mouse over the several rows to select the tasks. (You can drag over any cells in the rows.)
To select individual tasks, Ctrl-click anywhere in each individual task’s row. To select adjacent tasks, click the first task, and then Shift-click the last task.

2. To create links between the selected tasks, in the Task tab’s Schedule section, click the Link Tasks icon, which looks like links of chain .

The tasks automatically cascade with Finish-to-Start dependencies so one occurs after the other.
If you want to remove the dependencies, simply click Unlink Tasks, which looks like a broken link.

3. Select all the sub-tasks under the “Raise money” summary task, and link them as explained in the previous step.

Set the"Send donation reminders" task duration 1 month & the Send thank-you messages for donations duration 2 months.
Sending reminders and thank-you messages occur at the same time, so in the next step, you’ll modify a task dependency to show those tasks starting at the same time.

4. Click the “Send thank-you messages for donations” Task Name cell, and then, in the Task tab’s Properties section, click Information. The Task Information dialog box opens.

5. Click the Predecessors tab.

Predecessors determine when the selected task starts or finishes. The Predecessor tab’s table shows the predecessors linked to the selected task. The Type cell shows the type of task dependency; in this example, it’s Finish-to-Start (FS).

6. Click the first Type cell (the one that reads “Finish-to-Start (FS)” in this example), click the down arrow that appears, and then choose Start-to- Start (SS). Then click OK. The two tasks now start on the same day, as shown

Switching Tasks to Auto Scheduled Mode

1. Click the Task Mode cell for the first summary task (which is already set to Auto Scheduled mode).

A down arrow appears, which you can click if you want to choose either Manually Scheduled or Auto Scheduled from a drop-down menu. In addition, a fill handle (a green square), appears at the bottom right of the cell.

2. Position your cursor over the fill handle. When it changes to a + sign, drag over the Task Mode cells of all the tasks in the list.
The icons in the Task Mode cells change to indicate that the tasks are Auto Scheduled.

Assigning People and Other Resources

In Project, resources are any people, equipment, or materials needed to complete
tasks in your project.

Add People to Your Project

Work could still be up for grabs when you create your schedule. Even if you don’t know resource names, you probably know what skills are required to do the work. You can use a person’s name if you have a lucky team member lined up, or fill in generic names when all you know is the type of work or skill required. Project’s Resource Sheet view is specifically for listing resources. Here’s how to display it and fill it in:

1. In the View tab’s Resource Views section, click Resource Sheet.

A new spreadsheet-like view appears with fields for recording information about your resources.

2. To add yourself as a resource, click the first Resource Name cell, type your name and then press Enter.

3. Repeat step 2 for the colleagues you've corralled into cycling.

If you don’t know who else will work on your project, then in the Resource Name cell, type a name that indicates the skill required of the resource. 

Assign Resources to Tasks

At this point, you have a list of all the people who are pitching in.Here’s how to assign your project’s resources to tasks:

1. In the View tab’s Task Views section, click the top half of the Gantt Chart button (where the chart icon is).

Project switches to Gantt Chart view. The table on the left side of this view lists tasks with fields for details, such as Duration, Start, Finish, Predecessors, and Resource Names.
The right side is the Gantt Chart timescale.Make sure you can see the Resource Names column. If necessary, adjust the Gantt Chart’s two panes to display it.

2. Click the Resource Names field for the “Research entry requirements” task.

Project displays a box around the cell and displays a down arrow for the resource drop-down list.

3. To select a name, click the down arrow, turn on the check-box for a name in the list, and then press Enter.

The name you selected appears in the task’s Resource Names cell. It also shows up in the timescale next to the task’s task bar

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you've assigned resources to all the tasks.

Or not. If you don’t know who to assign and can’t determine a generic resource, then leave the Resource

Saving Your Project

The final step is saving your hard work so you can come back to it later:

1. Choose File --> Save As.

Backstage view’s Save As screen appears.

2. In the “Save and Sync” list, click Computer. Then, on the right side of the screen, click Browse.
 The Save As dialog box opens.

3. Navigate to the folder where you want to store the file. In the “File name” field, type a name, and then click Save.

Project saves the file in the location you specified.