Dependencies on Timeline View with Microsoft Project for the Web!

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Nenad Trajkovski

Hi,

today I will show you how beautiful is Timeline View in Microsoft Project for the Web.

We all know how difficult is to manage Projects with many Tasks. It is hard to see for a Task all Predecessors, and Successors, and to find them.

Using Timeline View it is very easy. Let me first create a brand new Project:

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In this View – grid View you don’t see much! BUT! I will switch to Timeline View, and I will get:

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Here you can see Gantt Chart. Now, for example I want to know predecessors and successors for Task 4. I can easily get this just by hoovering my mouse over this particular Task on the Gantt Chart View:

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As you can see, all those blue bolded lines shows predecessors (in my example: Task 1 and 2), and Successors (Task 6). And one more thing! On the top of this View Start and Finish date for this Task are shown.

Now, you can ask: How can I see Start and Finish date for the whole Project? To have that, first I will put a Summary Task for the Project as a whole:

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Now I will switch to the Timeline View again, and I will hoover my mouse over this Task, and I will get:

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See? Piece of cake!

Regards.

Posted in Microsoft Project for the Web, PMI, Project for the Web, Project for Web, PRoject Management | Tagged | Leave a comment

How to set different Work days during time period with Microsoft Project for the Web

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Nenad Trajkovski

Hi,

Today I will show you how to set different Work days during time period with Microsoft Project for the Web!

Here is Scenario. Until 10/01/2020 (October the 1st), work days are going to be from Monday to Friday. From 10/10/2020 they are going to be from Monday to Thursday!

First I will setup Calendar:

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and I will create Generic Resource called: Generic Resource from 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM

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and then:

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and:

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Now, I will choose 10/01/2020, and I will set up work days like this:

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OK! That’s it.  I will use this Resource as a Template for my Calendar Template:

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Now, I will create brand new Project:

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and I will create a Schedule:

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or:

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Let me explain:

  • Task 1 has 5 days duration. I will start at Monday 9/21/2020 and it will finish at Friday 9/25/2020
  • Task 2 has 5 days duration. I will start at Monday 9/28/2020 and it will finish at Monday, 10/5/2020 since Friday 10/01/2020 is non working day
  • Task 3 has 5 days duration. I will start at Tuesday 10/6/2020 and it will finish at Tuesday 10/13/2020 (e.g. work days are: Tuesday 10/6, Wednesday 10/7, Thursday 10/8, Monday 10/12 and Tuesday 10/13 – those are 5 work days!)

Hope this helps.

Regards!

Posted in Microsoft Project for the Web, Project for the Web | Tagged | Leave a comment

% complete and Driving Tasks is Microsoft Project for the Web

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Nenad Trajkovski

Hi,

in one of my previous post I have explained Driving Tasks in Microsoft Project for the Web. Now I will show you how this effect Task which has % complete greater than zero.

First, I will crate new Project:

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and in Timeline View:

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Obviously Task 2 is Driving Task for Task 3, as it can be seen here:

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Now, let’s say that Task 3 is 50% completed:

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As you can see, Task 2 is no longer Driving Tasks for Task 3. Why is that? Because when Task has been started (as in my example, Task 3), it will not be moved even if, for example, Task 2 has extended Duration. Let me show you that. I will put 7 days in Duration field for Task 2, and I will get:

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As you can see, Task 2 (and Task 1, too) has no impact on Start Date for Task 3, because it has been started (e.g. it has some % completeness). And therefore Driving Task for Task 3 doesn’t exist anymore.

Regards!

Posted in MICROSOFT PROJECT, PMI, Project for the Web, Project for Web, PRoject Management | Tagged | Leave a comment

How to create Calendar from Resource using Microsoft Project for the Web?

Posted on September 7, 2020 by Nenad Trajkovski

Hi,

today I will show you how to create brand new Calendar using Resource work hours in Microsoft Project for the Web!

First I will open Dynamics 365:

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and I will choose – Project:

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Now, Let’s say that Tim will work from 12:00 PM to 04:00 PM every day. To change his calendar (e.g. Working Hours), I will follow next steps:

1. I will add Tim (if he doesn’t exist in my Resource List):

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and:

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Be careful when you choose Time Zone, because it has to be adjusted with Your Project Time zone, e.g. Project Calendar.

2. I will adjust Tim’s Work Hours from 12:00 PM to 04:00 PM:

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and:

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and the, I will deselect Saturdays and Sundays:

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OK! Now let’s say, that John and Mary are going to work from 12:00 PM to 04:00 PM. I can repeat steps above for John, and Mary (which will take some time, and it is prone to make mistakes), or I can save Tim’s work hours as a new Calendar:

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and:

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Last, but not least, I have to assign this new Calendar to John and Mary (after I add them):

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and finally:

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and:

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Now, if I create new Project with, for example, three Tasks, and assign Tim, John and Mary to them, I will get:

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As you can see, Tasks have 3 days duration, and total effort per Resource per Task is 12 hours (3 days * 4 hours per day – from 12:00 PM to 04:00 PM).

This is much easier way to create and assign calendar to multiple Resources than one by one.

Regards!

Posted in PMI, Project for the Web, PRoject Management | Tagged | Leave a comment

How to set Calendars for Resource in Microsoft Project for the Web!

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Nenad Trajkovski

Hi,

today I sill show you how to set specific calendar and apply it to resources in Microsoft Project for the Web!

First of all, calendar template should be created! I will not explain again how to di it, because I already did it in my post which can be found here: How to set working hours per day (Calendar Template) in Microsoft Project for the Web?

Suppose that I have Resources who should work from 09:00 AM to 12:00 PM (noon).

I have a calendar template for this:

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and:

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then I will go to settings:

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and here is my Calendar Template:
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Now I will go to see my Resources:

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OK! Now, let’s say that John and Mary will work from 09:00 to 12:00 PM! I do not want to change they working time one by one (for each Resource). I will rather use my Template. To apply this template to Resources I will follow this steps:

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and:

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and finally:

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OK! Let’s see how it will apply to a Project for the Web! I will first create new Project:

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Now I will assign John to Task 1, and Ellen to Task 2:

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As you can see John will work 15 hours (5 days * 3 hours per day – from 09:00 AM to 12:00 PM), and Ellen will work 40 hours (5 days * 8 hours per day – from 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM).

Now if I assign John, Mary and Ellen to Task 1 I will get:

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70 hours of total work are calculated:

  • John will work 15 hours (5 days * 3 hours per day – from 09:00 AM to 12:00 PM)
  • Mary will work 15 hours (5 days * 3 hours per day – from 09:00 AM to 12:00 PM)
  • Ellen will work 40 hours (5 days * 8 hours per day – from 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM)

Total is 70 hours!

To conclude, if you have specific working time for your Resources, the best way is to create new Project calendar and apply it to specific Resources.

Regards!

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How to connect Microsoft Project for the Web with Teams?

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Nenad Trajkovski

Hi,

Today I will show you how to connect Microsoft Project for the Web with teams.

I already have a Team which is created from existing Group: Project for the Web Group.

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I will click on the + sign and:

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Since there is no direct connection between Teams and Project for the Web (for now, it will be in a feature) I will use Website:

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and I will get:

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Now, If I click, for example on the Firs Project I will get:

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I can do whatever I want, as I am in the Project itself. So, for example, I will assign John to Task A:

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As you can see, I wrote a message to John about this assignment.

But, what if I want to have a Tab for Particular Project? I can do this, as well:

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and I will get:

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To conclude, it is very easy to connect Microsoft Project for the Web and Teams. The most important thing is that when I do that I have a power to manage a Project and collaborate with my team, share documents, and so on.

This is powerful thing, and use it! You will find it very, very helpful!

Edit: there is an easier way now! since I was writing my Post, Microsoft introduces native Teams app for Project. I won’t write a special post about that. Paul Mather, MVP and the expert explained this feature in his Blog post which can be found here: https://pwmather.wordpress.com/2020/08/22/microsoft-teams-app-for-project-for-the-web-microsoftteams-projectfortheweb-microsoftproject-workmanagement-msproject-office365/

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Duration, Start, and Finish relationship with Tasks in Microsoft Project for the Web

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Nenad Trajkovski

Hi, Today I will show you relationship between Task Duration, Start and Finish date in Microsoft Project for the Web.

First I will create a simple Project with one Task:

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A you can see, Duration Start, and Finish date are empty.

Now let’s say that Duration is 3 days:

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As you can see, Start and Finish dates are calculated according to Calendars (which are beyond this Post).

Now Let’s say that I have situation shown in a first picture where all three fields are empty), and I know that Start Date is August 27th:

imageDuration is calculated as 1 Day, Finish date is calculated according to Calendar (in my case it is same as Start date), and Constraint – Start no earlier than is set for the Start Date:

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Now I will repeat steps described above, but this time with Finish Date (I will put August 27th), and I will get:

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Start date is Project Start Date (which is in my example – August 24th), and Duration is calculated as 5 Days, and Constraint – Finish no earlier than is set for the Finish Date.

If I remove either Duration, Start or Finish Date, all other two fields will be removed as well.

Now Let’s say that I have a Project with two Tasks:

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All three fields are empty for both Tasks. If I choose that Task 2 is predecessor for Task 1, I will get:

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Task 1 will start at Project Start Date, and it will have 1 day Duration. Task 2 will also have 1 day Duration. All other Dates (Task 1 Finish date, and Task 2 Start and Finish dates), are going to be calculated according to Calendars.

Finally If I erase Duration, Start or Finish date at any of those two Tasks, the link between them will be lost. For example, I will erase Task 2 Start date, and I will get:

image

So, be careful when you put or delete Duration, Start or Finish date for Tasks.

Regards.

Posted in Microsoft Project for the Web, Project for the Web, Project for Web | Tagged | Leave a comment

Multiple Projects with the same name in Microsoft Project for the Web!

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Nenad Trajkovski

Hi!

When I use Microsoft Project desktop Application, or PWA I can have multiple Projects with the same name, but in different location (Folders, sites, etc.). But, what about Microsoft Project for the Web?

Let me create two Projects with the Same name – Test!

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and another one:

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There is no limit to have multiple Projects with the same name:

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My advice is: Don’t do that. You will soon or later be confused. And if you use Roadmap, you will confused even more.

Let me create one:

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and I will give it a name:

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Now, I will add a row, and I will connect it to the Project:

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and then I will get:

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So, which one to choose? I do not have a clue!

You’ve got my point!¨

Regards!

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Group name and Project name in Microsoft Project for the Web

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Nenad Trajkovski

Hi,

as you know, in Microsoft Project for the Web, before you can assign Resource to any Task, you must either create a new Group or use existing one.

Let’s say that I want to create new one.:

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As you can see, first of all I should give a name to my Project. If I want to avoid that, I can try to assign a Resource to a Task:

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but I will get:

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So I will create a new one:

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and I will get:

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So, the Group is created, and John is in!

Now I will create a new Project, and I will name it My Project:

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Because I have named Project, my new Group has a default name which is same as a Project name. Of course, I can rename it:

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To conclude, if you want to create a new Group for your new Project, you should either give a name to Project, or you should give a name to a Group. If your Project has a name default group name is same as a Project name, and if it doesn’t have a name you can create a new Group via assigning Resource to a Task!

Regards!

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How to copy Tasks or Project in Microsoft Project for the Web

Posted on July 27, 2020 by Nenad Trajkovski

Hi,

Today I will show you how can we copy part of Project or the whole Project in Microsoft Project for the Web.

First I will create a brand new Project:

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As you can see, I have schedule, and resources, as well. Now I want Feature 2 with Same Tasks under it. I will select them, and I will right click on it, and choose:

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and I will right click on Add new Task and:

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and I will get:

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Here it is. The only thing what I have to do is to rename Feature 1 in Feature 2, and Feature 1 Done to Feature 2 Done. And yes, if there are some other resources who are going to work on those copied Tasks, I can add / replace them as well.

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that was all about copying Tasks. But what if I want to copy the whole Project? I can do that as well. Here are the steps:

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and I will get:

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As you can see, everything is copied except Resources, So I have to assign them. And of course I have to give a name to my new Project.

Regards

Posted in Microsoft Project for the Web, Project for the Web, PRoject Management | Tagged | Leave a comment