ReOccuring Task Query

[SRT75]

Hi All,

I'm quite new to MS Project and though I can get what I want done, it is taking a rather long time.

I am creating a project that breaks down the installation of an HD Encryption program. Firstly though we need to remove the old version, which takes about 4 hours, then uninstall the software which takes about 5 minutes. Next phase would be to install the new software, another 5 minutes, then re-apply the encryption which takes another 4 hours. The whole above process needs to be done on 400 Laptop machines, but around 5 can only be done per day.

What I did was create a Reoccurring Task (400 of them) and manually change the date, 5 at a time.

Hope all this makes sense. Now if this project was to go to plan and start on the correct date then no issue, but I know the company and virtually guarantee it wont, and I don't want to spend the whole day changing dates.

Is there an easier way?

TIA

SRT.

 

[PDQBach]

I wouldn't have used recurring tasks (primarily because the tasks get created with a Start No Earlier Than constraint).

I would have chosen either:

1. 400 individual tasks (1 per PC)
1a. Create a "template" task for 5 PCs "Update 5 PCs - Serial 1, Serial 2, ..." with space for 5 serial numbers. (You probably won't know them in advance but when you process the PC, you'd update the task name to show the serial numbers you did process.)
1b. Set the duration for the template task to 1 day (since you can do 5 PCs per day).
1c. Copy the template task and paste it 80 times (for 400 PCs).
1d. Select all 80 tasks and click on the "Link Tasks" button to automatically create predecessor links. Now you have your schedule.
1e. If the rollout is delayed then simply change the start date of the first task in the sequence. If the rollout gets interrupted/delayed during the rollout then simply change the start date of the task where the delay starts.

2. 80 "Groups" of tasks (1 group per 5 PCs)
2a. Create a "template group". It will have a Summary task with 5 sub-tasks. Each subtask represents a single PC. Link the 5 sub-tasks with a Start-to-Start link so they all start on the same date.
2b. Collapse the summary task so you don't see the linked sub-tasks.
2c. Copy the summary task and paste it 80 times.
2d. If the summary tasks get pasted so that they are fully expanded showing the subtasks then collapse the summary tasks so the individual subtasks are hidden.
2e. Select all 80 summary tasks and click on the "Link Tasks" button to automatically create predecessor links. Now you have your schedule.
2f. If the rollout is delayed then simply change the start date of the first sub-task in the first summary-task sequence. If the rollout gets interrupted/delayed during the rollout then simply change the start date of the task where the delay starts.

You'll notice that I never set the start or finish dates on all tasks but, rather, let predecessor/successor links control that. The only time I do change the start/finish dates is when the process is delayed and/or interrupted.

If you want to be really cute/clever then, at the top of the schedule, create a single Milestone task called "Rollout start" and link it to the first PC task. If the rollout start gets delayed then just change this task and the effect will cascade through the schedule.

 

[SRT75]

Hi PDQBack,

Many thanks for your reply, I will check it out at work tomorrow.

Though I have never setup a Template Task (Told you I was a new with Project). I am hopefully assumming it is fairly straight forward.

I'll let you know how things go.


SRT.

 

[PDQBach]

Well, there isn't actually something called a "template" task ... I was referring to your setting up a task that you would simply copy and paste repeatedly (rather than individually typing them in) and, after all the pasting, you would edit each individually pasted task to get the final result.