Time duration

[tek111]

Hello,
I badly need to create both a network diagram and a Gantt Chart with time duration measured in seconds - not minutes, not hours, days,...

I am using Microsoft Project Manager 2000 and the minimum time I could find was in minutes. Is there a way of decreasing the duration to seconds since my task duration is in seconds.. unfortunately, this is the specification given to me?
thx

 

[PDQBach]

Using P2000 it is not possible to choose Seconds as a unit.

In P2003 (you'll have to confirm for P2000) there is a potential workaround, but you'll have to explore it fully to see if it will work for you.

Enter times as, for example, 1.1 mins (representing 1 min 6 seconds), 1.2mins, etc. You cannot get greater granularity (i.e., 1.15 mins displays as 1.2mins and I didn't spend any time trying other combinations).

I did a bit of playing around to see how 1.1 mins is stored but wasn't very successful in my explorations. Since 5 consecutive tasks linked together with each having a duration of 1.4mins shows a total duration of 7 mins, it does seem to work. It does not, however, display Start or Finish down to the second.

I believe that MS Project Server *internally* stores data in seconds but once it is displayed in Project Pro or in the PWA screens, it is displayed in minutes so that won't help, either.

Incidentally, I have never seen a project that needed elements in terms of seconds. Processes, yes; but projects, no.

 

[tek111]

Is there a way of just writing the time in seconds in the Network Diagram without receiving any warning? I don't need any Gantt Chart initially.
At least then, I have something to show.

 

[PDQBach]

If you're just using Project for diagramming you might want to seriously consider using Visio. If you waste one day messing about in Project then your organization could have spent that sum of salary money and purchased a Visio licence and you would have been quite productive.

However, be that as it may ...

This is messy but it will *sort of* work. *Sort of*

If you need to show Start/Finish/Durations in seconds then that cannot be done.

You will have to build an approximate schedule including the predecessors and successors. I gave you an approach for approximating seconds which, I have just noticed, only works if you have a time > 1 minute. In other words, 0.1, 0.2, etc. minutes don't work.

In the Text1 field, put the Start time to the second.
In the Number1 field put the Duration in seconds
In the Text2 field put the Finish time to the second. You will have to calculate the info to be displayed. As I said: messy.

View | Network diagram

Format | Box styles
Click on More templates
Review the various templates and choose one you like
Click on the Copy button
In the popup edit the display to include Text1, Number1, Text2.

You will now have a diagram that generally reflects the process you are mapping.

It's not a great solution but you are asking a project scheduler to do things that project scheduling -- unlike process mapping -- never has to contemplate: seconds.

 

[tek111]

Thx. Visio is better suited at least initially