As we learned in last post that Work Breakdown Structure WBS is a decomposition of project deliverable and work into smaller manageable pieces in a hierarchical manner. We also learned that the WBS of a project is the foundation of planning and therefore it is should be carefully prepared.

On the other side, MS Project is a scheduler that plan these smaller pieces on the project timeline providing start and finish date for each piece and the total project duration. A good WBS will lead to a good scheduling.

A top-down approach in which we create project main deliverable first and divide it into smaller and smaller pieces is a better approach. A rough WBS on paper helps understanding big picture of the project and strategy to break it down into smaller pieces. A task is an activity to be performed by a resource. It is last node in the WBS hierarchy. Project is broken down into planning packages, planning packages are broken down into further planning or work packages as needed.

Work packages are broken down into activities also called tasks. Task is not broken down further. Please refer figure 1. Any entry in the left hand side table is a task until we convert it into a summary task, project summary task or milestone. If task is manually scheduled, it give a free hand to write anything in the table but if task is auto scheduled, MS Project fill duration as 1 day with a question mark and start and finish date as today or project start date as set in project options.

MS Project always provides a task id for us to identify the task with an id. It also create a horizontal bar of 1 day on the right hand side graph area. A milestone is a point in time and introduced in WBS to denote important events during the project.

A milestone is a significant stage or event in the development of projects. There is no work involved in the milestone and therefore milestones have no duration. To convert a task into a milestone, please change the duration of task as zero. MS Project shows a milestone as diamond on the right hand side chart area in Gantt Chart view.

You can also use Milestone feature under Insert group on Task tab to create a milestone. A summary task is basically a planning package or work package. A summary task contains one or more tasks under it. To create a summary tasks in MS Project, we first create a task with a name we want to give to summary task. Then just below this task, we will create a list of tasks we like to club under the summary task. Now we will select all the tasks except summary task and press Indent command available in schedule group on Task tab on the ribbon.

The tasks will be indented under summary task and summary task become bold. Now each task in the list has become a task under summary task. Refer figure 2. One summary task could be part of another summary task or project summary task.

Refer figure 1. A project summary task is the top level task named same as project name. Refer 1 st task in the figure 1. Its id is 0. A project summary task is inserted at the top. It is named same as project file name and its id is 0. All the tasks in the project become sub tasks of this summary tasks. Refer figure. Remember a meticulous plan is necessary for success of a project and a detailed WBS is necessary for meticulous plan.

What are summary tasks? What are tasks? What are milestone tasks? What is project summary task? Milestone task A milestone is a point in time and introduced in WBS to denote important events during the project. Summary task A summary task is basically a planning package or work package. Figure 2 — Creating a summary task Project Summary task A project summary task is the top level task named same as project name. Refer figure 3. You can change the name to any name you like. How is your experience in creating WBS?

I look forward for your views, comments and question. Related articles How to create a Work Breakdown Structure?

Create a Network Diagram in Project desktop - How to create a WBS in MS Projects

What does it mean? It means, that you can bws wbs diagram in microsoft project 2010 free WBS what muse be done, but you can not read, how long will your Project lasts! For that you must have activity diagram. WBS I logical Hierarchy! How will you measure your schedule progress. Diagtam do you have to do for this. For example, first you peoject go to the internet and find your flights, and see if they fits your expectations departure date, etc.

Next you should see if there is enough tickets to your trip what if there is only one ticket available? This is WBS Dictionary, and it is brief explanation of what should be done to achieve deliverable. Hierarchy of WBS can be simple or complex, and it depends of your Wbs diagram in microsoft project 2010 free. Freee, what is deliverable! It is something you deliver.

It has to be measurable. If abs is not measurable, how can you achieve approve from your Customer, or Client! What is deliverable from Rent Van Work package. Well, the contract between you and Rent a Van company, and keys of the Van in pronect hand!

WBS is foundation of a good schedule! Here is an example! Please do not look is it make a sense to have those Tasks in this order. It is for example purpose! But the Task Divide requirements to the tasks has predecessor from task 8, and task 11 as well. And Find a resources you wbs diagram in microsoft project 2010 free need for the Project is started as soon as Write an initial requirement document is finished!

But where is Wgs Dictionary? You can double-click on the task and put the WBS dictionary in Notes:. WBS has to be structured. WHat do you realy need? Excellent weblog here! Also your site rather a lot up fast! What host are you using? Can I get your associate link in your host? I want my web site loaded up as frwe as yours lol. How the WBS and the sub task created under a master task is different? I see I can only give some unique number to the Iin task.

First thank you for your help on my previous post on resources. Now a question on WBS codes. This is what I mcirosoft I have some unrelated projects, each of them are a seperate mpp file.

All these projects have to be done inso I would like to give an overview of the complete project status for I do this by making a new mpp file and insert all of the projects as sub projects. Now the strange things happen. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of fee comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email.

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He is also a regular lecturer in the MS Community. From Bookmark the permalink. March 10, at am. Nenad Trajkovski says:. Nuwan says:. December 3, at pm. January 7, at pm. Rajesh says:.

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Boxes or nodes represent tasks, and dependencies show up as lines that connect those boxes. Add a legend. Automatically change the way the boxes are laid out. Manually change the way boxes are laid out. Change the line style between boxes. Choose what kind of task information to show. On the Legend tab, decide how you want your legend to look, which pages it should show up on, and then labels you want.

Under Box Layout , choose the box arrangement, alignment, spacing, height, and width that work best for you. To space boxes evenly, select Fixed in the Height and Width boxes. Keep in mind that grouped tasks are positioned automatically. Home About me. Hi, this will be a short one! Log time ago I was using The Wedding Project for my examples. It looks like this: If you want to see Tasks in network diagram with dependencies, and resources you should use: and I will get: You can see different shapes for different Tasks types!

If I click on the minus sign all Tasks below summary Tasks will disappear from the Diagram, like this: You can get your subtasks back by clicking on the plus sign on the summary Task. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like this: Like Loading After completing his college he started working on projects in different business areas banking, manufacturing, automotive industry, distribution, oil companies, etc. MPT file if a file from another source is being used copy the other way for your objects to be used in other files.

When the transfer of objects is complete click the cross in the top right hand corner of the dialog to close the organiser. Creating any new project now will include the objects you have transferred ready for immediate use. It is also possible to define in what way these dependencies exist. For example, if you have two tasks, "Dig foundation" and "Pour concrete," the "Pour concrete" task cannot begin until the "Dig foundation" task is complete.

The dependent task can begin any time after the task that it depends on begins. The SS link type does not require that both tasks begin simultaneously. For example, if you have two tasks, "Pour concrete" and "Level concrete," the "Level concrete" task cannot begin until the "Pour concrete" task begins. The dependent task can be completed any time after the task that it depends on is completed. The FF link type does not require that both tasks be completed simultaneously.

For example, if you have two tasks, "Add wiring" and "Inspect electrical," the "Inspect electrical" task cannot be completed until the "Add wiring" task is completed. The dependent task can be completed any time after the task that it depends on begins. The SF link type does not require that the dependent task be completed concurrent with the beginning of the task on which it depends.

For example, the roof trusses for your construction project are built offsite. Two of the tasks in your project are "Truss delivery" and "Assemble roof. The FS link is by default not shown in the predecessors column but add one of the other link type contractions after the predecessor number and press enter the link will change and the result shown in the Gantt chart. The picture below shows a start to start relationship. Click OK when you have made the necessary adjustments More Links, Lead And Lag Times From the previous examples you have seen in the task information dialog, predecessors tab and in the task dependency dialog a box called lag this is a box allows you to fine tune these Link relationships by specifying Lag or Lead times as required.

You enter the lead time as a negative value Lag A Lag time is a delay between two tasks that are linked by a dependency. For example, if there must be a two-day delay between the finish of one task and the start of another, you can establish a finish-to-start dependency and specify two days of lag time for the successor task.

You enter the lag time as a positive value. Applying lead and lag time in the dialog boxes should now be easy but the method of entering it in the predecessors column may not be so obvious although it is the most efficient way of working with your links You may return to the standard Gantt view at any time by using the VIEW button and selecting a different view.

From this form the data relating to the specific task can be changed which includes progress information. Where progress data is being entered, Actual should be selected. Actual Start Date and time for the Task. Actual Completion date and time for the Task, if completed.

This box can set up a specific constraint on the start or end date for the task. There are a fixed number of choices which are shown in a list for selection. The priority relates to which tasks can be delayed. If nothing is entered, ID number is shown. This will be looked at in more depth later. It also includes boxes for Rollup and Hide Gantt Bar. Predecessors Shows any predecessors set and allows you to add others, change the relationship and introduce Lag or Lead time.

Resources You can add or modify resources plus change the task from being resource driven to fixed duration. Notes This allows you to add a note. This could be a fuller description of the task, allowing you to use a cryptic title. Custom Fields This allows you to add custom fields to the task.

We have already seen the use of the general and predecessors tabs in detail. In this section we will have a look at the advanced tab. Flexible Constraints Are constraints that are flexible and does not tie a task to a single date.

The default for most projects would be ASAP. Work with task dependencies to make a task occur as soon or as late as the task dependency will allow.

For example, a task with an As Soon As Possible ASAP constraint and a finish-to-start dependency will be scheduled as soon as the predecessor task finishes. By default, all tasks in a project that is scheduled from the start date have the ASAP constraint applied. If you change a task scheduling mode from manually scheduled to automatically scheduled, the task constraint will be set to As Late as Possible ALAP. Semi Flexible Constraints Constraints with moderate scheduling flexibility will restrict a task from starting or finishing before or after a date you choose.

For example, a task with a Start No Earlier Than SNET constraint for June 15 and a finish-to-start dependency to another task can begin June 15 if its predecessor is finished by June 15 or later if its predecessor finishes after June 15 , but it can't be scheduled before June With a SNET constraint applied, the successor task cannot begin before the constraint date, even if as shown here the predecessor task is completed before the constraint date. Inflexible Constraints Inflexible constraints are constraints that are inflexible because it ties a task to a date.

They override any task dependencies by default and restrict a task to a date you choose. For example, a task with a Must Start On MSO constraint for September 30 and a finish-to-start dependency to another task will always be scheduled for September 30 no matter whether its predecessor finishes early or late. If a task that is constrained to a date has a predecessor that finishes too late for the successor to begin on the date specified in the constraint, negative slack can occur.

If the deadline date passes and the task is not completed, Project will display a task indicator next to the task in the table. The deadline can also be displayed on the Gantt. The Indicators field is located to the right of the ID field and appears in a number of tables.

Deadlines don't usually affect task scheduling. They are used to indicate a target date you don't want to miss, without requiring you to set a task constraint that could affect scheduling if predecessor tasks change.

A task with a deadline is scheduled just like any other task, but when a task finishes after its deadline, Project displays a task indicator notifying you that the task has missed its deadline. Deadline dates can affect the total slack on tasks. If you enter a deadline date before the end of the task's total slack, total slack will be recalculated by using the deadline date rather than the task's late finish date.

The task becomes critical if the total slack reaches zero. You can set deadlines for summary tasks as well as individual tasks. If the summary task's deadline conflicts with any of the subtasks, the deadline indicator signifies a missed deadline among the subtasks. The task is scheduled to finish on the deadline date, though the task could still finish after its deadline if its predecessors slipped.

Click the Advanced tab. This is called inactivating the task. The task remains in the project plan, but does not affect resource availability, the project schedule, or how other tasks are scheduled. Why would you want to inactivate a task? For one thing, it can help you model the effects of schedule or resource constraints on the project without deleting tasks permanently.

Also, inactive tasks remain in the project plan, providing a record of cancelled tasks and enabling you to reactivate them if circumstances change. Instead, mark the tasks as completed.

In the table portion of the view, select the task or tasks you want to inactivate. The inactive task stays in the task list, but the text is dimmed and has a line through it. This method will work for any view containing a Gantt chart and a task list. Tick the checkbox if you prefer not to see this warning in the future. For example, a two-day task that cannot have contiguous work might be split so that the first day of work is scheduled for Monday, and the second day is scheduled for Thursday.

As you move the mouse cursor over the task on the Gantt the mouse cursor will have changed click on the task where you wish to split it and drag the cursor to the right to move the second part of the split task into the future. Drag the mouse cursor to the right until you connect to the second part of the task and let go of the mouse The task will join and have the same duration as the original task. What most project workers do not realise that could save themselves a lot of problems is the fact that these views can be treated as any other object and saved you could have several views of the Gantt chart for instance each showing your project with different aspects ready to be used and printed at the touch of a button The views, like tables can also be transferred to other projects and used in those to save time recreating them.

Split Views The first thing to look at with views is the split view which allows you to see related information in the bottom half of the main window while the normal project data is shown at the top the easiest way to use this is from the view ribbon. Views consist of more than just formatting and table columns they contain filters, sorting, groupings and split views if applied. In this section you will be shown how to create your own new view while subsequent sections show you how to further manipulate that view.

Save An Edited View Rarely are the views perfect for what you want and many times we need to edit the component parts of a view to get exactly what we want. You are advised that any time you wish to edit a view say the Gantt chart view you may at some time wish to revert to its default appearance so although this section is about editing an existing view create a new view first and edit that and the original views will be left untouched for future use.

All of the formatting choices shown so far are considered editing a view, bar styles, filters, groups, tables, text styles, resizing etc. When you have applied all these things to a Gantt for instance you may wish to keep that just as it is and revert at times to the original Gantt chart. Click on COPY Click OK to create the new view. Now edit the view formatting in the ways you want. Save the changes to the project. Transfer A View Transferring a view is much the same as transferring a table, filter, group, macro etc.

To have those editions reflect in the view within the global. Click the cross in the top right corner to close the dialog.

Microsoft Project is a software package designed help managers manage a variety. It provides a list of quick tips and shortcuts for familiar features. This guide does NOT replace training. Learn how to create a project, break. Mastering Microsoft Project B; 3 days, Instructor-led Course Description This three-day instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills plan and manage projects using Microsoft.

For the most part, teams manage projects. Project Management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to complete a specific goal.

Microsoft Project is software that helps you. What happens if I don't install a download manager? Why should I install the Microsoft Download Manager?

In this case, you will have to download the files individually. You would have the opportunity to download individual files on the "Thank you for downloading" page after completing your download. Files larger than 1 GB may take much longer to download and might not download correctly.

You might not be able to pause the active downloads or resume downloads that have failed. Help improve the project planning process by generating a project plan from a graphical work breakdown structure WBS using this Visio add-in in combination with Microsoft Project. Details Note: There are multiple files available for this download. Once you click on the "Download" button, you will be prompted to select the files you need. File Name:. Date Published:.