Forum Discussion
How to assess impact of overtime on a project
I have set up what I think is a relatively simple 2013 project using the default settings. I start with some manually scheduled milestones at the beginning followed by a bunch of auto-scheduled tas...
- db8673,
There are three levels of calendar in Project. The Project calendar (Project > Properties group > Project Information) is the "master", all resources and tasks follow that calendar unless changed by the next two items. The project calendar is represented by a "none" in the Task Calendar field when added as a column in the Gantt Chart view.
A task can have a separate calendar and that is set either via the Task Calendar field (Gantt Chart view) or in the Advanced tab of the Task Information window.
A custom resource calendar is created by selecting the resource (e.g. Resource Sheet) and then selecting Project > Properties group > Change working time. Once a custom resource calendar is created, select it as the Base Calendar for that resource. Unlike tasks, the default Base Calendar for resources is directly specified (e.g. Standard) rather than simply showing "none" as is the case with tasks.
You can see custom project and task calendars when you look at the Calendars tab of the Organizer but you will NOT see custom resource calendars.
Unless most of your tasks or resources follow the Standard calendar, I suggest you make your custom 10h day custom calendar as the project calendar. That covers everything but, if you need further customization of work days/times for tasks and/or resources, create and apply those as noted above.
John
John-project
Good news for me: In terms of the overall schedule and the impact on the project end date, creating and applying a custom calendar seems to have had the desired effect: I created a copy of the standard calendar, changed the working times to reflect a 10hr day, and applied that to the resource. The start and end dates for each task were shortened, as was the overall project length. Interestingly enough, though, the duration of each task remains the same (even though the start and finish dates now reflect a shorter duration, which I find confusing). I suspect this is because the custom calendar is applied only to the resource and not the task.
Even though you suggested modifying the default calendar is not good practice, I tried combining these two things (modifying the base calendar to 10hrs/day, and applying the custom 10hr/day calendar to the resource) and the desired effect has been achieved: the duration for each task is shortened, the start and finish dates reflect the shorter duration, and the overall length of the project is reduced.
Although this is working, I wonder if there is a better way? Again, greatly appreciate the help.
Good news for me: In terms of the overall schedule and the impact on the project end date, creating and applying a custom calendar seems to have had the desired effect: I created a copy of the standard calendar, changed the working times to reflect a 10hr day, and applied that to the resource. The start and end dates for each task were shortened, as was the overall project length. Interestingly enough, though, the duration of each task remains the same (even though the start and finish dates now reflect a shorter duration, which I find confusing). I suspect this is because the custom calendar is applied only to the resource and not the task.
Even though you suggested modifying the default calendar is not good practice, I tried combining these two things (modifying the base calendar to 10hrs/day, and applying the custom 10hr/day calendar to the resource) and the desired effect has been achieved: the duration for each task is shortened, the start and finish dates reflect the shorter duration, and the overall length of the project is reduced.
Although this is working, I wonder if there is a better way? Again, greatly appreciate the help.
db8673,
There are three levels of calendar in Project. The Project calendar (Project > Properties group > Project Information) is the "master", all resources and tasks follow that calendar unless changed by the next two items. The project calendar is represented by a "none" in the Task Calendar field when added as a column in the Gantt Chart view.
A task can have a separate calendar and that is set either via the Task Calendar field (Gantt Chart view) or in the Advanced tab of the Task Information window.
A custom resource calendar is created by selecting the resource (e.g. Resource Sheet) and then selecting Project > Properties group > Change working time. Once a custom resource calendar is created, select it as the Base Calendar for that resource. Unlike tasks, the default Base Calendar for resources is directly specified (e.g. Standard) rather than simply showing "none" as is the case with tasks.
You can see custom project and task calendars when you look at the Calendars tab of the Organizer but you will NOT see custom resource calendars.
Unless most of your tasks or resources follow the Standard calendar, I suggest you make your custom 10h day custom calendar as the project calendar. That covers everything but, if you need further customization of work days/times for tasks and/or resources, create and apply those as noted above.
John
There are three levels of calendar in Project. The Project calendar (Project > Properties group > Project Information) is the "master", all resources and tasks follow that calendar unless changed by the next two items. The project calendar is represented by a "none" in the Task Calendar field when added as a column in the Gantt Chart view.
A task can have a separate calendar and that is set either via the Task Calendar field (Gantt Chart view) or in the Advanced tab of the Task Information window.
A custom resource calendar is created by selecting the resource (e.g. Resource Sheet) and then selecting Project > Properties group > Change working time. Once a custom resource calendar is created, select it as the Base Calendar for that resource. Unlike tasks, the default Base Calendar for resources is directly specified (e.g. Standard) rather than simply showing "none" as is the case with tasks.
You can see custom project and task calendars when you look at the Calendars tab of the Organizer but you will NOT see custom resource calendars.
Unless most of your tasks or resources follow the Standard calendar, I suggest you make your custom 10h day custom calendar as the project calendar. That covers everything but, if you need further customization of work days/times for tasks and/or resources, create and apply those as noted above.
John
