Top Down and Forward Planning in Microsoft Project
Top down and Forward Planning in Project should be done using the Automatic scheduling set up.
Automatic and Manual Project Scheduling
Automatically scheduled tasks are created in Microsoft Project with an estimated duration of one day.
This is a default setting which can be changed to reflect the actual duration of the task.
There are two Microsoft Project settings used for scheduling tasks. Manually scheduled tasks are the default, meaning that new tasks must be manually scheduled and do not have any default duration preset. Automatically scheduled tasks setting allows for all new tasks to show default duration.
To change the scheduling setting to automatically scheduled:
1. In the Tasks tab, in the Tasks group, click Auto Schedule.
Another way to switch between the Manual and Auto selection is to click on the bottom of the project window, just above the task bar. A box will appear in which you can select Automatic or Manual scheduling.
Switching between Manual and Automatic scheduling
Create Summary Tasks
Starting a new project can be a monotonous task. A procedure that makes creating the project schedule easier is to assign very high level Summary Tasks that must be completed before finishing the project. Each high level task is then assigned an estimate of how long it will take to complete. This estimate could be a budgeted amount of available time that can be devoted to this project. This is an example of not knowing the specific smaller tasks that will be required, but only the total time allotted for the assignment.
1. On the View tab, in the Task Views group, click the Gantt Chart.
2. Enter a task name that will be used as the summary task
3. In the Duration field of this summary task, enter a duration.
Enter a start date or finish date for a phase if you do not know exactly how long that particular phase will last. A start of finish date will be required in order to create a top down phase. This information may not be available immediately, but a note should be made to enter the information later to ensure proper scheduling.
Adding Subtasks below Summary Tasks
Breaking down each of the Summary Tasks into smaller Subtasks is the next step. Essentially, this is how we break the project into smaller workable pieces. After a list of Summary tasks is created, subtasks can be entered under each one, to describe all the assignments required to complete the specific summary task.
1. Enter each Subtask as a new task beneath the summary task.
2. After all subtasks are entered, select all the subtasks tasks beneath a particular summary task and indent them.
Indent a group of tasks to create subtasks
Time Durations of Summary Tasks and Subtasks
When using the summary task list, the subtasks are not included in the time allotted for the summary task. This information is been entered separately when entering the Summary task information, and also when entering the subtask information. Project will add the total of the subtasks, and will flag you if their duration is longer than the time allotted by the summary task.
If the total of the subtasks is the same or less than the total duration for the summary task, then you will be on schedule. If the duration for the subtasks is longer than the allotted time for the summary task, then some adjustments will be necessary to keep the project on schedule. A trade off will need to be determined if feasible, to either include more resources in order to finish a specific task sooner, change the resources (experienced workers can work faster), or even to reduce the list of subtasks listed in the project.
Methods used for adjusting a top down schedule can be as follows:
Schedule by an end date – When only one end/finish date is entered, project will try to arrange the subtasks under the summary task to align with the specified finish date.
Schedule by start date – When only a start date is entered, project will arrange the subtasks sequentially with the summary task start date.
Move a subtask outside of the summary task range –
When a subtask is flagged because it falls outside of the specified time for the summary task, this can be corrected by simply dragging the subtask outside of the summary task duration.
Adjust the duration of the Summary Task – If the total time of the subtasks does not equal the summary task, a check of the individual task durations may verify that the duration for the Summary task needs to be adjusted to reflect reality.
Change resources assigned to a task – To improve the expected completion date, it may be necessary to change the assigned resource to someone of a subcontractor who is more experienced. This solution may have extra costs involved, and will need to be verified against the budget.
Change the Budget – If there is no other solution, there may be a necessity to adjust the allotted budget for a summary task/subtask. This could be a budget of money, or a budget of time available. For example, a workgroup may need to increase their availability to the project.
Simon Calder
Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA.He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!
