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Define: Task Status

Task Status: In Microsoft Project, the task status field represents the current state of each task.

The illustration below shows all the possible task states: Future Task, Late, On Schedule, and Complete.

 

 

How do tasks get into these states?
    1. Future Task:  When the task ‘Start’ date is in the future.
    2. Late: When the completed hours are less than what they should be by today.
    3. On Schedule: When the completed hours are >= to what they should be today.
    4. Complete: When the percent complete is 100%.

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Methods of Resource Allocation

I’ve recently been made aware of another method of resource allocation.  I’ll throw it out here to see what project managers think.  It’s a simpler method than the traditional task-based resource allocation.

Before getting into that, I’ll briefly describe the resource allocation method I am most familiar with.  In this method, resources are assigned to project tasks that have clearly defined durations and remaining hours. 

The tasks may also have starting and finish dates.  The resource allocation algorithm spreads the remaining task hours over the date range defined by the task.  If you have too many tasks, you are over-allocated.  Too few, and you are under-allocated.

The simpler method I became aware of doesn’t use tasks.  It also doesn’t use start and finish dates.  Projects are assumed to continue forever, and resources are assigned a percentage of their daily scheduled hours.  That’s it, nothing else.

In the simpler method, resources are over-allocated when they are assigned to so many projects that their daily hours are exhausted.  They are under-allocated when there are still a few hours left in their day.

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Define: Percent Complete

Percent Complete: The portion of a project task that has been finished.  Calculated by dividing the duration by the actual work.  In most cases, this the portion of the task with timesheet hours actually logged for.

Example: a 200-hour task with 50 hours logged is 25% complete.

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Utilization Reports

In a Professional Services company, how do you know if you are billing enough hours to be profitable?  One way is to check to see if you’re still in business.  If so, you’re billing enough hours!

Okay, that works.  But wouldn’t it be nice to tune your billable hours for maximum efficiency?  That’s what a utilization report does for you.  It checks the number of hours for billable vs. non-billable.  the image below is a snapshot of one employee’s rates.  Not bad, huh?

Utilization Report

There’s an unofficial law at our company: Either find a way to bill 50 hours a week, or look for a job elsewhere.

That’s the hard reality at some companies.  You can bet management is watching the utilization reports.  Of course, if they don’t they’ll probably go out of business themselves.

–newshirt

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Don’t look like a spammer

Here’s a small piece of advice registering as a user on this (or any other blog).  Don’t look like a spammer.  Because your account will get deleted for sure.  We won’t even ask first.

What do I mean by that?  Make sure you provide a little personal information about yourself.  Nothing that will get you into trouble, but enough to let us know you’re a human being instead of a spambot.  Spammers attack the blogs regularly, trying to register with fake names so they can post “comments,” which are really just ads for crap.  Its a despicable practice, one that requires a complete lack of integrity and moral backbone.  But hey, if your in the spam biz, you don’t have those luxuries.

–admin

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Inaugural Post

Thank you for visiting projectteamblog.com!  This is our inaugural post, and we’re happy you’ve joined us.

This blog is dedicated to project teams.  We work with teams every day, developing project management products for them, and supporting them.  We work with executives, project managers, engineers, and all types of employees.

Our specialties are project plans, managing resources, and tracking projects.  Companies use projects to bill clients, develop products, build in-house tools, service customers, implement software, and plenty of other reasons.  Sometimes project costs are most important, sometimes completion time, and sometimes employee allocation.  Everyone uses projects for different reasons.  We recognize that, and will try to address our readers interests.  Please feel free to suggest topics you are interested in.

We know you’re busy, so we’ll try to keep our posts brief.  Feel free to drop by any time.  And good luck in your business!

–ray