Project Planning
The first tab (PLAN) in the project card contains the project plan. It provides a flexible representation of the project tasks (work breakdown structure), the resulting Gantt chart and the project resources.
The project resources are displayed in detail via the PERSONS tab, while the project details are displayed via the DETAILS tab.
- Tasks in the project plan
This is a hierarchical breakdown of the project scope into smaller and more manageable components. It shows the relationship and dependencies between the project elements (e.g. tasks, milestones and resources). It helps to define the individual tasks in the project, allocate resources and estimate the duration and budget of the project. Gantt chart
The Gantt chart graphically depicts the project schedule. It shows the start and end date and therefore the duration of the tasks as well as the dependencies and restrictions between them. It helps to visualize the project schedule and monitor progress. Project resources
The project resources represent the people working on the project. People are assigned to tasks. Both capacity and qualifications play a role here.
The tasks and the Gantt chart are displayed next to each other. By activating the Show resources button, the project resources including their utilization also appear in the lower area of the window. The separators between the respective areas (project tasks and Gantt chart and also the project resources) can be moved individually using the cursor.
A double arrow (<>) appears on the vertical separators between tasks and the Gantt chart or the project resources and their utilization when the cursor is moved over them. When you click on one of the two arrows, the corresponding area is maximized and the button is then displayed at the edge of the screen. If you click on the arrow again (in the other direction), the previous display is restored.
Project plan
The action NEW (Alt+N) creates a new task in the project plan. The consecutive number and the level of the work breakdown structure are assigned automatically. This is also the case if the sorting of the rows is adjusted manually by moving (holding down at the start of the row), i.e. the number and level are updated. Right-click on a process to open a selection for editing (copy, delete, indent, etc.).
Alternatively, a new line can also be created using the PLUS button between WBS and Mode. This button appears when you move the cursor over the position.
The Mode is taken from the Project details, but can be changed by double-clicking in the field. There are three different modes (Fixed duration, Manual and Auto) to choose from (details see below).
The settings in the Mode field are a summary of several planning parameters that can also be set manually for each task via the Advanced tab (see below).
The following default settings are made in detail:
- Scheduled with fixed duration
- Scheduling mode: Fixed duration
- Effort driven: Yes
- Manually scheduled: No
- Consequence: The duration of the task remains unchanged in any case. The project plan automatically calculates the start and end time of the task based on its position in the plan and the dependencies on other tasks.
- Manually scheduled
- Scheduling mode: Fixed duration
- Effort driven: Yes
- Manually scheduled: Yes
- Consequence: The duration of the task remains unchanged in any case. In addition, the set start and end times are not calculated. This mode is suitable, for example, for milestones that are to be fixed to a point in time.
- Auto scheduled
- Scheduling mode: Fixed duration
- Effort driven: No
- Manually scheduled: No
- Consequence: The duration, start and end parameters are calculated by the project plan. The start and end time of the task is calculated based on its position in the plan and the dependencies to other activities. The duration is calculated based on the effort and the assigned resource capacity.
The Scheduling mode Fixed duration is therefore always preset for each Mode.
The Name is freely assigned by the user. A normal task is represented by a dot in front of the name. However, it is also possible to indent one or more tasks via the context menu (right-click). Instead of the dot, the superordinate task receives an arrow to expand the associated tasks and thus becomes a summary task. Automatically planned tasks are aligned with their summary task. However, this differs from a mandatory chronological sequence (Predecessor, see below).
The Effort describes the effort or time required for this task. The Duration represents the period of time in which the effort is made. Depending on the scheduling mode, it is possible that one or both fields will be recalculated at a later point in time - e.g. when a resource is added. Start (and End - hidden by default) express the duration of the task as a date range.
The Assigned Resource field shows the abbreviations of the resources that are intended for this task. Additional resources can also be added via the lookup in the field.
The Predecessor indicates which task in the project plan must precede the processing. The selection can be made via the selection menu or by entering the work breakdown structure number (WBS number). Normally, end-to-start is assumed, i.e. the previous task must be completed before the next one is started. In principle, however, other types of dependencies are also possible.
The Skill is used to define whether and, if so, which skills are required to complete the task.
The Budget and Remaining Budget fields are related in terms of content. If a Project from Business Central is assigned in the Project details, budgets can be selected and allocated for collective and individual tasks in the form of Project Tasks and Project Planning lines. The remaining budget (Remaining Budget) is then calculated based on the time recordings made.
Recorded % calculates the percentage of Time Recordings for this specific task in relation to the total effort for this task (Effort column).
Edit project task
Each task has a context menu which can be called up using the right mouse button. The Edit action opens a new window with several tabs.
The General tab contains most of the information that is also displayed in the project task.
The Predecessor, Successor and Resources tabs allow detailed fine-tuning such as types of predecessor and successor relationships and delays between tasks.
In the Advanced tab, detailed specifications can be made that control the effects of the activity on the calculation of the project plan.
Scheduling mode (Advanced)
An activity can be planned either automatically or manually. This is defined by the Manually planned indicator. Manually planned operations are not taken into account by automatic rescheduling and must therefore be adjusted manually by the user.
Tasks to be automatically planned are updated with regard to their start and end dates and based on their possible restrictions, links and position in the project plan. This means that the start date and end date may be recalculated.
The scheduling mode specifies how the properties of the task depend on each other. It determines which properties are fixed (specified by the user) and which are to be calculated.
There are basically four scheduling modes available:
- Normal
- Fixed Duration
- Fixed Units
- Fixed Effort
In addition, there is the Effort driven indicator, with which the effort of the task can be fixed. If it is set, it instructs the task to retain its effort and recalculate other properties instead.
By changing one of the fields in the Advanced tab, the Mode is set to empty. This indicates that manual changes have been made to the way the task is calculated.
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Normal
In Normal mode, the task is scheduled based on the information about its start/end date. The effort is not calculated in this mode. This mode is always used for collective tasks. The Effort driven indicator is not used in this mode. -
Fixed Duration
The Fixed Duration mode means that the task has a fixed start and end date and a fixed duration, but its effort is calculated dynamically based on the allocated resources. A typical example of such a task is a meeting. Meetings usually have predefined start and end dates, and the more people attend the meeting, the more effort is spent on the event. If the duration of such an event increases, its effort also increases. Changes to the effort of such an task lead to a recalculation of the allocated units and vice versa (changes to the allocated units lead to a recalculation of the effort). Activating Effort driven for an activity changes this behavior and forces the activity to recalculate its assigned units whenever the activity changes its duration or effort.
Note: The calculations in this mode only work if at least one resource is assigned to the task. -
Fixed Units
The Fixed Units mode means that the task has permanently assigned units and a fixed duration or a fixed effort. Changes to the effort of such a task lead to a recalculation of the duration and vice versa (a change to the duration leads to a recalculation of the effort). Changes to the assigned units of such an operation lead to a recalculation of the effort and duration if the Effort driven indicator is activated.
Note: The calculations in this mode only work if at least one resource is assigned to the task. -
Fixed Effort
The Fixed Effort mode means that the task has a fixed effort and a fixed calculated duration. The more resources assigned to the task, the shorter the duration. It is typically used for tasks that can be easily scaled and processed by several people. An example of a task of this type is painting walls - several painters will complete this more quickly. Activating the Effort driven flag makes no sense in this mode.
Note: The calculations in this mode only work if at least one resource is assigned to the task.
Gantt chart
In the Gantt chart, the chronological sequence of tasks is displayed graphically on a time axis. The zoom level can be changed using the familiar control elements. Collective tasks visually span their subordinate individual tasks.
Milestones are tasks without a duration. They are displayed as a diamond. A milestone is initially created like a normal task and can have predecessors and successors. It becomes a milestone when its duration is set to 0. Alternatively, it can be converted to a milestone via the context menu (right-click). In this case, the duration is set to 0, but the effort remains the same.
Although it is not possible to add new activities within the Gantt chart, the NEW action creates a new task in the project plan, which is then immediately displayed.
Depending on the scheduling mode, the user can change the length of a task at the start or end of the element. This change is immediately applied to the duration of the task. If a connecting line is also drawn with the cursor between the end of a task and the start of another task, this creates a dependency between the two, which is also reflected in the Predecessor field of the work breakdown structure.
The Recorded % field is reflected in the coloring of the bar.
Project resources
Once the project plan has been created, the project team must be put together and the people for processing individual tasks must then be planned. By activating the Show Resources button, a new area is displayed at the bottom of the page. To put together the project team, resources must be added to the project here.
When the ADD action is called up, a new window opens showing all the resources of the Business Central company. A distinction can be made here between real persons and placeholders.
In DYCE Project Billing, resources can be marked as placeholders. In contrast to persons (blue symbol), placeholders are displayed with a green symbol. In principle, they behave like normal resources. However, assigning a placeholder to a task does not reduce its required capacity.
Persons and placeholders can be filtered using a full text search. This also includes skills. To transfer to the project team, the relevant data records are selected via the selection field and the page is closed with the Add action.
Assign resources
One or more people can be assigned to each task. The assignment is made either by selection via the Assigned Resource field in the project plan or using the mouse via drag & drop.
To determine a suitable resource from the project team for a task, click on the Skill in the project plan to use this as a filter for the resources. If there is no resource in the team that matches the required qualification, it must first be determined and added. Placeholders can also be used first. Before assigning a resource to a task, the capacity should first be checked. The resource can then be dragged to the task with the mouse and dropped there (drag & drop) or selected in the project plan via the Assigned Resource field. The effect on the capacity is immediately recalculated and displayed.
Placeholders are always used if no specific person can yet be named or planned for a task. It is advisable to replace the placeholders with suitable persons as the project planning progresses. Ideally, placeholders should be replaced in the PERSONS tab. On this page, the placeholders are displayed in the upper area (if Show Placeholders is activated) and the real persons are displayed in the lower area. At the same time, the right-hand side of the page shows for each placeholder which tasks are currently planned for the placeholder.
When replacing a placeholder with a real person, the filter for a possible skill can be used again. The easiest way to replace is to move the task from the placeholder to the person on the right-hand side of the page using the mouse (drag & drop). Placeholders without planned tasks can be deleted via the context menu.
Release resource bottlenecks
There are several ways to resolve conflicts or resource bottlenecks. Firstly, additional people can be assigned to a task. This distributes the total workload across all assigned persons. Alternatively, it is possible to extend the task. This distributes the effort over a longer period and thus reduces the effort per person and time unit.
A detailed analysis can be found on the page Persons. Similar to the tasks in the project plan, people with only one planned task are displayed with a dot in front of their name. If a person is planned for several tasks, this is indicated by an arrow in front of the name. The tasks can be expanded by clicking on the arrow. This allows you to determine which projects or tasks the person is planned for, where the workload comes from and what needs to be done to release the conflict. The project associated with a task can be opened by clicking on the respective task.
Assign Budgets
Budgets from Business Central can be linked anywhere in the project plan. The budgets correspond to the Project Planning lines. The procedure therefore roughly depends on the structure in which the Project Planning lines are created. If, for example, these represent rather rough budgets, it makes sense to assign these budgets to the collective tasks. The time recordings for all tasks below the summary tasks are automatically linked to the parent budget. The budget is assigned by making a selection in the Budget field.
The values in the Remaining Budget and Recorded % fields are displayed or updated at the moment the budget is assigned. During the course of the project, these values are continuously updated by Time Recordings of the project team members.
Time Recordings
In DYCE Time Tracking, the page Tasks shows all tasks for which the logged-in user is scheduled. The search field can be used to restrict the display accordingly. A new time recording can be started using the button of the same name. The time recording mask opens, in which the Customer, Project and Project task fields are already predefined. In addition to the description and duration, only the Activity needs to be selected. The time entered is immediately displayed as progress in the project plan under the related budget. The remaining budget (Remaining Budget) and the progress (Recorded %) are updated. At the same time, the progress (quantitative) is also shown in the Gantt chart as a dark-colored area of the bar.