Asta PowerProject Tutorial

Asta Powerproject Tutorial

Asta Development plc Kingston House 5 Goodsons Mews Wellington Street Thame OX9 3BX

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+44 (0)1844 261700

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+44 (0)1844 261314

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www.astadev.com

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[email protected]


Asta Powerproject Tutorial Copyright Copyright © 2006 Asta Development plc. All rights reserved.

Trademarks Asta Powerproject and Asta Powerdraw are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Asta Development plc. Microsoft, Visual Basic and Windows are with registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States or in other countries. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation. All other trademarks are acknowledged. acknowledged.

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Asta Development plc


Table of contents 1

Intro Introduc ductio tion... n...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... .....7 ..7

2

Instal Installin ling g Asta Asta Power Powerpro projec jectt ...... ......... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ....9 .9

2.1 Instal Installin ling g Asta Asta Powe Powerpr rproje oject ct as a stand standalo alone ne application..............................................................................9 2.2

Starting Starting Asta Powerpro Powerproject........ ject.............. ........... ........... ............ ............ ..........10 ....10

2.3

Licensing Licensing Asta Powerproj Powerproject ect ............ ................. ........... ............ ............ .........10 ...10

2.4

Getting Getting Help........ Help.............. ............ ............ ............ ........... ........... ............ ............ ............ .........10 ...10

3

Creati Creating ng your your first first proje project ct ...... ......... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......1 ...11 1

3.1

Creating Creating a new project project ............ ................. ........... ............ ............ ............ ........... ......11 .11

3.2

Creating Creating your first task ............ .................. ............ ............ ........... ........... ............1 ......13 3

3.3

Chang Changing ing the the scale scale of the bar bar chart chart ...... ......... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...14 14

3.4

Creati Creating ng a task task by by drawin drawing g on the the bar bar chart chart ...... ......... ...... .....1 ..15 5

3.5

Copying Copying and pasting pasting bars......... bars............... ............ ........... ........... ............ ...........1 .....16 6

3.6

Editing Editing the duration duration of tasks................ tasks...................... ............ ............ ...........1 .....16 6

3.7

Unders Understan tandi ding ng working working and and elapsed elapsed time time ...... ......... ...... ...... ...... ...17 17

3.8

Moving Moving tasks on the bar chart chart ........... ................. ........... ........... ............ ........17 ..17

3.9

Drawing Drawing multiple multiple tasks on a bar ............ .................. ............ ............ .........18 ...18

3.10 Linking Linking tasks........... tasks................ ........... ............ ........... ........... ............ ............ ........... ........... .......19 .19 3.11 Reschedul Rescheduling ing your project......... project............... ............ ........... ........... ............ ..........20 ....20 3.12 Undoing Undoing and redoing redoing actions..... actions........... ........... ........... ............ ............ ..........20 ....20 3.13 Adding Adding a bar in the middle middle of your your project........ project.............. ..........20 ....20 3.14 Formatting Formatting the bar chart chart ............ ................. ........... ............ ........... ........... ...........2 .....21 1 3.15 Marking Marking importan importantt events as milestones........ milestones.............. ............2 ......22 2 3.16 Annotatin Annotating g your project project ........... ................. ............ ............ ........... ........... ............2 ......23 3 3.17 Choosing Choosing when to display display annotatio annotations....... ns............. ............ ..........23 ....23 3.18 Saving Saving your project...... project............ ............ ........... ........... ............ ........... ........... ............ .......23 .23 4

Crea Creatin ting g a prog progra ramm mme e of proj projec ects ts.. .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....2 ..25 5

4.1

Ways of organisi organising ng projects projects ............ .................. ............ ............ ............ .........25 ...25 Asta Powerproject standalone....................................25 standalone....................................25 Multi-user environment environment ...............................................25

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4.2

Starting Starting the tutorial tutorial at this this chapter.... chapter.......... ........... ........... ............ .........25 ...25

4.3

Moving Moving your your projec projectt into a subcha subchart rt ...... ......... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...26 26

4.4

Copying Copying a subch subchart.. art........ ............ ........... ........... ............ ............ ........... ........... ...........2 .....27 7

4.5

Indica Indicatin ting g that subcha subcharts rts repres represen entt project projects s ...... ......... ...... .....2 ..27 7

4.6

Defini Defining ng users users and access access rights rights ...... ......... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ....28 .28

5

Categ Categori orisin sing g your your tasks tasks ...... ......... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ......3 ...35 5

5.1

Ways of using code libraries libraries ............ .................. ............ ............ ............ ........35 ..35

5.2

Starting Starting the tutorial tutorial at this this chapter.... chapter.......... ........... ........... ............ .........35 ...35

5.3

Creating Creating code libraries libraries ........... ................. ............ ............ ............ ............ ............3 ......36 6

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5.4

Assigning codes to tasks............................................37

5.5

Displaying different code libraries ..............................38

5.6

Filtering information using code libraries....................39

5.7

Using filters to automate annotations.........................42

5.8

More about views .......................................................44

6

Creating and assigning resources .........................45

6.1

Introduction to resource management........................45

6.2

Starting the tutorial at this chapter..............................46

6.3

Creating a resource library .........................................46 Creating consumable resources.................................46 Creating permanent resources...................................47 Assigning multiple skills to a permanent resource .....47

6.4

Assigning demand resources to tasks........................48

6.5

Viewing a histogram of resource allocations..............49

6.6

Satisfying demand allocations....................................51

6.7

Dealing with over-allocation .......................................52

6.8 Viewing the results of resource allocations in other projects.................................................................................56 7

Managing costs ........................................................59

7.1

Introduction to costs ...................................................59

7.2


7.3

Creating a cost centre library .....................................60

7.4

Setting up your cost centres.......................................60

7.5

Assigning direct costs to tasks ...................................63 Viewing the cost of an allocation ................................63

7.6

Assigning costs to permanent resources ...................65 Creating cost and income rates..................................65 Assigning cost and income rates to permanent resources....................................................................66

7.7

Assigning costs to consumable resources .................68

7.8

Viewing cost and income information.........................70

8

Progressing projects................................................71

8.1

Ways of progressing projects .....................................71

8.2


8.3

Creating progress periods ..........................................72

8.4

Baselining your projects .............................................74

8.5

Recording progress ....................................................75 Marking progress up to a specific date.......................76 Marking a precise amount of progress .......................78 Progressing a task from its allocations.......................80

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8.6 Comparing the progressed project with the original baseline................................................................................81 8.7

Completing your project .............................................82

8.8

Recording progress remotely .....................................83

8.9

Viewing progress remotely.........................................83

9

Printing project information ....................................85

9.1

What Asta Powerproject prints ...................................85

9.2

Understanding border files .........................................85

9.3


9.4

Preparing to print ........................................................86

9.5

Previewing and printing..............................................86

9.6

Printing on multiple pages ..........................................87

9.7

Other output options...................................................88

10

Producing reports ....................................................89

10.1 Introduction to tabular reports ....................................89 10.2 Starting the tutorial at this chapter..............................90 10.3 Creating a tabular report category..............................90 10.4 Creating a tabular report ............................................90 10.5 Executing a tabular report ..........................................91 10.6 Conclusion..................................................................92

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Introduction

1

Introduction This guide is intended to help you as you work with Asta Powerproject™ for the first time. It introduces you to the key features and enables you to get up and running with Asta Powerproject quickly. While completing these lessons, you will learn how to use Asta Powerproject to mirror the complex array of activities, resources and costs that are involved in a programme of projects We recommend that you work through the chapters of this tutorial in order, which should take between 2-3 hours, depending on your level of experience in working with project and programme management software, your familiarity with project management, etc. However, you can also work through individual sections of the tutorial on their own. To enable you to do this, a number of Asta Powerproject project files are located in the \Tutorial Project Files\ folder on the Asta Powerproject CD. To start at a particular section of the tutorial, simply open the appropriate project file from this folder, then work through the section This guide contains the following chapters:  Introduction – the chapter you are currently reading,

introducing you to this guide.  Installing Asta Powerproject – explains how to set up

Asta Powerproject as a standalone application.  Creating your first project – explains how to get started

quickly with Asta Powerproject by cr eating a project and populating it with basic information.  Creating a programme of projects – explains how to

build up a programme of projects.  Categorising your tasks – explains how to colour-code

the information within your projects so that their appearance represents something relevant to you.  Creating and assigning resources – explains how to

create a pool of resources for use within your programme of projects.  Managing costs – explains how to set up cost centres

and work with direct costs and resource costs within your programme of projects.  Progressing projects – explains how to record the

progress of your programme of projects in order to keep your project information up to date.  Printing project information – explains how to print

project information from within Asta Powerproject.  Producing reports – explains how to produce reports on

your Asta Powerproject project data.

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Installing Asta Powerproject

2

Installing Asta Powerproject This chapter explains how to install Asta Powerproject as a standalone application. Asta Powerproject can act as a fullyscalable real time multi-user application, enabling any number of users to work with multiple projects at the same time, via a LAN, WAN or over the internet. However, in this instance, you will be using Asta Powerproject as a standalone application. This chapter includes the following information:  Installing Asta Powerproject as a standalone application.  Starting Asta Powerproject.  Licensing Asta Powerproject.  Getting Help.

2.1

Installing Asta Powerproject as a standalone application To install and run Asta Powerproject as a standalone application, you will need a computer running Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT4 (service release 3 or above), 2000 or later. The minimum requirements are:  Processor: Pentium® 120 MHz (166 MHz

recommended).  RAM: 32 Mb (64 Mb recommended; Windows NT4 users

are recommended to have a further 16 Mb).  At least 50 Mb of free disk space.  VGA display adaptor and monitor capable of 640x480

resolution (SVGA recommended).  CD-ROM drive.  Mouse or other pointing device.

To install Asta Powerproject:

1. Run Windows. 2. Insert the Asta Powerproject CD into your computer's CD drive. After a few moments, the setup program will appear.

3. Choose to install Asta Powerproject then follow the screen instructions to complete the installation. At the end of the installation procedure, a new program folder containing shortcuts to Asta Powerproject and any accessories is added to the Windows Start menu.

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2.2

Starting Asta Powerproject There are several ways that you can run programs from Windows; some of the most common techniques are described below. Refer to your Windows documentation for full details of all the techniques available. To run Asta Powerproject, do either of the following:  Select Asta Powerproject from the Programs – Asta

Powerproject folder in the Start menu.  Double-click on a .pp file to open it within Asta

Powerproject. After a few moments the Asta Powerproject program window opens.

2.3

Licensing Asta Powerproject Each copy of Asta Powerproject comes with an initial 30 days' free trial. When you first start Asta Powerproject, you are given the opportunity to license the software. If you have purchased Asta Powerproject, select the License – License software command from the Help menu to fully license the software. Full details of licensing Asta Powerproject are provided in the Asta Powerproject online Help.

2.4

Getting Help While you work with Asta Powerproject, Help is just a click away. You can access Asta Powerproject’s online Help in the following ways:  To access Help on a dialog or about what is currently

displayed on the screen, press F1.  To access Help on a particular field, click

or

then click the field on which you want Help.  To access Help on an area of the screen, click

then

click on the area on which you want Help.

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Creating your first project

3

Creating your first project This chapter explains how to get started quickly with Asta Powerproject by creating a project and populating it with basic information. By following the steps outlined in this chapter, you will see how simple it is to build up projects quickly and accurately. Before you begin this chapter, make sure that you have installed and started Asta Powerproject, as described in the previous chapter. This chapter includes the following information:  Creating a new project.  Creating your first task.  Changing the scale of the bar chart.  Creating a task by drawing on the bar chart.  Copying and pasting bars.  Editing the duration of tasks.  Understanding elapsed and working time.  Moving tasks on the bar chart.  Drawing multiple tasks on a bar.  Linking tasks.  Rescheduling your project.  Undoing and redoing actions.  Adding a bar in the middle of your project.  Formatting the bar chart.  Marking important events as milestones.  Annotating your project.  Saving your project.

3.1

Creating a new project To create a new project:

1. Select the New command from the File menu. You see the New Project Wizard:

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You can use the New Project Wizard to base a new project on an existing project that you have saved as a template. This saves you from having to enter the same information more than once if you are cr eating a programme of projects that share a similar base of information. In this case, you will base your new project on the Construction Template, so select Construction Template.pp in the Select a template file field.

2. Enter Tutorial.pp in the File location field. 3. Enter Asta

Powerproject Tutorial in the Name

field.

4. Click OK to create your project and close the New Project Wizard. A window opens displaying the spreadsheet and bar chart of the new project:

spreadsheet

bar chart

The spreadsheet displays information about the tasks and allocations in your projects. Like many aspects of Asta Powerproject, it is fully-customisable. You can choose the information that is displayed in the spreadsheet and display as many columns as you like.

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The bar chart displays tasks and allocations graphically, in a familiar gantt chart view. Like the spreadsheet, you can customise virtually any aspect of the bar chart to display information in a way that suits you. Notice also that Asta Powerproject’s menus and toolbars are based on Microsoft Office menus and toolbars. This makes it easier for users to get to grips with Asta Powerproject. As with Microsoft Office, Asta Powerproject’s menus and toolbars are fully-customisable and dockable. Another element of the Asta Powerproject window, which is not displayed at the moment, is the project view. The project view provides a way of navigating around your programme of projects and a common resource pool, from which you can apply resources to the tasks in your projects. Display the project view now, by selecting the Project View command from the View menu. It appears to the left of the spreadsheet:

project view

spreadsheet

bar chart

3.2

Creating your first task You can create tasks by typing in the spreadsheet or drawing on the bar chart to show the start, end and duration of an activity. In this lesson you will create a task by typing in the spreadsheet. You can configure Asta Powerproject so that when you type in the spreadsheet, a task is not created automatically in the bar chart. This enables you to apply names to bars that do not have any tasks and use them as subheadings. Before you create your first task, you will check that Asta Powerproject is configured to create a task in the bar chart when you type in the spreadsheet:

1. Select the Options command from the Tools menu. The Options dialog appears.

2. Click the Edit tab. 3. Ensure that the Create task radio button against the When inserting by spreadsheet field in the Tasks group is selected; if it is not, click it to select it.

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4. Click Close. The Options dialog disappears. To create a task by typing in the spreadsheet:

1. Move the cursor into the Name column on the spreadsheet.

2. Move the cursor over the first bar in the Name column, then click. A text insertion line appears, indicating where the task name will appear when you start typing.

3. Enter Task

1, then click the bar chart to finish editing.

Notice that a task is created on bar 1, starting on today's date, and that the task's duration is 1 week – ie 5 working days:  1 week is the default

duration of a task. You can change the default to any other length of time.

3.3

You can configure Asta Powerproject so that when you type in the spreadsheet, a task is not created automatically in the bar chart. This enables you to apply names to bars that do not have any tasks and use them as subheadings.

Changing the scale of the bar chart The task may not appear as large as it does in the illustration above, depending on the current scale of your bar chart. The date zone appears at the top of the bar chart and gives scale to your projects. You can change the scale of the bar chart instantly by dragging the date zone. To change the scale of the bar chart:

1. Place the cursor over a tick line (the small red vertical lines) in the date zone so that the cursor changes to

.

2. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the tick line to the right. The date zone redraws as you drag, so that you can see the effect of your changes immediately.  You may have to use

the scroll bars to move along the date zone in between your drags to keep the task in view.

3. Release the drag when the task appears approximately the same size as the picture above. Notice how the appearance of the task has changed, but its duration remains 1 week. This is because you have altered the scale of the bar chart, not the duration of the task. You can display up to three scale zones on the bar chart, and display information using a different scale in each zone. For example, you could display zones representing the past, present and future, in which information relating to the past and future is displayed using a small scale and information relating to the present is displayed using a large scale (in detail), as illustrated below:

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The date zone is configurable: you can choose the lines that appear in it and reorder their position. Your date zone may contain different lines to the ones that appear in this guide. You will now configure the date zone so that it includes the line that shows the days of the week:

1. Right-click the bottom line of the date zone. 2. Select the Insert Line submenu, then select the Days (Monday, Tue…) command. The new line appears in your date zone above the bottom line. If the new line only displays tick lines and you cannot actually see the days of the week, this is because the scale of the date zone is too small to display the days. If this is the case, click and drag one of the tick lines to the right until abbreviations of the days of the week appear.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 above to add the line that shows the date (Date (1-31)) to the date zone. You can specify the order in which the lines in the date zone appear by dragging them up and down in the date zone. Try this now, by dragging the line that shows the days of the week to the bottom of the date zone:

1. Left-click in the line that shows the days of the week. 2. Holding down the left mouse button, drag the line to the bottom of the date zone, then release the mouse button. The line is moved to the bottom of the date zone:

You can hide lines that are currently displayed in the date zone:

1. Locate the date zone line that displays elapsed units by hovering the cursor over each line until a tooltip is displayed, showing the line’s time unit.

2. Right-click the line that displays elapsed units and select Hide This Line. The elapsed unit line is hidden from display.

3.4

Creating a task by drawing on the bar chart You created your first task by typing in the spreadsheet. To create a task by drawing on the bar chart:

1. Position the cursor so that it is over bar 2 and slightly later than the task on bar 1.

2. Press and hold down the left mouse button, then drag the cursor to the right. As you drag, a popup box displays the start date, end date and duration of the task you are drawing:

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 New tasks snap to a

time unit by default, making it easier to draw tasks. You can change the snapping time unit, or turn off bar chart snapping.

3. Using the date zone and the popup as a guide, release the mouse button when the task is approximately two days in length.

4. Click away from the task to deselect it. Notice that Asta Powerproject places the duration and start date of the task into the spreadsheet, but does not give it a name.

5. Click in bar 2 in the Name column, type Task

2, then

click the bar chart to finish editing.

3.5

Copying and pasting bars Another way of creating tasks is to copy existing bars and paste them into your project. You will do this now to create two more tasks. To copy and paste your existing bars:

1. Move the cursor over bar 1 in the Line column, then click. Bar 1 is selected.

2. Hold down CTRL and click bar 2 in the Line column. Both bars are now selected.

3. Select the Copy command from the Edit menu. 4. Select the Paste command from the Edit menu. The two existing bars are copied and pasted into bars 3 and 4:

5. Click in the Name column and rename bars 3 and 4 Task 3 and Task 4.

3.6

Editing the duration of tasks You can edit the duration of a task in a number of ways, including editing the duration in the spreadsheet, using the Object Edit toolbar, or dragging the end of the task in the bar chart. To edit the duration of a task in the spreadsheet:

1. Click in bar 4 in the Duration column. 2. Change the duration to 3d (three days), then click the bar chart to finish editing.

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To edit the duration of a task using the Object Edit toolbar:

1. Move the cursor over the task on bar 3 so that the cursor changes to

, then click. The task is selected.

2. Locate the Object Edit toolbar on your desktop:

You can use the Object Edit toolbar to control the properties of tasks and other objects on the bar chart. For now, you will use it to change the duration of the task.

3. Click in the Duration/Link Slope box that currently displays 5d and change the duration to 1w 1d (1 week and 1 day), then click the bar chart to f inish editing. To edit the duration of a task by dragging the end of the task in the bar chart:

1. Position the cursor over the end of the task on bar 2 so that the cursor changes to

.

2. Press and hold down the left mouse button, then drag the cursor to the right. As you drag, a popup box displays the start date, end date and duration of the task you are editing.

3. Release the mouse button when the task is three days in length.

3.7

Understanding working and elapsed time Durations can be given as 'elapsed' or 'working' time. Elapsed durations include both working and non-working time (non-working time may be holidays, weekends and evenings), whereas working durations include only working time. You can choose whether or not to display elapsed time on the bar chart. You define what constitutes working time in Asta Powerproject’s calendars. You can define as many calendars as you want, having one for each resource or one for each task if required. You can define the length of a working day for each calendar and set up working patterns that can include any combination of shift patterns and flexible working patterns.

3.8

Moving tasks on the bar chart Moving tasks is as simple as editing their duration. You can simply pick up a task and drag it to a new location.

 You can also use the

Object Edit toolbar to move tasks by changing their start and end dates.

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To move a task on the bar chart:

1. Move the cursor over the task on bar 4 so that the cursor changes to

.

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2. Press and hold down the left mouse button, then drag the cursor to the right. As you drag, a popup box displays the start date, end date and duration of the task you are moving.

3. Release the mouse button when the task is positioned approximately two days later.

4. Click away from the task to deselect it.

3.9

Drawing multiple tasks on a bar You can draw multiple tasks on the same bar to show repetitive or intermittent working on an activity. To draw multiple tasks on a bar:

1. Position the cursor so that it is over bar 1 and slightly later than the existing task on bar 1.

2. Press and hold down the left mouse button, then drag the cursor to the right to draw another task on the same bar:

3. Release the mouse button when the task is two days in length.

4. Click away from the task to deselect it. Where you have more than one task on a bar, you can choose to display the bar in one-task-per-line mode. To display a bar in one-task-per-line mode:

1. Click the + symbol to the left of the spreadsheet on bar 1:

Notice that each task is now displayed on its own line and that a name does not appear for either task in the Name column of the spreadsheet. Task 1 – the name you entered earlier – is the name of the bar, not the name of the tasks on the bar. Where you have more than one task on a bar, you can name each task individually when in one-task-per-line mode.

2. Click in the Name column and name the task on bar 1 Task 1 and the task on bar 2 Task 2.

3. Click the – symbol to the left of the spreadsheet on bar 1 to turn off one-task-per-line mode:

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Now that you have seen that the names you have entered relate to bars, not tasks, you will rename the bars in your project. Rename the four bars as follows:  Site Planning.  Fabrication.  Construction.  Completion.

3.10

Linking tasks You specify the order in which tasks take place by drawing links from one task to another. You can draw links starting and ending anywhere along the length of tasks. A common link is a Finish-to-Start link, where one task (the predecessor task) must finish before another task (the successor task) can start. To draw a Finish-to-Start link between two tasks:

1. Position the cursor to the bottom-right of the second task on the Site Planning bar so that the cursor changes to , indicating that the link will start from the end of the task.

2. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the cursor away. Notice that you now have a line from the end of the task to the cursor. The line is attached to the cursor until you release the mouse button.

3. Position the end of the link on the top-left hand corner of the Fabrication task so that the cursor changes to , indicating that the link will end at the start of the task, and release the mouse button. A link is drawn between the two tasks:

4. Click on a blank area of the bar chart to deselect the link. You can draw links with lead/lag, indicating that there must be a delay between tasks. To draw a link with lead/lag:

1. Position the cursor to the bottom-right of the Fabrication task.

2. Hold down SHIFT and, using the date zone as a guide, click and drag the cursor two working days (ie, two weekdays) to the right of the end of the task.

3. Keeping the mouse button depressed, release SHIFT, then position the end of the link on the top-left hand corner of the Construction task and release the mouse button. A link is drawn between the two tasks with lead/lag:

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Asta Powerproject Tutorial  The straight part of the

link indicates the lead/lag time. You can edit the lead/lag time precisely by doubleclicking the link and editing its properties.

4. Click on a blank area of the bar chart to deselect the link. 5. Complete your linking by drawing a simple Finish-to-Start link between the Construction and Completion tasks. Your project should now look something like this:

3.11

Rescheduling your project Now that you have created a simple project, you will reschedule it to ensure that the project is completed in the minimum possible time. To reschedule your project, click

 Adjust the scale of the

bar chart by dragging the date zone if you cannot see all your tasks.

.

When the reschedule is complete, your project should look something like this:

Notice the following points about the project:  All tasks are moved back to their earliest starting time, as

defined by the links you have created.  All tasks now have a thick red border, indicating that they

are critical: if any task overruns or is delayed, the end date of the project will be affected.

3.12  To undo or redo more

than one action at a time, click the down arrow next to the appropriate button and select the actions you want to undo or redo.

Undoing and redoing actions At any point while working on a project, you can undo your previous actions. You can undo all the actions you have performed on a project since you last opened it if you need to, even past a save. Click to undo your last action. In this case, your reschedule is undone and the tasks revert to their original positions. Click

3.13

to redo the reschedule.

Adding a bar in the middle of your project You are now going to add a new bar in between the Fabrication and Construction bars, containing a new task.

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To add a new bar in the middle of your project:


2. Press INSERT. A blank bar is inserted into the project. 3. Draw a task in the bar with a duration of three days and name it Inspection.

4. Draw a Start-to-Start link between the Fabrication and Inspection tasks, indicating that the two tasks should start at the same time.

5. Draw a Finish-to-Start link between the Inspection and Completion tasks, indicating that the Completion task cannot start until the Inspection task is complete. Your project should look something like this:

Now click to reschedule the project again. After the reschedule, the project should look something like t his:

Notice the following points about the project:  The Inspection task is moved back to its earliest starting

time, which is the same as that of the Fabrication task.  The Inspection task does not have a thick red border, as

it is not critical; instead it has float, which shows the amount by which the task can overrun or be delayed, without affecting the end date of the project.

3.14

Formatting the bar chart You can format the bar chart to display and hide almost any information. For example, you may want to hide links, t he critical path or float. To format the bar chart:

1. Select the Bar Chart command from the Format menu. The Format Bar Chart dialog appears. This dialog is divided into a number of tabs, which offer you a wide range of formatting options.

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2. Click the Tasks tab:

3. Clear the Free float, Total float and Critical path check boxes, then click Apply.  You may have to move

the dialog out of the way to see the changes on the bar chart.

3.15

Notice that the float and critical path are no longer displayed on the bar chart.

4. Reselect the Free float, Total float and Critical path check boxes, then click Close to close the dialog and redisplay the float and critical path.

Marking important events as milestones There are times when you may want to show an event that has no duration, such as a deadline or a payment date. You do this in Asta Powerproject by creating milestones, which are displayed as diamond shapes on the bar chart. Milestones are just like normal tasks – they can have links attached to them and be critical or have float – but they have a duration of zero. You will turn the Completion task, which currently has a duration of three days, into a milestone, to signify the end of the project.

 You can also create a

milestone by changing the duration of a task to zero.

To create a milestone:

1. Right-click the Completion task. 2. Select Make Into, then select End Milestone. The project should look something like this:

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3.16

Annotating your project You can annotate the bar chart with text, graphics and OLE objects. Annotations are useful in a range of situations, for example:  Highlighting important dates.  Writing reminder notes to yourself or to other team

members.  Including your company logo on the bar chart.  Linking to objects or data stored in other programs using

OLE. In this example, you will add a text annotation to the Completion task in your project:

1. Click  This cursor indicates

that the annotation will be attached to the right hand side of the task.

.

2. Position the cursor to the right of the Completion task in the bar chart so that the cursor looks like , then click and drag a small box in which to place the annotation.

3. Release the mouse button when the box is a few centimetres square. A text insertion bar appears in the top left hand corner of the box.

4. Type Project

complete in the annotation, then click

away from the box to finish typing. The box resizes itself to fit around the annotation:

3.17

Choosing when to display annotations Once you have added annotations to a project, you can choose whether or not to display them. You can also assign categories to annotations and display only annotations within a certain category – for example, you could place all costrelated annotations into a Cost category and display or hide them all in a single step. You can apply filters to annotations so that they only appear when the task or allocation to which they are attached meets the filter criteria. You can also set annotations to appear automatically on any bar, task or allocation that meets the criteria of a filter. You will do this later with the annotation you have just created, so that it only appears when the project is complete.

3.18

Saving your project Depending on the template you use to create a project, the bars you edit may be coloured blue. This colouring (which you can turn on or off) indicates that the work on the bars has not been saved, and disappears when you save the project.

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To save your project, click

.

It is good practice to get into the habit of saving your work regularly. For example, as you work through this guide, save your work at the end of each chapter. Now that you have created a simple project, you will go on to create a programme of projects.

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


Creating a programme of projects

4

Creating a programme of projects This chapter explains how to build up a programme of projects. This chapter includes the following information:  Ways of organising projects.  Moving your project into a subchart.  Copying a subchart.  Indicating that subcharts represent projects.  Defining users and access rights.

4.1

Ways of organising projects You can organise projects in a variety of ways, depending on the way in which you use Asta Powerproject.

Asta Powerproject standalone If you use Asta Powerproject as a standalone application, each project is saved into a separate file, but each project can contain further subprojects or subcharts. In this way, you can build up a programme of projects within Asta Powerproject. If several standalone users work on the same project, you can set up users with the project and specify their access rights. For example, a Project Manager may have full access rights while a Junior Engineer may have read-only access rights. You can also specify users' access rights to each subproject to prevent users from accessing parts of a project from which you want to exclude them. This tutorial uses this method of creating a programme of projects.

Multi-user environment If you use Asta Powerproject in a multi-user environment by connecting to an Enterprise server, you can save a project locally, as with Asta Powerproject standalone, or to a servermounted database. Each database holds one or more group projects, each of which can contain one or more projects. Each project can then be subdivided into subprojects. Objects such as resources, calendars and codes are shared across group projects.

4.2

Starting the tutorial at this chapter If you want to work through this chapter of the tutorial without first completing Chapter 3, open the Tutorial_2.pp file from the \Tutorial Project Files\ folder on the Asta Powerproject CD. You will then be able to work through this chapter from the start.

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4.3

Moving your project into a subchart At the moment, you have created a single project in Asta Powerproject, comprising five bars. Your project has no hierarchical structure as yet, as all tasks are located in the root chart. You can move this project into a subchart in order to build up a project hierarchy. To move your project into a subchart:


2. Hold down SHIFT and click bar 5 in the Line column. All the bars in the project are now selected.

3. Select the Move Bars Into Chart command from the Hierarchy menu.

4. You see the Move Bars Into Chart dialog:

5. Enter Site

A in the Bar Title and Task Title fields, then

click OK.  An alternative method

of creating a project hierarchy is by summarising tasks.

The five bars are moved into a subchart, which is displayed underneath the root chart in the project view:

The spreadsheet and bar chart do not look any different, as you are currently looking at the Site A subchart. To view the root chart, click Root chart in the project view. You see the following:

The large shadowed task summarises the tasks in the subchart it leads to – its duration is the duration of the tasks in the subchart. This is known as an expanded task. To move back into the subchart, either click Site A in the project view, or double-click the expanded task in the bar chart. Click to move back into the root chart. This is another way of moving between charts.

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4.4

Copying a subchart In many situations, you will want to maintain a programme of projects that have similarities. For example, if you follow the same methodology for the production of a range of items, you may want to create a single project for each product. A simple way of creating a programme of similar projects is to copy an existing project and edit it. To copy a subchart:


2. Select the Copy command from the Edit menu. 3. Select the Paste command from the Edit menu. The expanded task is copied and pasted into bar 2:

At the moment, the expanded task on bar 2 has the same name as the one on bar 1. You will now rename it.

4. Right-click the expanded task on bar 2 and select Properties. The Bar and Task Properties dialog appears.

5. Enter Site

B in the Name fields on the Bar and Task

tabs, then click Close. Notice that both subcharts are now displayed underneath the root chart in the project view:

Follow the steps above to create another subchart and call it Site C. You now have three subcharts displayed underneath the root chart in the project view. You will now learn how to indicate that each of the subcharts represents a project in its own right.

4.5

Indicating that subcharts represent projects You now have three subcharts underneath the root chart in the project view. You can indicate that subcharts represent individual projects in their own right, and in so doing, build up a programme of projects. In this lesson, you will indicate that all three of the subcharts you have created represent projects.

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1. Click the Site A expanded task to select it. 2. Hold down SHIFT and click the Site C expanded task. All three expanded tasks are now selected.

3. Right-click one of the selected tasks and select Is a Project from the menu that appears. While the appearance of the expanded tasks themselves does not change, note that the subchart icons in the project view have changed from to . This new icon identifies that the subcharts represent projects in their own right:

Note also that the icon of the root chart has changed to . This indicates that the chart contains one or more projects. You have now created a simple programme of projects. Having more than one project within the same file enables you to manage your projects as a portfolio. All the projects share common items such as the resource pool, codes and calendars. You can also report on the projects individually, or together as a portfolio. In addition, for each individual project, you can record the likelihood, in percentage terms, of the project actually going ahead, and reflect this likelihood in histograms. This is useful during the early stages of project and resource planning.

4.6

Defining users and access rights In many situations, you will want to prevent certain users from accessing certain projects and define different levels of access to the projects within a programme. You can do this by setting up a number of users and defining their access rights. In this example, you will set up three users:  Admin – will have full read-write access to all three

projects.  Project Manager – will have full read-write access to the

Site A project only.  Admin Assistant – will have read-only access to all three

projects. You create new users in Asta Powerproject’s Library Explorer. You use Library Explorer, which is based on the standard Windows Explorer, to maintain details of objects that are common to your programme, for example, users, resources and cost centres. You will use Library Explorer for a variety of reasons throughout this tutorial. To create a new user:

1. Click

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. You see Library Explorer:

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Library Explorer displays the library objects in the tree view in the left-hand pane. Asta Powerproject may not display all library objects by default. If User is not visible in the left-hand pane, you must display it: −

Right-click the right-hand pane and select Show Libraries. The Show Libraries dialog appears.

−

Select User in the Available types field and click Add.

−

Click OK to close the dialog. User is now visible in the left-hand pane.

2. Select User from the tree view. You see the default user folder, Admin, that is defined initially in the list view in the right-hand pane. This is the top-level user, with full access rights to the entire programme. You will turn this user into a folder, so that it can contain subusers.

3. Right-click the Admin user in the list view and select Make into Folder from the menu that appears. You will now create the other two users within the Admin folder:

1. Right-click the Admin folder in the list view and select New User Sub-entry. The folder opens and a new user is created within it, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

2. Enter Project

Manager, then click a blank area of the

list view to finish editing.

3. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New User . Another user is created, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

4. Enter Admin

Assistant, then click a blank area of the

list view to finish editing.

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Now that you have created the users, you can define their access rights. By default, users have full access rights to the entire programme, from the root chart downwards. As this level of access is appropriate for the Admin user, you do not need to edit this user's access rights. To define access rights:

1. Double-click the Project Manager user. The User Properties dialog appears.

2. Click the Chart Access Rights tab:

 You can define access

rights to a fine level of detail. This is a simple example.

You use this tab to specify the rights that the user has to each subchart in your programme of projects. The project hierarchy is displayed in an expandable tree on the left.

3. Double-click Root chart in the expandable tree. You see the three subcharts that you have created. The Project Manager requires full access to the Site A project, but does not require access to the other two projects.

4. With Root chart selected, click Select All, then click None. All access rights are removed from the root chart and from all its subcharts.

5. Click Site A in the expandable tree. Notice that the Project Manager now has no access to it.

6. Click Select All, then click Unrestricted. All access rights are restored for the Site A project.

7. Click OK. 8. Double-click the Admin Assistant user. The User Properties dialog appears.

9. Click the Chart Access Rights tab. As the Admin Assistant requires read-only access to all projects, you can define their access rights at the root chart level, as the rights are then filtered down to projects within the root chart.

10. With Root chart selected, click Select All, then click None. All access rights are removed from the root chart and from all its subcharts.

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11. Select the check boxes in the Read column to give the Admin Assistant read-only access to the programme of projects.

12. Click OK. 13. Select the View submenu from the View menu, then select Close to close Library Explorer. You must now define a password for each user:

1. Select the Passwords command from the Tools menu. The Passwords dialog appears.

2. Click the Project tab:

The Admin user is initially displayed, as this is the toplevel user.

3. Delete the asterisks in the Current Password for Admin field.

4. Enter Progman in the New password for user field. The password does not appear on the screen as you type it, for security reasons.

5. Re-enter the password in the Confirm new password for user field.

6. Click OK. 7. Select the Passwords command from the Tools menu to display the Passwords dialog again.

8. Click in the Change password for field, then click the + symbol next to the Admin user. You see the other two users.

9. Select the Project Manager user. 10. Enter Progman in the Current password for Admin field. You must enter this as it is the administrator's password and it is required to change another user's password.

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11. Enter Projman in the New password for user field. The password does not appear on the screen as you type it, for security reasons.

12. Re-enter the password in the Confirm new password for user field.

13. Click OK. 14. Repeat steps 7 to 13, this time selecting the Admin Assistant user in the Change password for field and setting their password to Admin. You can assign the usernames and passwords that you define to different people to give them different levels of access. Now that you have created users within the programme, people will be asked to enter a username and password when they open the programme. Try this now by closing the project and opening it as each user in turn:

1. Save your work, then select the Close project command from the File menu.

2. Select the Open command from the File menu. The Select Project dialog appears:

 You must click Open

as New User to open the project using a different username and password.

3. Select Tutorial.pp and click Open as New User . The Logon to Project dialog appears:

4. Enter Project

Manager in the Username field and Projman in the Password field, then click OK. The

programme of projects opens in Asta Powerproject. However, as the Project Manager only has access rights to the Site A project, the root chart and the Site B and Site C projects do not appear in the project view:

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5. Close the project again and reopen it using t he Open as New User button as described above, this time entering the Admin Assistant's username and password (Admin Assistant and Admin). This time, the root chart and the three projects are visible in the project view:

However, the Admin Assistant can only view the information: if you try to edit the programme (for example by drawing a task on the bar chart), you cannot.

6. Close the project again and reopen it using t he Open as New User button as described above, this time entering the Admin user’s username and password (Admin and Progman). You now have full access to the full programme of projects again. Now that you have created a simple programme of projects, you will learn how to categorise your tasks.

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Categorising your tasks

5

Categorising your tasks This chapter explains how to colour-code the information within your projects so that their appearance represents something relevant to you. You use code libraries to do this. This chapter includes the following information:  Ways of using code libraries.  Creating code libraries.  Assigning codes to tasks.  Displaying different code libraries.  Filtering information using code libraries.  Using filters to automate annotations.  More about views.

5.1

Ways of using code libraries You can use code libraries to represent virtually any type of information. For example, you could use them to show:  The different departments or people responsible for a

task.  The different locations at which a task takes place.  The risk factor of a task, for example high, medium or

low. You create the code libraries you want in Library Explorer, then assign them to the bars, tasks and allocations in your projects. Once you have assigned codes, you can filter for bars, tasks and allocations with specific codes. For example, you could filter out all the tasks that have been identified as low risk, or all tasks that are carried out at a specific location. As each item on the bar chart may have a code from more than one code library assigned to it, you can choose which code library you want to display on the bar chart at any one time. You can also choose whether to display the codes that are assigned to whole bars, or the codes that are assigned to individual tasks. In this example, you will create a code library to represent the risk factor of a task and a code library to represent the location at which a task is carried out.

5.2

Starting the tutorial at this chapter If you want to work through this chapter of the tutorial without first completing the previous chapters, open the Tutorial_3.pp file from the \Tutorial Project Files\ folder on the Asta Powerproject CD. You will then be able to work through this chapter from the start. If you do this, you will be prompted to enter a username and password when you open the project. The username is Admin and the password is Progman.

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5.3

Creating code libraries Code libraries are stored in a hierarchical structure in Library Explorer. Each code library is represented by a folder. You can create as many different code libraries as you like, each one containing as many codes as you need. Each code library can also contain other code libraries. Each code consists of a code name, a pattern and one or more colours. To create a code library:

1. Click

to enter Library Explorer.

2. Select Code Library from the tree view. You see a number of existing code libraries in the list view in the right-hand pane. You will create a new library and create codes within it.

3. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Code Library. Another code library is created, with the cursor flashing in the name column.

4. Enter Risk

Factor, then click a blank area of the list

view to finish editing.

5. Right-click the Risk Factor folder in the list view and select New Code Library Entry. The folder opens and a new code is created within it, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

6. Enter High, then click a blank area of the list view to finish editing.

7. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Code Library Entry. Another code is created, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

8. Enter Medium, then click a blank area of the list view to finish editing.

9. Create a third code, called Low.  You can also change

the background colour, fill pattern and outline style if required.

Notice that each code currently has t he same colour and pattern. You will now change the foreground colours to differentiate between the codes:

1. Click the Low code library in the Foreground Fill Colour column. You see a display of the colours you can assign to the code:

2. Select green. The foreground colour of the Low code turns to green.

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3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 to change the foreground colour of the Medium code to yellow. You will now create another code library to represent the location at which a task is carried out:

1. Click

to move up one level in the code library hierarchy.

2. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Code Library. Another code library is created, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

3. Enter Location, then click a blank area of the list view to finish editing.

4. Right-click the Location folder in the list view and select New Code Library Entry. The folder opens and a new code is created within it, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

5. Enter London, then click a blank area of the list view to finish editing.

6. Create two further codes, as described above, called Preston and Newcastle.

7. Apply the following foreground colours to the codes: −

London – magenta.

−

Preston – white.

−

Newcastle – very light grey.

8. Select the View submenu from the View menu, then select Close to close Library Explorer.

5.4

Assigning codes to tasks Now that you have created your codes, you can assign them to tasks in your programme of projects. In this example, you will assign codes to tasks in the Site A project. There are a number of ways in which you can do this. The easiest way is to drag the codes from the project view onto the tasks. To assign codes to tasks:

1. Click the Site A project in the project view to open it. 2. Click the + symbol next to Code Libraries in the project view to view the code libraries you have created.

3. Click the + symbol next to the Risk Factor code library to view the risk factor codes:

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4. CTRL-click the Site Planning, Fabrication, Construction and Completion tasks to select them.

5. Click and drag the Medium risk factor code from the project view and drop it onto one of the selected tasks. You may see a dialog asking if you want to display the Risk Factor code library in the current view. If you do see the dialog, select the Do not show this alert again check box and click No.

6. Click and drag the Low risk factor code from the project view and drop it onto the Inspection task.

7. Click the + symbol next to the Location code library to view the location codes.

8. CTRL-click the Site Planning and Completion tasks, then drag and drop the London location code onto one of them.

9. CTRL-click the Fabrication, Inspection and Construction tasks, then drag and drop the Preston location code onto one of them.

10. Click the bar chart to deselect all tasks. Notice that the appearance of the tasks has not changed. This is because you are not viewing any of the code libraries on the bar chart.

5.5

Displaying different code libraries You can choose which code library you want to display at any one time to indicate the codes that have been assigned to tasks. In this example, you can choose to display the Location or Risk Factor code library. To display a code library on the bar chart:

1. Right-click the Location code library in the project view and select Display Library from the menu that appears. Notice that the tasks are now colour-coded according to their location:

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Notice also that a red tick appears against the Location code library in the project view, indicating that this is the code library that is currently displayed on the bar chart:

You can also choose which code library to display on the bar chart using the Format Bar Chart dialog.

2. Select the Bar Chart command from the Format menu. The Format Bar Chart dialog appears.

3. Click the Tasks tab:

4. Select Risk Factor in the Code library field, then click Apply. Notice that the tasks are now colour-coded according to their risk factor

5. Click Close to close the Format Bar Chart dialog.

5.6

Filtering information using code libraries Once you have applied code libraries to objects in the bar chart, you can filter for bars, tasks or allocations with specific codes, to display only objects that have been assigned a specific code on the bar chart. This enables you to concentrate on specific information without being distracted by other surrounding details. In this example, you will filter for all the tasks that are carried out in Preston. To filter for all tasks that are carried out in Preston:

1. Select the Filter submenu from the View menu, then select the New command. The Filter Properties dialog appears.

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2. Click the Details tab:

3. Enter Preston

filter in the Name field. You can set

up as many filters as you need and the name identifies each one.

4. Select the Display on menu check box. This places the filter onto the View menu, making it easier to apply.

5. Click the Filter Criteria tab:

6. Click Edit. The first screen of the Filter Wizard appears. You use the Filter Wizard to specify the objects that you want to include in your filter and to specify the conditions that objects must meet to be included.

7. By default, tasks and milestones are included in the filter, so click Next without changing anything on the screen. The second screen of the Filter Wizard appears:

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 You can filter objects

by more than one parameter by selecting multiple parameters here.

8. You want to filter objects by code, so select Code library in the left hand pane and click in the right hand pane.

. Code library appears

9. Click Next. The third screen of the Filter Wizard appears:

10. This screen lists the available code libraries. You want to filter by the Preston location code, so click the + symbol next to the Location code library to view the location codes, then select the check box next to the Preston code:

11. Click Finish. You return to the Filter Properties dialog, which displays the filter criteria you have entered.

12. Click OK to close the Filter Properties dialog. The filter is applied to your current view automatically:

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Notice that the Site Planning and Completion tasks have disappeared from the view, as they do not match the filter criteria: they are not carried out in Preston. Notice also that a ‘Site A' subheading has appeared above the first line in the view. Filter subheadings show the chart path of the filtered objects. This makes it easier to identify the summary group or subchart in which the filtered objects are located. To turn the filter off and return to your normal view, select the Filter submenu from the View menu, then select the No Filter command. The Site Planning and Completion tasks reappear. Once you have created a filter, you can apply it at any time by selecting it from the View - Filter menu. In this example you set up a very simple filter. You can set up more complex filters using SQL to define your criteria in order to filter information however you want.

5.7

Using filters to automate annotations You can use filters to automate annotations so that they only appear when the bar, task or allocation to which they are attached meets the filter criteria. In this example, you will create a filter that filters for completed milestones, then apply the filter to the annotation that you have added to the bar chart. To create a completed milestones filter:

1. Select the Filter submenu from the View menu, then select the New command. The Filter Properties dialog appears.

2. Click the Details tab and enter Completed Milestones filter in the Name field.

3. Select the Display on menu check box to place the filter onto the View menu.

4. Click the Filter Criteria tab and click Edit. The first screen of the Filter Wizard appears.

5. With the Specific task types radio button selected, deselect the Tasks check box so that only Milestones is selected, to indicate that you only want the filter to apply to milestones.

6. Click Next. The second screen of the Filter Wizard appears.

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7. You want to filter objects by progress, so select Progress in the left hand pane and click the right hand pane.

. Progress appears in

8. Click Next. The third screen of the Filter Wizard appears:  Note that the third

screen is different this time. This is because you are filtering using different criteria.

9. You want to filter for completed milestones, so select Completed in the Filter for what extent of progress? field.

10. Click Finish. You return to the Filter Properties dialog, which displays the filter criteria you have entered.

11. Click OK to close the Filter Properties dialog. As with the last filter you defined, this filter is applied to your current view automatically, so all the information in the spreadsheet and bar chart disappears, as it does not match the filter criteria. To turn the filter off and return to your normal view, select the Filter submenu from the View menu, then select the No Filter command. Now that you have set up a filter for completed milestones, you will apply it to the annotation that you attached to the Completion task and indicate that the annotation should be attached to all new and existing objects that meet the filter criteria. To attach the filter to the annotation:

1. Click the annotation to select it, then right-click it and select Properties. The Text Annotation Properties dialog appears.

2. Click the General tab:

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3. Select the Completed Milestones filter in the Filter field to apply the filter to the annotation.

4. Select the Make Auto Annotation check box to indicate that the annotation should be attached automatically to all new and existing objects that meet the filter criteria.

5. Click Close. The annotation disappears, as the milestone to which it is attached is not yet complete, so does not match the filter criteria. Later on, you will progress your project. When you progress the final task in the project (the Completion milestone), the annotation will appear automatically.

5.8

More about views In applying a filter to your project, you changed the current view of your data. A view is a window onto a project and you can do much more with views than simply filter tasks: each view can have the following associated with it:  A spreadsheet table.  A filter.  A sort order.

You can define as many views as you want within a project, to be accessed by all users. Each user can also define their own custom views. Now that you have colour-coded your tasks, you will create a resource pool for use throughout your programme of projects.

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Creating and assigning resources

6

Creating and assigning resources This chapter explains how to create a pool of resources for use within your programme of projects. As well as being a programme management application, Asta Powerproject is a sophisticated resource management tool. This chapter includes the following information:  Introduction to resource management.  Creating a resource library.  Assigning demand resources to tasks.  Viewing a histogram of resource allocations.  Satisfying demand allocations.  Dealing with over-allocation.  Viewing the results of resource allocations in other

projects.

6.1

Introduction to resource management Resources are the people, equipment and materials needed to carry out tasks in a project. Asta Powerproject deals with permanent resources such as employees, machinery and equipment, and consumable resources such as materials, components and utilities. Resources are not confined to single projects; you can create a single resource pool and share this across all projects in your programme. If a resource is used in one project, this is reflected in all other projects within the programme. This means that you can maintain tight control over resource availability over the entire enterprise. You create the resources you want in Library Explorer, then assign them to the tasks in your projects. You can organise your resource library as a hierarchy of skills, equipment and materials. A hierarchical resource library is easier to manage and extend than a flat list of resources. Asta Powerproject also enables you to work with multi-skilled resources. For example, a multi-skilled resource may be a copywriter who also has translation skills, or a bricklayer who also has plastering skills. You can define such resources in Asta Powerproject under both skills. Asta Powerproject also supports demand and scheduled resource management. At the start of a project, the Project Manager can indicate that there is a demand for a particular type of resource for a task, without assigning an actual resource to the task. A specific resource can be assigned to the task at a later date, satisfying the demand. Asta Powerproject has a rich list of resource management and control features. You will explore some of these in this chapter.

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6.2


6.3

Creating a resource library As with code libraries, resources r esources are stored in a hierarchical structure in Library Explorer. Each resource type is represented by a folder, which contains individual resources, or further hierarchies of resource types. In this example you will create a number of consumable and permanent permanent resources.

Creating consumable resources To create a consumable resource library:

1. Click


2. Select Consumable Resource from the tree view. 3. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Folder . A new resource folder is created, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

4. Enter Materials , then click a blank area of the list view to finish editing.

5. Double-click the Materials folder in the list view. The folder opens.

6. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Consumable Resource. Resource. A new consumable resource is created, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

7. Enter Steel as the name of t his resource. 8. Create two more consumable resources in the folder, called Wood and Glass. You will now create another consumable resource folder:

1. Click

to move up one level in the consumable resource hierarchy.

2. Follow the steps above to create a new folder called Fixings, containing consumable resources called Nails and Screws.

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Creating permanent resources To create a permanent resource library:

1. Select Permanent Resource from the tree view. 2. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Folder . A new resource folder is created, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

3. Enter Builder, then click a blank area of the list view to finish editing.

4. Double-click the Builder folder in the list view. The folder opens.

5. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Permanent Resource. Resource. A new permanent resource is created, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

6. Enter Mark

Smith as the name of this resource.

7. Create two more permanent resources in the folder, called John Peters and Martin Webb. You will now create another permanent resource folder:

1. Click

to move up one level in the permanent permanent resource hierarchy.

2. Follow the steps above to create a new folder called Approver, containing a permanent resource called Jane Brown.

Assigning multiple skills to a permanent resource  Consumable resources

cannot be in more than one folder.

In the permanent resource library you have just created, each resource is associated with a single skill. It is simple to identify a resource as multi-skilled. In t his example, you will identify Martin Webb, one of the permanent resources in the Builder resource folder, as being an Approver as well:

1. Navigate through your permanent resources so that you can see the permanent resources in the Builder folder in the list view.

2. Click the

icon next to the Martin Webb permanent permanent

resource.

3. Hold down CTRL and SHIFT, SHIFT, then click and drag the icon over the Approver permanent resource folder in the tree view:

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Notice that the Martin Webb permanent resource now has a shortcut icon. This identifies it as a multi-skilled resource. Martin Webb is now also available in the Approver permanent resource folder. You can define a number of properties for each permanent resource. When a permanent resource has two or more skills, some properties are common to all skills, such as t he calendar and availability, while other properties are specific to individual skills, such as the work rate, cost and skill appearance.

4. Select the View submenu from the View menu, then click Close to close Library Explorer.

6.4

Assigning demand resources to tasks You will now assign a number of demand allocations to tasks, to indicate that there is a demand for a particular type of resource without specifying the specific resource that will satisfy the demand. This mirrors the early stages of project planning, planning, during which you may know the skill that is required to complete a task but do not yet know the precise resource to assign to it. Before you do this, you will ensure that allocations are displayed on the bar chart:


2. Click the Allocations tab. 3. Select all three of the check boxes in the Show group, then click Close. Close. There are a number of ways in which you can assign demand resources resources to tasks; the easiest way is to drag the resource folders from the project view onto the tasks.

1. Click the Site A project in the project view to open it if it is not already open.

2. Click the + symbol next to Permanent Resources in the project view to view the permanent resource folders you have created.

3. Click and drag the Builder permanent resource folder from the project view and drop it onto the Construction task.

4. Click and drag the Approver permanent resource folder from the project view and drop it onto the Completion task.

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 You can assign

consumable resources to tasks in the same way.

6.5

Notice that two new rows are inserted into the spreadsheet and bar chart under the Construction and Completion tasks, indicating the permanent resources that are assigned to them:

Viewing a histogram of resource allocations You can use histograms to view information about the usage of resources in your programme of projects. For example, you can graph a resource's allocation, over-allocation and availability. Histograms are useful resource management tools as they enable you to anticipate any fluctuations in resource usage and take corrective action, hence avoiding any periods of over or under-allocation. There are a wide range of histogram graphs provided with Asta Powerproject, and you can create your own to display the precise information you want. In this example, you will graph the allocation and over-allocation of the Builder permanent resources. To create a new histogram:

1. Select the New Histogram command from the View menu. A new pane, the histogram pane, is added along the bottom of the bar chart.

2. Right-click the histogram pane and select Format Histogram from the menu that appears. The Details tab of the Format Histogram dialog appears:

3. Select the Builder permanent resource folder in the Resources field to indicate that you want to graph the usage of builders.

4. Having specified the resources that you want to graph, you must now specify what aspects of the resource you want to graph. Click New to create a new histogram graph. The Report tab of the Histogram Report Properties dialog appears:

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5. Enter Allocation

of Builders in the Name field.

6. Select Days in the Period field and Bar Maximum in the Type field to specify that you want to graph the maximum allocation of builders each day.

7. Click the Graphs tab:

You use this tab to define the graphs you want to include in the histogram. The Allocation graph appears by default. In this lesson you will change this to Capped Allocation and add the Over Allocation graph.

8. Click the Allocation graph in the Name column and select Capped Allocation from the list that appears.

9. Click Add. A graph is added to the histogram. 10. Click the new graph in the Name column and select Over Allocation from the list that appears.

11. Click OK to close the Histogram Report Properties dialog and return to the Format Histogram dialog.

12. Click the Row tab. 13. Check that the Draw through non-working check box is selected (indicating that you want the histogram values to span across non-working periods such as weekends) and select Stack All in the Stacking field to indicate that you do not want the selected graphs to obscure each other.

14. Click Close. The histogram appears in the new pane at the bottom of the window:

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Notice that the area of the histogram, which is displayed in green to indicate allocation, matches the duration of the Construction task: the task that has a demand allocation of builders.

6.6

Satisfying demand allocations Now that you have specified the skills that are required to carry out a number of tasks, you will satisfy the demand allocations by allocating specific resources to the tasks. This mirrors the later, more detailed stages of project planning. In this example, you will satisfy the demand allocation on the Construction task in the Site A project by assigning a specific resource to it. Right-click the demand allocation bar below the Construction task, select the Satisfy Demand - Builder submenu, then select Mark Smith. Notice that a new row is inserted into the spreadsheet and bar chart under the Builder demand allocation, indicating that Mark Smith has been allocated to satisfy the demand allocation:

Notice also that the histogram has changed: as well as showing the demand allocation, it shows a corresponding scheduled allocation too – the total allocation now adds up to 2:

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6.7

Dealing with over-allocation As Asta Powerproject’s histograms are updated in real time as you work, you can use them to keep track of the availability and allocation of your resources. This means that you can immediately see when your resources are overallocated, in other words when your allocations exceed the available resources. To see this in action:

1. Create a new task on the first spare row of the bar chart called Electrics. Give it a duration approximately half that of the Construction task.

2. Create a Start-to-Start link from the Construction task to the Electrics task and a Finish-to-Start link from the Electrics task to the Completion task.

3. Reschedule the project. Your project should now look something like this:

4. Click and drag the Builder permanent resource folder from the project view and drop it onto the Electrics task to assign a demand allocation to it. Notice how the histogram changes to take account of this:

5. Now right-click the demand allocation bar below the Electrics task, select the Satisfy Demand - Builder submenu, then select Mark Smith. Notice that the histogram now displays a red area, indicating over allocation:

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Although the source of the over allocation is obvious in this simple example (Mark Smith is allocated to two tasks that occur at the same time), in larger programmes the source may not be so obvious. You can use Asta Powerproject’s histograms to identify the source by drilling down and displaying individual graphs for the resources in the resource folder:

1. Right-click a blank area of the histogram pane, then select Drill down (All). New histograms are created for each resource within the folder (you may have to use the scroll bars in the histogram pane and resize each histogram to see all of the histograms):

It is now immediately apparent that the source of the over allocation is Mark Smith's over allocation. As John Peters and Martin Webb have not been allocated, their histograms are blank.

2. To view the tasks to which Mark Smith is allocated, to the exclusion of all other tasks, right-click the red portion of Mark Smith's histogram and select Show Tasks. His tasks and allocations appear on their own in a new view, showing which tasks are causing the over allocation:

3. Select the View submenu from the View menu, then select Close to close the view and return to the bar chart view of the Site A project.

4. Right-click a blank area of Mark Smith’s histogram, then select Drill Up to return to the single histogram displaying the allocation of resources within the Builder folder.

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You can deal with over allocation in a number of ways, including allocating tasks to another resource or delaying tasks that contribute to the over allocation. Alternatively, you can level the resources in a project automatically using Asta Powerproject. Resource levelling flattens out any overallocation, using one or more of the following techniques:  Delaying tasks.  Delaying resource allocations on tasks.  Splitting resource allocations.  Stretching tasks to increase their duration and decrease

their resource allocation. To level resources in the current project:

1. Select the Level Resources command from the Tools menu. The Resource Leveller dialog appears:

You use this dialog to specify the way in which the resource levelling is carried out. However, in this example you are going to perform a simple resource level, so you do not need to edit most of the controls.

2. Select the check box to the left of the Builder permanent resource folder to indicate that you want to level the Builder permanent resources.

3. Click Level Now. Asta Powerproject now levels the resource allocations of the Builders. After a few moments, the over allocation is solved.  Resource levelling

does not always delay the end date; this is configurable.

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Notice that Asta Powerproject has solved the over allocation by increasing the duration of the Electrics task, so that Mark Smith can carry out both tasks without a time conflict. Notice also that this has delayed the end date of the project:





Click

to undo the resource levelling operation you have

just performed and click

to reschedule the view.

Another way to solve the over allocation is to allocate another available resource to one of the tasks. The histogram showed you that John Peters and Martin Webb are both available to carry out the either task. You could delete the Mark Smith allocation from one of t he tasks and satisfy the demand with either of t hese Builder permanent resources. Alternatively, you could change the allocation of Mark Smith to each task. At the moment he is allocated 100% to both tasks; if he was allocated 50% to each task, he could perform both tasks concurrently. To change the allocation of Mark Smith:

1. Right-click the Mark Smith allocation bar below the Construction task and select Properties. The Permanent Allocation Properties dialog appears.

2. Click the Details tab:

The Allocation field currently shows 1.00, indicating that Mark Smith is scheduled to spend all his available time on the task.

3. Enter 0.5 in the Allocation field to indicate that Mark Smith should only spend half his time on this task.

4. Click Close. Notice that the duration of the Construction task has now doubled, as Mark Smith is going to take twice as long to complete the task.

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5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 to reduce the allocation of Mark Smith to the Electrics task to 0.5. Your project should now look something like this:

6. Reschedule the project. Notice that the over allocation has been solved and that the end date of the project has been delayed.

6.8

Viewing the results of resource allocations in other projects As the resources are shared across your entire programme of projects, the results of allocations in one project are visible in others, even to people who do not have access to the project in which an allocation is made. This means that if a resource is fully-allocated in one project, allocating them to a task in another project at the same time will result in over allocation:

1. Click the Site B project in the project view to open it. Notice that the histogram view still displays the same information and that the same permanent resources are available in the project view. This is because the information is not specific to a single project; it applies to the entire programme.

2. Click and drag the Mark Smith permanent resource from the project view and drop it onto the Construction task. Notice that the histogram view immediately shows an over allocation, as Mark Smith is already fully allocated at this time:

This means that Project Managers who have access to individual projects, but not to the whole programme of projects, are able to avoid over allocating resources, even if the resources are allocated in projects to which they do not have access.

3. Undo the resource allocation you have just made. 4. Click the Site A project in the project view t o return to it.

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5. Select the Histogram View command from the View menu to close the histogram pane. Now that you have assigned resources to tasks, you will assign costs to the tasks in your programme.

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Managing costs

7

Managing costs This chapter explains how to set up cost centres and work with direct costs and resource costs within your programme of projects. This chapter includes the following information:  Introduction to costs.  Creating a cost centre library.  Setting up your cost centres.  Assigning direct costs to tasks.  Assigning costs to permanent resources.  Assigning costs to consumable resources.  Viewing cost information.

7.1  You can show all costs

as direct costs if you do not use resources in a project.

Introduction to costs Asta Powerproject deals with two kinds of costs:  Costs that are assigned directly from a cost centre to a

task, for example payment for a new office alarm system, rent for warehouse space which varies depending on the amount of time for which the warehouse is rented, or installation charges which vary depending on the number of units to be installed.  Costs that result from assigning a resource to a task, for

example the salary of a software engineer or the unit cost of stone slabs plus their delivery charge. Costs can represent either income to, or expenditure from a cost centre. Income could be a cash investment into a project or a receipt of payment for work done; expenditure could be payment for materials or salaries. Tasks can generate income or expenditure, or both. You create the cost centres you want in Library Explorer. You can organise your cost centre library as a hierarchy. For example, if a company is split over two sites, you could set up a cost centre for the whole company, then within that a cost centre for each site, then subordinate cost centres for each department. Asta Powerproject handles costs in as many currencies as you need. You set up the currencies you need in Library Explorer, each with an exchange rate in relation to your base currency. You can assign costs to a single task in more than one currency if required. Asta Powerproject calculates the total cost by summing the costs in each separate currency, then converting them to the base currency.

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7.2


7.3

Creating a cost centre library In this example you will create a cost centre hierarchy for two of the locations you set up earlier: London and Preston. To create a cost centre library:

1. Click


2. Select Cost Centre from the tree view. 3. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Folder . A new cost centre folder is c reated, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

4. Enter London, then click a blank area of the list view to finish editing.

5. Double-click the London folder in the list view. The folder opens.

6. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Cost Centre. A new cost centre is created, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

7. Enter Planning

costs as the name of this cost centre.

8. Create another cost centre in the folder, called Completion costs. You will now create another cost centre folder:

1. Click

to move up one level in the cost centre hierarchy.

2. Follow the steps above to create a new folder called Preston, containing cost centres called Inspection costs and Construction costs.

7.4

Setting up your cost centres Now that you have created the cost centres you will use, you will specify the default settings for costs assigned from each cost centre. These default settings determine the behaviour of the cost bar that is created when you assign a direct cost to a task.

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Managing costs

Asta Powerproject can calculate costs in the f ollowing ways:  Fixed costs – these are for costs that you know will not

change, regardless of the time taken or the amount of work undertaken.  Time based – these are for costs that change depending

on the duration of the cost bar. For example, if a five day task costs £1,000 per day and starts on day one, the total cost is £5,000. However, if the start of the task is delayed until day three, the cost may still be charged from day one (depending on the way in which the cost centre is set up), so the cost bar duration would be seven days, leading to a total cost of £7,000.  Task work based – these are for costs that change

depending on the amount of work in a task. For example, if a task consists of writing three reports and each one costs £500 to write, the total cost is £1,500. You can specify the way in which the start or end of a cost is linked to a task:  Relative to task start – the start or end date of the cost

bar changes with the start date of the task.  Fixed date – the start or end date of the cost bar is set to

a specific date, which does not change even if the task date changes.  Relative to task end – the start or end date of the cost

bar changes with the end date of the task. You can also specify a delay (for costs that do not apply immediately), or identify a cost as a point spend (for costs that are payable in one amount, rather than payable over a period of time). To set up the Inspection costs cost centre:

1. Double-click the

icon next to the Inspection costs cost centre. The Cost Centre Properties dialog appears. Click the Default Assignment tab:

2. Select Task Work Based in the Calculation type field to indicate that the inspection costs amount is dependent on the amount of work done.

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3. Select Relative to Task End in the Start type field, enter 10d in the Start delay field and select the Point spend

check box to indicate that payment will be due in a single amount ten days after the end of the task.

4. Enter £2.00 in the Cost field to indicate that the inspection will cost £2.00 per item.

5. Click Close. Now set up the other cost centres you have created, entering the following information into the Default Assignment tab for each cost centre: Construction costs Field

Enter/Select

Calculation type

Time Based

Start type

Relative To Task Start

Start delay

1d

End type

Relative To Task End

End delay

1d

Cost

£200.00 per Day

Completion costs Field

Enter/Select

Calculation type

Fixed

Start type


Start delay

1w

Point spend

Selected

Cost

£500.00

Planning costs Field

Enter/Select

Calculation type

Time Based

Start type


Start delay

0h

End type

Relative To Task End

End delay

0h

Cost

£500.00 per Elapsed Month

When you have set up the cost centres, select the View submenu from the View menu, then select Close to close Library Explorer.

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Managing costs

7.5

Assigning direct costs to tasks Direct costs are assigned directly from a cost centre to a task, without reference to a permanent or consumable resource. In this example, you will assign a direct cost to the Site Planning tasks in the Site A project, representing the rental of the planning facility. To assign direct costs to tasks:


2. Click the + symbol next to Cost Centres in the project view to view the cost centre folders you have created.

3. Click the + symbol next to the London cost centres folder to view the cost centres within.

4. Click and drag the Planning costs cost centre from the project view and drop it onto the second task on the Site Planning bar. Notice that a new row is inserted into the spreadsheet and bar chart under the Site Planning bar, indicating the cost centre that is assigned to the second task:

This cost is time-based, with its start and end directly related to the start and end of the second Site Planning task. Therefore the duration of the task mirrors that of the task precisely. If you were to move the second Site Planning task to a later date, or increase its duration, the associated cost changes accordingly. Try this now to see the effect on the cost, then click to return the second Site Planning task to its original dates and duration.

Viewing the cost of an allocation You can view the cost of an allocation in a number of ways, including using the Resource Modelling toolbar, viewing the properties of the allocation and inserting a cost column into the spreadsheet. In this example, you will edit the spreadsheet to include cost information. To add a column displaying the cost of an allocation to the spreadsheet:

1. Right-click the heading row of the spreadsheet and select Table Definition. The Table Definition Properties dialog appears:

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This dialog lists the columns that are currently displayed in the spreadsheet.

2. Click Add. A new column entry appears in the list. 3. Click the new entry in the Token field. A hierarchical list of attributes that you can display in the column appears:

4. Click the + symbol next to Cost or Income to display the attributes relating to cost and income, then select the Cost attribute. Cost is displayed in the new entry.

5. If the new entry is not displayed directly under the Duration entry, click Up or Down to reposition it.

6. Click Close. The new column appears in the spreadsheet, displaying the cost of the Site Planning allocation. All the other rows in the Cost column are blank, as you have not yet assigned costs to the other tasks and allocations. You may have to drag the bar chart to the right to view the new column:

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Managing costs

You can edit the spreadsheet to display a wide range of information relating to tasks and allocations.

7.6

Assigning costs to permanent resources Permanent resource costs are determined by rates. For example, a consultant might have a normal rate and an overtime rate. You assign the different rates to a resource so that when you assign the resource to a task, its cost is calculated automatically. When a resource has more than one skill, you can assign a different rate to each skill. For example, if an employee is both an approver and a builder, as Martin Webb is in this project, he might have one rate when working as an approver and another rate when working as a builder. If a permanent resource has a cost that is incurred each time the resource is assigned to a task, you can show this as a 'fixed cost' rate. For example, a subcontractor might have a standing charge that is incurred whenever you employ them, or an engineer might have a call-out charge. Each cost or income rate includes the following details:

 A cost rate without a

time unit specified is a fixed cost rate and is only charged once per allocation.

 Cost per time unit, for example £50.00 per hour.  Type of time, for example whether the rate applies to

normal working time, overtime or public holidays.  A cost centre from which the rate is charged.

A cost or income rate can also have a markup percentage, which is useful if you want to charge out an employee's services at a different rate to what they cost you. After assigning a resource, you can edit t he allocation if you need to specify costs that differ from the default specified in the cost and income rate.

Creating cost and income rates You create cost and income rates in Library Explorer. In this example you will create two cost rates that you can apply to Martin Webb, the multi-skilled resource in this example. To create cost rates:

1. Click

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2. Select Cost And Income Rate from the tree view. Default cost, income and overtime rates appear in the list view.

3. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Cost And Income Rate. A new cost and income rate is created, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

4. Enter Approver

Rate, then click a blank area of the list

view to finish editing.

5. Double-click the

icon next to the Approver Rate cost and income rate. The Cost And Income Rate Properties dialog appears:

6. Enter £50.00 and select First use in the Amount fields to indicate that this is a fixed cost rate of £50.00.  You could make the

cost rate apply to a particular type of working, for example overtime, by selecting one in the Calendar exception category field.

7. Select Completion costs in the Cost centre field to indicate the cost centre to which the costs should be charged.

8. Click Close. 9. Follow the steps above to create a new cost rate called Builder Rate, with a rate of £30.00 per hour and associated with the Construction costs cost centre.

Assigning cost and income rates to permanent resources Now that you have set up a number of cost rates, you can assign them to permanent resources. In this example, you will assign the cost rates to Martin Webb, one for each of his skills:

1. Select Permanent Resource from the tree view within Library Explorer.

2. Navigate through your permanent resources so that you can see the permanent resources in the Approver folder in the list view.

3. Right-click Martin Webb and select Properties. The Permanent Resource Properties dialog appears.

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Managing costs

4. Select the Cost/Income tab:

5. Click Assign Rate and select the Approver Rate from the drop-down that becomes available to assign the rate to Martin Webb in his role as an approver.

6. Notice that the field at the bottom of the dialog displays Approver – it is showing Martin Webb's currentlyselected skill. Select Builder in the field. You can now assign Martin Webb a cost and income rate for use in his role as a builder.

7. Follow the instructions above to assign the Builder Rate to Martin Webb in his role as a builder.

8. Click Close. 9. Select the View submenu from the View menu, then select Close to close Library Explorer. Now that you have assigned cost rates to Martin Webb, you will assign him to a number of tasks:


2. Navigate through the permanent resources in t he project view so that you can see the Approver and Builder permanent resources.

3. Click and drag the Martin Webb permanent resource in the Builder folder and drop it onto the Construction task.

4. Click and drag the Martin Webb permanent resource in the Approver folder and drop it onto the Completion task.

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Notice that the cost of each allocation is displayed in the Cost column of the spreadsheet:  The cost of the Construction allocation is £30.00

multiplied by the number of hours taken by the task.  The cost of the Completion allocation is £50.00, as this is

a fixed cost.

7.7

Assigning costs to consumable resources Consumable resource costs are made up of two parts:  A cost per use that is incurred whenever you assign a

resource to a task. For example, there might be a delivery charge that does not change, regardless of the number of units delivered.  A cost per unit.

The cost of a consumable resource is therefore the cost per unit multiplied by the number of units, plus any cost per use. Whenever you assign a consumable resource to a task, the cost of the resource is calculated from its defaults. After assigning a resource, you can still edit the allocation if you need to specify costs that differ from the default. In this example, you will set default costs for the Materials consumable resources you defined earlier. To set default costs for consumable resources:

1. Click


2. Select Consumable Resource from the tree view. 3. Navigate through your consumable resources so that you can see the consumable resources in the Materials folder in the list view.

4. Right-click Glass and select Properties. The Consumable Resource Properties dialog appears.

5. Select the Cost/Income tab:

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Managing costs

6. Enter £20.00 in the Cost per use field to indicate that there is a £20.00 delivery charge each time glass is assigned to a task.

7. Enter £0.50 in the Cost per unit field to indicate that each item of glass used costs 50 pence.

8. Select Construction costs in the Expenditure cost centre field to indicate the cost centre to which the costs should be charged.

9. Click Close. Follow the steps above to specify default costs for the Steel and Wood consumable resources as follows: Steel Field

Enter/Select

Cost per use

£10.00

Cost per unit

£0.50

Expenditure cost centre

Construction costs

Wood Field

Enter/Select

Cost per use

£15.00

Cost per unit

£1.00

Expenditure cost centre

Construction costs

When you have set up the default costs, select the View submenu from the View menu, then select Close to close Library Explorer. You will now assign t he three consumable resources to the Fabrication task in the Site A project:

1. Navigate through the consumable resources in the project view so that you can see the three Materials consumable resources.

2. Click and drag each resource in turn and drop them onto the Fabrication task. Notice that the cost of each allocation is displayed in the Cost column of the spreadsheet:  The cost of the Glass allocation is £20.00, plus 50 pence

multiplied by the number of items allocated.  The cost of the Steel allocation is £10.00, plus 50 pence

multiplied by the number of items allocated.  The cost of the Wood allocation is £15.00, plus £1.00

multiplied by the number of items allocated.

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7.8

Viewing cost and income information If you do not have costs and income displayed in the spreadsheet, you can view cost and income information in a number of other ways, including:

 If you select more than

one allocation, the dialog displays the total cost or income for the selected allocations.

 View the cost of a resource allocation using the

Resource Allocation Properties dialog.  View the cost of a direct cost allocation using the Cost

Allocation Properties dialog.  View the cost of a bar or task using the Bar and Task

Properties dialog. To view the total cost or income for a particular resource or cost centre, rather than for individual allocations, display the Roll-ups tab of the Properties dialog for that resource or cost centre within Library Explorer. A resource's costs are shown as follows:  For a permanent resource, costs and income are shown

for the resource in its selected role, in all its roles, and in all its roles plus that of any subordinate resources.  For a consumable resource, costs and income are

shown for the resource, and for the resource plus that of any subordinate resources. Now that you have introduced costs to your programme, you will record the progress of the programme.

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Progressing projects

8

Progressing projects This chapter explains how to record the progress of your programme of projects in Asta As ta Powerproject. Progressing projects on a regular basis is essential in order to keep your project information up to date. This chapter includes the following information:  Ways of progressing projects.  Creating progress periods.  Baselining your projects.  Recording progress.  Comparing the progressed project with the original

baseline.  Completing your project.  Recording progress remotely.  Viewing projects remotely.

8.1

Ways of progressing projects You record the progress of a project by assigning progress to tasks or allocations to show the amount of work that has been completed and the amount of work that remains to be done. Once a project is underway, you will probably want to record its progress at regular intervals. Recording progress ensures that your project is kept up to date and lets you see if work is progressing as planned or if delays are creeping in. It also ensures that you know how much work remains to be done to reach the project end date. When you update a project, you record the amount of progress that has been made to tasks and allocations within a certain period, called a progress period. For example, you could show that two days work were completed on a task in one week and three days in a second week. You can use a single progress period if you prefer, but this does not allow you to use a different appearance appearance for progress that occurs within different periods. After you have marked progress on a project, you should reschedule it to see whether the progress has affected t he critical path and the project end date. If the end date has changed, you may want to make some adjustments to the plan to get it back on track. You can baseline your projects in order to record all or part of a project at a particular point in time. Baselines are useful for tracking the progress of a project and experimenting with 'what if' scenarios.

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8.2


8.3

Creating progress periods You create progress periods in Library Explorer. Each progress period consists of a date up to which you are reporting progress (the report date), a line style for the report date and an appearance used for progress shading on the bar chart. You can define a hierarchy of progress periods in Library Explorer. For example, each department might have its own progress period and each team within each department might have its own subordinate progress period. Alternatively, you could set up progress periods for each month of the year. Then when you assign progress for January, the progress shading uses January's appearance, and so on. This makes the month in which tasks are completed immediately apparent. You can record progress more than once within each progress period. For example, if you want t o report progress on a weekly basis, you could use monthly progress periods and report progress at the end of each week within the appropriate period. Alternatively, you could create a hierarchy of progress periods with each monthly progress period containing subordinate subordinate progress periods for the weeks within the month. In this example you will create a number of weekly progress periods. To create progress periods:

1. Click


2. Select Progress Period from the tree view. You see the default progress period displayed in the list view. The report date of this progress period is the date on which you started to create your programme of projects. You will edit this progress period and create some more.

3. Double-click the

icon next to the default progress period. The Progress Period Properties dialog appears:

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4. Enter Week

1 in the Name field to indicate that this is

your first progress period. Do not edit the other fields. Close. 5. Click Close. You will now create six more progress periods:

1. Right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Progress Period. Period . A new progress period is created, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

2. Enter Week

2, then click a blank area of the list view to

finish editing. Notice that the new progress period is dated a week later than the first period and is assigned a different line style and colour.

3. Follow the steps above to create f ive new progress periods called Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6 and Week 7:

4. Select the View submenu from the View menu, then click Close to close Library Explorer. You will now display progress information on the bar chart. You can display a line representing the report date of each progress period and choose whether to display recorded progress in one colour, or in the colour of the appropriate progress period:


2. Click the Progress tab:

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3. Select the On check box in the Lines group, then select the check box next to each of the progress periods below it to indicate that you want to display a line on the bar chart on the report date of each period.

4. Click the Coloured radio button in the Shading group to indicate that you want to display progress on tasks in the colour of the appropriate progress period.

5. Click Close. Notice that coloured lines are displayed on the bar chart, indicating the report date of each progress period:

8.4

Baselining your projects A baseline is a record of all or any part of a project at a particular point in time. It contains a copy of everything in the project, for example bars, tasks, links, resource allocations, libraries and histograms. You can create as many baselines as you want for a project. In this example, you will baseline your programme of projects before you apply progress to it. This will give you a record of the planned schedule, which you will be able to compare against the actual progress of the programme. To baseline your projects:

 You can baseline

individual objects within a project by selecting them before you create the baseline.

1. As you want to baseline your entire programme of projects, click Root chart in the project view to view the root chart:

If you create a baseline while viewing a particular project, the baseline only contains that project.

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2. Select the Baseline/What If Manager command from the File menu. The Baseline/What If Manager dialog appears:

3. Click New to create a new baseline. The Introduction screen of the Baseline Wizard appears.

4. Read the instructions and click Next. The References screen appears.

5. Enter Initial

Baseline in the Name field and click

Next. The Destination screen appears.

6. Asta Powerproject suggests a location and filename for the baseline, giving it a .ppb extension. Click Next to accept the suggested location and filename. The Scope screen appears.

7. You can use this screen to limit the information that is included in the baseline. Click Finish to accept the default settings and create the baseline. The baseline appears in the Baseline/What If Manager dialog.

8. Click Close to close the dialog. Now that you have created a baseline of the project, you can compare the actual project with the baseline once you have progressed the project.

8.5

Recording progress There are two methods of working when assigning progress: you can report progress using estimates of the completed duration or percentage complete of a task, or using estimates of the amount of a resource or cost allocation that has been completed:  If you know that two days or ten percent of a task

duration has been completed, you can assign that progress to the task and the progress is reflected across any allocations on the task. This is known as 'top-down' progress.

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 If you know that 200 units of a work-based resource

allocation or £2,000 of a cost allocation has been completed, you can assign progress to the allocations and determine the task's progress from the progress of its allocations. This is known as 'bottom-up' progress. Using 'bottom-up' progress, the progress is only shown on tasks when you choose to progress tasks from their allocations. In this example, you will record progress using both methods. Within the 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' methods, there are a number of ways in which you can record the progress of a task or allocation. You will use a variety of these methods to record progress on the tasks within the Site A project. Before you begin, click the Site A project in the project view to open it.

Marking progress up to a specific date A quick way of marking progress on a task or allocation that is on schedule is to mark it as complete up to a specific date. You do this by assigning a progress period to the task or allocation. The task or allocation is then marked as progressed up to the report date of the progress period. To mark progress on the first Site Planning task up to a specific date, right-click the first task on the Site Planning bar in the Site A project, select the Progress Up To submenu, then select the Week 2 progress period. Progress is displayed on the task in red, the colour of the Week 2 progress period:

The progress is displayed along the entire length of the task, indicating that the task is complete. This is because the first task on the Site Planning bar is contained completely within the selected progress period. Let us now assume that you have reached the end of the Week 2 progress period. At the end of each progress period, it is good practice to reschedule your project, straightening the progress line of the progress period you have just completed. You will do this now:

1. Select the Reschedule command from the Tools menu. The Reschedule dialog appears.

2. Click the Options tab.

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3. Select Week 2 in the Straighten progress line to period field, to indicate that you want to straighten the progress line of the Week 2 progress period, pushing all uncompleted tasks to the right of it.

4. Click OK. The project is rescheduled. As the progress line of the Week 2 progress period was already straight – ie progress was exactly on track – there is no change to the project. You can also assign a progress period to a task or allocation by dragging the progress period from Library Explorer onto the task:

1. Click


2. If Library Explorer appears maximised within the Asta Powerproject window, click the Restore control to display Library Explorer as a moveable window:

3. Select Progress Period from the tree view to display your progress periods in the list view.

4. Position the Asta Powerproject windows so that you can see the progress periods in Library Explorer and the tasks in the Site A project at the same time:

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 You can assign a

progress period to more than one task at a time by selecting multiple tasks.

5. Click and drag the Week 3 progress period from Library Explorer and drop it onto the second task on the Site Planning bar. Progress is displayed on the second task in green, the colour of the Week 3 progress period, and also on its allocation:

6. Close Library Explorer. Marking a precise amount of progress When you need to mark different amounts of progress on different tasks or allocations, the most efficient and flexible method is to use the Enter Progress dialog. To mark a precise amount of progress on the Fabrication task:

1. Right-click the Fabrication task and select Enter Progress. The Enter Progress dialog appears:  You can use this dialog

to apply progress to tasks and allocations in a variety of ways.

2. Select the Week 3 progress period in the Progress period field to indicate that you want to record progress on the task that has taken place during the third period. The columns in the grid display previous, current, remaining and total progress.

3. Enter 50% in the first row of the Current column and click outside the field. The progress information is updated to show the 50% of the task remains to be completed.

4. Click Close. Notice that the task is now split into two. Progress is displayed on the first portion of the task in green, the colour of the Week 3 progress period and no progress is shown on the second half of the task:

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Let us now assume that you have reached the end of the Week 3 progress period. Reschedule your project as described above, but this time select Week 3 in the Straighten progress line to period field, to indicate that you want to straighten the progress line of the Week 3 progress period, pushing all uncompleted tasks to the right of it. After the project is rescheduled, note how all uncompleted tasks are pushed to the right of the Week 3 progress line, indicating that the tasks have yet to be completed and that the project is starting to run behind schedule:

You can also enter a precise amount of progress using the Object Edit toolbar:

1. Select the Inspection task. 2. Right-click the % progress control on the Object Edit toolbar:

3. A list of progress periods appears. Select the Week 4 progress period to indicate that you want to record progress on the task that has taken place during the fourth period.  Alternatively, you can

enter a precise percentage into the control.

4. Left-click the % progress control and select 70% from the drop-down list. Progress is displayed on the first portion of the task in blue, the colour of the Week 4 progress period and no progress is shown on the second half of the task. Even if you do not enter progress using the Object Edit toolbar, you can use it to see the percentage progress complete of any selected task. You can also enter a precise amount of progress using Asta Powerproject’s Progress Entry Mode:

1. Click

on the Bar Chart toolbar to enter Progress Entry

Mode.

2. Position the cursor over the start of the uncompleted portion of the Fabrication task until the cursor displays as .

3. Click and drag the Progress Entry Mode cursor over the task from left to right. Notice that a popup window displays the amount of progress you are entering as you drag:

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4. Release the left mouse button when you have entered progress for the entire task. Progress is displayed on the second portion of t he task in blue, the colour of the last progress period you used:

Let us now assume that you have reached the end of the Week 4 progress period. Reschedule your project again, but this time select Week 4 in the Straighten progress line to period field, to indicate that you want to straighten the progress line of the Week 4 progress period. After the project is rescheduled, note how all uncompleted tasks are pushed to the right of the Week 4 progress line:

Progressing a task from its allocations When you assign progress to an allocation, the task's progress is not calculated automatically. Recording progress therefore becomes a two-stage process:  Record the progress of allocations.  Progress the task from its allocations.

Progressing allocations rather than tasks can be useful in situations where a task is being worked on by more than one resource, all working at different rates. Recording the resources' progress then gives you a more accurate reflection of progress than progressing the task directly. You can record progress on allocations using any of the methods described above. In this example, you will record progress on the permanent resources allocated to the Construction task:

1. Select the Mark Smith permanent resource allocated to the Construction task.

2. Right-click the % progress control on the Object Edit toolbar.

3. Select the Week 5 progress period to indicate that you want to record progress on the task that has taken place during the fifth period.

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4. Left-click the % progress control and select 30% from the drop-down list. Progress is displayed on the allocation in cyan, the colour of the Week 5 progress period. Notice that the Construction task has no progress recorded against it yet:

5. Let us now assume that you have reached the end of the Week 5 progress period. Reschedule your project again, but this time straighten the progress line to Week 5. The Construction task is split, progress is recorded on the first portion of it, and the second portion of it is moved beyond the Week 5 progress line:

6. Select the Martin Webb permanent resource allocated to the Construction task and repeat the steps above to record 50% progress in the Week 6 progress period. Progress is displayed on the allocation in yellow. Notice that the second portion of the Construction task still has no progress recorded against it yet:

7. You will now progress the Construction task from its allocations. Right-click the second portion of the Construction task and select Progress From Allocations. Asta Powerproject calculates the progress of the task from that of its allocations:

8.6

Comparing the progressed project with the original baseline Now that you have progressed the project and rescheduled it, you can compare it with the baseline that you created before you began to record progress. This enables you to identify areas where the actual progress of the project differs from the progress that you expected originally. To compare the project with a baseline:


2. Click the Baselines tab:

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 If you had created

more than one baseline, you could choose which ones to display on the bar chart.

3. The baseline you created is displayed in both panes. Select the check box to the left of each instance of the baseline to indicate that you want to display the tasks and allocations of the baseline in your progressed project.

4. Click Apply. The tasks and allocations from the baseline appear in the bar chart underneath the corresponding tasks and allocations in the progressed project:

It is now obvious that the project has not progressed to plan as had been anticipated, resulting in a later project end date.

5. Clear the two check boxes that you had selected in the Format Bar Chart dialog and click Close to remove the baseline from the bar chart. As well as comparing projects with baselines, you can use baselines to experiment with 'what if' scenarios: baseline a project and try out your ideas by editing the baseline. If you are happy with the result, you can revert to your baseline, meaning that the baseline becomes the actual project.

8.7

Completing your project Earlier in this guide, you cr eated a Project Complete annotation and attached it to the Completion milestone in the Site A project, configuring it to display automatically once the project was complete.

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You will now record that the final task in the project, the Completion milestone, is complete. Once the milestone is complete, the Project Complete annotation will be displayed:

1. Right-click the Completion milestone, select the Progress Up To submenu, then select the 100% Complete command.

2. Select the Refresh view command from the View menu to redraw the current view on the screen. The Project Complete annotation appears to the right of the Completion milestone, indicating that the project is complete:

8.8

Recording progress remotely Although in this example you have recorded progress directly into Asta Powerproject, in some situations you may want your permanent resources to update their progress as they work. Depending on the project, permanent resources may not have access to Asta Powerproject, for example if they are working in a remote location. This is not a problem, as resources can now use Asta Timesheet to record progress on their allocations remotely. Asta Timesheet is a web-based tool that resources can access via a standard web browser from any computer. They can access their projects and view the tasks to which they are assigned, then enter the amount of time they have worked on each task and estimate the amount of time remaining to complete the task. When they submit their completed timesheets, a Resource Manager can approve them and apply the progress to the resource allocations in Asta Powerproject. Tasks are then updated with the progress from their allocations.

8.9

Viewing progress remotely As well as being able to record progress remotely using Asta Timesheet, you can view project information over the web using Asta Web Viewer. This application, which runs on any computer with access to the internet or an intranet, provides you with a view of their projects similar to that available in Asta Powerproject itself. You can navigate through the projects to which you have access using the project tree and view bar chart and spreadsheet information.

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Printing project information

9

Printing project information This chapter explains how to print project information from within Asta Powerproject and output it in other ways. This chapter includes the following information:  What Asta Powerproject prints.  Understanding border files.  Preparing to print.  Previewing and printing.  Printing on multiple pages.  Other output options.

9.1

What Asta Powerproject prints Asta Powerproject prints whatever is in the active view, excluding the project view. This means that you can print any information you want from within Asta Powerproject, including the bar chart, spreadsheet and histograms.

9.2

Understanding border files Everything you print from within Asta Powerproject is surrounded by a border. Border files contain information that determines the page layout used by your printout, including page size, orientation and margin information. A number of default borders are supplied with Asta Powerproject, but you can edit them and create your own, using the Asta Powerdraw application. You can include a wide range of information from your project in a border file, for example the project title, start date, end date and duration. You include this information in a border by inserting project tokens into the border file, which are replaced by project-specific information each time you print using the border. In addition to tokens, your borders can include almost any designs that you want. For example, you could feature:  Coloured and patterned background rectangles.  Coloured borders around the edge of the page.  Text notations.  Line and shape graphics.  Imported graphics, such as your company logo.

Within each border is a chart area, in which the view that you print from Asta Powerproject is placed. In this tutorial you will use one of the default borders that is supplied with Asta Powerproject.

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9.3


9.4

Preparing to print Before you print, you must ensure that the active view displays the information that you want. For example, you could print the spreadsheet without the bar chart by turning off the bar chart, or turn off some display features to avoid including too much information in the printout. In this example, prepare the Site A project for printing by selecting the Histogram View command from the View menu to display the histogram that you defined earlier. The view should look something like this:

9.5

Previewing and printing It is good practice to preview the active view before you print it:

1. Select the Print Preview command from the File menu. The Print Preview window appears, displaying the active view:

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Printing project information

 You can use the Print

Preview toolbar to change the way in which the view is printed.

2. When you move the cursor over the preview, the cursor shape changes to . Click and drag the cursor over a section of the previewed page to zoom in and view the selection in more detail. The cursor shape then changes to

. Click to zoom out.

3. Click

to print the previewed page using your current printer settings.

Asta Powerproject has a wide range of printing settings. If you need to change any settings before you print, or you want to print to a different printer, click to view the Print dialog, where you can specify your settings before you print.

9.6

Printing on multiple pages If the view you are printing is too large to fit onto a single page, or you want to print the information using a larger scale, you can print the view on more than one page. You can then attach the individual pages to each other to create one large printout. Although the example project you have printed is small enough to fit onto a single sheet of A4 paper, you will now print it over two pages to display the information in more detail:

1. Within the Print Preview window, click

. A pictogram

appears, showing three pages by two.

2. Click and drag the pictogram to select a two pages by one layout, then release the mouse button:

The information is now displayed over two pages:

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3. Click

to print the previewed pages using your current printer settings.

4. Click Close to close the Print Preview window.

9.7

Other output options As well as printing the view you have on the screen, you can also output data from Asta Powerproject in the following ways:  Export the spreadsheet data to HTML (including the bar

chart as a graphic if you want), CSV or MPX files.  Output the spreadsheet and bar chart to the Clipboard,

or to WMF or EMF files.  Use report writers to work directly with databases saved

as Microsoft Access MDB files.  Use Asta Powerproject’s OLE automation to write data

from an Asta Powerproject project into Microsoft Excel and create a standard report.

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Producing reports

10

Producing reports This chapter explains how to produce reports from within Asta Powerproject. This chapter includes the following information:  Introduction to tabular reports.  Creating a tabular report category.  Creating a tabular report.  Executing a tabular report.  Conclusion.

10.1

Introduction to tabular reports You can produce reports in Asta Powerproject to output project information in a tabular format similar to the spreadsheet – these are known as ‘tabular reports’. You can present tabular reports in a wide variety of formats, printing them out or outputting the reports to file. There are four types of tabular report:  Permanent resource reports – tabular reports in which

permanent resources are the main focus. This type of tabular report lists permanent resources in turn, displaying information about the tasks to which they are assigned.  Consumable resource reports – tabular reports in which

consumable resources are the main focus. This type of tabular report lists consumable resources in turn, displaying information about the tasks to which they are assigned.  Cost reports – tabular reports in which cost centres are

the main focus. This type of tabular report lists cost centres in turn, displaying information about the tasks and allocations to which they are assigned.  Task reports – tabular reports in which tasks are the

main focus. This type of tabular report lists tasks in turn, displaying information about the tasks and their allocations. You can create tabular reports in t wo distinct styles:  Top down reports, in which data is displayed in vertical

columns.  Horizontally sliced reports, in which data is time-sliced

horizontally by a specified time unit and interval. For example, with a horizontally-sliced report, you can display values for every 3 weeks, or for every 2 months. You create tabular reports using the Tabular Report Wizard, which takes you through the report creation process step-bystep. You specify the columns of information that are included in a tabular report by assigning a table definition to it. You can also apply a filter to the tabular report, to limit the report to specific filter criteria, and a sort order, to sort the information in the report in a particular way.

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You can save tabular reports as t emplates, and use them as a basis for the creation of further tabular reports. You can also store your tabular reports within Library Explorer in categories, making it easy to locate the report you want. In this tutorial, you will create a report showing a weekly breakdown of which tasks the permanent resources in the Builder folder are working on.

10.2


10.3

Creating a tabular report category Tabular reports are stored in Library Explorer within folders, known as tabular report categories. You can create as many tabular report categories as you want within Library Explorer. For example, you could create tabular report categories called Cost Reports, Permanent Resource Reports, Management Reports, etc. Here, you will create a tabular report category in which to store permanent resource reports.

1. Click

to open Library Explorer.

2. Select Tabular Report from the tree view. 3. Right-click a blank area of the list view in the r ight pane and select New Tabular Report Category. A new tabular report category appears in the list, with the cursor flashing in the Name column.

4. Enter Permanent

Resource Reports , then click a

blank area of the list view to finish editing. You can now create a tabular report within the category you have created.

10.4

Creating a tabular report You will now create a new tabular report within the tabular report category you have created.

1. Double-click the tabular report category you have just created to open it.

2. Within the new category, right-click a blank area of the list view and select New Tabular Report. The Tabular Report Wizard appears.

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Producing reports

3. Follow the instructions in the wizard to create the tabular report, clicking Next to move between the various pages of the wizard and making the selections detailed below within the various pages: −

Report name: Weekly Breakdown of Builders' Tasks.

−

Report type: permanent resource report.

−

Report style: horizontally sliced report.

−

Resource or cost scope: all resource or cost scope.

−

Select the data to display: create a new table definition, displaying the following tokens: Task name, Start and End.

−

Report filter: none.

−

Time slicing settings: slice interval of 1, slice timeunit of Elapsed Week.

−

Report scope: all.

−

Report allocation types: scheduled.

−

Sort order: none.

−

General report options: include scope selection.

−

Report output format: printer.

4. When you have entered all the report settings, t he wizard displays a screen that enables you to review the settings you have selected. click Finish to create the report once you have reviewed your selections. The report appears within the tabular report category in Library Explorer:

10.5

Executing a tabular report You will now execute the tabular report that you have created. You can execute a tabular report in a number of ways:  Right-click the tabular report in Library Explorer and

select Execute Tabular Report.  Select the tabular report from the appropriate category in

the Tools – Tabular Reports menu.  Select the tabular report from the Select... dialog.

In this instance, simply right-click the tabular report in Library Explorer and select Execute Tabular Report. As you have selected to send the tabular report to the printer, it appears in the Print Preview window:

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Asta PowerProject Tutorial

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