What is the best method for creating a "bucket" task which can be used by all members of the project schedule to track misc. time for meetings, time tracking, and such?
I'd like to find an option that does not span the length of the project, becuase if I do that it shows up on the critical path. Any ideas?
Saving Changes...
Sort By:
Peter WrightProgramme Manager| BAE SystemsSouthport, Merseyside, United Kingdom
You can create a single task if this is what you need which completes well before the end date of the project, re-occuring tasks can be used, you will have to remaber to set the to 100% each week once complete so they do not affect the time-line.
Split it into phases and ensure there is enought / more float than the critical path (between the end of a phase and the end of the project) and this should also ensure it does not show up. Saving Changes...
Richard JohnsonBids & Proposals Manager| Meggitt AvionicsFareham, United Kingdom
"Buckets" - These send a shiver down my spine. The major down side of "bucket tasks" is that they are used at the first excuse rather than declaring problems and hence hide the root cause and prevent analysis leading to process improvement. Please don't use them.
If there is a specific event or task to do then plan them in. For a repeated series of event - use recurring tasks. Otherwise how will you be able to analyse/ control the spend?
Other thoughts we apply include:
When at a project meeting - book the time to your current task. If you aren't doing any active work on the project - avoid the meeting!
Some meetings - Design Reviews - warrant their own task entry.
Overhead tasks like time tracking/ daily reviews/ weekly telecons etc are part of doing the job so cost them in and book accordingly.
Hope this helps. Saving Changes...
Richard JohnsonBids & Proposals Manager| Meggitt AvionicsFareham, United Kingdom
"Buckets" - These send a shiver down my spine. The major down side of "bucket tasks" is that they are used at the first excuse rather than declaring problems and hence hide the root cause and prevent analysis leading to process improvement. Please don't use them.
If there is a specific event or task to do then plan them in. For a repeated series of event - use recurring tasks. Otherwise how will you be able to analyse/ control the spend?
Other thoughts we apply include:
When at a project meeting - book the time to your current task. If you aren't doing any active work on the project - avoid the meeting!
Some meetings - Design Reviews - warrant their own task entry.
Overhead tasks like time tracking/ daily reviews/ weekly telecons etc are part of doing the job so cost them in and book accordingly.
Hope this helps. Saving Changes...
I create a "Hammock" task in Microsoft Project which is linked to Start and Finish but does not impact the finish date. The simple explanation is 1) create task 1 as a milestone for Start and task 2 as a milestone for Finish (task 1 is a pred to all tasks and all tasks eventually link to task 2 for a project finish date), 2) create the task (I call mine Squad Briefings), do not enter a duration, 3) copy the Start field of task 1 Start task then use Paste Special to paste this link into the Start field of the hammock task, 4) copy the Finish field of task 2 Finish task then use Paste Special to paste this link into the Finish field of the hammock task, 5) estimate the total hours you will need for these meetings over the life of the project, 6) assign your resources to this task. It actually works quite well - if your project gets extended, it extends; or if your project compresses, it shortens. Saving Changes...
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
I have to say I agree with Richard - avoid bucket tasks if you can. It's much better to schedule tasks individually. For example, I use a recurring task for steering group meetings which happen once a month. I have split out all the PM related tasks like that one and put them at the bottom of the Gantt chart in MS Project, which means I can roll them all up and I don't have to print or view them unless necessary. Saving Changes...
Darren KosaPlanning & Controls ContractorHampshire, United Kingdom
Hi Anon,
As previously mention I have used 'Hammock’'tasks in the past, however, I would suggest that if you wish to see a true critical path, then only schedule tasks that are essential to the completion of project goals and deliverables.
Should you be required to track reoccurring tasks such as risk reviews, progress meetings or ongoing administrative effort, then creating a supporting project schedule, enabling you to keep account of such activity could be a path that you might want to follow.
Hammock tasks do not impact the critical path of the project but are impacted by the critical path. Saving Changes...
Andrew MakarProgram Manager| AMAKAR LLCOakland Township, Mi, United States
Are you tracking time for all the resources in your project schedule?
Depending on your requirements, you may want to consider simply not tracking the bucket time in a project schedule and instead use your company's time keeping system to track project work, staff work, non-work activities.
It is one way to establish an estimated resource availability without messing around with every single hour in the project schedule. You can spend hours tweaking and managing the data within the tool.
In one of the templates that I've seen, we've got "bucket" tasks for all the monitor and control activities. I recommend deleting those activities and scheduling the executive reviews and status meetings in Outlook.
The project schedule is a useful model...but there is a balance between over-engineering the scheduling solution with actual project delivery.
