The Outline Plan module operates in a way similar to that of the Schedule module with the only difference being that here, planning is carried out at phase level and on the basis of person days (PD).
Create Outline Plan
By copying a standard template
When opening the Outline Plan module, the following confirmation prompt will be displayed: Adopt a schedule?
Confirm the message with Yes.
The Copy Schedule module is opened at the bottom margin of the panel.
If the confirmation prompt is negated accidentally, the Copy Schedule module can be opened by right-clicking on the project header and selecting the command of the same name.
Select the required project from the listbox.
Start the copy operation by clicking on the Copy schedule button.
The schedule which has been copied into the proposal is displayed and can be edited.
By creating individual tasks
When opening the Outline Plan module, the following confirmation prompt will be displayed: Adopt a schedule?
Answer the query with No.
Insert a blank task line, e.g. by pressing F4 or by clicking on the Insert button in the menu bar or on the same icon directly below the header bar.
Save and click on the Generate WBS code button. As a result, an ID will automatically be generated for the new task in the Task field. In PLANTA standard, the WBS codes are used as task IDs in schedules.
Tasks in PLANTA project have two IDs:
A technical task ID is automatically created. It is an incrementing task number which is usually invisible in user modules in the PLANTA standard system.
A functional task ID is either generated automatically or allocated manually.
Via the global Use WBS code instead of ID parameter you can define which of these three variants will be used as functional ID. The chosen functional ID then applies system-wide to all user modules in which tasks are displayed.
Note
You can also copy schedules additively via the context menu (by right-clicking and selecting the Copy schedule command).
Create Work Breakdown Structure
Information
The parent tasks of a structured project plan are called summary tasks in PLANTA project.
The Work break down structure code (WBS code) identifies individual project tasks in accordance with their hierarchical structure.
Procedure
Structure the tasks hierarchically as required by moving them to the desired position by pressing SHIFT + holding down the left mouse button.
Select the Generate WBS code command from the context menu by right-clicking on the project header or by clicking on the Generate WBS code button (on the left-hand sidebelow theproject bar).
The WBS code is generated automatically for every task in the WBS code field in accordance with the structure. Thus the WBS code is both a marker for individual elements in the work breakdown structure and an indicator of the hierarchical structure.
Start the calculation of the schedule by clicking on the Calculate schedule button in the toolbar.
As a result, all parent tasks in the work breakdown structure are marked bold and are therefore visualized as summary tasks.
If the structure has been changed since the last update, the WBS codes are updated as well during the calculation of the schedule.
If there are less than 10 tasks, the numeration of the codes is done by the 1, 2,... 9 schema, if there are more than 10 tasks, the numeration is done by the 01, 02,... schema. 09, 10, ...
When working with structured projects, you have to keep in mind that the generation of a WBS code in the main project causes the generation of the WBS code for all subprojects concerned. The generation of the WBS code in individual subprojects, on the other hand, only has an effect on the respective subproject.
Tasks
Edit task
Procedure
Every task of the Outline Plan module can be edited by changing its individual task parameters:
Click on the calculation button in the toolbar. In doing so, calculated dates of the task (Calc. start and Calc. end) are calculated automatically.
If you do not define any requested dates for tasks but only durations, the Requested start of the project will be used as start date for the calculation. If you have not defined any requested dates for the project either, the tasks will be defined from today’s date on.
Detailed information on the calculation of schedules and on the different factors which can influence the calculation, please click here.
Read Out Task Chain
Procedure
Right-click on the required task.
Select the Read out task chain context menu command.
The What do you want to do? dialog message is displayed with selection options (via the buttons) for the display of the data in the Task Chain module.
Depending on the selection made in the dialog module, the direct predecessors or successors of the selected task or all predecessors or all successors of the task or all predecessors or successors of the task (i.e. the entire network) are displayed in the Task Chain.
Resources
Assign Resources
Information
Resources are responsible for the completion of tasks.
They are assigned (allocated) to individual tasks.
Resources must have been created before as part of the Master Data Entry.
Which resources (individual employees, entire departments, or machines) can be assigned to the tasks depends on several factors, e.g. planning horizon, project type, etc.
When assigning and planning resources in the schedule, PLANTA project distinguishes between resources, which comprise persons, departments, and skills the effort of which is planned in time units, and revenue and cost resources the effort of which is planned in monetary units.
Assign individual resources to a task
Right-click on the required task and select Insert → Resource or Insert → Revenue and cost resource from the context menu.
Select the required resource from the listbox on the Resource field in the new resource record.
When the resource was assigned to the task, several parameters have already been filled with default settings from the Resource Data Sheet (e.g. Load profile, Cost type). They can then be changed manually here.
Caution: If you change the default values for one of the resources assigned to the task and then copy this resource assignment to one of the further tasks, previously changed settings will be included instead of the default settings of the resource.
Assign several resources to a task at once
Right-click on the required task and select the Assign resources or Assign revenue and cost resources command from the context menu.
Depending on which command has been selected from the context menu, resources of the respective type will be loaded automatically when the dialog module is opened, i.e. either person, department, and skill resources or revenue and cost resources. In order to have resources of the other type displayed, click on the corresponding button.
Select the required resources from the list by activating the Select checkbox.
Click on the Assign selected objects button.
The records of the selected resource are now displayed below the respective task.
Plan Resources
Enter the planned effort for person, skill, and department resources ("days" in standard) in the Remaining effort field.
Enter the planned effort for cost and revenue resources in monetary units ("Euros" in standard) in the Remaining costs field.
Check and possibly change the load profile set by default for a distribution of effort and costs in time across the task duration.
Enter requested dates (Requested start/Requested end) if required. This enables you to specify that several resources are working on a task at different times, or that they start or finish their work at different times.
Show Utilization
Information
In the Outline Plan module, the utilization of a particular resource in other projects can be checked.
Procedure
Right-click on the required resource.
Select the Show utilization context menu command. By doing so you change to the Utilization with Cause module where the utilization of the corresponding resource is displayed.
Links
Links map dependencies between tasks of in a project and have an impact on the calculation of the project dates. For information on the options for mapping dependencies between projects, please click here.
