Amal Nagm

Choose a method to organize your tasks

• With the top-down method, you identify the major phases first and then break the phases down into individual tasks. The top-down method gives you a version of the plan as soon as you decide on the major phases. Note If you can think of tasks that don't fit under the phases that you defined, you are probably missing a phase.
  
• With the bottom-up method, you list all the possible tasks first, and then you group them into phases.

Outline your tasks

How are the summary task values calculated?

This summary task information summarizes the period between the earliest start date and latest finish date of all the included subtasks. It does not show the sum of all the subtask durations (duration: The total span of active working time that is required to complete a task. This is generally the amount of working time from the start to finish of a task, as defined by the project and resource calendar.).
Because Project 2007 calculates the summary task values, most of them cannot be edited. If you need to change a summary task's values, such as duration, update the individual subtasks. Summary task values are then recalculated.

1. On the View menu, click Gantt Chart.
2. Click the row for the task that you want to indent as a subtask or outdent as a summary task.
3. Click Indent to indent the task, making it a subtask. Click Outdent to outdent the task, making it a summary task.
   Tip You can indent or outdent a task quickly with the mouse. Point to the first letter of the task name. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, drag right to indent the task or drag left to outdent the task.
   The task I selected doesn't move when I click one of the outline buttons. What's happening?
   If you are unable to indent or outdent your tasks:
   • You may be trying to outdent a first-level task Tasks at the first outline level cannot be outdented. Instead, indent those tasks that you want to include as subtasks to the first-level summary task.
   • You may be trying to move a task within a consolidated project When working with consolidated projects, you cannot outdent a task beyond the level of the subtask of a summary task.
   • You may be trying to indent or outdent assignments, not tasks The Resource Usage and Task Usage views display task and resource assignments with indentations similar to those of subtasks. Although assignments may be shown or hidden along with subtasks, they cannot be indented or outdented.
   • You may be working in a view that doesn't use the outline buttons Outline buttons (such as Outdent or Indent ) work only when the Gantt Chart, Task Sheet, or Task Usage view is the active view. If you are using one of these views and the outline buttons don't work, make sure that your summary tasks are displayed. To display the summary tasks, click Options on the Tools menu, click the View tab, and then select the Show summary tasks check box.
     
   • You may have your tasks sorted without retaining their outline structure If your tasks are currently sorted without their outline structure, the outline buttons aren't available. To keep the outline structure when sorting your tasks, point to Sort on the Project menu, click Sort by, and then select the Keep outline structure check box.
     
   • You may have your tasks grouped If you selected a criterion in the Group By box , tasks are grouped and outlining is not available. The Show Subtasks and Hide Subtasks buttons collapse and expand the grouped tasks, rather than the outline structure of the summary tasks and subtasks. To remove grouping, click No Group in the Group By box.
     

• To undo outlining, outdent all of the subtasks and lower-level summary tasks until all tasks are at the same outline level.
• You can easily rearrange the project phases in your outlined schedule. When you move or delete a summary task, you automatically move or delete all the subtasks associated with it.
• When you delete a summary task, Project 2007 will automatically delete its subtasks. To delete a summary task and retain its subtasks, you need to first outdent the subtasks to the same level as the summary task.
• When you rearrange a task list, the outline numbers for the listed items will change. Outline numbers are updated automatically when you move, add, or delete tasks, because they reflect the current structure of the task list. If you are using a custom numbering system that you entered manually, your numbers are not updated automatically. You need to manually adjust the numbers to reflect the task's new location if you move it.
• Placing tasks in a hierarchical order does not automatically create task dependencies. To create task dependencies, the tasks must be linked. After you rearrange the linked tasks in your outlined schedule, the task dependencies that you set previously may no longer be relevant, and you may need to update them.