Originally Posted by dtechy1
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OK I'll start! How do I use it?
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Begin by selecting a project and going to the Scheduling tab.
Then, create a new Task, specifying what it is about, when it should occur, how long it should take (duration), and who should do it (resources). You're entirely unrestricted in how you create tasks -they can be anything from a sales meeting to an installation task.
If this is to be an installation task (where you are installing items from the project), you can add items to it via the Labor and/or Equipment items tab. This causes the Projected Labor in the Labor tab to change. The projected labor can then be used to determine an appropriate Duration for the task. For example, if there are 50 hours of projected labor and 2 resources, the duration would be 25 hours. You have to change the duration manually. When you add items to a task, the installation status of the items can be tracked.
As you add items from your project onto tasks, the list of items to add will shrink until disappearing. This is because each item can only appear on one Task. When the list of items to add is empty you have scheduled every item in your project.
Once you have a collection of tasks, you can organize them by creating Summary Tasks or Work Orders. Select one or more tasks and click New > Summary Task. Tasks in large degree replace Work Orders in SI5.5, so there really is no reason to use Work Orders if you don't want to. You can also move tasks around on the Gantt chart to reschedule.
Also: if you have any existing work orders and would like to see them in the project schedule, open the work order and select Add > Work Order to Schedule. This will create a new task based on the work order.
Click on the Resource Calendar to review tasks assigned to specific resources. This allows you to see all tasks for all projects assigned to specific resources, and move them accordingly. It is also the place for individuals to go to see what's assigned to them.
We understand that some help videos are badly needed for this functionality; these are in the works and will be posted as they become available. For now, try creating some tasks using the suggestions above and you'll begin to get it.
Randy Bownds
Program Manager
D-Tools, Inc.