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╔══════════════════════════════╗ ║ E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) ║ ║ ║ ║ USER GUIDE ║ ║ Version 2.5 ║ ╚══════════════════════════════╝ A Project Management and Tracking System for the I.B.M. Personal Computer and Compatibles (c) Copyright 1987, 1988 Parcell Software All Rights Reserved Parcell Software 948 Manchester Course Geneva, Il 60134 (312) 232-6328 CompuServe ID: 72250,1356 ┌─────────┐ ┌─────┴───┐ │ (tm) ──│ │o │────────────────── │ ┌─────┴╨──┐ │ Association of │ │ │─┘ Shareware └───│ o │ Professionals ──────│ ║ │──────────────────── └────╨────┘ MEMBER E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Registration Easy Project is a Shareware program. You are encouraged to copy and share this program with other users. No fee can be charged for such copying and distribution except for a nominal charge to defray expenses. If you find this program useful, we trust you to send a $39.00 payment. Registration covers a single PC only. Site licenses available upon request. Shareware constitutes a viable, low cost alternative to many commercially available products. Shareware distribution gives users an opportunity to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue to use it, you are expected to register. Your support is important and greatly appreciated. All registered users will receive: - Latest version of Easy Project with Shareware screen disabled - Printed User Guide - Notification of updates - Free technical support Please use the form below when registering your copy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- E A S Y P R O J E C T 2.5 Registration Form Name: Date: Address: Where did you hear about Easy Project: Registration is $39.00 and covers a single PC only. Please send a check or money order to : Parcell Software 948 Manchester Course Geneva, Il 60134 E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Introduction Easy Project is a project management tool for the I.B.M. and compatible personal computers. Easy Project is designed to be an easy to learn, practical, and efficient method for planning, tracking, and controlling all types of projects. Easy Project features: 1. User defined project phases (20 maximum) 2. Unlimited number of resources per project 3. User defined tasks (1000 per project) 4. User defined subordinate tasks or items (100 per task) 5. Fast data entry with multiple resource assignments per task 6. Automatic scheduling and schedule maintenance 7. Gantt charts showing planned vs. actual dates with variable scales 8. Extensive reporting including work plans, status reports, and earned value accrual reporting 9. Online context sensitive help screens 10. dBASE III file compatibility Sample data is provided to assist in learning Easy Project. Disclaimer Parcell Software specifically disclaims any warranty, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular use. In no event shall Parcell Software be liable for any special, consequential, or other damages, including loss of profit arising out of the us of this program. Trademarks Easy Project is a trademark of Parcell Software I.B.M. is a registered trademark of the I.B.M Corporation. dBASE III is a registered trademark of Ashton-Tate, Inc. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) System Requirements Hardware I.B.M. PC/XT/AT/PS2 or 100% Compatible with at least 256K RAM Monitor Any Printer Over 40 different printers are supported. To print Gantt charts using graphic characters, your printer must support the I.B.M. character set. Software DOS 2.x or 3.x CONFIG.SYS File A CONFIG.SYS file must be in the root directory of the boot disk. This file should contain the following two records: BUFFERS = 24 FILES = 24 These values are minimum values. Re-boot DOS after making these changes. Installation Hard Disk To install Easy Project on a hard disk system, place your copy of Easy Project in drive A and type: INSTALLH This installation procedure will create a sub-directory on your hard disk of \EP and copy the necessary files. 2 Floppy System 1. Make a backup of your Easy Project disk. 2. Using backup copy in drive A and blank formatted disk in drive B, type: INSTALLF <enter> This process will copy all necessary data files to drive B and keep system files on drive A. Label the disk in drive A "EP System" and the disk in drive B "EP Data". E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Starting Easy Project Hard Disk From the \EP directory, type: EP <enter> 2 Floppy System With the EP System disk in drive A and the EP Data disk in drive B, type : EP <enter> NOTE: The first time you execute Easy Project, choose the Utilities option from the Main Menu. From this menu, configure both your monitor and your printer. After making your monitor and printer choices, exit the system and re-enter to have the monitor configuration take effect. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Data Entry Notes On all Easy Project screens and menus, the cursor can be controlled in the following fashion: Key Result <--| (Enter) Proceeds to the next field. When pressed while the cursor is in the last field of a screen or menu, all data will be saved. PgDn Exits the screen saving all changes. Esc Exits the screen without saving any changes. Up Arrow Moves cursor to previous field. Down Arrow Moves cursor to next field. <- Moves cursor backward one space. -> Moves cursor forward one space. F5 Deletes record while in Resource or Task update screens. F1 At any time while in Easy Project, help is available by pressing 'F1'. Easy Project will recognize what field or menu the request came from, and then display the appropriate text. Three heavily used fields will provide additional HELP when F1 is prossed: Project Number: Will list all current projects on file. Task Number: Will list all current tasks for a particular project. Resource: Will list all current resources for a particular project. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Main Menu The Main Menu is the driver for Easy Project. On this and all other menus, enter the number choice for the function you want. The components of the Main Menu are: Set Up Project Parameters Used to create project numbers, project descriptions, phase descriptions and set Gantt scales. Add/Change/Delete Resources Used for adding and maintaining resource data. Add/Change/Delete Tasks Used for adding and maintaining task detail data. Automatic Schedule Generation Schedule work plans automatically. Gantt Charts Produce Gantt charts for a project or phase showing original vs. current task dates. Reports Generate nine different reports including work plans, status reports and summary reports. This function contains its own menu. Utilities Used to configure system and provide sundry utility file handling. This function contains its own menu. Registration Information How to register Easy Project. Exit to DOS Return to operation system. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Creating a New Project Easy Project is designed for quick project creation. After spending a short time entering project data, Gantt charts and reports will become available. Follow this process when creating a new project: 1. Choose 'Set Up Project Parameters' from the Main Menu and enter project number, descriptions, phase descriptions and appropriate Gantt scale information. 2. Choose 'Add/Change/Delete Resources' from the Main Menu and add resource data for the project. Resources will be identified by assigning them a unique user defined code. 3. Choose 'Add/Change/Delete Tasks' from the Main Menu to enter individual tasks to the project. (See Notes On Entering Tasks) 4. If you want Easy Project to calculate estimated schedule dates, choose 'Automatic Schedule Generation' from the Main Menu. (See Notes on Automatic Scheduling) 5. At this point, Gantt charts and/or reports may be produced. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Set Up Project Parameters Easy Project has the ability to store data from several different projects at one time. Each of those projects can have different base parameters. Before task or resource data can be entered for a particular project, certain parameters or criteria must be defined. Project Number Every project must have its own unique project number. This number is used to tell the system what project should be retrieved. This number can be composed of any combinations of characters or numbers (5 character maximum). NOTE: Pressing 'F1' while on the project number field will provide a list of all currently used numbers. Project Name The Project Name is used to identify the project. This description will appear on all screens and reports. Project Description To further define a project, use these fields. The data entered here will print on all reports. Phase Descriptions For most projects, it is better to divide the project into smaller, more manageable phases. Examples of phases could be: 1. Lay foundation 2. Framing 3. Plumbing OR 1. Feasibility Study 2. Design and Analysis 3. Programming 4. Acceptance Easy Project permits 20 different phases to be defined for one particular project. The descriptions entered here will appear on project summary reports. Gantt Scale Flexible Gantt scales can be chosen to insure the most complete view of a project. Each symbol on the chart can represent from 1 to 6 days or weeks. For projects of short duration, a scale in days is probably more appropriate. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Add/Change/Delete Resources Before task data can be entered, resource information must be established. Resources may consist of human type (employees, consultants, etc.) or fixed type (materials, capital expenses, etc.). Field Descriptions Identifier: Each resource must be assigned a unique identifier. This identifier could be a name, initials or an account code. The identifier can be up to 6 characters and is alphanumeric. NOTE: Pressing F1 while the cursor is in the Identifier field will produce a list of all resources already assigned to the project. Name: Enter the full name or description of the resource. Rate: The charge rate for the resource. Type: Choose either Hourly, Daily, or Fixed. If Fixed is chosen, this resource will not be automatically scheduled. Dept: Enter a department code for the resource. This code may be up to 3 characters and is alphanumeric. NOTE: This is an optional entry but is required to produce departmentalized reports. Useage: Used to identify how many hours this resource works in one day. (not needed for Fixed types) Source: An optional entry to further describe the resource. Example: EMP = Employee CON = Consultant Note 1 & Note 2: An optional entry to use for any purpose. E A S Y P R O J E C T Add/Change/Delete Tasks Task definition is the heart of project management. Easy Project permits for practical task creation and maintenance. Before sitting down and entering data, plan what logical order your tasks will follow and if possible, divide your project into phases. Once your data has been entered, refinement and maintenance is easy. Field Definitions Task: Enter the two digit phase number plus three digit task number for this task. Refer to 'Notes on Entering Tasks' for choosing task numbers. Item: Each task can consist of numerous subordinate tasks or items. Enter an item number in this field. (optional) Predecessor: Use this field to tie tasks to a proceeding or parent task. Refer to 'Assigning Predecessors'. Description: Enter the description for this task. This description will appear on all reports and Gantt charts. Milestone: If this task in considered a Milestone in the project, enter 'Y'. Resource: Enter the resource identifier of the resource assigned to this task. A maximum of four different resources may be assigned to a particular task. Est. Time: Enter the amount of time (hours/days) this task is expected to take to complete this task. Time To-Date: Enter the amount of time this resource has taken thus far for this task. Original Start/Stop: Enter the original or planned start and stop date for this task. Current Start/Stop: Enter the current start and stop date for this task. Note 1 & Note 2: To be used for any purpose. Remaining: Enter the time remaining for this task. The system will default to the difference between estimated and time to-date. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Notes on Entering Tasks Every task number consists of the following elements: Task Number - 2 character phase number (01-20) plus 3 character task number (user defined) Item Number - 2 characters, user defined (optional) Predecessor - 7 characters, made up of (Phase + Task + Item) Keep in mind that most reports are produced in task number order. Using sequential task numbers of 001, 002, etc. within each phase is recommended. Item number is meant as a subordinate task. This is an optional entry but is useful in breaking down a large main task. Again, it's useful to use sequential item numbers within each task number. Predecessor designates what task, if any, the current task is dependent upon. This field is also optional and will default to its own task and item number. If this is used, it should consist of the phase, task and item number of the preceding task. Assigning Predecessors Predecessor numbers should be assigned using the parent or host task number. Several tasks can all contain the same predecessor number. If no predecessor is assigned, the system will default to the task number. Sample Task Numbers Task Field = 01-002 Item Field = 03 Predecessor = 01-002 03 Definition: This task belongs to phase 1, task equals 002 and this is the third item for task 002. This task is not dependent on any other task so the predecessor field defaults to the phase, task and item number. Task Field = 01-003 Item Field = 01 Predecessor = 01-002 03 Definition: This task belongs to phase 1, task equals 003 and this is the first item for task 003. This task is dependent on the task from the first example (its parent task). E A S Y P R O J E C T Automatic Schedule Maintenance If an original start or stop date is changed, for an existing task, the automatic scheduler will be invoked adjusting both original and current start/stop dates. This adjustment will occur only for tasks assigned the same predecessor. You will have the ability to override the proposed dates. Likewise, if a current start or stop date is changed, the automatic scheduler will be invoked to adjust current dates only. Marking Tasks Complete For the purpose of the Project Status Report, Easy Project considers a task complete when time remaining equals zero and estimated or time to-date is greater than zero. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Automatic Schedule Generation Easy Project will automatically calculate original start and stop dates based on the estimated time assigned to each task. To calculate dates, enter the project number followed by the base start date. The base start date should be the date the project may begin. Schedule Screen Display As the schedule generates, each task and the newly calculated dates are displayed. After the screen fills, you have the ability to change or override the calculated date. Pressing <ESC> aborts the update process and the records will not be updated. Use the <ENTER> key to advance the cursor. When the screen is completely updated, these dates will be used to update both the original and the current start and stop dates for the tasks. Notes on Dependencies For automatic scheduling and Gantt charts, dependencies should be created using the following example: In the case of tasks 001, 002, 003 and 004 being dependent upon the respective prior task (004 on 003, 003 on 002, etc.) assign tasks 002, 003, and 004 dependent to task 001. Think of task 001 as the parent task and then place the dependent tasks in task number order. Notes on Scheduling 1. In the case of multiple resource tasks, the resource taking the greatest amount of time will be used in calculating the schedule. (the display reflects this) 2. Any task which has a fixed type resource will be ignored. 3. On the Resource update screen, the Useage field should reflect the total number of hours the resource works in one day. Use this for both hourly and daily type resources. 4. Weekends will be taken into consideration when calculating the schedule. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Gantt Chart Easy Project's Gantt charts are designed to give a graphic display of a projects planned vs. actual progress. Two different types of charts may be produced: 1. A chart displaying task for one particular phase in task number order. 2. A chart displaying the entire project with tasks grouped by dependencies. In order for a task to be displayed, it must have an Original Start Date. Scale Options Refer to Set Up Project Parameters on how to set the Gantt scale. It may be changed at any time during the project. Output Options Easy Project offers three options for generating Gantt charts: 1. (D)isplay - The chart will be displayed on your monitor. If the scale is set to 1 day, a view of 2 months will be displayed. 2. (P)rint - The chart will be printed in compressed format. With a scale set to 1 day, a view of approximately 4 months will be printed. 3. (F)ile - The chart will be written to a disk file named GANTT.PRN. This is an ASCII file that may be printed through DOS or by using another print utility program. If the scale is set to 1 day, a view of approximately 6 months will be printed. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Report Menu Many helpful reports can be instantly generated either online or sent to your printer. Due to space limitations, some reports are printed in compressed format - thus giving more detail than when displayed online. Sample copies of all reports are contained at the end of this manual. Work Plan By Task - Produces a detailed work plan for a particular phase in task number order. Work Plan By Resource - Produces a detailed work plan for the entire project in order of task original start date within resource. Work Plan Project Summary - Summarizes all phases of a project plan giving a concise report. Work Plan Resource Summary - Produces a departmentalized resource summary either for a particular phase or the entire project. Project Status Report (Plan vs. Actual) - A to-date status report for the entire project. Project Status Summary (Actual) - Summarizes all project phases showing actual costs and current dates. Project Resource Summary (Actual) - Shows departmental break down of actual costs by individual resource. Earned Value Report - A to-date report detailing cost accruals. Resource List - Gives a detailed list of all resources assigned to a particular project. Exit - Return to the Main Menu. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Utility Menu The Utility Menu consists of various functions that may be used for file handling or system configuration. NOTE: Be sure to backup all Easy Project files on a regular basis. This will help in recovering from any potential disasters. Reindex All Files Easy Project uses several index files which permits fast data retrieval. These index files are not compatible with dBASE or any other known applications. All files with the extension of .NTX should never be deleted. If the file integrity of your files is every in question, choose the reindex option. File integrity may degrade due to abnormal termination of the system. It can never hurt the system to reindex files. Delete (Pack) Marked Records When task or resource data is deleted using the 'F5' key, they (records) are actually marked for deletion but physically remain on file. These records are unavailable for normal use. The delete option on this menu will physically delete all marked records. Once this option is exercised, the marked records can no longer be used or recovered. Undelete (Recall) Records This option will seek all records that have been marked for deletion (and not packed), and recall or make them available again for processing. NOTE: This option will recall all records from all project from all files regardless of project number. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Utility Menu (continued) Delete Project This function will delete all tasks, resources and related records for a particular project. To use, first enter the project number to delete. Next, you will be prompted to verify that you really want to delete the project. Answering 'N' will bypass any deletions. If verified, records are marked for deletion. Copy or Clone Project On occasion, you may want to create a project that has many similar tasks as another project previously entered. The copy option will take a current project and duplicate all tasks and resources using a new project number. The old project remains intact with no changes. Rebuild Files from Importing Easy Project database files (.DBF) are dBASE III compatible and can be exported directly into many other applications. Exporting may provide useful for additional reporting or mass updating. If files are exported and then imported into Easy Project, they must be rebuilt. This function will automatically rebuild index files and all necessary relations. NOTE: Exercise caution when updating Easy Project files from outside applications. Be sure to have recent backups of all files as a safeguard. Backup Data Files On a regular, consistent basis, backups should be made of Easy Project files. This option will copy all databases (.DBF) to a floppy disk. If you are using a two floppy system, use drive A: NOTE: This function copies only data files. Regular backups of all Easy Project files should be made using the DOS COPY or DISKCOPY commands. If files are used from a backup, be sure to reindex the files. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Utility Menu (continued) Configure Monitor This option sets the proper type of monitor for your system. To have these changes take effect, exit Easy Project completely and then re-enter. Configure Printer Easy Project supports many printers. Find the number that corresponds to your printer and enter the number at the prompt. If your printer is not listed, choose either the I.B.M. Graphics or Other ASCII Printer. To print Gantt charts using the same graphic characters that are displayed, your printer must support the I.B.M. character set. Exit This will return you to the Main Menu. E A S Y P R O J E C T (tm) Conclusion We hope this User Guide assists in your using Easy Project. Easy Project is a dynamic system that will constantly be upgraded and improved. Your suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated. If you have any questions about Easy Project, please contact us by mail or via CompuServe EasyPlex. Please remember to register if you find yourself using Easy Project. Registered users will receive: 1. Latest version of Easy Project with Shareware screen disabled 2. Printed User Guide with sample screens, reports and Gantt charts 3. Notification of updates 4. Free technical support Thanks again for using Easy Project. Parcell Software 948 Manchester Course Geneva, Il 60134 (312) 232-6328 CompuServe ID (72250,1356)