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PLAN.TXT
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1995-01-27
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Psion 3a
Plan 2.2.2
User Guide
Copyright Andy Clarkson 1995
INTRODUCTION
Plan is a project planning application for the Psion 3a. Plan allows a
project plan to be constructed from individual task components. Task and
resource details are entered into the application along with dependencies
between tasks. The application will then calculate the schedule for each
task and the project as a whole.
Each task has the following key values:
- start date and time,
- work,
- resource work rate,
- end date and time.
Usually only two or three of the above values are entered, with the other
values being calculated by Plan. For example:
- A start date and time may be entered along with an amount of work
and work rate, from which the end date and time are calculated.
- Given a start and end date and time, and a rate, Plan will calculate
the work. This could be used where a task has been completed, the
start and end are known along with the average work rate but the
exact amount of work needs to be calculated.
- Given a start and end date and time and work, Plan will calculate
the work rate. An example of a case where this could be used is
where it is required to calculate the number of people who will need
to work on a given task in order to complete it on a given date.
A resource may be assigned to a task at a given work rate. The resources
work hours, holiday information and work rate are then taken into
consideration when calculating when the task will end or the work
required for a task.
Consider a task which is estimated to take two man days to complete. One
man day being the time between the start and end of a normal working day
(set to 8.0 hours in this particular case). A resource is assigned to the
task where the resource has the following features:
- A standard work day, starting at 9:00am, ending at 5:00pm
- Works a standard week starting on Monday and ending on Friday.
The task start day is set to a Monday at 9:00am and the work set to two
days. Plan calculates the end of the task to be 5:00pm on Tuesday. Assume
now that the resource is only available to work on the task at a rate of
50% rather than 100%. Plan would now indicate the end of the task to be
Thursday at 5:00pm. Assume also that the resource takes one day holiday
on Tuesday. Plan would calculate the end to be Friday at 5:00pm. Suppose
that the task is completed and actually finished at 5:00pm on Wednesday
rather than 5:00pm on Friday. Plan will allow the end time to be set to
the actual end time and will then calculate the work given the start, end
and resource details to be one man day rather than two.
Dependencies may be set between tasks so that the start of one task
depends upon the end of another. If the first task is delayed the second
will also be delayed. Dependencies may be set for a number of reasons,
such as:
- If one task cannot logically start until another task finishes, for
example in a software development project the development may be
dependent upon the requirements phase.
- Resource limitations may impose dependencies, for example if two
tasks need to be carried out by one person and the person works on
the tasks sequentially then a dependency can be used between the
tasks.
For a set of dependent tasks there will a number of the tasks which are
critical to the end of the project. If any one of these tasks are late
then the end of the project will be delayed. This set of tasks are
described as being on the critical path. It is important to know the
critical path for two reasons. Firstly it is useful in identifying the
tasks which it may be worth adding extra resource to in order to bring
the project in sooner. Secondly it is useful in highlighting those tasks
which will need to be monitored carefully when the project is in progress
in order for the end of the project not to be delayed. For these reasons
Plan has an option which will calculate the critical path.
INSTALLATION
Copy the Plan application PLAN.OPA into a directory called \APP on any
drive and install from the system screen using the psion-i key. Copy the
PLAN1.OPO file into the same directory as the PLAN.OPA file. Create a new
directory called \APP\PLAN on any drive. Copy any optional plan modules
which are required into this directory. The currently available plan
modules are AGN.OPO, PS.OPO and MPX.OPO. Further modules may become
available at a later date. See the modules section for further details on
what the Plan modules do. A typical installation might be:
M:\APP\PLAN.OPA
M:\APP\PLAN1.OPO
M:\APP\PLAN\AGN.OPO (optional)
M:\APP\PLAN\MPX.OPO (optional)
M:\APP\PLAN\PS.OPO (optional)
M:\PLN\EXAMPLE.PLN (optional)
M:\PLN\EXAMPLE.RES (optional)
The plan and resource files used by Plan should be kept in a top level
directory called \PLN on either the internal disk or an external ram
disk. An example project plan called EXAMPLE.PLN along with a resource
file called EXAMPLE.RES are provided which may optionally be installed
into the \PLN directory.
Plan requires between 46k and 67k of disk space for installation
depending upon whether the optional modules are installed. 45k of run-
time memory is required in order to open a new plan and resource file.
This software is provided as is, without any warranty of any kind. The
author shall not be liable for any loss of data or damage arising from
the use of this software.
SHAREWARE REGISTRATION
Plan is shareware, which means that if you continue to use it you should
register with the author. The software may be freely distributed provided
all files in the package are included. A maximum of 10 tasks may be
entered until the program is registered by entering a special code via
the register menu option.
To register send a 10 UK pounds cheque to:
Mr A. Clarkson,
3 Ashmead Drive,
Hardwick,
Cambs.
CB3 7XT.
UK.
State the version of the program, which is 2.2.2, and where you obtained
the copy. This will ensure that everyone has access to the latest
version.
In return you will receive a password code which may be entered into
plan. This will remove the 10 task limit from Plan enabling up to 99 tasks
to be entered. You will also receive notification of new versions of the
software and you may have a say in how the software is improved in the
future. If you have an email address quote this in order to receive the
registration code via email more quickly.
For users outside the UK the following methods of payment will be
accepted:
1) 10 UK pounds money order or cheque.
2) 10 UK pounds in cash.
3) The equivalent of 12 UK pounds in local currency. (At the time
of writing this is about 20 US dollars).
4) A non-sterling cheque to the equivalent of 14 UK pounds. (At
the time of writing this is about 22 US dollars).
The additional charge for methods 3 and 4 is to cover currency exchange
charges.
For any further information I can be contacted via email at
andy@tiamat.demon.co.uk
KEY FEATURES
Plan has the following key features:
- A separate file for each project plan with either plan specific or a
shared resource file.
- Up to 99 tasks may be entered, each having the following details:
Id,
description,
start date and time,
end date and time,
work,
resource,
rate of work,
work done,
costs,
user floating point value and text.
- Calculation of end date and time, work or work rate for each task.
- Task tracking. The actual work done may be input. A task may be
rescheduled taking into account the work already done and the work
remaining.
- The labour costs may be calculated for a task