General Detail Window of the Activities Page

Overview

Use this detail window to configure general information about the activity.

Screen Elements

ID/Code field

The unique identifier of the activity or WBS.

Project ID field

The unique identifying code for the project associated with the activity.

Name field

The name of the activity or WBS.

WBS field

The name of the WBS element associated with the activity.

Activity Type list

Determines how duration and schedule dates are calculated for an activity.

Task Dependent: Activities are scheduled using the activity's calendar rather than the calendars of the assigned resources. Choose task dependent when you want to control the duration of the activity yourself (that is, no resources are assigned), or when one or more resources assigned to the same activity can work according to the same calendar. For example, you might have an activity to cure concrete; you know how long the task takes and the addition of resources won't complete the task any earlier. You would designate this activity as task dependent.

Resource Dependent: Activities are scheduled using the calendars of the assigned resources. This type is used when several resources are assigned to the activity, but they might work separately. Choose resource dependent when you want to schedule each resource according to his/her own time schedule, or resource calendar, not the activity calendar. The assigned resource availability determines the start and finish dates of the activity. Typically, you use this type when multiple resources assigned to the same activity can work independently, or when availability can affect the activity's duration. For example, an activity that requires an Inspector might be delayed if that resource is assigned to multiple projects or is on vacation.

Level of Effort: Activities have a duration that is determined by its dependent activities and are typically administration type. Choose level of effort to indicate that the activity's duration depends on its predecessor and/or successor activities. A level of effort activity is usually one that is ongoing, such as clerical work, Change Management, or project management tasks. For example, site cleanup could be considered a level of effort activity; it occurs repeatedly and is dependent on the completion of a phase.

Start or Finish Milestone: Milestone activities are zero-duration without resources, marking a significant project event. Choose start milestone or finish milestone to indicate that the activity marks the beginning or end of a major stage in the project. Milestones have zero duration. A primary resource or an activity owner, and expenses can be assigned to a milestone. In an office building addition project, examples of milestones might include Project Definition Complete, Structure Complete, or End Bidding Process.

WBS Summary: Activities that are used to aggregate date, duration, and percent complete values for a group of activities that share a common WBS code level. Choose WBS Summary to indicate that the activity is a summary-level WBS activity. A WBS Summary activity represents a group of activities that share a common WBS level. The summary-level WBS activity enables roll-ups of dates for the activity group. The duration of a WBS Summary activity extends from the start of the earliest activity in a group to the finish of the latest activity. WBS codes control which activities are part of a WBS Summary activity; P6 incorporates any activities that share a component of the WBS Summary activity's WBS code into the WBS Summary activity. For example, all activities whose WBS codes begin with A (A.1, A.1.1, A.1.2, etc.) can be part of one WBS Summary activity whose WBS code is A. At a lower level, all activities whose WBS codes start with A.1 (A.1.1, A.1.2, etc.) can be part of a WBS Summary activity whose WBS code is A.1.

Duration Type field

Determines how remaining duration, units, and units/time are calculated when you update an activity that has resources assigned. The activity's duration type should correspond to the dominant factor, that is, the least flexible factor in the project: schedule, costs/work effort, or resource availability.

Fixed Units/Time: The resource units per time are constant when the activity duration or units are changed. Use this duration type when an activity has fixed resources with fixed productivity output per time period.

Fixed Duration & Units/Time: The activity duration is constant as the units or resource units per time are changed. Use this duration type when the activity must be completed within a fixed time period regardless of the resources assigned.

Fixed Units: The activity units are constant when the duration or resource units per time are changed. Use this duration type when the total amount of work is fixed, and increasing the resources can decrease the activity duration.

Fixed Duration & Units: The duration and units remain constant as the units/time is changed. Use this duration type when the activity must be completed within a fixed time period and the total amount of work is fixed.

Percent Complete Type list

Determines whether activity percent complete is calculated based on:

Physical: The activity's percent complete will be entered by the user for this activity.

Duration: The activity's percent complete will be calculated from the actual and remaining duration.

Units: The activity's percent complete will be calculated from the actual and remaining units.

Location field

The geographical location.

Owner field

The user responsible for the activity.

Calendar field

The calendar assigned to the activity.

Getting Here

Click Projects.
On the Projects navigation bar, click Activities.
Select an activity and click the General detail window.

Related Topics