| Grouping Tasks into Phases / Project Templates?, in Feature Requests |
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 Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2005 10:33 am Post subject: Grouping Tasks into Phases / Project Templates? |
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Hi,
We are evaluating Copper. The Gantt Chart capabilities look like a particular strength.
Two questions:
Can Tasks be grouped? e.g. into Phases? If so, can they be "rolled up" so you can expand or contract a set of taks? +/-
I saw in the Forums an earlier discussion on the ability to use an existing Project as a Template for a subsequent Project. Ben posted this reply: "version 2.5 will include the copy Project/Task function that is currently top on everyones list." Is this currently included?
Thanks!
Bob Leming |
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CJ
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| Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:55 pm Post subject: Slow on the response... |
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Joined: 16 Sep 2005
Posts: 5
Location: Seattle, WA
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Hey Bob,
We have had Copper 2005 Corporate (v 2.6.6) installed for some time now, so I can answer some questions...
The easy one first: Yes, you can copy an existing task or project. There is a "Copy" button in the top right corner. Click that, and it makes a copy of the current item (whether it be a task or project).
Now on the the harder question...
Basically, tasks cannot be grouped and "rolled-up" the way you describe it. What I have found, however, is that I can get the same sort of functionality by looking at the problem differently.
I have configured my copy of Copper so that "Clients" are actually my Departments. This allows me to create projects on a Department-specific basis... the upshot being that anyone's list of Projects will never be too big, since they only see their own department's projects.
This gives you one level of granularity. (One aspect of the "roll-up" function you asked for.)
Then, I make sure to define Projects very tightly, and don't let them sprawl all over the place. If there are more than 10 tasks in a Project, I find, then I can probably split it into two Projects.
This gives you another layer of granularity.
Finally, the naming conventions used for Projects will give you an immediate overview of how many sub-projects are involved. Give every project a 3-digit number as a prefix, and use that number and a name to indicate a sub-project. For example, "021" could be the New Website project, so Project "021:Design Logo", "021:Prototype Layout", "021:User Testing" are all complex sub-projects involved with the same super-project.
So, by being careful about how I create projects and tasks, I find that I do not need the "roll-up" functionality you asked about. The only limitation of this technique becomes apparent when you do a "Project Post-Mortem" meeting and want to get cumulative numbers. To get all the hours worked, for example, you need to total each of the separate projects (everything with the prefix "021" in the example above) related to that project.
I hope this info helps!
- CJ |
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