Project Scheduler for Smart Project Management XLGantt User Manual

Transcription

1 Project Scheduler for Smart Project Management XLGantt User Manual Version Jun 6, 2017

2 Contents XLGantt Update History Quick Start Guide What is XLGantt? XLGantt Interface Features of XLGantt 1) Task Management and Progress Calculation ) Gantt Chart ) Analysis Report ) Schedule Change Management ) Deliverables ) Adding Tasks to Microsoft Outlook Calendar ) Multilingual Support ) Importing Schedules from Another File ) Setting Nonworking Days ) Integration with Excel Features Glossary When an Error Occurred..., Terms of Use / Contact / 26

3 XLGantt Update History XLGantt version : 05/03/2017 Release - Added the feature to automatically set the earliest start date and the latest finish date of the tasks to project start-finish date. - Modified to display as a group item even if no date is entered for the task. - Fixed an error that occurs when you save XLGantt file to a different name. XLGantt version : 12/01/2016 Release - Multilingual Support (Korean and English are added). - Added analysis features(analysis of workload per person, calculation of planned progress). - Fields(columns) and rows can be added, user-defined functions available. - Text color and background color of tasks can be changed. 2 / 26

4 Quick Start Guide If you want to get started quickly, proceed as follows. For details, please refer to the detail page for each item. 1 Enable macros If you want to use the macro when opening XLGantt file, select "Enable". If not selected, XLGantt program will not run. 3 Enter the project information Click the Options button on the ribbon. Enter the project name, start and finish date, and so on. 2 Set nonworking days in the project calendar Before entering the project schedule, enter nonworking days in the Calendar sheet, such as Saturday, Sunday, or public holidays. When you enter nonworking days, XLGantt excludes them from calculations of working time. 4 Enter task information In the Schedule sheet, enter the task names, start and finish dates, and the %Work Complete values. The orange columns are automatically calculated, so you do not need to enter them. 5 Update Schedule After you enter the project information and WBS data, you always have to click "Update Schedule" on the ribbon to automatically calculate the durations and the planned %Work Complete values, and so on. 3 / 26

5 What is XLGantt? XLGantt is a program designed to enable project scheduling in Microsoft Excel. It is composed of the following features. You don't need to install this program because it is a Excel macro file. You just download this file, save it to a folder, and open it in Excel. The latest version is available at XLGantt homepage, 1) Task Management and Progress Calculation When you enter task names, start and finish dates, and %work complete values, XLGantt automatically calculates the task durations, planned %work complete values. 2) Gantt Chart Displays the Gantt chart of the schedule. In the options, you can choose whether to display task name and dates and so on. 3) Analysis Report Shows you the progresses and workloads of the project by weeks, months, and resources. 4) Scheduling Change Management Manages the planned schedule and actual schedule of the project. 5) Deliverables Specifies the save path of the deliverables and open the deliverables. 6) Adding Tasks to Microsoft Outlook Calendar Adds tasks to the Outlook calendar. 7) Multilingual Support Currently we support only English and Korean as user interface(ui) language at XLGantt. Since the program code and the resource file for multiple languages are separated, it is possible to add multiple languages without modifying the program. 8) Importing Schedules from Another File Imports schedules into XLGantt. You can import the schedules by mapping the fields. 9) Setting Nonworking Days When you enter nonworking days, XLGantt excludes them from calculations of working time. Standard calendar is the default calendar. If you want to specify a different calendar for a specific task, please use "User Defined Calendar 1" or "User Defined Calendar 2". 10) Integration with Excel Features You can include the formulas and functions of the Excel in XLGantt. 4 / 26

6 XLGantt Interface XLGantt Ribbon WBS Gantt Chart Project Calendar Settings Project Progress Project WBS, Gantt chart Analysis Report 5 / 26

7 Features of XLGantt 1) Task Management and Progress Calculation (1/4) When you enter task names, start and finish dates, and %work complete values, XLGantt automatically calculates the tasks durations, planned %work complete values. Enter the following fields : - Items marked with an asterisk (*) are required, and those without an asterisk (*) are optional fields. - WBS, duration, etc., shown in orange, are automatically calculated fields, so you do not have to enter values. - When you enter values in the required fields and click the Update Schedule (or Save button) on the ribbon, the orange fields (duration, progress, etc.) are automatically calculated. - If you want to indent or outdent the tasks, select the tasks you want(multiple tasks can be selected) and click the Indent or Outdent button. Enter the task names by Level. If they are Level 2, enter them in the second column. You can enter tasks up to Level 7. Summary tasks are automatically displayed in bold, so you can easily see them as summary tasks. WBS No.(Automatically calculated) Enter the project start and finish dates(if you rightclick in the date field, the calendar window appears. Double-click the date you want in the calendar to enter the date) Workload that should have been performed by today (Automatically calculated) = Workload * Weight (Except for nonworking days, Automatically calculated) Duration on calendar except nonworking days(automatically calculated) Planned progress that should have performed by today Weight is the value of the workload. For example, if a task requires 1 person, weight is 1, but if two people are needed, weight is 2. By entering weights, you can accurately calculate the actual workload of the project. The default value of weight is 1. If you do not enter a weight, 1 will be entered automatically Actual progress (enter manually) 6 / 26

8 Features of XLGantt 1) Task Management and Progress Calculation (2/4) Summary tasks automatic calculation : 1. Enter the task names, start and finish dates, and progress values(%work Complete) and click Update Schedule (or Save button). 2. When you complete the above, the orange fields (WBS, workload, duration, Planned %Work Complete) are automatically calculated. 3. At the same time, the start and finish date of the summary task are automatically calculated as the earliest start date and the latest finish date of the subtasks, and the summary task of the planning progress(planned %Work Complete) and the actual progress (%Work complete) are automatically calculated by accumulating the values of the subtasks. = Workload * Weight (Except for nonworking days, Automatically calculated) Duration on calendar except nonworking days(automatically calculated) 7 / 26

9 Features of XLGantt 1) Task Management and Progress Calculation (3/4) The meaning of planned progress(planned %Work Complete) and actual progress(%wok Complete) : As shown in the picture below, assume that there is a task to complete from January 1 to January 10, which is a 10-day work. If today is January 7, 70% of the plan should be completed. That is, the completion rate that should have been processed by today is called the planned progress. If today is January 7, but only 6-day work has been done, the actual progress(%work Complete) will be 60%. So, this task will be in a 10% delayed state. Start 1/1 Today 1/7 Finish 1/10 Planned %Work Complete is 70% If only 6-day work has been done, %Work Complete is 60% How do I change the current date to view the Planned %Work Complete in the future or past? In the options, set the Calculation Base Date of Planned %Work Complete" to the date you want. 8 / 26

10 Features of XLGantt 1) Task Management and Progress Calculation (4/4) Viewing planned progress(planned %Work Complete) and actual progress(%wok Complete) of the entire project : - At the top of the Schedule sheet, you can see the progress of the entire project. Planned progress (Planned %Work Complete) Actual progress (%Wok Complete) - On the Progress sheet, you can see the workload of the entire project, the planned workload, the actual workload, and the progress, etc. 9 / 26

11 Features of XLGantt 2) Gantt Chart Customizing Gantt Chart view : - Click the "Options" button on the ribbon to customize a Gantt Chart view. 1 You can choose whether to display task name, date, progress on the Gantt Chart. 2 You can choose where to display task name in the Gantt chart. 3 You can set the width of the Gantt Chart. What if the Gantt Chart does not display properly? - If the WBS area, Gantt Chart, etc. are not displayed properly, click Reformatting" button on the ribbon to restore normal state. 10 / 26

12 Features of XLGantt 3) Analysis Report - Progresses by Resources This feature shows you workloads, progresses(%work complete), etc by resources. 1 On the ribbon : Click on the menu you want from the menus below. 2 Viewing Progresses by Resources Click "Progress by Resources" on the menu to automatically calculate workloads, progresses(%work complete), etc by resources entered in the Resources" fields in the Schedule Sheet(For example, When the total workload of a task is 6 Man/Day, if you enter Elsa, Anna in the field, 3 Man/Day is calculated for each resource). Click on the number of the subtotal level in the upper left corner to show subtotals. 11 / 26

13 Features of XLGantt 3) Analysis Report Workload by Weeks/Months This feature shows you workload allocations by weeks or months. 1 On the ribbon : Click Workloads by Weeks or Workloads by Months on the ribbon to display the workloads in figures and charts. 2 Workloads by Weeks The average number of working days per month is usually 21 days, but it can be changed to 20 days or 22 days and so on. 3 Workloads by Months 12 / 26

14 Features of XLGantt 3) Analysis Report Workloads by Resources This feature shows you workload allocations by resources. 1 On the ribbon : Click Workloads by Resources on the ribbon to display the workloads in figures and charts. 2 Workloads by Resources The average number of working days per month is usually 21 days, but it can be changed to 20 days and 22 days and so on. 13 / 26

15 Features of XLGantt 3) Analysis Report Planned Project Progresses by Weeks This feature shows you planned project progresses by weeks. 1 On the ribbon : Click Planned Progress on the ribbon to display the project progresses in figures and charts. 14 / 26

16 Features of XLGantt 4) Schedule Change Management (1/2) You can use actual start and finish dates. So You can identify the schedule is delayed or aheaded by entering actual start and finish dates. Click the "Options" button on the ribbon to choose schedule options. If you choose Managing Schedule Changes, the following fields are displayed: Actual Start Date, Actual Finish Date, and Actual Total Work. 15 / 26

17 Features of XLGantt 4) Schedule Change Management (2/2) How to enter actual start date, actual finish date, %work complete? 1 If you enter the actual start date and the actual finish date directly If you enter the actual start date and the actual finish date directly, the %Work Complete is automatically entered as 100%. If the planned schedule differs from the actual schedule, the background color of the date is displayed in yellow and the Gantt chart displays the actual schedule in blue lines. If the planned schedule differs from the actual schedule, the background color of the date is displayed in yellow Original plan Changed schedule Changed schedule is indicated by a blue line. If the planned schedule is different from the actual schedule, it will be out of the Gantt chart area as shown above. 2 If a task is finished as planned If a task is finished on the same schedule as the planned schedule, you can enter 100% of the %Work Complete only. If you do not enter the actual start date and actual finish date, they will be filled with the same date as the planned start date and finish date. 3 If a task is not finished yet If a task is not finished, enter only the actual start date and the %Work complete. If you enter the actual finish date, the task is considered finished, so you only need to enter the actual start date. 16 / 26

18 Features of XLGantt 5) Deliverables You can specify the save path of the deliverables and open the deliverables. 1 Options > Deliverables tab Set the saving path of deliverables and the execution path to open deliverables. If you choose "Set path by the task name automatically", you will find the deliverables in the same directory as the task name structure entered in the Schedule sheet. So, in order to manage the deliverables in this way, you should create the folder structures as shown below and save the deliverables in the folders. 2 Open Deliverables If you select the deliverables name and click the right mouse button, the menu appears. Choose "Open Deliverables" to open the deliverables saved in the path shown above. If you check "Include in the selection list when deliverables not specified" in the above picture, the deliverables will be opened if the folder name and the deliverables name are the same even if you do not enter the deliverables name in the deliverables field of the schedule sheet. The deliverables should be saved in the form of folder name + extension because the program is looking for the deliverables as an extension of the program. 17 / 26

19 Features of XLGantt 6) Adding Tasks to Microsoft Outlook Calendar You can add tasks to the Outlook calendar. 1 Select tasks and add to Outlook Calendar If you select a task name and click the right mouse button, the menu appears. Choose Add to MS Outlook Calendar" to add the task to it. If you select several tasks and add them, several will be added at once. (MS Outlook must be installed on your PC) 2 See if tasks have been added to MS Outlook You can see that tasks are added as below. 18 / 26

20 Features of XLGantt 7) Multilingual Support Currently we support only English and Korean as user interface(ui) language at XLGantt. Since the program code and the resource file for multiple languages are separated, it is possible to add multiple languages without modifying the program. 1 Choose a language Depending on the language setting of the computer O/S, the language is automatically chose or you can choose the language from the options menu. 2 Add languages Since the program code and the resource file(translatedlanguages sheet) for multiple languages are separated, it is possible to add multiple languages without modifying the program If you want to use another language as your UI language, add it using the "Add Languages" menu. Add a translation for each language in the "TranslatedLanguages" sheet (The TranslatedLanguages sheet is hidden. You can unhide it on the sheet menu). If you do not add the translation, English is used as the UI language. 19 / 26

21 Features of XLGantt 8) Importing Schedules from Another File (1/2) Import schedules into XLGantt. You can import the schedules by mapping the fields. 1 From the Ribbon Click "Import" and choose the file you want to import. 2 Choose a file type to import 3 Select files to import Note) If you want to import a schedule from MS Project, export it as an Excel file from the Export menu in MS Project and import it into XLGantt. 20 / 26

22 Features of XLGantt 8) Importing Schedules from Another File (2/2) Import schedules into XLGantt. You can import the schedules by mapping the fields. 4 Mapping the fields to be imported (But XLGantt file is automatically imported without mapping) To import a file from source to the target file, map the respective fields. Select a field in source file first and then find a corresponding field in the target file. 5 Import After you finish field mapping, click the Import button. 21 / 26

23 Features of XLGantt 9) Setting Nonworking Days (1/2) Setting nonworking days in the project calendar 1 Enter nonworking days only on the Calendar sheet. All days other than nonworking days will be set as working days. When you enter nonworking days, XLGantt excludes them from calculations of working time. 2 Standard calendar is the default calendar. If you want to specify a different calendar for a specific task, please use "User Defined Calendar 1" or "User Defined Calendar 2". 3 If you enter nonworking days, the Gantt Chart displays nonworking days as orange bars. 22 / 26

24 Features of XLGantt 9) Setting Nonworking Days (2/2) How to specify a user defined calendar 1 You can edit a task information by selecting "Edit a Task" in the context menu (right-click) and specify a user defined calendar. 2 To see the calendars applied to each task at once, refer to the "Calendar" column. The "Calendar" column is the hidden, which you can see by Unhide command. 23 / 26

25 Features of XLGantt 10) Integration with Excel Features You can include the formulas and functions of the Excel in XLGantt. Display project information using functions provided by XLGantt Add columns and enter Excel formulas Excel formula You can add rows above the title and use the functions provided by XLGantt to display the project start date, etc. at the range you want. List of functions provided by XLGantt xlgantt.projectname(): Get project name xlgantt.projectstartdate(): Get project start date xlgantt.projectfinishdate(): Get project finish date xlgantt.projectplanprogress(): Get planned progress of project(planned %Work Complete) xlgantt.proejctactualprogress(): Get actual progress of project(%work Complete) xlgantt.projectprogressstring(): Get project progress summary information xlgantt.commentonheadarea(): Get comment to display at the top of the Schedule sheet You can add columns and enter formulas. *SPI(Schedule Performance Index) : The Schedule Performance Index indicates how efficiently you are actually progressing compared to the planned project schedule. 24 / 26

26 Glossary Terms used in XLGantt... 1 Weight The weight is the number of people who are put in full time for a task. For example, if you need 1 person to complete a task, enter 1 as weight, but you want 2 people, enter 2 as weight(in the figure below, if the weight is 2 and the total duration is 4 days, the amount of total work is calculated as 8 (duration * weight)). By entering weights, you can accurately calculate the actual workload of the project. The weight defaults to 1. If not entered, 1 is automatically entered. 3 %Work Complete The portion of the plan s total scheduled work that has been completed so far. It must be entered manually. Because the %Work complete of summary task are automatically calculated by accumulating the values of the subtasks, you only need to enter %Work complete values of subtasks. 2 Workload Workload = Duration * Weight(the amount of workload is expressed as Man-day) 4 Planned %Work Complete The planned %Work Complete values that should have completed so far. They are calculated automatically by XLGantt, so you do not need to enter them. 25 / 26

27 When an error occurred... If an error occurred, try the followings. 1 If the format of the Schedule sheet is damaged If you can not see the group area of Task, Gantt Chart, etc., click Reformatting" button on the ribbon. Terms of Use / Contact XLGantt Terms of Use This Program" is free software developed and distributed by xlworks.net. This program is free to use anywhere, anytime including personal / business / government / school. This Software is protected by copyright laws and other intellectual property laws and international treaties and may not be modified, reverse engineered, decompiled, disassembled, or made part of other software. 2 If you can not recover the Schedule sheet after reformatting, If you delete the original XLGantt column, the Schedule sheet may not be recovered. If you try to reformat the Schedule sheet and still can not recover it, try downloading XLGantt file from XLGantt homepage again. Contact with us Homepage: admin@xlworks.net 26 / 26