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In planning, the method to calculate each task duration.

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(@wonbum-sohn)
Posts: 37
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Topic starter
 

When scheduling tasks, how is the expected duration of each task calculated?

It seems that the time required for a similar task for each project will be different.

 
Posted : 06/03/2022 10:32 pm
(@jal58)
Posts: 60
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Accounting for the duration of tasks is sometimes more difficult than it sounds. The only real way to know the duration of a task is to just measure it. This can be captured in various types of process studies. Knowledge of how long something takes may also be found with consulting subject matter experts. They might have an idea of the risks associated with the process and give an estimation on how long a task may take. However, incorrectly estimating times may severely throw off the project plan. Every effort should be made to get documented data on how long tasks take.

 
Posted : 06/03/2022 11:00 pm
(@jbarbee)
Posts: 78
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When scheduling tasks, the expected duration of each task is based off of the relationships between the tasks and an estimate of the duration. In the last lecture, Dr. Simon mentioned the importance of incorporating all team members in deciding upon task durations. By utilizing the Network Diagram, the project management team is capable of displaying the relationships between the different tasks and assigning a duration to each. By doing so, the project management team can present an estimated duration for each event and for the project in completion.

 
Posted : 06/03/2022 11:29 pm
(@ahmadfarhan)
Posts: 32
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Estimating deadlines for projects can be very hard as not all project are alike. If a tasks has multiple dependencies then it can further mask the actual time required to complete project. We talked about having slack for projects where we don't know the exact time for the tasks and the deadlines. Most expected duration are gotten from simply trying to estimate the time required using either previous knowledge or asking someone who has done that particular task previously. Even these timelines may not be accurate but they allow you to have a rough estimate. 

 
Posted : 07/03/2022 12:47 am
(@ma818)
Posts: 28
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One of the most effective and efficient methods of estimating the time that each task requires is by utilizing and observing historical data, but only if historical data regarding a certain project is available. Furthermore, a manager may also obtain the historical data of each component of a task separately, and then sum up the time each component requires to estimate the total time that a project needs to be completed. Additionally, the team members should also attempt to meet up at least once a week to ensure that a certain task is on-time and whether additional help is required on a certain area of the project. 

 
Posted : 07/03/2022 12:59 am
(@anthonynjit)
Posts: 78
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The expected duration of a task can be calculated by referencing previous projects and tasks of similar proportion. It is rare that there would be an assignment that can not be compared to anything ever done at your company. In the instance where an accurate deadline can be made, a larger amount of slack can be incorporated into the timeline. Allowing a week of slack for a job that will need to interface with multiple departs and requires a decent amount of paper work would be understandable for a new task.

 
Posted : 08/03/2022 3:19 pm
(@ama224)
Posts: 59
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As shown from the Mini-sim, scheduling is anything but easy and one mishap can lead to the other. Calculating of course is tailored depending on the situation in hand, but it all comes down to experience. As you saw in the sim, Patty Smoot misjudged the amount of time it would take for the animal trials to be done and Dr. Malekai was needed to put things into perspective based on his experiences. So yes each task no matter how similar is gonna be a bit different but experiences is pivotal to quantifying a timeline properly. 

 
Posted : 12/03/2022 11:51 pm
(@cassiem)
Posts: 78
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Using timelines from previous projects can provide the team with a general idea of the duration of a particular task. Some task durations can be accurately accounted for and others not so much. Things like manufacturing and shipping have time periods with a little extra time accounted for because they can be measured. Others may be a coin toss, so in this case, it's best to have a lot of extra time included as it may save the project in the long run from going over schedule. A lot of times, knowing how long to schedule a task for comes from experience. As you are involved in more projects, you begin to develop a better sense of task durations.

 
Posted : 13/03/2022 5:09 pm
(@leshan)
Posts: 33
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during planning duration for each taskes the project manager and team member should seat down together and have a meeting. the team members are the expert in their line of work they can provid some idea on howblong it may take to finish each task. after you get those information you can start to calculate if those time add up exceed the deadline. give the most important which may effact performance of the project longer time and eaiser taskes shirter time

 
Posted : 13/03/2022 6:57 pm
(@lei-hao)
Posts: 35
Eminent Member
 

I think calculating the duration for each task should be based on difficulty and urgency.  In my opinion, the project team should have a brainstorm regarding the schedule for each task. For the difficult tasks and urgent tasks, the project team should think about putting in some extra time rather than expect they could be finished on time or earlier. These difficult tasks might delay the whole project. Also, for some regular task, the project manager and the team members should calculate the duration based on their experience since they might be familiar with these tasks. For some new tasks, the team might need to estimate the duration based on some publication materials, also, I think they need to add some extra time for these unfamiliar tasks to avoid delay. 

 
Posted : 13/03/2022 9:06 pm
(@hk425)
Posts: 39
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I think the duration of each task is different for every project based on a lot of different factors. The size of the project, the number of team members and their technical skills, the resources available, and the time they have. Due to this, there is no standardized way to set a duration for a task or a milestone in a project. Ideally, the duration is determined by when that task has to be completed to progress the project into the next phase. Based on this, each task can be given a time period of when it can be completed. It’s important to include slack time, external deadlines, emergency problems, risk, etc. In addition, it’s also crucial to consider the number of team members working on one task, if the tasks are contingent on each other, the members’ technical experience and how long they think they are going to take to finish a task. It’s also a good idea to look at past projects with similar tasks or goals and use that as an estimate to set a goal for the current project. All of these factors play a role in how the duration of a task may be determined.

 
Posted : 20/02/2023 12:23 am
(@ej851996)
Posts: 78
Trusted Member
 

As Dr. Simon mentioned in the video, there are several ways to calculate the duration time in different breakdown structures. It helps a lot in calculating the total time cost for the whole project. However, the time cost for each task is hard to estimate. It can only learn from experience or historical information. The professionalism of the worker would affect the efficiency too. In my experience, the time that estimating in the chart is dynamic. There is always something happens that changes the procedure and time. How to follow up on the change and to make a new chart is essential for a project manager.

 
Posted : 20/02/2023 4:35 pm
(@gg382)
Posts: 45
Trusted Member
 

The expected duration of a task can be estimated in different ways, depending on the context and the level of precision required. I believe, experienced team members or subject matter experts can estimate the duration of a task based on their knowledge and past experience and their opinion would be helpful in terms of time planning. Also, if the team has access to historical data on similar tasks, they can use it to estimate the duration of the current task.

 
Posted : 21/02/2023 7:16 pm
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