Adding a Task to a Waterfall Plan

Introduction

This article describes how to add a task to an existing TeamDynamix Waterfall project plan (see the article Add a Task to a Card Wall plan if you are using a Card Wall).

Vocabulary

Term Definition
Duration The time period in which a task can be completed.
Effort The estimated amount of time a task could be completed, from start to finish, with no interruptions.
Percent Complete The percentage of the task effort that has been accomplished, typically the values will be 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent.
Resource A project resource is a specific individual that is assigned as a project team member, who can then be assigned task responsibility.
Task A task is a single unit of work – an action to accomplish in a project, a single step in a multi-step project. A task is accomplished by a set deadline, and must contribute toward work-related objectives.
TeamDynamix Plan A plan in TeamDynamix lists the specific tasks that the project team will execute in order to fulfil the requirements of the project.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) The Project Management Body of Knowledge defines the work-breakdown structure "A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables." A work breakdown structure is a key project deliverable that organizes the team's work into manageable sections.

Special Concepts

Waterfall Plan

A waterfall plan is a relatively sequential set of projects tasks that are interrelated by predecessors.  Waterfall plans are typically shown as Gantt charts.

Card Wall Plan

A card wall plan is a set of project takes that are not related by predecessor or successor tasks, and each task can be accomplished independently of each other. Card wall plans are shown as graphical elements that progress through task stages.

Predecessor Task

A predecessor task is a task that is related to another task(s), where the predecessor MUST be completed before the second task(s) can be started or completed.

Successor Task

A successor task is a task that cannot be started, or completed, before at least one other task has been completed.

Preconditions
  1. The initial Work Breakdown Structure has been completed.
  2. The Project must already be created in TeamDynamix.
  3. You must have permissions to access the Projects application
  4. Your security role must allow you to Add Tasks
  5. Resources should be added to the project (if you are going to assign resources to tasks)

Steps

  1. Open your Project in TDNext (Technician View)
    • This can be done via the Projects app or the Project Manager (My Projects) desktop
  2. Open the Plans component on the left
  3. Select the Plan you want to add tasks
  4. Check out the plan by selecting "View Draft" (upper right corner)
  5. Optionally, to filter the columns being displayed, select “Configure Columns” select/deselect the fields, at a minimum show
    1. Status
    2. Start Date
    3. End Date
    4. Duration
    5. Completed
    6. Est Hrs
    7. Predecessors
    8. Resources
    9. Description is optional, but a good place to describe the task)
  6. Using the WBS as a guide, enter each task (note: draft changes are saved automatically)
    1. Title
    2. Start Date (the beginning date of the duration period)
    3. End Date (the end date of the duration period, duration is then automatically calculated)
    4. Est hrs (the estimated effort to complete the task)
    5. If there is a predecessor task, enter the Predecessor task number (the whole number in the far left gray bar, NOT the WBS number)
    6. Select the Resource assigned the task (multiple resources can be assigned to a task)
    7. Indent the task if the task is a sub task of a higher level task (as specified in the WBS)
    8. Repeat Step 7 until all the tasks have been entered.
  7. Once you have completed entering tasks, select "Check In" (upper right corner) to commit the changes and allow others to view the task plan.

The following shows (in general) the steps to take to enter tasks into an existing TeamDynamix Waterfall Plan.

Step 1: Open TDNext|Projects/Workspaces Step 2: Open Plans Component
Step 3:  Select the Plan Step 4:  Check Out the Plan
Step 5: Filter the Columns (Optional)
Step 6: Enter Tasks
Step 7:  Check in the Plan

Guidance Video

TeamDynamix has a training video for additional guidance.

Waterfall Plans

Conclusion

Creating accurate Project Plans/Schedules using the Work Breakdown Structure is critical to ensuring that the project can be managed and project status be monitored.  This article shows how to create tasks in a plan, which should only be created after the Work Breakdown Structure is created and verified.

Details

Article ID: 67302
Created
Fri 11/16/18 8:21 AM
Modified
Tue 6/6/23 2:48 PM

Related Articles (5)

Adding a Project Plan
This article describes how to add a project plan to an existing project in TeamDynamix
Adding a Task to a Cardwall Plan
This article describes how to add a task to an existing TeamDynamix Card Wall plan.
Adding Plans from Templates
Describes how to add a plan to a project from an existing Project Template.
Adding Resources to a Project
This article demonstrates how to add staff Resources to an existing TeamDynamix project. Once a staff Resource has been added to a project, that person can then be assigned to task in the project plan.
How-To Build a Project Schedule
Guidance for building out a project schedule