From time to time we receive in support following question:
I have scheduled a long activity and already assigned it to my resources. Now however in order to keep my deadline, I need to modify the resource utilization for contouring to bring my plan back on track. Can I split the activity? And how do I set this up in Merlin Project?
There is no explicit function in Merlin Project for contouring activities, however…
Configure manually
To configure above scenario:
- Click the activity in question to select it.
- Select Insert > Activity (or press cmd + N) to insert one new activity.
- Configure this activity thus:
Given Work: the amount of Planned work to be performed in this work step of the activity you want to bring back on track.
Given Duration: the duration to be performed within this work step of the activity.
assign Resource(s): the Resource(s) assigned to the activity in question. - Repeat insertion of new activity as often as needed to define all work parts.
- Link all activities by an End to Start dependency.
- Select them all.
- Drag and drop the selection onto the activity you want to split.
This inserts the items as children activities and the activity you wanted to split turns now to a group.
If you want to contour by the options: Front-loaded, Back-loaded, Bell, Double peak you'll need to calculate and set the Given Work and Given Duration of the sub-activities accordingly. For Double peak you'll need at least 5 sub-activities.
Configure automatically
Another option would be to write an AppleScript which
- reads the given values and assignments of the current selection,
- asks for the contouring option Front-loaded, Back-loaded, Bell,
- inserts 3 sub-activities,
- defines given values as required based on the option,
- links them together, and
- restores original assignments .
All this in just one go!
You don't have the time to code such an Applescript from scratch? Just download a script we've prepared and open it in the macOS ScriptEditor. The script is implemented to work for each item of the current selection. Select one or more activities, call the script and let it split as desired.
Note To AppleScripts from ProjectWizards
Scripting is a feature of Merlin Project, not included in Merlin Project Express.
You may incorporate this ProjectWizards sample code into your program(s) without restriction. This ProjectWizards sample code has been provided "AS IS" and the responsibility for its operation is yours. You are not permitted to redistribute this ProjectWizards sample code as "ProjectWizards sample code" after having made changes. If you're going to redistribute the code, we require that you make it clear that the code was descended from ProjectWizards sample code but that you've made changes.
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