why are my dates and durations rolling up in my ms project file

I’m limited to weeks in the Project Planner template.įigure 1 – The Project Planner Excel template Note that one of the issues with this type of Excel file is the lack of fidelity in the durations. In order to start this off, I’ve been using an Excel template call Project Planner, which matches my current needs of recording activities and durations. There are a couple of ways to import Excel data into Project, so let’s start with the easiest, which, of course, is copy and paste.

Import an Existing Excel file into Project Copy and Paste When users need to get into any of the above, it’s a good idea to start using Project, so let’s think about how to import the data. Requirement to update all subsequent task dates when a predecessor task moves or is delayed.Īs you can see from my personal tables of pros and cons, Excel works well when we’re dealing with little more than a bunch of tasks and where we might want to draw a representation of a Gantt chart, but the point at which we’ll want to start using Project starts when we want to introduce any of the following: Updating anything other than a simple schedule requires a higher degree of sophistication No ability to track the current plan vs the baseline Not easy to share plans beyond the Project Management community Historically seen as only suitable for managing waterfall types projects It’s easy to start using Project, but the sheer number of features can soon overwhelm users No ability to properly resource load a project Longevity and maturity since the mid 1980’sĭependent tasks are dynamically moved when a predecessor task is moved or delayed (dynamic schedules) The largest market share by revenue and volume of all the project management tools

Speaking of tabular data, let’s review a small set of the pros and cons for using Excel and Project when managing a Gantt chart.Įasy to change column widths and colour columns, therefore easy to create a Gannt chartīuilt from the ground up as a Critical Path Analysis tool Excel has both advantages and disadvantages over Project, and there’s a definite tipping point between using Excel and using Project lists with more than a single column), and graphs derived from the data.

Exporting time-phased data for reportingįirst things first! My view is that Excel has become the default application used in most offices for producing lists, tabular data (i.e.

How to export data from Project to Excel.

How to import data from Excel to Project.

This article discusses Project and Excel integration points, specifically in the following areas:

Why are my dates and durations rolling up in my ms project file