One of the dilemmas that my clients seem to face frequently is the choice between using a Task List in pmPoint to manage work efforts or using the Project Schedule List.  I am sure most of you are aware of the behaviors of each and differences between the two but as a quick summary:

·         A Task List is a simple list of work items required to complete a project, often with a status, description, owner and a due date

·         The Project Schedule list is a more complex list that adds a collection of capabilities including

o    defining the dependencies between tasks

o   managing planned and scheduled start and finish dates in addition to a due date

o   calculating future planned dates based on task dependencies and durations

o   summarizing a group of tasks into a summary task that will automatically take on the characteristics of the detailed tasks

But when to use which?  And why??

Here’s how I typically describe the factors that most commonly affect the choice:

·         the good news!  Even if you choose a Task List for one project, and the Project Schedule for another, pmPoint will still enable many of the “rollups” to a portfolio or program level that you’ve come to love!

·         If the tasks for your project are all similar in duration and a good measure of how things are progressing is a simple percentage of how many tasks are done (in other words, if there are 20 tasks and 8 are done and everyone is comfortable characterizing that as 40% complete) then a Task List might be the way to go.

·         If your team is most comfortable with having a single due date for a task and being responsible for getting things done by that date, a Task List can work well.

·         If you are likely to spend more time, brainpower and energy modeling the project tasks in a Project Schedule than you will to actually get the tasks done, a Task List will save you a lot of unnecessary or low-value effort.

·         If you have no idea when a project is going to finish, but you’re pretty sure it’s going to be later than most sponsors think, you need a Project Schedule List.

·         If you, your team, or your sponsors will want to be able to compare the original plan with how things are going as the project progresses, you need a Project Schedule List.

·         If your stakeholders don’t want to see “all the details” that make up the plan, you might need a Project Schedule List.

·         If you want pmPoint to do some work for you so you aren’t constantly monkeying with dates to get your project to “look right” you need a Project Schedule List.

How do you decide???  Share your thoughts!