Inside a Project, one of the most critical steps is preparing the Programme of Works - what will every one of your team members do and at what time and in which order.
It shows the sequence in which the tasks must be carried out so that the Project would be completed in time. It helps in the planning and scheduling of the Project. It allows calculating the materials needed and when they are needed.
The Programme of Works should hold the list of works required and their schedule - when they should be done. The Schedule will then help show/demonstrate that the works have been completed.
Archdesk allows you to see the Programme of Works in the shape of a GANTT Chart.
In order to start creating the Programme of Works, place yourself inside the Project (Projects > select the Project) and click on the Programme menu. Here you can either use the CREATE PROGRAM button in the middle of the screen or the + icon - both will bring you to the same menu, shown in the screenshot below.
As you can see, the system allows you to:
- Add Single Tasks
- Import the Program from Excel
- Import the Program from Microsoft Project
How to Add a Single Task
Adding a single task allows the Project Manager to assign and track resources for a specific part of the Project.
You can add a single task by clicking on the Add Single Task button as presented above. This will bring a pop-up window where you can Create a Schedule.
Inputs:
- Title - the job that must be done (eg. Measurement of the flat)
- Dates - you can click through and select the date - hour - the minute when the task should start/end
- Contacts - you can add contacts to the task, assign it to certain people, and it will appear in their calendar. Eg. Here you can set up a task for the people on site (that do not need to use the system) - they will receive a unique link and 5-digit code to log in and clock-in/out on their tasks. More on the timesheet control you can read here.
- Assets - once you have set up your assets in the system, you can search for them here and add them to the task in hand. Eg. If you want Angela Murray (Contacts) to do the measurement of the flat (Title of task) and the job is too far away, you may like to assign the Ble VW Van (Asset) to the task, so she may drive there.
- Budget - here you can set up the Budget assigned to the task.
- Notes - here you can add any types of Notes related to the task.
Once you input all the data mentioned above, the system will calculate the estimated cost for the Contact assigned to the task, if you have assigned for that contact the cost per hour. In our case, under Angela's profile, we have marked that she is paid 15 pounds/hour - we marked her here that she will work from 8 AM till 4 PM, so she will cost the Project a total of 120 pounds.
All you need to do next is click on SAVE.
This is how it will appear in the system:
Import the Program from Excel
Archdesk allows you to Import the Program from Excel by clicking on the corresponding button mentioned above. Once clicked, a new window will appear - the screenshot below - from where you can download a template that you can use.
When you fill out the template file with the Programme of Works, you can upload it by clicking on SELECT FILE. There will be a short pop-up saying your Program has been uploaded and you will be able to see all the tasks in the system - as below.
Import the Program from Microsoft Project
Importing the Program from MS Project works in the same way as importing from Excel.
But Archdesk does not only allow the Importing of the data but also allows you to Export - by clicking on the arrow-down icon (next to the + sign). Again, the export can be done to Excel or MS Project.
TIP: Besides the Programme tab, Archdesk has the Schedule tab that allows you to see the same data as in Schedule (where you could see it as GANTT Chart) but in a table-like format.
When you click on CREATE NEW SCHEDULE the same menu as in Programme appears (Add Single Task, Import Program from Excel, Import Program from MS Project).
In order to edit items in the Schedule view, you need to click on the 3 dots - for tasks and sub-tasks.
TIP: Be careful when it comes to removing tasks as you cannot go back and undo this action!