The Project Plan and Gantt Chart

The Activity Table	The Gantt Chart
The Genius Planner Action Menu	The Genius Planner Toolbar
Creating Activities - Phases, Tasks and Deliverables	Checking Resource Availability
The Schedule Chart	The Workload Chart
Adding a Resource to your Team	Replacing a Resource
Planning Dates and Baselines	Re-planning a Project
Additional Planning Options	Links
Displaying a Critical Path	Importing an MS-Project Plan
Exporting to an MS-Project Plan

 

Intro

Geniusproject offers a suite of robust project management tools that allow users to plan quick, small projects not requiring complex charts and features as well as more detailed projects and plans using the Genius Planner Gantt Charting tool. This section will focus on projects that are planned using a Gantt charting tool.

A Gantt chart is the ideal tool for successful visual communication of the project plan. It is a graphical representation of activity (task) development within a defined time frame as well as milestones (deliverables). It is used for the definition of tasks, for their duration and dependencies, and for communication between the different responsible parties. The Gantt chart is used to build a plan according to the following theoretical process:

• Identify the deliverables (products of the project).
• Identify the means to realize the deliverables (tasks).
• Manage the links between the tasks and the deliverables.
• Manage the delays.
• Manage the resources (assignments).

In Geniusproject, the plan is the entry point for the creation of deliverables, tasks, management of delays and costs. The plan also allows for comparisons of actuals versus forecasts, to visualize eventual slippages and to react accordingly on the plan. The real dates (actual start date, remaining, etc.) are not captured in the plan, but in "task" and "deliverable" forms or in "timesheets" which are available to each of the project participa+nts. The dates reported by the project members are then updated in the project plan.

Each time a new project is created, its plan is automatically created with it.

To open your project’s Gantt chart:

• Navigate to the Projects tab of the module bar.
• Open Tasks & plans -> Plans-Gantt view.

• Find your project in the list and click the "+" next to its name
• Click Plan to open the Gantt in read mode, or right click Plan and select Edit to launch the Gantt in edit mode

Genius Planner is divided into multiple sections:

• Window title containing the project name
• Menu bar
• Tool bar
• Activities Table
• Gantt Chart
• Resource Table
• Schedule diagram

You can reduce, expand or hide either of the sections by dragging the middle bar or using the twisties.

 

The Activity Table

 

The left side the activity table contains 10 columns:

Columns widths can be resized by dragging the separation line between two columns. The height of all rows can be increased and decreased through the Action menu:

View -> Grids -> Activities Chart" and View -> Grids -> Assignments Chart.

The exact place where activities are created or pasted depends on the current row selection. Pasted or created tasks will be placed right after the last selected row in the activities table. The indentation level of this row will be inherited by the inserted tasks.

When pasting a group of activities containing phases, the indentation levels will be adapted accordingly. If no row is selected in the activities table, the pasted or created tasks will be appended to the end of the tasks list. This implies that these tasks will be on the first indentation level.

If a task needs to be moved within the plan hierarchy, the "Indent," "Outdent," "Move Up," and "Move Down" actions can be used to move it.

 

The Gantt Chart

 

The Gantt Chart is used to graphically display the project’s timeline including its phases, tasks, milestones and constraints.

The dynamic time scale at the top of the diagram can be used to scroll forward and back along the project timeline by clicking and holding directly on the time scale and scroll. The scroll bar at the bottom of the diagram can be used as well.

The time scale can also be used to zoom out, simply double click directly. Use the zoom icons on the toolbar to zoom back in.

The Gantt Chart is displayed in its default style named Blueberry. It is also possible to display it in the alternate style named Tangerine.

To change the Gantt style:

• Navigate to the View menu
• Select Style-> Tangerine

 

The elements used in the Gantt chart, in either style are:

The Genius planner Gantt chart offers various tools to organize your project plan. These tools are accessible from the toolbar and the menu options.

 

The Genius Planner Action Menu

 

Menu Action	Description	Shortcut	Read mode	Edit mode	Tool bar
Plan Menu			P	P
Planned dates >	3 options: •Show: Display the Gantt Chart with planned dates •Accept selected dates as planned dates: Save selected new changes to the project dates as planned dates •Accept all current dates as planned dates: Save all new changes to the project dates as planned dates			P
Initial baseline >	3 options: •Show: Display the initial baseline in the Gantt Chart •Accept selected current dates as initial baseline: Save selected new changes into the initial baseline •Accept all current dates as initial baseline: Save all new changes into the initial baseline			P
Insert sub-project	Insert an existing sub-project into the plan	ALT-J		P	P
Remove sub-project	Remove a sub-project from the plan. The sub-project is NOT deleted.			P	P
Edit	Edit the current plan.	CTRL-E	P		P
Save >	2 options: •Without closing:  Saves the current version of the plan. In order to propagate all the changes in all records of the project, the plan is briefly closed and reopened in edit mode. •And close: Same as above, but the plan is closed after saving.	CTRL-S       CTRL-SHIFT-S		P	P
Save & Notify >	2 options: •Without closing:  Saves the current version of the plan and sends a notification to people listed in the distribution list. In order to propagate all the changes in all records of the project, the plan is briefly closed and reopened in edit mode. •And close:  Same as above but the plan is closed after saving.	CTRL-N         CTRL-SHIFT-N		P
Print…	Open the print preview dialogue box to print either the Gantt or the Schedule chart.	CTRL-P	P	P	P
Close Window	Close the chart window, but not the plan document. The plan window can be reopened by clicking on the Genius Planner logo.	CTRL-W	P	P	P
Edit Menu				P
Undo	Undo the last action.	CTRL-Z		P	P
Redo	Redo the last cancelled action.	CTRL-Y		P	P
Activity Menu			P	P
Insert Activity	Inserts a new task after the last selected task in the Gantt chart. The new task is appended at the end of the task list if no task is selected. It has a default name and duration of 1 day starting at the present date.	INS		P	P
Copy Activities	Copies the selected activities to the clipboard. Assignments are copied without the current progress. Constraints are copied as well if they exist. The content of the clipboard is not readable outside of the Genius Planner context.	CTRL-C		P	P
Paste Activities	Pastes tasks currently on the clipboard after the last selected task in the Gantt chart. Pasted tasks are appended at the end of the tasks list if no task is selected.	CTRL-V		P	P
Delete Activity	Deletes the currently selected tasks in the Gantt chart. The user has to confirm this action before the operation is performed.	DEL		P	P
Progress >	2 options: •Work: Display the standard work progress in activities. •Physical: Display the physical progress on activities and allow changing this value in the properties of activities.		P	P
Activity Properties	Opens the Activity Properties Window to the "General" section.	CTRL-I	P	P	P
Edit Assignments	Opens the "Activity Properties Window" to the "Resources" section.	CTRL-R	P	P	P
Delete Assignments	Deletes all assignments for the currently selected task in the Gantt chart. The user has to confirm his action before the operation is performed.	CTRL-D		P	P
Indent Activity	Indents selected tasks to a lower hierarchy level.	CTRL-RIGHT		P	P
Outdent Activity	Outdents selected tasks to a higher hierarchy level.	CTRL-LEFT		P	P
Move Activity Up	Moves the selected task upwards. The hierarchy level is not changed.	CTRL-UP		P	P
Move Activity Down	Moves the selected task downwards. The hierarchy level is not changed.	CTRL-DOWN		P	P
Timeshift Activities	Shifts the selected tasks, milestones and phases to a new date specified by the user, the start date being kept on the same day of the week.	CTRL-T		P	P
Move To Activity	Jumps to the selected activity and displays it in the Gantt Chart.		P	P	P
Link Menu			P	P
Link Selected Activities		CTRL-L		P	P
Create Link	Used to create dependencies between two tasks. When using this action, the cursor changes to a cross. The start and end points of the constraint have to be selected.	CTRL-INS		P	P
Delete Link	Deletes the currently selected constraint in the Gantt chart. The user has to confirm this action before the operation is performed.	CTRL-DEL		P	P
Link properties	When a link between two tasks is selected, displays detailed information about the link, such as time lag.	CTRL-SHIFT-I	P	P	P
Automatic END-START lnk	Allows all newly created tasks to be constrained with an END-START constraint.			P
No END-START link	By default, no END-START constraint is created between newly created tasks.			P
View Menu			P	P
Field >			P	P
Name	By default, displays the name of the task inside the task bar in the Gantt Chart.		P	P
Resources	Displays the resources assigned to the task inside the task bar in the Gantt Chart.		P	P
Start Time	Display the start date / time of the task inside the task bar in the Gantt Chart.		P	P
End Time	Display the end date / time of the task inside the task bar in the Gantt Chart.		P	P
Date Format >			P	P
Short Date	By default, dates are displayed in a short format in the Start and End column of the Gantt table (ex.: 24.11.05).		P	P
Medium Date	Dates are displayed in a medium format in the Start and End column of the Gantt table (ex.: 24 Nov. 2005).		P	P
Long Date	Dates are displayed in a long format in the Start and End column of the Gantt table (i.e. 24. November 2005).		P	P
Full Date	Dates are displayed in a full format in the Start and End column of the Gantt table (i.e. Wednesday, 24. November 2005).		P	P
Style >			P	P
Blueberry	Applies the default "blue" style to the Gantt and Schedule charts.		P	P
Tangerine	Applies the alternate "orange"  style to the Gantt and Schedule charts.		P	P
Grids >	Allows users to customize the grid appearance in the Gantt and Schedule diagrams.		P	P
Activities Chart >			P	P
Increase 2 Pixels	Increases height of rows by 2 pixels.	CTRL-K	P	P
Decrease 2 Pixels	Decreases height of rows by 2 pixels.	CTRL-L	P	P
Show Vertical Grid	Checked by default.		P	P
Vertical Grid Color…			P	P
Show Weekends	Checked by default.		P	P
Weekend Color...			P	P
Show Horizontal Grid	Checked by default.		P	P
Horizontal Grid Color...			P	P
Color Rows			P	P
Even Row Color...			P	P
Odd Row Color...			P	P
Assignments Chart >			P	P
Increase 2 Pixels	Increases height of rows by 2 pixels.	CTRL-SHIFT-K	P	P
Decrease 2 Pixels	Decreases height of rows by 2 pixels.	CTRL-SHIFT-L	P	P
Show Vertical Grid	Checked by default.		P	P
Vertical Grid Color...			P	P
Show Weekends	Checked by default.		P	P
Weekend Color...			P	P
Show Horizontal Grid	Checked by default.		P	P
Horizontal Grid Color...			P	P
Color Rows			P	P
Even Row Color...			P	P
Odd Row Color...			P	P
Expand/Collapse All		CTRL-ENTER	P	P	P
Show/Hide Critical Path			P	P	P
Zoom in		CTRL-NUM+	P	P	P
Zoom out		CTRL-NUM-	P	P	P
Zoom to fit		CTRL-F	P	P	P
Help Menu			P	P
About...	Displays an information window about the Genius Planner version number and build number.	F1	P	P

 

The Genius Planner Toolbar

 

Toolbar Action	Icon	Description	Shortcut	Read mode	Edit mode
Insert Activity		Inserts a new task after the last selected task in the Gantt chart. The new task is appended at the end of the tasks list if no task is selected. It has a default name (New entry #) and a duration of 1 day starting at the present date.	INS		P
Delete Activity		Deletes the currently selected tasks in the Gantt chart. The user must confirm this action before the operation is performed.	DEL		P
Insert Resource		Add a published resource to the list of available resources. It will be added in the field "Internal project team" of the corresponding "Project description" document the next time the plan is synchronized.	ALT-R		P
Create Link		To create a new dependency between two tasks. When using this action, the cursor changes to a cross. The start and end points of the constraint have to be selected.	CTRL-INS		P
Delete Link		Deletes the currently selected constraints in the Gantt chart. The user must confirm this action before the operation is performed.	CTRL-DEL		P
Undo		Undo the last action.	CTRL-Z		P
Redo		Redo the last undone action.	CTRL-Y		P
Copy Activities		Copies the selected activities on the clipboard. Assignments are copied without the current progress. Constraints are copied as well, if they exist. The content of the clipboard is not readable outside of the Genius Planner context.	CTRL-C		P
Paste Activities		Pastes tasks currently in the clipboard after the last selected task in the Gantt chart. Pasted tasks are appended at the end of the tasks list if no task is selected.	CTRL-V		P
Activity Properties		Opens the Activity Properties Window and displays the "General" section.	CTRL-I	P	P
Link properties		Opens the Link Properties Window.	CTRL-K	P	P
Edit Assignments		Opens the "Activity Properties Window" and displays the "Resources" section.	CTRL-R		P
Delete Assignment		Deletes all assignments of the currently selected task in the Gantt chart. The user must confirm his action before the operation is performed.	CTRL-D		P
Indent Activity		Indents selected tasks to a lower hierarchy level.	CTRL-RIGHT		P
Outdent Activity		Outdents selected tasks to a higher hierarchy level.	CTRL-LEFT		P
Move Activity Up		Moves the selected task upwards. The hierarchy level is not changed.	CTRL-UP		P
Move Activity Down		Moves the selected task downwards. The hierarchy level is not changed.	CTRL-DOWN		P
Timeshift Activity		Shifts the selected tasks, milestones and phases to a new date specified by the user, the start date being kept on the same day of the week.	CTRL-T		P
Move To Activity		Jumps to the selected activity and displays it in the Gantt Chart.			P
Expand/Collapse all		Toggles between expanding and collapsing all phases. When a plan is opened for the first time, all phases are expanded.	CTRL-ENTER	P	P
Show / Hide Critical Path		Shows or hides the critical path of the current plan.		P	P
Zoom In		Zooms in.	CTRL-NUM+	P	P
Zoom Out		Zooms out.	CTRL-NUM-	P	P
Zoom To Fit		Adjusts the zoom so the entire plan fits within the width of the Gantt Chart window.	CTRL-F	P	P
Print		Prints the Gantt or Schedule chart. See: "Printing a Genius Planner plan" for further information.	CTRL-P	P	P

Creating Activities - Phases, Tasks and Deliverables

 

An activity in Geniusproject can either become a phase, a task or a deliverable. To create and schedule tasks and deliverables in the Gantt chart, click on the activity in the table that you would like the new activity to be after, and click on the "Insert activity" icon  on the toolbar. You can also press Insert on the keyboard. A new activity will be added to the table and chart.

 

To move an activity, click the Move up or "Move down" icons.

Click the  icon to indent and the icon outdent an activity. Once an activity has items indented beneath it, it automatically becomes a phase.

Any activity with a duration of one day or more is a task. An activity with a duration of 0 days is a deliverable. The duration of a phase is the result of the durations of all activities beneath it (not necessarily the sum as some activities may occur in parallel); a phase cannot have a duration applied to it directly.

To schedule a task or deliverable, simply click on the task bar or deliverable diamond and drag it to the desired date.

To increase the duration for a task, click on the end of the task and drag it out to its new start or end date.

 

Task or deliverable dates can also be defined in the "Activity Properties" dialog box. 

 

Activity Properties

 

The "Activity Properties" dialog box displays all parameters of the selected activity, as well as its assignments. The dialog box is composed of two tabs, the [General] tab and the [Resources] tab. Depending on how you open the window, either one of the tabs may be active.

• Navigate to the Activity menu and select Activity Properties
• The Activity Properties dialog box will open to the General tab

• Click on the Replace resource icon  on the toolbar
• In the Resource replacement dialog box that opens, select the resource to be replaced and the replacement resource:

• Once the replacement resource has been selected, all assignments made to the replaced resource will be re-assigned to the replacement resource.

 

Planning Dates and Baselines

 

Using Baselines

 

Geniusproject allows a project manager to track iterations of their project’s dates. The initial dates saved when planning a project are referred to as the Initial Baseline. A project’s baseline is meant to be used as a point of comparison between what the project schedule was intended to be and what it actually is.

 

Project Dates in Genius Planner

 

Genius Planner tracks three types of project dates:

• Initial
• Planned
• Current

The "Current" state of the project plan displays all plan dates as of the current moment. All tasks are displayed as blue bars and deliverables as blue diamonds.

The shaded green portion of the task bar represents actual time spent on a task.

 

Initial Baseline

 

The "Initial" baseline is used to keep track of the intended project schedule that was initially planned and saved.

To see a plan’s "Initial" baseline:

• Click the Dates field from the toolbar
• Select Current and Initial

The "Initial" baseline will be displayed as a thin turquoise line under the current blue tasks and deliverables, but not necessarily on the same dates.

The "Initial" baseline is not automatically saved the first time a project plan is saved. All updates or modifications made to the project plan after the "Initial" baseline has been saved will not automatically be added to it.

If project managers want to save the "Initial" baseline, or make changes to the project plan that need to be added to the "Initial" baseline after it has been saved, they can do so manually.

To add tasks and deliverables to an existing "Initial" baseline:

• Open the project plan
• Click the Plan menu
• Select Initial baseline -> Accept all current dates as initial baseline

• All blue tasks lines and "Initial" baseline turquoise lines will now line up on the same dates.

If a project manager only wants to include selected task and deliverable updates into the "Initial" baseline they can follow the same steps as above, but select Accept selected current dates as initial baseline.

 

Planned Dates versus Current Dates

 

Once the initial baseline for a project has been saved, all future modifications and updates to the project are stored as "Planned" dates. Planned dates are displayed when "Current and Planned" are selected from the "Dates" field on the plan toolbar.

The Current dates reflect what is going on at the moment, specifically any actual time posted against tasks. While the planned dates reflect any rescheduling of the plan after the initial baseline has been saved and does not include actuals.

The "Planned" dates are displayed as a thin purple line under the blue tasks and deliverables, but not necessarily on the same dates.

The "Current" dates are automatically saved every time the project plan is saved. All updates or modifications made to the project plan after the "Planned" dates has been saved will not automatically be added to it.

If a project manager makes changes to the project plan that need to be part of the "Planned" dates, they can do so manually.

To make all current dates part of the planned dates:

• Open the project plan
• Click the Plan menu
• Select Planned dates -> Accept all current dates as planned dates"

 

Replanning a Project

 

Once a project plan has been completed, it is possible to go back to it as many times as needed to make any necessary changes.

To return to a project’s Gantt chart:

• Navigate to the Projects tab
• From the contextual navigation menu, select Tasks and plans -> Plans-Gantt
• Find the project to be edited in the list and click the plus icon "+" beside its name to expand
• The first option below the title will be Gantt, click on it to open the plan form and the Gantt chart will launch automatically
• Only the Project Manager and Project Manager Substitute can make changes to the plan. It is important to note that:

• Tasks that have not yet begun can be rescheduled to start and end at any time
• Tasks with time already posted against them cannot be moved. Their end date can be changed but the start date cannot
• Completed tasks cannot be changed

 

Additional Planning Options

 

 

Links

 

The concept of constraints (links or dependencies) in Geniusproject only exists in the Gantt Chart.

Links can be created between tasks, between deliverables and between tasks and deliverables. It is not possible to create links between phases, excluding certain exceptions, which are displayed in a very light gray so as not to interfere with other valid constraints. These gray exception constraints should be ignored, as they will automatically be removed once the plan is saved.

There are four types of links that can be created with the following rules:

• END-START: the start date of the targeted task cannot be set to the same date or before the end date of the source task.
• START-END: the end date of the targeted task cannot be set before the start date of the source task.
• START-START: the start date of the targeted task cannot be set before the start date of the source task.
• END-END: the end date of the targeted task cannot be set after the end date of the source task.

 

 

Importing an MS-Project Plan

 

Projects do not always just include an internal project team. Organizations collaborate with external team members all the time that may be using a different planning tool, such as Microsoft® Project. It is also common that prior to licensing Geniusproject, organizations may have already purchased Microsoft® Project. It is therefore critical that users are able to import existing Microsoft® Project files into Geniusproject to ensure a seamless transition to the application and flexible collaboration with all team members.

Importing an existing Microsoft® Project plan into Geniusproject only takes a few easy steps. Before you begin you must first have a copy of the Microsoft® Project plan to be imported, saved as XML.

To save a file as XML:

• Open the plan in Microsoft® Project and select Save as
• In the Save as window, save as  XML Document

 

Once an XML copy of the plan is available from your computer:

• Navigate to the Projects] tab, Plans - Gantt view
• Click the Actions menu and select Import an MSP file in XML format in Genius Planner

• In the newly displayed dialog box, specify which project the plan is for and click Browse to find the saved XML file

 

Exporting to an MS-Project Plan

 

It is not uncommon for project teams to extend outside an organization; this can be due to external consultants or to the client itself who plays a role in the execution of a project. In these instances it may be necessary to share project plans with individuals who do not have access to Geniusproject. To accommodate this situation, Geniusproject plans can be exported to Microsoft® Project.

To export a project plan:

• Navigate to the Projects tab Plans - Gantt view
• Find the project to be exported and open the plan document
• Click the Actions menu and select Export to Microsoft Project

 

Planning Document Deletion Rules

 

The planning documents deletion rules were removed from the general setup of the Projects database, and are now hard-coded. The deletion rules for tasks and deliverables once a plan is deleted are now the following:

Tasks

The tasks with an actual workload different of zero are not deleted.

Otherwise the tasks are deleted when they are in one of the following statuses: Stand-by, Requested, Postponed or Cancelled.

A task "In progress" with no actual workload will then be kept.

Deliverables

The deliverables are deleted only when they are in one of the following generic statuses: Stand-by, To accomplish or Cancelled.