This article discusses some common questions about priorities in projects and tasks.
FAQ:
How should I release scheduled projects using priority. Should I release top priority first, then second, etc.?
Projects in LYNX can be added to your portfolio and held until you're ready to begin, without the need to release them immediately. You can release the project via the project properties and changing the project status from "Not Started" to "Released."
Multiple projects can be released simultaneously; the release indicates the transition from planning to active work. Please note that releasing a project will show on the task managers' active tasks lists ("My Activities" tab, "Active tasks" tab, and TameFlow/LYNX-X) and might be overwhelming if all projects are released at once.
There are two types of priorities
- Strategic Priorities: These are set manually in the project's properties under "Business priority," where lower numbers reflect higher importance. Strategic priorities are informed by company strategy, considering factors like business impact and financial importance. Typically, projects are released according to their strategic importance.
- Operational Priorities: Once projects are released, strategic priorities give way to operational priorities which are calculated based on real-time project and task progress. These are informed by buffer consumption—either from the project buffer, which protects the project end date, or milestone buffers, which guard individual task deadlines. Buffer consumption is automatically updated with task progress, reshaping operational priorities accordingly. You can see the priority value of the project when you hover over the performance bars of the project in "Project Portfolio" view.
The release strategy should be informed by a blend of strategic planning and operational readiness, ensuring resources are optimally allocated and key projects commence without delay.
While strategic and operational priorities inform which projects to release and when, the actual task sequencing within those projects is determined by the operational priorities, driven by buffer management, once the projects are released. These priorities are dynamic, evolving with project progress and are independent of the initial strategic priorities set. This is particularly crucial for managing tasks that share common resources across multiple projects.
Scenario Planning: Utilize LYNX's Scenario Wizard in the "Project Portfolio" tab to assist with planning. This tool allows you to experiment with different project sequences and resource allocations, giving a forecast of project timelines and highlighting resource needs which help you determine the necessary adjustments before project release.
What happens if I extend the duration of a task or assign an additional resource allocated to another project?
This change would only influence operational priorities as the progress of the project and the buffer consumption changes, which are automatically calculated. A project manager can see the buffer consumption and the progression of the project via the “Project portfolio” tab. As they also can see the development of the fever-curve, they get the most relevant signals. A task manager will see the order of their tasks change as the priority changes.
You can also set it up for LYNX to send a project summary update “Notification Report” on a daily or weekly basis. Please see article Working with notifications for more details.
If there are multiple projects using the same resources will the project priority be used to preferentially schedule higher projects?
In LYNX, once projects are released, they are managed based on operational priorities, not project priorities. This means that tasks from different projects using the same resources are sequenced based on real-time data and progress, not on the initial strategic ranking of the projects. The Scenario Wizard is a tool that can be used pre-release to simulate different scheduling and resource scenarios to determine the best order for project release. After release, resources can view their task priorities in the "My activities" and "Active Tasks" tabs. This helps ensure that resources are allocated efficiently across all active projects. For more details on priority behavior, you can refer to the guide Understanding (CCPM) Priority Behaviour..
What is the difference between using the scenario wizard and the release wizard when planning a project?
The LYNX Scenario Wizard and Release Wizard tools are invaluable for planning and adjusting project releases. The Scenario Wizard helps create and evaluate different project sequences considering the available resources, while the Release Wizard is more about integrating a new project into the existing pipeline and understanding its impact on current commitments.
How does Lynx accommodate projects with different scheduling needs?
LYNX provides robust scheduling engines tailored to the unique requirements of your projects. For projects that need to meet deadlines exactly without any room for delay, the Load Factor Scheduling Engine can be an effective alternative or supplement to the Critical Chain Scheduling Engine, especially when your projects have flexible timelines or things are changing quickly and often. This allows you to manage a range of projects, from those that need to be done right on schedule to those that can go with the flow a bit more. This dual-engine approach allows Lynx to effectively manage a diverse portfolio of projects while optimizing resource allocation and throughput.
For more information on when to utilize the Load Factor Scheduling Engine, please see the article Load Factor Scheduling and Scenario planning.
Should a task manager use the "My Activities" view or the "Active Tasks view"?
For day-to-day task management, LYNX provides the "My Activities" and "Active Tasks" lists. "My Activities" is role-based and reflects tasks relevant to the user’s role and their operational priorities, which are updated daily for stability. "Active Tasks," on the other hand, updates in real-time with any changes in task priority and is not role-based, offering a broader view of all tasks across the project.
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