In ProjeQtor, we can assign different priorities to different projects.
This prevents conflict between projects: ProjecQtor will take up elements of a higher priority project first, and then take up elements from project with lower priorities..
But when we also consider tickets, we face a problem: ProjeQtor does not have the Priority field for tickets.
As a result, the ticket cannot compete with the activities of projects.
So how do we fit the tickets in the busy schedule of the resource?
There is no competition betwxeen tickets and activities as Tickets are not planned (they are mostly unknown at project start)
Let me rephrase what I meant by "tasks and tickets compete for resource time":
All our resources are supposed to be busy on some project when a ticket is raised and assigned to them.
So the PM has the following options:
- Ask the resource to finish his current task (without interrupting it) and then take up the ticket.
Once the work on the ticket is finished, he should take up the next task.
Thus, in this option, the ticket gets inserted in his todo list as the very next task. - Ask the resource to interrupt the current task and take up the ticket first.
Once the ticket is over, he can continue with the current task. - Switch the resource in the current task, to free him, and assign him the ticket.
On the other hand, it is not a good idea to insert the ticket in the project as a task, especially if it is for another product/customer etc.
Now how to achieve the first two cases? Option#3 (Switching the resource) is easy to do.
Ask the resource to finish his current task (without interrupting it) and then take up the ticket.
Once the work on the ticket is finished, he should take up the next task.
Thus, in this option, the ticket gets inserted in his todo list as the very next task.
Ask the resource to interrupt the current task and take up the ticket first.
Once the ticket is over, he can continue with the current task.
Talk to the resource ?
(This is just communication, not planning)
No the human interaction is expected to happen as a routine. 🙂
That's not my point of concern.
Since the ticket is not competing with his project, the project tasks have remains unaffected.
But he is expected to work on the ticket.
So he will have to log much less real work on the project.
While he is working on the ticket(s), the remaining resources are also unaware of the delay building in the project.
Day by day, he will go on logging zero effort in the project.
There is no point in re-planning the project till he has finished the ticket.
And such tickets will be landing with multiple resources at different times.
This is not a good situation.
On the other hand, if the tickets were simply inserted in the Gantt chart, the new shape would be instantly known to everyone.
Another question is how exactly he will handle this on a daily basis, using ProjeQtor.
For example, he could stop using ProjeQtor till he finishes the ticket (say, a week).
Then he can update both the ticket and the project.
But this means the plan will get a new shape all of a sudden.
On the other hand, if the tickets were simply inserted in the Gantt chart, the new shape would be instantly known to everyone.
It will soon become no manageable with undreds or even thouthands of tickets.
The way projeqtor proposes to deal with this is to plan some "recurring" activity, with planning mode "fixed duration" or "regular between dates", and plan some work for the resource to allow him to work on tickets. Work will be dispatch over the whole duration, giving puntually wong planning, but statically good for the period.
Then when working on tickets, resource defined this activity as "planning activity" so that work on ticket will be retreived from left work on, activity.
I agree this is a fair arrangement.
Thank you for devoting time in patiently explaining the process.
It would be good to have this captured somewhere in the help.