When you create a task plan in Nimble, you need to select the scheduling type for it. The scheduling options appear as per the license you are using. Depending upon your license, you might be/not be able to see all the scheduling options in the Scheduling Type drop-down list of the Task Plan.
Nimble supports 4 types of scheduling to help you manage your tasks –
- Default scheduling
- Simple scheduling
- Advanced scheduling
- Microsoft Project Scheduling
Default scheduling
Default Scheduling is best suitable for small and medium size projects where limited scheduling capabilities are required. Use Simple scheduling for Task Plans when:
1) Planned Start & Finish Dates are optional
2) Option to roll up Start & Finish dates to a summary task
3) Set Finish-to-Start (FS) dependencies between tasks with dates
Read more about the default schedule here.
Simple scheduling
Simple Scheduling is best suited for small to medium-scale projects with small teams, consisting of around 2000 tasks. Using Simple Scheduling, Project Managers can control their project schedule and make the necessary updates using simple scheduling capabilities. The Simple Scheduling capabilities will be available to you as per your Enterprise plan. Use simple scheduling when:
1) Planned Start & Finish dates are mandatory
2) All effort & date fields roll-up to a summary task
3) Set FS type of dependencies between any tasks
4) Task dates do not change based on actual dates
5) Track progress manually or based on timesheet
6) Baseline to track deviation of effort & schedule
Read about the simple scheduling in detail here.
Advanced scheduling
Advanced scheduling is the advanced version of the scheduling to help you drive your projects more efficiently with MSP-compatible capabilities. Use Advanced Scheduling for Task Plan when:
1) Same capabilities as Simple Scheduling
2) Set SF, SS, and FF type of task dependencies
3) Set constraints such as ‘Start No Earlier Than’
4) Track progress manually or based on the timesheet
5) Track the Critical Path of tasks for overall progress
Read about advanced scheduling in detail here.
Comparison of Default, Simple, Advance Scheduling, and MS Project Plug-in
A quick comparison of features between Advanced Scheduling and MS Project Plug-in will help you to choose the right Task Module for your project.
|
Default Scheduling |
Simple Scheduling |
Advance Scheduling |
MSP Integration |
|
| Recommended Task List Size
|
Small | Small and Medium Task Plans | Medium Task Plans | Large Task Plans |
|
Planned Start and Finish Dates |
Optional | Required | Required | Required |
|
Milestone |
Not Available | Available | Available | Available |
| Roll-updates to Summary Level Tasks
|
Optional |
Always | Always | Always |
| Task Actuals Tracking Mode | Manual | Manual, Based on timesheet data | Manual, Based on timesheet data | Based on timesheet data |
|
Gantt View |
Available |
Available | Available | Available |
| Baseline | Not Available | Available | Available | Available |
|
Baseline Start, Finish, Effort |
Not Available | Available | Available | Available |
|
Calendar Integration |
Not Available | Project | Project, and Resource
|
Project User |
|
Default Task List from Activity Matrix |
Not Available | Available | Available | Available |
|
Task Dependency |
Finish-to-start | Finish-to-start | Finish-to-Start (FS), Start-to-Finish (SF), Start-to-Start (SS), Finish-to-Start (FS) |
Finish-to-Start (FS), Start-to-Finish (SF), Start-to-Start (SS), Finish-to-Start (FS) |
|
Task Rescheduling |
Optional | Available (Only for manual date change) | Available (Checkout Required) | Available (Checkout Required) |
|
Task Types |
Not Available | Fixed Dates | Fixed Dates, Fixed Unit, Fixed Work, Fixed Duration | Fixed Unit, Fixed Work, Fixed Duration |
| Task Mode | Auto-Scheduled | Auto-Scheduled | Auto-Scheduled and Manually Scheduled | Auto-Scheduled and Manually Scheduled |
|
Task Constraints |
Not Available | As Soon As Possible | As Soon As Possible, Start No Earlier Than, Start No Later Than, Finish No Earlier Than, Finish No Later Than, Must Start On, Must Finish On | As Soon As Possible, Start No Earlier Than, Start No Later Than, Finish No Earlier Than, Finish No Later Than, Must Start On, Must Finish On, As Late As Possible |
|
Critical Path |
Not Available | Not Available | Available | Available |
|
Resource Assignment (%) on Tasks |
100% always | Editable | Editable | Editable |