Specific Project Management Task on Projects

[TerryHy]

Has anybody incorporated a separate task on projects called Project Management, or something similar? Our Project Owners are typically also the Copywriters on a project, and they have been inquiring about having a task on all projects (would add it at the template level) for "Project Management", to count for the "admin" time they spend on the project (following up with people, adjusting timelines, etc.), separate from the other tasks that they have (e.g., Create Copy). We are thinking of adding the Project Management task at the end of each template with 0 Days and 0 Hours, no Job Role/Assignment. On the project, the Project Owner would then log their Actual Time to this task as applicable to account for the admin/management time. Does anybody have anything like this? Any pros/cons with this set-up? Do you allow just the Project Owners to log "admin" time, or others as well (e.g., Designers)? Any feedback much appreciated. Thanks. Terry Hynd EBSCO Information Services

[AileenTa]

Hi Terry, We have admin tasks at various stages. For example to start the project and to close the project. If its a very large project we also have one to check assignments and modify due dates as needed. We find it helped to capture admin work, managing projects eats up a lot more time than everyone thought. The result was that we removed all project admin work from the editors/designers but they still have task admin work (such as routing proofs for review, posting for translation etc. etc.) Aileen Aileen Taylor Cell Signaling Technology

[LeeGa]

I typically add a "Project Management" task to all my projects to capture the time I spend on managing a project including admin tasks, meetings, running down resources, etc. It helps to know the true time spent on tasks that are not specific to the plan. The task usually spans the length of the project and is set to "Assume On Time" to ensure it does not impact the project status. Hope that helps. Lee Gasnick Tampa General Hospital