Microsoft® Office Project 2007 Inside Out

Organizing Tasks into an Outline

Now that your task list is sequenced to your satisfaction, you’re ready to organize the tasks into a structure representing the hierarchy of tasks from the broader perspective to the deep and detailed perspective where the real work actually takes place.

A task at a higher outline level than other tasks is called a summary task; the tasks beneath that summary task are called subtasks (see Figure 3-22). Summary tasks typically represent phases in a project. For example, in a new business startup project, you might have summary tasks for developing the strategic plan, defining the business opportunity, planning for action, and proceeding with the startup plan.

Figure 3-22. Use summary tasks and subtasks to combine ...