Adding a Task or Checkpoint

You can add a project task A unit of work or collection of work associated with a project. or a checkpoint A zero duration task record, which is used to represent an event in the project such as a key decision, completion of a work package, completion of a deliverable or end of a phase. Checkpoint tasks have no relationship with PSA milestones. to a project A collection of activities and related items to be managed over a defined time range, such as timecards, expenses, milestones and budgets. using the Tasks pane or the Context menu.

To add a project task or checkpoint to a project using the Tasks pane:

1. Select the project to which you want to add a task.
2. Select a task on the Schedule or Task pane under which you want the new task to appear.
   
   
   
   
3. Click Create New Task to add the task to the Schedule pane.
4. Enter a name for the task.
5. Select or enter the Start and End dates of the task.
6. [Optional] Enter a duration in the Duration cell.
   Tip:

   If you want a checkpoint, set the duration to zero days.

7. [Optional] In the Points cell, enter the estimated effort, in points, required to complete the task.
   Note:

   You must ensure that the Points field contains a number greater than or equal to zero. If you use planning poker A consensus based technique commonly used in Agile software development for estimating the size or relative effort of a task or story. to estimate effort or the relative size of a task, we recommend entering a number in the Fibonacci sequence A sequence of whole numbers where the first numbers in the sequence are 0, 1, 2 and every subsequent number in the sequence is the sum of the previous two numbers. such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55 or 89.

8. If you want to assign one or more resources or roles to the task:
   1. Click the Assigned Resources cell.
   2. Click Add another resource.
   3. Select the name of the resource or enter some characters from their name. You can assign a resource who is external to your PSA organization (an external resource): enter their name, press Enter or click OK, and click Assign when the Confirm External Resource popup window appears.
   4. Select a Resource Name cell and select an option in the drop-down list from those available in your organization.
   5. Repeat the step above for the role you want.
   6. Add more resources and roles if required.
   7. Click Apply Changes.
   Note:

   This action creates a project task assignment not a resource assignment. Depending on the configuration that your administrator has chosen, resources can enter time against this project task. If you want the resource to book time and expenses to the project, you must also assign them to the project. See Searching for Resources and Entering Time Against Project Tasks.

9. If you want to associate the project task with a milestone on the project:
1. Click the Milestone cell.
2. Select a milestone from the drop-down list.
10. Click Save.

To add a project task or checkpoint using the context menu:

1. Select the project to which you want to add a task.
2. Right-click a task in the Task pane or the Schedule pane or right-click the bottom of either pane.
3. Hover over Add and then do one of the following:
   • To add a task above or below the selected task, click Task Above or Task Below depending on the option that you want.
   • To add a checkpoint A zero duration task record, which is used to represent an event in the project such as a key decision, completion of a work package, completion of a deliverable or end of a phase. Checkpoint tasks have no relationship with PSA milestones., click checkpoint.
   • To add a child task of the selected task, click Add Sub-task.
     Note:

     This creates a sub-task with start and end dates that match the parent task.

   • To add a task that has a dependency relationship with the selected task, click Successor or Predecessor depending on whether you want the task to be carried out before or after the selected task. See Adding a Task Dependency Relationship.
     
     Note:

     A task must have a defined Start date and End Date for you to add Predecessor and Successor Tasks.

4. Enter a name for the task and complete the remaining fields in the Tasks pane.
5. Click Save.