task with similar sub task?

Question

I often get task with the same similar like screenshot below, does MS Project has any feature help me to do it quicker and smarter than
(1) copy & paste "Module A" task (2) rename it to "module B" (3) outdent the "Module B" task?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, MS Project (as of 2007) doesn't provide any flexible way to do this. There are a few options, but based on your description/example, I don't think these would work.

• Recurring tasks: You can define a recurring task (menu: Insert | Recurring Task...), though you can't nest recurring tasks (as in your example, above).
• Shared tasks: if the 4 tasks you list in your example are the same task with the same dates and dependencies, you could create a single group and link to that single group from/to numerous predecessors/successors.
• Script it: Creating new tasks in a project file is trivial using VBA. Depending on how often and complex the tasks hierarchy is, you could put in a for loop and call ActiveProject.Tasks.Add taskname.

Note: This is based on 2007. If 2010 has additional functionality in this area, I would like to hear about it.

Answer 2

If you roll-up your Module A tasks before you copy & paste you can avoid the need to outdent (the new Module B will be at the same level as Module A).

I don't think you can get around having to rename. It is probably also good practice to rename all of the subtasks in order to avoid possible later confusion.