In Microsoft Project, tasks describe the work that you will perform to complete the project. Tasks include all deliverables and works required. Essentially, you should add a task for everything that needs to be done within the project. However, not all tasks will work the same. While some tasks represent work performed by subcontractors, others represent major milestones within the project. For this reason, Microsoft Project offers five different task types: Tasks, Recurring Tasks, Summary Tasks, Milestone Tasks, and Deliverables. The type you choose to use will depend on what the task represents and how it should be performed.

To ensure that you’re always using the correct type, this article will cover the different task types available in Microsoft Project. The following examples are from Microsoft Project Professional using a standalone server. However, most of these task types are available within all versions of Microsoft Project.

Accessing and Adding Tasks

To add a task to the schedule, you first need to create or open a project. Before adding tasks, it’s recommended to create and set your project calendar. You’ll also want to enter in some basic data within the Project Information window, such as when the project needs to begin.

With a project open, you can add tasks to it using the Task menu. In the Insert section, you’ll see all available task types, including Task, Summary, Milestone, and Deliverable. Some of these types feature a dropdown with more options. For example, if you click the dropdown under Task, you’ll find another task type – Recurring Tasks.

To add any of these different task types, simply click the option in the Task menu. A new task will add to the table, allowing you to adjust its details. Because each of these task types are different, let’s take a closer look at how they work.

Tasks

In Microsoft Project, tasks represent the most standard type of task. Tasks, sometimes called activities, define the work necessary to complete the project. These are the building blocks of the project. Ultimately, tasks will determine how long the project will take, and when it should finish. Typically, a project is composed of a variety of tasks, tied together.

These standard tasks will typically have a duration and use a set calendar. You can add as much detail as needed to your tasks – for example, you can assign resources to cost load, or custom fields to track custom data. A typical project will use a variety of different task types to demonstrate the work performed – but this is the type used most.

If you make use of Summary tasks, these tasks may be referred to as sub-tasks. They will organize underneath the greater Summary task – which we will take a look at in a moment.

In the Gantt Chart, these standard tasks will display as a blue horizontal bar by default. The length of the bar will adjust depending on the duration of the task.

Creating Tasks

To create a task, select the Insert Task button within the Task menu. You can also select a blank cell within the table to add a task. For each task, you’ll need to enter in a Name and a Duration. It’s also recommended to assign each task at least one Predecessor and Successor task. This will determine the order in which the tasks will be performed within the project.

Although not mandatory, you can also assign Resources, Calendars, Constraints, and other metadata to tasks. You can add any of these fields to the table using the Add New Column field.

You can also adjust these values in the Task Information window by double clicking on the task.

Recurring Tasks

Occasionally, you may have tasks that reoccur within the project. For example, you might have a debriefing meeting that will occur at the beginning of every month. Instead of having to create these tasks over and over again, you can create a recurring task. Recurring tasks are tasks that repeat over the project’s timeline. With recurring tasks, you can create the task just once and set it to reoccur on a certain schedule. The program will automatically create a new task for each occurrence needed. Once created, each of these individual tasks will work the same as standard tasks.

Creating Recurring Tasks

To create a recurring task, select the down facing arrow under Insert Task within the Task menu. From the dropdown menu, select Recurring Task.

A new window will open where you can add some details for the task. In this example, let’s say that my project team needs to have a monthly meeting to review the project schedule. I’ll name this task Project Meeting and set the duration to 1h. Under Recurrence, I can choose how often this task will occur – I’ll select Monthly.

Next, I can choose the day this meeting will take place. I’ll select the Last Friday of each month. I can also choose when this task will start and when it should end. For the Start, I’ll put the Project Start Date, and for the End, I’ll put the planned project finish date – September 25th. Then, I’ll press OK.

When you create a recurring task, a Summary task will automatically appear with it. This will host the associated recurring tasks together. Under that summary, we can now see each task, scheduled for the last Friday of each month.

It’s important to note that recurring tasks will automatically lock on to the specific set date. Unlike most tasks in MS Project, you do not need to add relationships to these tasks to set them in time. However, you can add relationships if you want to prevent another task from taking place until after the recurring task.

Summary Tasks

In Microsoft Project, summary tasks are tasks that host subordinate subtasks. Summary tasks will act as a summary of all tasks below them – giving an overview of when the subordinate tasks will start and finish. Summary tasks do not affect the timing of the project. Instead, these are simply categorical headings that host related tasks.

Within the schedule, these tasks will display like grouping bands. Summary tasks will show with bolded text and feature an arrow that you can use to show or hide their subtasks. The dates and durations that display with these tasks calculate based on the subtasks added below. The Start date will be the earliest start of any subtask and the Finish date will be the latest finish of any subtask. The Duration of these summary tasks will show the overall duration for all subtasks – essentially, how long it will take for them all to complete.​

Typically, you’ll create summary tasks to organize subtasks into categories. Most often, summary tasks represent the Work Breakdown Structure, which is an outline of the different phases for your project. You’ll often have summary tasks with names such as Preconstruction or Construction, representing the associated project phase. You can even create a hierarchy of summary tasks, such as if you want to break up a major phase into its subphases. Whereas the tasks represent the work that you’ll perform in the project, the summary tasks represent the broader phases of work.

On the Gantt Chart, Summary tasks will display as a black lines with pointed ends. If you collapse a summary task, all tasks below it will disappear from view in both the Gantt Chart and the table.

Creating Summary Tasks

To create a summary task, select the Insert Summary button within the Task menu. This will add two tasks to the table – the summary and a subtask below it. Summary tasks only become summaries once they have a subtask. For the Summary task, use the Task Name field to enter in the name of the category or phase it represents. Don’t worry about assigning any additional values to summary tasks like dates or durations. Instead, these values will calculate automatically based on the subtasks added below.

You can also turn any task into a summary task simply by adding a subordinate task below it. If you select a task on the table and select the Indent Task tool in the Task menu, the task above it will become a Summary task.

Milestone Tasks

Milestone tasks are tasks with no duration. They signify important events within the project – such as the beginning or end of a phase of work. You’ll use milestones to identify key target dates – such as Contract Award and Contract Completion. Often, milestones are also associated with a specific payment schedule.

Typically, you’ll see milestone tasks at the beginning and end of the project and each project phase. It’s a scheduling best practice to start every project with a Contract Award milestone and finish it with a Contract Completion milestone. This allows you to quickly see and identify key dates within the schedule without needing to analyze each task.

Just like with standard tasks, milestones typically require both predecessors and successors. The only exceptions to this, however, are the first and last activity in the schedule. A milestone activity indicating the start of the project, such as Contract Award, will typically only have a successor. On the other hand, a milestone indicating the finish of the project will typically only have a predecessor. Other task details, like durations, calendars, and resources, typically do not apply to milestones.

On the Gantt Chart, milestone tasks will display as a diamond symbol.

Creating Milestone Tasks

To add a milestone task, select the Insert Milestone button within the Task menu. This will automatically add a task to the table with 0 days of duration. You can then use the Task Name field to give the milestone a descriptive name.

You can also convert any task into a milestone task by adjusting its duration to 0. 

Deliverables

There’s one more option available within the Insert section under the Task tab: Deliverables. However, this option might be grayed out depending on the version of Project you’re using.

Deliverables are not available within the standard version of Project. You can only add Deliverables if you have connected and published your project to the Project Web App. With a published project, you can create deliverables both within the application version and the web version of Project.

Deliverables represent the results of tasks performed for the project. Typically, these are tangible items, like documents or products. Oftentimes, these deliverables will tie into the tasks within your schedule – but they represent the result of the work. For example, we could have a task in our project called HVAC Submittal. The task represents the process of drafting and submitting the HVAC documentation. On the other hand, the deliverable is the HVAC submittal document created during this process.

In Microsoft Project, deliverables aren’t new tasks you add to the schedule, but labels you can add to existing tasks. When you select Insert Deliverable, a deliverable would add to whichever activity you had selected – designated by a box icon. With these deliverables, you can submit further information to the Project Web App – such as due dates or responsible parties. Ultimately, deliverables are a way to track and inform users of specific items required to complete a given task.

Again, this tool is only available if you are connected to the Project Web App and have published the project. Otherwise, this tool will be greyed out.

Summary

In Microsoft Project, tasks are the building blocks of the project. They represent all the work you will need to perform to complete the project. However, not all tasks work the same way. Some tasks may represent long lead items, while others may represent significant events. For this reason, Project gives you a variety of task types to work with. Using Tasks, Recurring Tasks, Summary Tasks, Milestone Tasks, and Deliverables, you can plan all of the work required for the project. By using different task types for different types of work, you can ensure that your schedule represents a realistic, achievable project plan.

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Lauren Hecker is a Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, and Oracle Primavera Cloud Instructor who teaches onsite and virtual scheduling courses. To see her next open enrollment course, please visit our calendar. To schedule an onsite or custom course, please contact us!