Starting off in the document browser, tap the New Project button.

This opens the Project Editor, where a first task is waiting to be customized or edited. Before we get to that, let’s rename the project to something more interesting.

Tap My Project in the toolbar to edit the project title.

In the case of our game development scheme, we don’t have a hard deadline for the project to be finished - we want it to be done when it’s ready (but as soon as reasonably possible). To indicate this, we’ll go to the project inspector and set the start date as today.

Conveniently, this is the default setting for any new project.

If you’re planning a project with a specific do-or-die deadline, you’ll want to switch the direction from forward to backward and put the deadline date in the End field. Tasks will be scheduled back from this date, filling in the time from project completion to the present.

To create a milestone, tap and hold the new task button until the option appears:

Alternatively, tap the currently existing task ("Task 1") to select it, then open the Task Inspector. You can change the task type from a regular task to a milestone here.

We’ll change the name of "Task 1" by double-tapping it or editing the name field in the Task Info tab, create a few more milestones for our game plan, and then go on to reinforce our milestones with tasks.

New tasks appear below the currently selected item in the Gantt view, or at the bottom of the list if no tasks, milestones, or groups are selected.

For our project we’ll create several tasks beneath each milestone that they’re related to. Since we now have more items than will fit on the screen at once, pinch vertically on the Gantt view to change the view scale.

Tap the project inspector and then Work Hours to access the regular weekly work schedule for the project. By default, working hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 5:00, with an hour-long break for lunch at noon.

Since we’re working with a bunch of more nocturnal folks, let’s change the schedule to reflect that. Tap and hold one of the time blocks on the calendar to bring it to a new position, or drag one of the side handles to change the size of the block. We end up with a schedule that fits our needs:

Time blocks can be created for individual days to indicate longer or shorter regular working hours (tap New Time Block), and deleted by tapping Edit.

One that we know is in the future for our project is the upcoming Memorial Day. We can add that to our schedule right now by returning to the top level of the project inspector and tapping Calendar.

Green days on the exceptions calendar indicate regular work days. Swipe to scroll down to May, then tap on the week of Memorial Day (the 25th) to access the exceptions calendar for that week.

We know we want to take Memorial Day off, but we can also predict that this week will be crunch mode for the team. We use the Add Time Off button to create a block of time that covers the 25th, and then replace that lost time with evening overtime hours through the rest of the week.

Task duration can also be set using the Task Inspector.

The easiest way to gather tasks into a group in edit mode. Tap Edit on the project screen, then tap to select all of the tasks and milestones to be grouped. Finally, tap Group in the bottom toolbar to complete the edit.

With all of the tasks in the group selected, this would be a good time to add a bit of visual distinction to the group as well. Open the Task Inspector and tap Bar Color to choose a color that will identify all of the tasks in the group.

After organizing tasks and milestones into groups and estimating the time required to complete them, we’re starting to get a better picture of how our project will take shape. At this stage our Gantt chart looks something like this:

• Finish → Start dependencies are the most common type, indicating that when task A finishes, task B can start.

• Start → Finish dependencies indicate that when task A starts, task B can finish.

• Start → Start dependencies indicate that when task A starts, task B can also start.

• Finish → Finish dependencies indicate that when task A finishes, task B can also finish.

Connecting tasks in the Gantt view is as easy as tapping a selected task again, which puts dependency arrow handles on either side of the task bar.

Drag an arrow from the selected task to another task to create a dependency. The type of dependency is based on the start- and end- points of the arrow: dragging an arrow from the completion of one task to the beginning of another will create a finish → start dependency, and so on.

While in edit mode, you can use the Connect/Disconnect button to add finish → start dependencies or remove dependencies between any number of selected tasks simultaneously.

In our example we decide that alpha testing for the game should begin as soon as possible after April 13th, since that’s when we receive our prototype testing hardware. We give the "Testing phase" group a start constraint of April 13th by choosing Constraints in the Scheduling pane of the Task Inspector, and setting Start at earliest to April 13th 11:00 AM.

We decide that the "combine art and code" task is the one that’s going to give if the going gets rough. To convert it from a task of fixed duration to a hammock task:

• First, make sure both the "coding" group and the "art" group are linked to "combine art and code" with finish → start dependencies.
• Then, create a start → finish dependency originating from the testing phase and linking to "combine art and code."
• Finally, select the "combine art and code" task and open the Task Inspector. The fourth task type, Hammock, is available for selection.

One resource has been created by default for our project – a staff member. Tap it to access and edit their details, including name, resource type, and personal calendar.

When balancing workloads across multiple projects a staff member’s email address is used as their unique identifier, so make sure their address is consistent across all the projects they’re participating in.

After editing the default resource we’ll create a few more to fill out the list of our team members and the technology they’re using to bring the game to life. Remove or rearrange resources at any time using the Edit button.

Tap each resource you’d like to assign to the selected task(s) and their names will appear next to each task that they’re assigned to.

To level the resource workload for your project, open the Resources Inspector and tap Level Load. Unless your staff is already in the optimal configuration you’ll see the tasks in the Gantt view shift to accommodate the most efficient use of your resources’ time.

Optionally, choose Leveling from the Resources Inspector and turn on Automatically Level to have OmniPlan optimize your resource use every time a change is made to your project.

This is the world that is captured when we set a baseline for progress, a feature used to compare how the project is actually doing against initial expectations, so milestones and resource allocation can be adjusted accordingly.

To set a baseline, open the View Inspector and tap Baselines. Tap Set Baseline and enter a name (the current date is the default); it’s now selected for comparison, and can be compared against subsequently set baselines as the project progresses.

If a task is behind schedule, update the expected duration and level resources again to compensate for the additional time needed.

Violations can be fixed by opening the View Inspector and tapping Violations. You’ll find a description of the problem and a command to tap that should resolve it.

To split a task, press and hold it in the Gantt view until the contextual menu appears, then tap the right arrow and choose Split. You’ll be asked to choose the duration of each segment of the task, and the date and time you want the task to resume after the break. If the resource will be absent during the split, remember to indicate this on its schedule in the Resources Inspector.

After splitting a task it’s always a good idea to level to be sure the split is the most efficient way to manage the task at hand given the project’s available resources and time constraints.

To share the project you’re currently working on, open the project inspector and tap Publish and Subscribe, then Repository. You’ll be asked to choose a repository to sync to; if you don’t have one set up, tap Manage Repositories and see Getting Synced at the beginning of this manual to get started.

After choosing a repository, return to the Sync panel and choose an auto-update interval. This is the frequency with which your project will pull changes from the version stored on the server (you can tap Update to manually cause a sync any time you’d like). When you have the settings the way you want them, tap Publish to bring the project live.

Choosing to publish a project’s resource loads means that other subscribing projects will obey its workload information when leveling; if Julie is working on Project A on Wednesday and its loads are being published to Project B, after leveling Project B won’t schedule her to work on Wednesday.

Choosing to subscribe to resource loads means that the project will obey all constraints by projects in the repository that are publishing their loads. By using only the publish or subscribe option a hierarchy of priority can be established between simultaneous projects — a project that only publishes will always have its needs met first, while a project that only subscribes will be assigned resources only when they can be spared.

By both publishing and subscribing, projects are treated as equals — and if a project neither publishes or subscribes, it ignores external factors and syncs only with its own updates.