How to manage tasks with variable duration / amount of work

Hello,
I'm currently trying to build a macro planning for my department for the next 2 years.
In my plan, there is a task that has a variable duration and amount of work. People will start / stop working on it depending on the beginning / end of other tasks. The only way to do this I've found so far is to split the task into multiple subtasks
(one per resource) that are manually scheduled with start and end dates linked to the dates of the tasks they depend on. However, I think this workaround is really not practical and hard to manage since for each subtask I need to create milestones for linking
the start date to the next working day. Relationships between tasks are also not visible in the plan. I've also read that in general it' better to avoid using links, but is there a better way to manage this in Project 2013 ?
Best regards,
Sébastien.

Seb_Lz,
There are several elements of your description that need more detail.
You mention a variable duration. That could simply be a normal task that changes scope as the plan progresses (i.e. more work content, slipping schedule, etc.), or it could be indicative of what is called a hammock task (See Faq 19 on the MVP website at: http://project.mvps.org/faqs.htm).
You mention linking as a way to define task dependencies. That is exactly what task predecessors and successors are designed to do. Task links have nothing to do with resources. It's not clear why you say only one resource per task.
You talk about manual scheduling and entering start and finish dates. Manual scheduling is intended for a very rough first cut at a working schedule. To get the full benefit of Project's scheduling engine, tasks should be auto-scheduled and the whole logic
network sequence of tasks should be defined by durations and links, not by manually entering dates. It's fine to set critical milestones or use Project's deadline feature, but otherwise let Project tell you how your plan all works given the basic data.
You say relationships are not visible in the plan. Don't understand that at all since link lines between tasks are shown by default in task views (e.g. Gantt Chart view).
Not sure where you read that it is better to avoid using links because that is flat out wrong, at least for normal predecessor/successor links within a single file. If you are working with a linked structure (i.e. master/subproject), or using external predecessors/successors,
then yes, links become a whole new area of concern.
John

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