Hello Ann,

I'm not sure what values you want the summary task to "inherit". The duration (default field in Gantt chart view) of a summary task is not the sum of the subtask durations - it is calculated based upon the start of the earliest and finish of the latest of the subtasks. If you link the subtasks Finish to Start, the summary will calculate the total duration.

However, what I am guessing you need is the sum of the work (effort) for the tasks. The summary task will sum the work for subtasks - but you need to assign people to the tasks to generate the work. You can enter work manually (without resources) if needed by adding the work column to the view.

Your idea of summary and subasks is correct - I think the issue is the difference between duration and work.