Prad DiasProject Manager| TechnologyOne CorporationMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Hi Guys,
I am new to MS Project 2007 and I need some help. I am attempting to track a baseline schedule by enterring the actual finish and actual work. In some instances the actual work to complete a task is less than the baseline work and therefore the task has been completed ahead of baseline finish date. I can't seem to represent this on MS Project.
For example Task A baseline work 16 hours Baseline Start 2/2/2011 and baseline finish 2/4/2011 for resource F.
I want to show actual work 6 hours, actual start 2/2/2011 and actual finish 2/2/2011 for resource F and % complete is 100%. MS Project doesn't allow me to do this.
When I enter the Actual finish as 2/2/2011 it counts all 8 hours for resource F eventhough the resource only spent 6 hours. This is not accurate.
Can some help me on this matter.
Thanks in Advance
Prad Saving Changes...
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Rakesh TrivediSenior Project Manager| IT CompanyIndore, Mp, India
Hi Prad,
This is good Post ..I have not came across this before, found somewhat tricky.
MS project will always track the things as Estimated work ie. Baseline and in your case it was 16 hours that means resource will not work for 100 % utilization otherwise for 3 days it should be 24 hrs for resource F.
BTW, what you are trying to accomplish may not be possible due to logic and rules imposed by MS project ,
For example if estimated work was 16 hrs and resource worked for 100% for 2 day then actual work should be 16 and in case F has finished it earlier and actual work is only 6 than he would take entry as 6 but than % work complete will not be 100% but 37.5.
But actually you have finished the task so I would advice you to enter it as 16 hours only and use idle time of the resource for finishing some other Project task in order to tackle other contingency in future.
Please give your view here if someone can find better solution oin the above issue.
Saving Changes...
Bruce LoflandSoftware Developer| SprintLenexa, Ks, United States
If you have a fixed duration task, then set the duration to 1 day, then set the work to 6 hours, then set the percent complete to 100%.
1) Save the current Start dates, Finish dates and Durations to Baseline Start and Baseline Finish and Baseline Duration before you update the status.
2) Baseline for the most part is your starting point.
3) Next update the Start and Duration (don't touch Finish date- only change that by changing duration).
When you input %complete (greater than 0%) it will first populate the Actual Start -Adjust Finish by changing Duration - when %complete hits 100% MS Project populates Actual Finish. If you have resources-Actual work.
4) You should now be able to compare Actuals against Baselines. Note baseline values should never change once they are set. Saving Changes...
Dennis DonohuePMO / Program & CA PPM Consultant| Independent ConsultantWashington, Mi, United States
Let me start by applauding you for posting to this web site! I wish I had this resource when I began using MS Project. By applying best practice scheduling principles, you will be able to produce schedules that reflect baseline to actuals, variance, and most important, "valid forecasts",
In reading your post, I need to clarify word choice. The 2nd sentance states that your trying to "track a baseline schedule by entering the actual finish and actual work/"
Best practice scheduling involves, but is not limited to the following:
1) The FTE equivelent for a full time resource can vary, 6, 7, or 8 hours is common. With meetings, breaks, interruptions, phone calls, etc, resources seldom work 8 hours of an 8 hour day. Talk to your World Wide PMO, and Program Manager to identify which. I recommend setting the FTE to 6 hours of applied work effort per day per resource which is more in line with real world. Worry less about the baseline finish dates, and more about applying the best estimates wherever possible.
World class PMO's will include "how well do we estimate", as part of thier performance metrics. I'd recommend inserting the Work Variance, and VAC columns to capture, quantify, and illustrate these important metrics. By frequently reviewing these metrics as part of your quality management system, resources will soon begin to "dial in" future estimates with minimal variance.
Quality schedule updates require entering actual work completed, then reforecasting, and entering remaining work effort. Dates should never be entered into the Start or Finish fields.
These are but a subset of essential best practice schedulling principles which, if followed, will signficantly reduce the amount of time and effort required udpate, and maintain schedules.
Let me suggest contacting I.I.L, (International Institute for Learning), at www.iil.com. IIL is a global leader in Project, Program, Portfolio Management, MS Project, Project Server, ITIL, Six Sigma, training, learning solutions, consulting, etc. for individuals, Corporations, and Government Agencies alike. They offer a wide variety of Microsoft Project, Project Server training and certification courses which are sure to meet the needs of today's individual Mobile Professional, as well as global Corporations, and Government Agencies.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, or require additional information.
Dennis J. Donohue - PMP
[email protected] IIL MS Project 2003 Blue Belt Certified
Before you update the task make sure to set a baseline. Then insert the "Baseline Work" column. Go to the "Update Tasks" icon on the toolbar and enter 2/2/2011 as the Actual Start Date and 2/2/2011 as the Actual Finish date and then click OK. Now when you look at your schedule you will see 16 hours in the Baseline Work column and 5.33 hrs in the Work column. This is due to the resource allocation which Project calculated at 67%. Saving Changes...
