How do i update actual start and actual finish dates?

[Chiraz]

Hi,
I have inserted 10 projects into a master project file and baselined the
project. When i update the schedule the actual start date and finish date is
accepting the baseline start and finish dates. In reality actual start and
finish dates are bit different?
Eg:
Baseline Start: 01/01/2009 Actual Start Date: 05/01/2009
Baseline Finish: 03/01/2009 Actaul Finish Date: 08/01/2009
But upon updating the % complete the actual start and finish dates is
recording as Baseline start and baseline finish dates. But i want it to
record Actual start and actual finish dates instead.

Thank You,

 

[Maximus]

Thats great ,its good reply.I am a planning engineer and do it on regular
basis.But tell me one thing if suppose for each and every activity I enter
actual duration and remaining duration then it will show the time based %
completion.Which might not be the true indication of the actual %completion
of the project.Say for one of the activity your work is 100 units and
duration is 10 days. At the end of 6th day if you do 30 units then there is
bound to have a conflict because both % completions will obviously be
different .But later one is I feel a more correct representation of the
progress. But again it doesn't give summerized % completion for the entire
project.So actually you cant co-relate the completion report with any other
data.Right?

 

[Steve House]

There are three separate measures of percent complete in Project. %
Complete measures the passage of time. % Work Complete meaurese the
performance of work. Physical % Complete measures the creation of
deiliverables. So the passage of 6 days out of a total of 10 is 60%
complete by definition regardless of the actual progress towards that
tasks;'s deliverable that has or hasn't been accomplished.

You might think % Complete and % Work Complete would be the same but
consider this model. We're painting a room. The painter comes in on Monday
at 8am and spends an hour applying a primer coat. It has to dry overnight
so he goes away and comes back Tuesday to apply a second primer coat, also
spending an hour on the process. Wed he'll do a first colour coat, also
drying overnight, and Thur a second colour coat. After it dries he'll come
in all day on Friday to do all the fine detail and cleanup, finishing Fri at
5pm. The duration of the task is 40 hours. The work required is 12
man-hours. It's Thursday at 5 and we're updating progress, work having all
gone as planned. We have passed over 32 of the 40 hours of duration and the
task is 80% Complete. We have done 4 out of the 12 required man-hours of
work and the task is 33% Work Complete. And we need to look at the paint
job to see if its up to par, subjectively estimating how much of the
Physical % Complete has been achieved.

HTH

 

[Amey]

Dear Trevor,
Thanks for the reply.Dont think that the argument is right or
wrong.It is simply the fact which I am stating and I am asking for solution.I
dont feel anything for software or the process just want an ultimate
result.You must understand it has its own method.Feelings,worries and getting
upset dont have any bearing upon it.I am very well aware of what exists and
measured in the real world. I think I am living in the same world.
So instead of wasting our time in writing such things lets discuss
the problem.For example certain activity of the project worked till the
status date.Its perfectly logical that the % completion which it will show
will be =total days spent by it till status date / total duration.
Say it has consumed 68% of the time alloted to it .Nobody can change it.But
really the activity 68% completed?.Assume it has just done 35cum. of concrete
of total 100 cum..I want to report the % completion to the management .Cross
check of the billing data is done on the completion submitted by me.If its a
single activity its easy to work it out .But it there are no. activities
involved and I want a consolidated physical % completion I dont get it.Which
is more relevant to me and my managemant for cross checking.
so again my simple question is I will do time based % completion by
putting actul duration and remaining one.Now I want to compare that with
Phycsical % completion.Because if the project goes as per the schedule both %
completions should be the same.
So I want to know whether there is any method by which I can get a
consolidated or summerized % completion?
There is one method that gives you it ( changing the EV settings to
physical % completion instead of % completion).I am working on it and
hopefully get the answer soon.
I just wanted to know if I can get some assistance from anybody.
bye.