Actual Finish Date calculation with % complete

[303588]

I am a MS EPM server admin at a fortune 100 company. Running 2003.
Using % complete to update project tasks via PWA for users. When they
put a task to 100%, it records the baseline finish as the actual
finish, every time. I need it to record when the task was actually
put at 100%. Same with Actual start dates. Need the actual start
date to be the first time a task is accepted as > 0%. Any ideas?

 

[ProjmanZA]

I am a MS EPM server admin at a fortune 100 company.  Running 2003.
Using % complete to update project tasks via PWA for users.  When they
put a task to 100%, it records the baseline finish as the actual
finish, every time.  I need it to record when the task was actually
put at 100%.  Same with Actual start dates.  Need the actual start
date to be the first time a task is accepted as > 0%.  Any ideas?

Hey there ,

If you use % Complete it records by default the baseline start and
baseline finish as the actual start and finish for that task.
Personally i am not a big fan of % Complete as i feel its inacurate
and it maps directly to baseline start/finish.

2 Suggestions thou,

1. Change your tracking method to hours done and hours remaining on
the server settings.
2. The PM has to manually update task progress in the schedule -- on
the task usage view in the timesheet grid on the left -- rightclick
and add the actual work field in there , then the pm will be able to
add the amount of hours per day.

So if the baseline start was say monday 13/08 -- the PM can then go
and put in say 8hr actual work on wednesday 15/08 and finish the task
2 days late .

There we go .... Hope it helps

 

[Marc Soester [MVP]]

hi,

the correct way of tracking %complete is to update not only your %complete,
but also your actual start and/or actual finish date. Otherwise you will
experience the behaviour that you experience at present. All that MS project
knows when you enter %complete is when the dates of how you planned your
project. Obiously this is not always the case, so my recommendation is, if
you want to continue with %complete you will also need to educate your PM's
to update the actual start and finish date as well.
Hope this helps

 

[Antti Kivivalli]

I second Marc's comment about learning to use the Actual Start and Actual
Finish fields - or actually as the task is marked as 100 % complete, one can
edit also the (Current/plain) Start and Finish dates to get the same result.

And that brings me to a correction to ProjmanZA's comment:

If you use % Complete it records by default the baseline start and
baseline finish as the actual start and finish for that task.

So it is not using the Baseline Start or Finish, but the (Current/plain)
Start and
Finish. Of course if the plan hasn't changed since the setting of the
baseline it's hard to tell the difference.

Personally i am not a big fan of % Complete as i feel its inacurate
and it maps directly to baseline start/finish.

I agree - and if you are using resources, %Work Complete is much more
accurate - although it is also connected to the (Current) Start and Finish
times.

I've once made a customized field for a client because they wanted to see
'what should be the % complete be today if the baseline would be true'. They
are still using it.

Antti
FC Sovelto, Finland

 

[ProjmanZA]

I second Marc's comment about learning to use the Actual Start and Actual
Finish fields - or actually as the task is marked as 100 % complete, one can
edit also the (Current/plain) Start and Finish dates to get the same result.

And that brings me to a correction to ProjmanZA's comment:




So it is not using the Baseline Start or Finish, but the (Current/plain)
Start and
Finish. Of course if the plan hasn't changed since the setting of the
baseline it's hard to tell the difference.


I agree - and if you are using resources, %Work Complete is much more
accurate - although it is also connected to the (Current) Start and Finish
times.

I've once made a customized field for a client because they wanted to see
'what should be the % complete be today if the baseline would be true'. They
are still using it.

Antti
FC Sovelto, Finland

Antti , thanks for the correction there. I agree it uses the Planned
start/finish to track the task ....