Actual Work and Duration

[Jeroen]

Hello,

I have got an issue about actual work and duration. Hopefully someone
has got a solution or a good work-arround for me. I have also seen
this problem in this newsgroup, dated last year, but I could not react
to that one.

The issue is:
I have entered a task in MS Project, assigned a resource to it,
entered the duration and the work. The Team Member, assigned to this
task, has entered actual work through his timesheet on Project Web
Access. Actual work was rightly updated into my project plan.
Everything was allright till I changed the duration.

Changing the duration changes the actual work. For example:
Duration 10 days
Work 40 hours
Actual Work 20 hours

Changing duration to 5 days
Fixed work, so a change of Units.
BUT Actual Work also changes!! Actual work is realized and should not
be changed.

Does someone has got the same problem and does someone know a
solution?

Thanks, best regards,
Jeroen

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Jeroen:

This type of behavior is predictable and expected.You need to be concerned
with task type and then you must determine which two of the three parameters
you want to control: Work, Units and Duration. The fact that you're simply
changing duration and expect Project to read your mind on changing the other
two parameters indicates that you would benefit from some basic training in
Project.

 

[J Baird]

[Actual Work] is changing, not [Remaining Work] or [Work]?

Did you shorten the duration so that the hours worked would not have been
20? Project can change the [Actual Work] if you do that...

Ex #1:
1) Make a 5 day task, Type=Fixed Work, with 1 F/T person assigned at 100%
allocation. (40 hours Work)
2) Set [Actual Work] to 20 hours
3) Change the Duration to 2days.
MSP changes the [Actual Work] to 16 hours, because the task is 100%
complete, then the duration is changed to 2d which = 16 hours work.

Ex #2:
1) Make a 5 day task, Type=Fixed Work, with 1 F/T person assigned at 100%
allocation. (40 hours Work)
2) Set [% Work Complete] to 100%
3) Change the Duration to 2days.
MSP changes the [Actual Work] to 16 hours, because the task was already 100%
work complete, so the duration is changed to 2d which = 16 hours.