Mark --
The red numbers are the numbers that the resource has entered or changed in
his/her latest task update. In other words, they are the resource's set of
"actuals" for the current reporting period. The black numbers are either
the estimated values for unstarted work scheduled in the future, or are
actuals that were entered in a previous reporting period, and which were
updated by you into your project plan.
During each reporting period, carefully examine the red numbers, as they
will reveal to you what your resources are doing in the project. Take
special note if the Remaining Work value has been changed by the resource,
as this will alert you about potential task slippage while you may still
have time to take action about it. In fact, you might ask your resources to
include a task Note if they adjust the Remaining Work value to document WHY
they changed the number. Their Note will become part of the historical
record for your project. Hope this helps.
