Progress Bars

[Andrew]

I am trying to incorporate two progress charts in one msp file. An active
progress chart and a static progress chart. The active is the standard
tracking gantt that comes with msp with an amended table to compare planned %
against actual %. The static chart is easy if in a separate file - I baseline
the project and change the activity bars to baseline start and finish, rather
than start and finish. I then change the progress bar to Baseline start to
complete throughout. If I record the actual starts and finishes in a dummy
field ie start1 etc this works fine. However if i put this view in the same
file as the active chart, the progress bar works but re-aligns itself to the
actual starts and finishes, so sometimes the bar goes beyond the "planned"
bar if behind programme or finishes before the "planned" bar if completed
ahead of programme. What I want it to do is to stay within the baseline bar -
any ideas

 

[JulieS]

Hi Andrew,

I'm sorry, I've read your post several times now and still can't figure
out what it is you are looking for.

You may add Baseline bars ([Baseline Start] to [Baseline Finish] in
addition to the "regular" Gantt bars from [Start] to [Finish] as well as
progress lines from [Actual Start] to [Complete through]. The idea
behind baselining and tracking with progress bars is to show variance
against baseline.

Sorry, perhaps if you try again I'll be brighter tomorrow ;-)

Julie

 

[Andrew]

JulieS

Rest assured the problem is with me and not you. This subject has been a
trial to me for many months. The problem:

I can produce a "static" progress chart by updating the % complete only and
not enering actual starts or finishes. the progress bar would be from start
to complete through. This works fine - the progress bar starts at the start
date of each activity and goes to the end as the % increases. It stays within
the bar at all time. I record the actuals in false date columns. This is a
very simple chart which a lot of people like. It does not however giv a
critical activity view ie when are we going to finish according to the
critical path. To do this I would have to enter actual starts and finishes
along with % complete. Again, this type of chart is very popular. What I
would like to do is have both these types of reports in one MSP file so that
I do not have to have two MSp files of the same project with doubling up of
the updating needed.

I have tried to produce the static bar chart by saving a baseline (so the
actual start & finish will not affect the bar) and put the % complete within
the bar. I did this by allocating the % complete bar as being from Baseline
start to complete through. The effect was that the % complete bar commenced
at the actual start and not the Baseline start, also the % complete bar did
not fit within the baseline bar unles the actual information was identical to
the baseline - which hardly ever happens in real life.

I hope that this has made my problem a bit clearer ??

Regards

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I'm sorry, I've read your post several times now and still can't figure
out what it is you are looking for.

You may add Baseline bars ([Baseline Start] to [Baseline Finish] in
addition to the "regular" Gantt bars from [Start] to [Finish] as well as
progress lines from [Actual Start] to [Complete through]. The idea
behind baselining and tracking with progress bars is to show variance
against baseline.

Sorry, perhaps if you try again I'll be brighter tomorrow ;-)

Julie

I am trying to incorporate two progress charts in one msp file. An
active
progress chart and a static progress chart. The active is the standard
tracking gantt that comes with msp with an amended table to compare
planned %
against actual %. The static chart is easy if in a separate file - I
baseline
the project and change the activity bars to baseline start and finish,
rather
than start and finish. I then change the progress bar to Baseline
start to
complete throughout. If I record the actual starts and finishes in a
dummy
field ie start1 etc this works fine. However if i put this view in the
same
file as the active chart, the progress bar works but re-aligns itself
to the
actual starts and finishes, so sometimes the bar goes beyond the
"planned"
bar if behind programme or finishes before the "planned" bar if
completed
ahead of programme. What I want it to do is to stay within the
baseline bar -
any ideas

 

[JulieS]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the clarification. A couple of points:

1) Before tracking (updating % complete, actual start etc.) save a
baseline. You can easily add the baseline bars to a Gantt chart by
running the Gantt chart Wizard. Additional bars representing the "plan"
will be added to the Gantt chart.
2) Begin to track. As you track progress if you are viewing a Gantt
chart view (such as Tracking Gantt) the progress bars will draw along
the "regular" Gantt bars (not Baseline). The baseline bars represent
the plan, the "normal" bars represent reality.

A couple of point on tracking:
When you write:
"I can produce a "static" progress chart by updating the % complete only
and
not entering actual starts or finishes. the progress bar would be from
start
to complete through."

When you update the % complete, the [Actual Start] and [Actual Finish]
are automatically filled in by Project. ([Actual Finish] is filled in if
% complete = 100%) When you update % complete the [Start] will equal
the [Actual Start]. Although you say you are recording actuals in false
date columns, the true [Actual Start] and [Actual Finish] dates are
recorded anyway. The reason why the progress bar stays within the bars
is if you *just* update % complete, Project assumes the task occurred as
was originally scheduled -- in other words it will match the Baseline
information.

To get the updates of the schedule of future tasks ([Start] and
[Finish]) I suggest using [Actual Start], [Actual Duration] and
[Remaining Duration]. All of the fields are available on the Tracking
Table. By entering [Actual Start] and [Actual Duration] the progress
bar will start at [Start] and will progress to the % complete based upon
the original duration minus the actual duration entered. If the task is
projected to take longer or shorter, change the [Remaining Duration]
field to your estimate of how much longer the task will take. This will
re-draw the Gantt bar to reflect the new projected finish date of the
task.

I also suggest you take a read of Mike Glen's excellent series of
articles on MS Project at:

http://project.mvps.org/mike's_tutorials.htm

Articles 25 & 26 address directly the relationship between the tracking
fields.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie

JulieS

Rest assured the problem is with me and not you. This subject has been
a
trial to me for many months. The problem:

I can produce a "static" progress chart by updating the % complete
only and
not enering actual starts or finishes. the progress bar would be from
start
to complete through. This works fine - the progress bar starts at the
start
date of each activity and goes to the end as the % increases. It stays
within
the bar at all time. I record the actuals in false date columns. This
is a
very simple chart which a lot of people like. It does not however giv
a
critical activity view ie when are we going to finish according to the
critical path. To do this I would have to enter actual starts and
finishes
along with % complete. Again, this type of chart is very popular. What
I
would like to do is have both these types of reports in one MSP file
so that
I do not have to have two MSp files of the same project with doubling
up of
the updating needed.

I have tried to produce the static bar chart by saving a baseline (so
the
actual start & finish will not affect the bar) and put the % complete
within
the bar. I did this by allocating the % complete bar as being from
Baseline
start to complete through. The effect was that the % complete bar
commenced
at the actual start and not the Baseline start, also the % complete
bar did
not fit within the baseline bar unles the actual information was
identical to
the baseline - which hardly ever happens in real life.

I hope that this has made my problem a bit clearer ??

Regards

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I'm sorry, I've read your post several times now and still can't
figure
out what it is you are looking for.

You may add Baseline bars ([Baseline Start] to [Baseline Finish] in
addition to the "regular" Gantt bars from [Start] to [Finish] as well
as
progress lines from [Actual Start] to [Complete through]. The idea
behind baselining and tracking with progress bars is to show variance
against baseline.

Sorry, perhaps if you try again I'll be brighter tomorrow ;-)

Julie

I am trying to incorporate two progress charts in one msp file. An
active
progress chart and a static progress chart. The active is the
standard
tracking gantt that comes with msp with an amended table to compare
planned %
against actual %. The static chart is easy if in a separate file -
I
baseline
the project and change the activity bars to baseline start and
finish,
rather
than start and finish. I then change the progress bar to Baseline
start to
complete throughout. If I record the actual starts and finishes in
a
dummy
field ie start1 etc this works fine. However if i put this view in
the
same
file as the active chart, the progress bar works but re-aligns
itself
to the
actual starts and finishes, so sometimes the bar goes beyond the
"planned"
bar if behind programme or finishes before the "planned" bar if
completed
ahead of programme. What I want it to do is to stay within the
baseline bar -
any ideas

 

[Andrew]

JulieS

Ive copied your reply to word and I will try and get my head round it. I
appreciate your help and will let you know how I get on, thanks again

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the clarification. A couple of points:

1) Before tracking (updating % complete, actual start etc.) save a
baseline. You can easily add the baseline bars to a Gantt chart by
running the Gantt chart Wizard. Additional bars representing the "plan"
will be added to the Gantt chart.
2) Begin to track. As you track progress if you are viewing a Gantt
chart view (such as Tracking Gantt) the progress bars will draw along
the "regular" Gantt bars (not Baseline). The baseline bars represent
the plan, the "normal" bars represent reality.

A couple of point on tracking:
When you write:
"I can produce a "static" progress chart by updating the % complete only
and
not entering actual starts or finishes. the progress bar would be from
start
to complete through."

When you update the % complete, the [Actual Start] and [Actual Finish]
are automatically filled in by Project. ([Actual Finish] is filled in if
% complete = 100%) When you update % complete the [Start] will equal
the [Actual Start]. Although you say you are recording actuals in false
date columns, the true [Actual Start] and [Actual Finish] dates are
recorded anyway. The reason why the progress bar stays within the bars
is if you *just* update % complete, Project assumes the task occurred as
was originally scheduled -- in other words it will match the Baseline
information.

To get the updates of the schedule of future tasks ([Start] and
[Finish]) I suggest using [Actual Start], [Actual Duration] and
[Remaining Duration]. All of the fields are available on the Tracking
Table. By entering [Actual Start] and [Actual Duration] the progress
bar will start at [Start] and will progress to the % complete based upon
the original duration minus the actual duration entered. If the task is
projected to take longer or shorter, change the [Remaining Duration]
field to your estimate of how much longer the task will take. This will
re-draw the Gantt bar to reflect the new projected finish date of the
task.

I also suggest you take a read of Mike Glen's excellent series of
articles on MS Project at:

http://project.mvps.org/mike's_tutorials.htm

Articles 25 & 26 address directly the relationship between the tracking
fields.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie

JulieS

Rest assured the problem is with me and not you. This subject has been
a
trial to me for many months. The problem:

I can produce a "static" progress chart by updating the % complete
only and
not enering actual starts or finishes. the progress bar would be from
start
to complete through. This works fine - the progress bar starts at the
start
date of each activity and goes to the end as the % increases. It stays
within
the bar at all time. I record the actuals in false date columns. This
is a
very simple chart which a lot of people like. It does not however giv
a
critical activity view ie when are we going to finish according to the
critical path. To do this I would have to enter actual starts and
finishes
along with % complete. Again, this type of chart is very popular. What
I
would like to do is have both these types of reports in one MSP file
so that
I do not have to have two MSp files of the same project with doubling
up of
the updating needed.

I have tried to produce the static bar chart by saving a baseline (so
the
actual start & finish will not affect the bar) and put the % complete
within
the bar. I did this by allocating the % complete bar as being from
Baseline
start to complete through. The effect was that the % complete bar
commenced
at the actual start and not the Baseline start, also the % complete
bar did
not fit within the baseline bar unles the actual information was
identical to
the baseline - which hardly ever happens in real life.

I hope that this has made my problem a bit clearer ??

Regards

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I'm sorry, I've read your post several times now and still can't
figure
out what it is you are looking for.

You may add Baseline bars ([Baseline Start] to [Baseline Finish] in
addition to the "regular" Gantt bars from [Start] to [Finish] as well
as
progress lines from [Actual Start] to [Complete through]. The idea
behind baselining and tracking with progress bars is to show variance
against baseline.

Sorry, perhaps if you try again I'll be brighter tomorrow ;-)

Julie


I am trying to incorporate two progress charts in one msp file. An
active
progress chart and a static progress chart. The active is the
standard
tracking gantt that comes with msp with an amended table to compare
planned %
against actual %. The static chart is easy if in a separate file -
I
baseline
the project and change the activity bars to baseline start and
finish,
rather
than start and finish. I then change the progress bar to Baseline
start to
complete throughout. If I record the actual starts and finishes in
a
dummy
field ie start1 etc this works fine. However if i put this view in
the
same
file as the active chart, the progress bar works but re-aligns
itself
to the
actual starts and finishes, so sometimes the bar goes beyond the
"planned"
bar if behind programme or finishes before the "planned" bar if
completed
ahead of programme. What I want it to do is to stay within the
baseline bar -
any ideas

 

[JulieS]

Hi Andrew,

You are most welcome. Please give my reply a read, check out Mike's
information and if things aren't clear, please post again.

Julie

JulieS

Ive copied your reply to word and I will try and get my head round it.
I
appreciate your help and will let you know how I get on, thanks again

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the clarification. A couple of points:

1) Before tracking (updating % complete, actual start etc.) save a
baseline. You can easily add the baseline bars to a Gantt chart by
running the Gantt chart Wizard. Additional bars representing the
"plan"
will be added to the Gantt chart.
2) Begin to track. As you track progress if you are viewing a Gantt
chart view (such as Tracking Gantt) the progress bars will draw along
the "regular" Gantt bars (not Baseline). The baseline bars represent
the plan, the "normal" bars represent reality.

A couple of point on tracking:
When you write:
"I can produce a "static" progress chart by updating the % complete
only
and
not entering actual starts or finishes. the progress bar would be
from
start
to complete through."

When you update the % complete, the [Actual Start] and [Actual
Finish]
are automatically filled in by Project. ([Actual Finish] is filled in
if
% complete = 100%) When you update % complete the [Start] will
equal
the [Actual Start]. Although you say you are recording actuals in
false
date columns, the true [Actual Start] and [Actual Finish] dates are
recorded anyway. The reason why the progress bar stays within the
bars
is if you *just* update % complete, Project assumes the task occurred
as
was originally scheduled -- in other words it will match the Baseline
information.

To get the updates of the schedule of future tasks ([Start] and
[Finish]) I suggest using [Actual Start], [Actual Duration] and
[Remaining Duration]. All of the fields are available on the
Tracking
Table. By entering [Actual Start] and [Actual Duration] the progress
bar will start at [Start] and will progress to the % complete based
upon
the original duration minus the actual duration entered. If the task
is
projected to take longer or shorter, change the [Remaining Duration]
field to your estimate of how much longer the task will take. This
will
re-draw the Gantt bar to reflect the new projected finish date of the
task.

I also suggest you take a read of Mike Glen's excellent series of
articles on MS Project at:

http://project.mvps.org/mike's_tutorials.htm

Articles 25 & 26 address directly the relationship between the
tracking
fields.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie

JulieS

Rest assured the problem is with me and not you. This subject has
been
a
trial to me for many months. The problem:

I can produce a "static" progress chart by updating the % complete
only and
not enering actual starts or finishes. the progress bar would be
from
start
to complete through. This works fine - the progress bar starts at
the
start
date of each activity and goes to the end as the % increases. It
stays
within
the bar at all time. I record the actuals in false date columns.
This
is a
very simple chart which a lot of people like. It does not however
giv
a
critical activity view ie when are we going to finish according to
the
critical path. To do this I would have to enter actual starts and
finishes
along with % complete. Again, this type of chart is very popular.
What
I
would like to do is have both these types of reports in one MSP
file
so that
I do not have to have two MSp files of the same project with
doubling
up of
the updating needed.

I have tried to produce the static bar chart by saving a baseline
(so
the
actual start & finish will not affect the bar) and put the %
complete
within
the bar. I did this by allocating the % complete bar as being from
Baseline
start to complete through. The effect was that the % complete bar
commenced
at the actual start and not the Baseline start, also the % complete
bar did
not fit within the baseline bar unles the actual information was
identical to
the baseline - which hardly ever happens in real life.

I hope that this has made my problem a bit clearer ??

Regards

Andrew

:

Hi Andrew,

I'm sorry, I've read your post several times now and still can't
figure
out what it is you are looking for.

You may add Baseline bars ([Baseline Start] to [Baseline Finish]
in
addition to the "regular" Gantt bars from [Start] to [Finish] as
well
as
progress lines from [Actual Start] to [Complete through]. The
idea
behind baselining and tracking with progress bars is to show
variance
against baseline.

Sorry, perhaps if you try again I'll be brighter tomorrow ;-)

Julie


I am trying to incorporate two progress charts in one msp file.
An
active
progress chart and a static progress chart. The active is the
standard
tracking gantt that comes with msp with an amended table to
compare
planned %
against actual %. The static chart is easy if in a separate
file -
I
baseline
the project and change the activity bars to baseline start and
finish,
rather
than start and finish. I then change the progress bar to
Baseline
start to
complete throughout. If I record the actual starts and finishes
in
a
dummy
field ie start1 etc this works fine. However if i put this view
in
the
same
file as the active chart, the progress bar works but re-aligns
itself
to the
actual starts and finishes, so sometimes the bar goes beyond the
"planned"
bar if behind programme or finishes before the "planned" bar if
completed
ahead of programme. What I want it to do is to stay within the
baseline bar -
any ideas