Task Update with Actual Srat & Time

[Vikramramdev]

I have a project Plan, where we have set the Start Date & Times,.
Not ,. we have released the tasks to all the task owners,..

Say for example we have a Task " Extract all Purchase Orders" 10/13/08,. 10.AM

Now my question is:
What if we get a status update from the task owner saying that the task was
done on 10/7 9.0AM. How are we updating this,.. in the plan,..
If i change in the Plan directly,.. the dates gets disturbed , like it
pushed the date forward or backward,..

We are only capturing the Actuals for the main plan,. based on the actuals,.
So i appreciate your answers with a detailed explanation.

Thanks
Vikram.

 

[Jim Aksel]

If the task finishes early (or late) you want that information to move the
successor tasks left (or right), correct?

If you key the date and time into the Finish field, you create an artificial
constraint (Finish No Earlier Than) in your schedule logic. This is not
desireable.

Instead, you could insert the "Actual Start" and "Actual Finish" columns
(they are different than "Start" and "Finish." The same fields are available
by selecting "Update Tasks" icon from the Tracking toolbar.

Keying an *actual* finish into the *actual finish* parameter can also
include a time such as 10/10/2008 08:15 AM. The format varies with your
local settings.
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Jim Aksel, MVP

Check out my blog for more information:
http://www.msprojectblog.com

 

[Jim Aksel]

After re-reading your post, I wanted to give you another option.
If you want the original schedule to stay in place, try saving a baseline.
This will store your original dates in Baseline Start and Baseline Finish.
You can always refer to those dates, they will not change.

You can also insert optional date fields -- Start1, Finish1, etc.
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If this post was helpful, please consider rating it.

Jim Aksel, MVP

Check out my blog for more information:
http://www.msprojectblog.com