Automatically set remaining work to 0

[danielt]

Hi,
Is it possible by SQL to set the remaining work of a task to zero once the
PM sets the task completed to 100%?

 

[Chris Marriott]

Daniel

I am not sure I fully understand the question... Project already does this
....

As soon as a task's "% Complete" is set to 100% - Remaining work is set to 0

Do you need SQL to somethign more than this ... .let me know
--
Regards


Chris Marriott - PMP MCSE MCDBA
UK - EPM Consultant & Trainer

 

[danielt]

Hi Chris,

The problem is that once you automatically set the percentage complete to
100% in Proj Pro, it will cause the project to be out of sync with actuals.
What I need to do is automatically set the remaining work to 0 for the team
members in the task to eliminate the message "Out of sync with actuals"
Thanks for the help

 

[Reid McTaggart]

Collaborate > Publish > Republish Assignments. Check the box to "Overwrite
actual work entered by resources." This will not work if you are using
managed time periods.

 

[danielt]

Hi Reid,

Is there a workaround if i am using managed time periods?

 

[Reid McTaggart]

No. Because Protected Actuals come along with Managed Time Periods. And
that rather brings us back to your original question. I think you would have
to act directly on the SQL database. Maybe someone on the Microsoft Project
Developer board can give you a hand.

I must say that I think it is utterly reasonable to expect the PM to set
remaining work to 0 and then publish new and changed assignments. You can
even automate the publishing in Tools > Options > Collaborate.

 

[danielt]

Hi Reid,

The PM can't set the remaining work to 0 because it would cause the schedule
to go off track. Will post this question in the Server Developer. Thanks for
your help

 

[Reid McTaggart]

Respectfully, the PM would benefit from some basic management and scheduling
lessons. The schedule is supposed to change if a task is finished early or
late, or any time a task does not progress exactly as it was planned.

If you were to finish a task early, you wouldn't want to pretend that you
still had to work on it in the future, would you? And if you were late on a
task, would you want to pretend that it is possible to travel back in time
and do work in the past?

I understand that it is disconcerting for new users to see their schedules
move about. They will get over it when they grasp the power of the
information the tool is giving them and the organization.

Finally, I think that if you were to succeed in enabling managers to mark a
task as complete, but not ever change the schedule, then either the
resources' timesheets would be out of synch with the rest of the system, or
you would have to turn off managed time periods -- in which case you don't
need a SQL solution.

 

[danielt]

Hi Reid,

Thanks for your input. I think I might have answered wrongly. The thing is
that when the PM sets the tasks to 100% complete, the TM should be setting
their remaining work to 0, as to make sure the actuals sync with the proj
plan. But sometimes the TM do not do this so the PM wanted to automate this.

 

[Reid McTaggart]

First, remaining work has nothing to do with making sure the actuals sync.

The definition of a 100% complete task is one with no remaining work.

When you set remaining work to 0, Project sets % complete to 100% and actual
work does not change. Project actuals are in sync with timesheet upon
publish.

When you set % complete to 100%, Project sets remaining worrk to 0 and
increases actual work to equal work. Project actuals are out of sync with
timesheet. Under managed time periods, this will not be permitted, and the
schedule will revert to the protected actuals when next it is opened.

Why do things the hard way?

If you are set on letting the PM override the TMs' timesheets, then turn off
managed time periods.

 

[Andrew Lavinsky]

Quick follow up question related to this topic:

When using fixed duration tasks w/ remaining work set to 0 (i.e. 100% complete),
any change to the remaining work will reset the duration of the task in MPP.

Therefore, in MPP, if I want to enter time against an unfinished task, increase
remaining work, and not change duration, I would have to:

First: Enter new remaining work
Second: Enter hours against the task (actual work)

and would not change the duration of the task.

Example

Task A:
Duration = 2d
Work = 16h

I enter 16h against the task, then change the remaining hours to 8h, thus
changing overall work to 24h.

If I enter (and apply) 16h against the task, that drives the %complete to
100%. Now, when I change the remaining hours (and apply them), it changes
duration.

The question then is how is this quirk handled in the sync between PWA timesheets
and the scheduling engine? It would seem to me that the sync would occur
in a batch and would have to first apply the new remaining hours before applying
actual work to avoid changing duration. If it syncs the actuals first, and
then the remaining work, that might cause duration to change.

Would there be any change in project behavior along these lines if I went
to managed periods?

Thks...

-A