Custom field

[Marco]

Hi,

I want to have a field that checks if the "% completed" value for the whole
project is on track upto the current date.
I think I can do that with an Enterprise custum field for projects. But how
should I set this up ?

Thanks.

Marco.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Marco --

I believe the default Status and Status Indicator fields might work for you.
These fields work in conjunction with a Status Date that you must set for
the project. The Status Date is generally the last day of the last
reporting period. This tells Microsoft Project Professional how to
calculate the current Status of the project using the % Complete field
against the Status Date. You set the Status Date by clicking Project -
Project Information and select a Status Date value. Just a thought. Hope
this helps.

 

[Marco]

Dale,

Thanks for reply.
I have found the Status date but when I create a new view, I cannot find the
"Status Indicator" field.

//Marco

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Marco --

Apply the Gantt Chart view and then right-click on any column header in the
View. Click Insert Column from the shortcut menu and select the Status
Indicator field. Hope this helps.

--
Dale A. Howard [MVP]
Enterprise Project Trainer/Consultant
Denver, Colorado
http://www.msprojectexperts.com
"We wrote the books on Project Server"

 

[Marco]

Dale,

Ok. I have found it in MS Project but it does not seem to be available in
the PWA views.
How can I use the status indicator for complete projects ? In the Gantt
chart I get it on task level although I need it at project level. It should
also be visible in PWA and preferably with a Graphical indicator.

thanks a lot for your help.

Marco.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Marco --

In this case, you will need to use a custom enterprise Project field to
display in Project Center views and a custom enterprise Task field to
display in detailed Project views in PWA. You could use a custom Number
field for this purpose, along with graphical indicators to show the degree
of progress on a task. Hope this helps.

 

[Marco]

Dale,

Could I for example use the formula:

R = [Actual work] / [Work]

And a graphical indicator based on:
If R >=1 ---> "on track"
if R<0.9 ---> "small delay"
if R<0.8 --> "big delay"

Or would I be calculating the wrong parameter here ?

Marco.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Marco --

It isn't as simple as you are making it to be. What is your organization's
default method of tracking progress in Project Server? Are you tracking
Actual Start and Actual Finish dates. Are you baselining your projects
before you begin entering actuals? After updating a project with actuals,
are you manually rescheduling uncompleted work from past time periods into
the current time period? How you write the formula depends largely on the
answers these questions.

If you baseline your projects and then capture Actual Start and Actual
Finish dates while tracking progress, refer to the following link for the
process to create stoplight indicators to show schedule slippage:

http://www.projectserverexperts.com/Shared Documents/CreateStoplightIndicators.htm

Hope this helps.

Dale,

Could I for example use the formula:

R = [Actual work] / [Work]

And a graphical indicator based on:
If R >=1 ---> "on track"
if R<0.9 ---> "small delay"
if R<0.8 --> "big delay"

Or would I be calculating the wrong parameter here ?

Marco.

Marco --

In this case, you will need to use a custom enterprise Project field to
display in Project Center views and a custom enterprise Task field to
display in detailed Project views in PWA. You could use a custom Number
field for this purpose, along with graphical indicators to show the
degree
of progress on a task. Hope this helps.

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

Marco:

Think about the calculation you're proposing. When a task is complete, Work
always equals Actual Work. Therefore, no matter how early or late, or on- or
off-budget the task is, it will always be "on track" at completion. This
will make your Project Managers glow, but it won't provide much insight.<g>

Dale,

Could I for example use the formula:

R = [Actual work] / [Work]

And a graphical indicator based on:
If R >=1 ---> "on track"
if R<0.9 ---> "small delay"
if R<0.8 --> "big delay"

Or would I be calculating the wrong parameter here ?

Marco.

Marco --

In this case, you will need to use a custom enterprise Project field to
display in Project Center views and a custom enterprise Task field to
display in detailed Project views in PWA. You could use a custom Number
field for this purpose, along with graphical indicators to show the
degree
of progress on a task. Hope this helps.