Issue when user reports time in PWA - Work increased

[Mauricio@BVFG]

This is a very interesting issue:

1) PM assigns a resource (TM) to a task (let's asume a 4 hours task) and
publishes the project
2) TM reports time in PWA. Let's asume TM presses the 6 by mistake. Why the
Work is being increased from 4 to 6 hours? Note that the "Save All" or
"Update All" buttons have not being pressed.
3) The resource realizes the error and enters 4 hours for the task, PWA does
not fix the Work field. It keeps showing the 6 hours. TM Presses "Update All"
4) PM accepts the update. PWA is now pushing two extra hours to the task!!
This makes no sense at all!!!

Please help!!!

Thanks

Mauricio Iannini, PMP MsP Black Belt

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Mauricio --

The Work field is calculated by Microsoft Project and Project Server as
follows:

Work = Actual Work + Remaining Work

If the Work was 4 hours, but the resource entered 6 hours of Actual Work,
the system recalculates the Work at 6 hours. If the person realizes his/her
mistake, he can enter 4 hours of Actual Work instead, and then reduce the
Remaining Work to 0 hours. This will correct the problem.

If the resource submits the update to the PM, the PM can correct the problem
by adjusting the Remaining Work to 0 hours. Hope this helps.

 

[Mauricio@BVFG]

Dale,

Thanks for your promp response. Here you have some additonal input:

1) We are using the Hours of Work done per day reporting progress method -
users can't report on remaining work.

2) The core question goes to: Why, asuming the same information I provided
in the original question, if the user types by mistake the 6 hours into the
actual work field, the work field is pushed to this 6 hours value if no
information was updated? And, secondly, why if the resource realizes the
error and types in the 4 hours the work field content stays with the 6 hours?

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Mauricio --

1. If you are preventing your users from adjusting the Remaining Work, then
I believe your methodology is the source of the problem. The default Hours
of Work Done Per Day or Per Week method of tracking allows team members to
enter their Actual Work in the timesheet grid on a daily basis AND allows
them to adjust the Remaining Work, if necessary. How else do you expect
team members to show an anticipated late finish or to show that a task
finished early? I believe you should seriously consider changing your
method of tracking to include allowing team members to adjust the Remaining
Work, if necessary. If you allow them to do this, you should also instruct
your team members to add a Note to any task in which they increased the
Remaining Work to document their reason for doing so. This will help the
PM's to notice tasks whose Remaining Work has been increased, and to know
the reason for this.

2. My original answer stands and explains the behavior you saw on the PWA
timesheet. It doesn't matter whether we are talking about Work in Microsoft
Project or Work on the PWA timesheet. Work = Actual Work + Remaining Work.
Arguing with me about the default behavior of the software is useless. I
told you how it works. Believe me and live with it, my friend!

Hope this helps.

 

[Mauricio@BVFG]

Dale,

I have created an animation with the problem. I will appreciate if you can
spend two minutes on it and find out if I am still wrong

http://www.geocities.com/virgilioarciniegas/PWA_issue.htm

Thanks

Mauricion

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Mauricio --

You are arguing with me about the default behavior of the Project Web Access
timesheet, and arguing with me will get you nowhere. On the PWA timesheet,
the system uses the following formula to calculate the Work on a task:

Work = Actual Work + Remaining Work

If I am assigned to work on a task with 4 hours of Work, and I enter 2 hours
of Actual Work, the Work is still calculated as 4 hours (2 hours of Actual
Work + 2 hours of Remaining Work). If I accidentally "fat finger" 6 hours
of Actual Work, how in the world would Project Server know that I made a
mistake? It assumes the number is correct, therefore Work is now
recalculated as 6 hours of Actual Work + 0 hours of Remaining Work. When I
go back and correct the 6 hours of Actual Work and reset it to 4 hours, the
system recalculates the Work as 4 hours of Actual Work + 2 hours of
Remaining Work. To fix this problem, I must adjust the Remaining Work to 0
hours. Since you don't allow me to do this in your organization, I'm stuck.
Now what do you want me to do because I can't correct my own mistake.

Listen, I appreciate the time you spent creating that video, and I watched
it. But I've got to tell you that your methodology is causing the problem,
and not the default behavior of the Project Web Access timesheet. The
system is working as designed, but your methodology prevents team members
from correcting their own timesheet mistakes. Hope this helps.

 

[Mauricio@BVFG]

Dale,

Thanks for your response.

Two points:

1) I am not arguing at all. I am looking for a solution.

2) I kindly disagree with the fact this is a methodology problem. If this is
a methodology problem, then why Microsoft is letting this tracking schema to
be implemented? Is a fact that was well documented in the video.

Thanks again.

Mauricio

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Mauricio --

Given the current functionality of the PWA timesheet, the possible solutions
are as follows:

1. Tell team members never to make a mistake on their PWA timesheets
2. Allow them to adjust the Remaining Work so they can correct they own
mistakes

I agree with your assessment that there should be some other way of
correcting a "fat finger" mistake, but at present, there is not. Hope this
helps.

 

[Mauricio@BVFG]

Dale,

Thanks again.

I think I can't tell my users not to make mistakes - basicaly my
organization tenets allow people to make mistake if these are recognized and
corrected. I will make the best effort on training Team Members and Project
Mangers on how to use the functionality.

On the other hand, do you have any idea if Microsoft is looking to fix this
kind of bugs on P12?

Thanks

Mauricio

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Mauricio --

I hate to tell you this, my friend, but the default behavior on the
timesheet page is not a bug. It is by design, and precisely matches how it
works in Microsoft Project Professional as well. Sorry.