Task --> Timesheet population

[Chris]

My organisation runs both My Tasks and My Timesheets. My Timesheets is used
to capture the work performed and billable hours to a job, My Tasks is set
to percentage complete.

Our processes want all resources to update their My Tasks daily, including
hours remaining. All resources only need to update their Timesheets weekly.

I have reviewed all PWA setting and have attempted to 'unlink' My Tasks and
My Timesheet, but when a resource "Adds Line" in My Timesheet and picks a
particular task, the line is auto-populated with the task progress
(inlcuding hours worked).

So how do I get PWA to allow task entry in My Timesheets without
Autopopulation from My Tasks.

 

[Rod Gill]

So why don't you want that to happen? It seems like something useful. Either
someone works on a task or doesn't. If they do then those hours should go
back to the project.

--

Rod Gill
Microsoft MVP for Project

Author of the only book on Project VBA, see:
http://www.projectvbabook.com

 

[Chris]

OK - lets assume the task is 8 hours.., the employee is 100% committed on
the job, but gets a 2 hour emergency job on the same day.

The employee does 6 hours on the original task and realises 6 hours left @
50% complete. So now he/she populates his task as 50% complete at 6 hrs rem.
They then open My Timesheets, add a line item for the emergency job @ 2hrs.
When he adds the line item for the original task, the timesheet displays
8hrs + 4hrs the next day of actual work (i.e. not planned), which is wrong.
The actuality is 6hrs + 6hrs.

Strictly speaking this error is also extended into the projects schedule, as
the project task is now expecting 6 hrs on the second day, which can alter
deliverables on any other project utilising that resource.

Realistically, % complete and hrs remaining are typically only estimates.
Noone can ever get those values correct 100% of the time. So lets now say
that on the second day the employee spends 6 hours on the task, and task has
proven more difficult. They enter 80%, 2hrs remaining. The task
auto-calculates that the task should be 10hrs long from original start date
which when adding into timesheet presents 8+2... which we know to be
6+6+'2'... So an extra day later than the autopopulate and 2 hours longer.

 

[Marc Soester [MVP]]

Hi Chris,

Rod has a very valid point. The task and timesheet should represent the same
time, but having said this, it is of course up to your organnisation how they
want to use the functions. The feature you mention has been introduced in
SP1. I dont think you can switch it of. Sorry to say
Marc

 

[Ueli]

You could redesign your process as follows:

Daily:
1. Update Timesheets
2. Import to Tasks
3. Entering remaining hours (which is best practice, not % completed)

Weekly:
1. Submit timesheet

This means little extra work, helps keeping the data consistent and gives
you more reliable (daily!) time reporting on all tasks, even when the
timesheet is submitted only once a week to not overflow the managers.

Hope that helps.

 

[Chris]

Hello Ueli,

Thank-you for your feedback.

I tried what you have suggested and now have this run through:
Task = 8h work.
I enter a timesheet entry for 2 days.
First day I do 4h
second day I do 4h.
I populate My Tasks from My Timesheet - and all aligns nicely.
But the job is running longer than expected, so I say that there are 8 hrs
remaining, and recalculate (in Assignment Details) The task updates to a
duration of 2d, which is correct.

This has no effect on the timesheet as this is already populated, but in the
project timeline (at Task Approval) I receive an answer of 4hrs on day1, 8
hours on day 2, and 4 hours on day3. Which is incorrect.
Of course - if the PM approves that, then all subequent tasks will be 4
hours early as the work should read 4+4 +8, and who knows the ramification
of that on all other project tasks.

Even if I re-populate from timesheet to task after this - with 4 hours on
day 1 and 4 hours on day 2 - the timeline still indicated an Actual work of
8 hrs on day 2.

 

[Ueli]

Chris,

What you are observing is the correct behaviour. You worked 4 hours today
(actual work) and report 8 remaining hours (remaining work). Today there are
4 hours left (with a standard 8hrs day and 100% units on the task) to work,
so MS Project schedules the other 4 hours tomorrow.

If you want to see the remaining hours all scheduled tomorrow accept the
input, then open the project schedule in MS Prj Pro and do a manual
'Reschedule Work'. This should do the trick.

Hope that helps.