Why do headings to summary tasks calculate incorrectly?

[pmwashtwpnj]

When I put in work, actual work, and remaining work hours, project calculates
incorrectly for main header task. For example, I have a heading,
sub-heading, then task list. I have work hours entered for the task list,
and the sub-heading calculates correctly. However, the main header
calculates way too many hours (for example I have manually put in 14 hours of
actuals, and the main heading says there are 74...sub heading says the
correct 14 hours), and can be manipulated by changing start and finish dates.
I don't want start and finish dates to affect ANY work numbers. I only want
dates as references, not as active parts of the project. I only care about
work, actual work, and estimated work to complete.

 

[Ratheesh]

pmwashtwpnj,

Check if you have assigned any resources to summary tasks

Hope this helps

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

Not having dates involved in any calculation is going to be difficult since
calculating dates is the reason scheduling software such Project exists in
the first place. The fundamental identity that project ALWAYS holds true is
W=D*U ... Work equals Duration times Units. Any change to work is bound to
change duration or units. It's very unlikely that units actually changed
when the task was done ... if Joe was expected to do a task in 5 days at
100%, doing 40 man-hours of work in the process, and you post in that he
actually completed the task in 32 hours of work, it most likely means he did
the task in 4 days @ 100% rather than worked for 5 days at 80% instead. The
duration MUST change from 40 hours to 32 hours. Changing duration in turn
that the Start date, Finish date, or both MUST change since duration is
defined as the number of hours in the working time calendar between the
task's start and finish. Change duration and at least one of those dates
has to change.

Are you sure you are looking at work and not duration in the "main header"
task? Work should be additive through the various summary task / subtask
levels. Duration, OTOH, is definitely not additive. If your main heading
says 74 and its sub says 14, I would suspect that you are mixing up duration
with work and there are two subtasks, each lasting 7 hours with a gap of 60
working hours in between them (the duration of a summary task being the
working time between when the earliest starting subtask begins and the
latest finishing subtask ends, even if there is a period in the middle
during which no work takes place it still counts into duration. A summary
with 2 1-week (40-hour) subtasks, the first running the first week of July
and the second running the last week of July with have a total duration of
about 160 hours, NOT 80 hours.)