2. Update a previously saved baseline plan.
Record actual work for tasks and assignments.
Record actual work by time period.
Interrupt work on a task and specify the date
on which the task should start again
3. Recall that a baseline is a collection of important
values in a project plan, such as the planned start
dates, finish dates, and costs of tasks,
resources, and assignments. When you save
(or set) a baseline, Project takes a “snapshot” of
the existing values and saves it in the Project plan
for future comparison.
4. To keep an accurate baseline for later
comparison, you have several options:
• Update the baseline for the entire project. This simply
replaces the original baseline values with the currently
scheduled values.
• Update the baseline for selected tasks. This does not
affect the baseline values for other tasks or resource
baseline values in the project plan.
• Save a second or subsequent baseline. You can save up
to 11 baselines in a single plan. The first one is called
Baseline, and the rest are Baseline 1 through Baseline 10.
5. Exercise : compare the project plan as it is currently
scheduled with the baseline plan and update the baseline
for the project plan.
• View > Task Views > Gantt Chart > Tracking Gantt
6. Task Name > task 18, Original art review > Scroll to
Task
View > Zoom > Timescale > Weeks
7. To conclude this exercise, you will resave the baseline for
the project plan. Doing so will update all baseline
information for tasks, resources, and assignments prior to
tracking progress.
• Project > Schedule > Set Baseline > Set Baseline
Make sure that the Set
Baseline option is
selected. In the For
area, make sure that the
Entire project option is
selected
8. • Click OK to update the baseline.
• Project alerts you that you are about to overwrite the previously saved
baseline values.
• Click Yes.
Project updates the baseline values for the project plan.
9. Exercise, you record task-level and assignment-level
actuals and see how the information is rolled up or down
between tasks and assignments.
• Change to Task Usage.
• Task Name > task 18, Original art review > Scroll to Task.
• View tab > Data > Tables > Work.
10. For example,
• The work, total for task 18, 160 hours = the sum of Hany Morcos’
80 hours of work on the task and Jane Dow’s 80 hours.
11. Next, you’ll change the details shown on the timephased grid on the
right side of the view.
• Format > Details > Actual Work.
12. Next, you’ll enter task-level and assignment-level actual work values
and see how they are reflected in the timephased details.
• Using the mouse, drag the vertical divider bar to the right until you
can see all the columns in the Work table
13. In the Actual column for task 18, Original art review, type or click 90h,
and then press the Enter key
15. Several important things occurred when you pressed Enter:
• Project applied change highlighting to the updated values in the table.
• The amount of actual work you entered was subtracted from the Remaining
column.
• The actual work was distributed to the two assignments on the task,
resulting in 44.5 hours of actual work being recorded for one resource and
45.5 hours for the other resource. (The difference in assignments is due to
Hany’s previously customized assignment values.) Likewise, the updated
remaining work value was recalculated for each assignment.
• The updated actual and remaining work values were rolled up to the
Acquisition summary task.
• The actual work values were also redistributed to the task and assignment
timephased values.
16. To conclude this exercise, you will enter actual work values at the
assignment level and see the effect on the task.
• In the Actual column for Hany Morcos’s assignment to task 18, type or
click 60h, and then press Enter.
17. Drag the vertical divider bar back to the left to see more of the updated
timephased values for the task.
18. Exercise C: you enter some actuals for tasks for specific time
periods.
Click the minus sign next to task 15, Acquisition, to collapse this phase of the
project plan.
• Task Name column > click the name of task 22, Organize manuscript for
copyedit > Scroll to Task.
Project scrolls the timephased grid to display the first scheduled work values
of the Editorial phase.
19. The first timephased actual work values that you will enter are at the
task level and not for specific assignments.
• In the timephased grid, click the cell at the intersection of the Wednesday,
May 23 column and the task 22 actual work row. The actual work row is
directly below the work row, which contains the value 12h.
21. • In the Thursday, May 24 actual work cell, type 15h, and then press
Tab.
22. • For task 22, enter the following actual work values for the dates
listed.
Date Actual Hours
Friday, May 25 12
Monday, May 28 12
Tuesday, May 29 15
23. For task 23, Copyedit, you have weekly actual work values from the
assigned resource. The copyeditors have completed the task. For this
task, you’ll adjust the timescale to record weekly actual values.
• View tab > Zoom group > Timescale box > Weeks.
Enter the following actual work values into the timephased grid for the
Copyeditors’ assignment to task 23, Copyedit
Date (Week of) Actual Hours
May 27 60
June 3 80
June 10 48
24. The resource’s actual work values were rolled up to the task’s actual
work values. The original work values were saved in the baseline
should you ever need to refer to them later.
25. Here is how Project handles tasks in relation to the
rescheduled date:
• If the task does not have any actual work recorded for it prior
to the rescheduled date and does not have a constraint
applied, the entire task is rescheduled to begin after that
date.
• If the task has some actual work recorded prior to but none
after the rescheduled date, the task is split so that all
remaining work starts after the rescheduled date. The actual
work is not affected.
• If the task has some actual work recorded for it prior to as
well as after the rescheduled date, the task is not affected
26. Exercise D: you reschedule uncompleted work
• View tab > Gantt Chart.
• In the Task Name column, click the name of task 31, Proofread
and index > Scroll to Task
27. You have learned that over the weekend of July 28, a water pipe burst
in the proofreaders’ office. None of the project’s equipment or material
was damaged, but the cleanup will delay work until Wednesday,
August 1. This effectively stops work on the proofreading task for a
few days. Next, you will reschedule incomplete work so that the
project can begin again on Wednesday.
• Project > Status > Update Project.
28. • Select the Reschedule uncompleted work to start after option,
and in the text box, type or select 7/31/12.
29. • Project splits task 31 so that the incomplete portion of the task is
delayed until Wednesday
Editor's Notes
In the previous three chapters, you have focused on details about tasks, resources, and assignments. Now, you will examine the results of your previous work on the schedule and dive deeper into resource assignments. You’ll also observe the overall project duration and cost.
Keep in mind that the purpose of the baseline is to record what you expected the project plan to look like at one point in time. As time passes, however, you might need to change your expectations. After saving an initial baseline plan, you might need to fine-tune the project plan by adding or removing tasks or assignments, and so on
In the previous three chapters, you have focused on details about tasks, resources, and assignments. Now, you will examine the results of your previous work on the schedule and dive deeper into resource assignments. You’ll also observe the overall project duration and cost.
In the chart portion of this view, the tasks as they are currently scheduled appear as blue bars (if they are not critical tasks) or red bars (if they are critical). Below them, the baseline values of each task appear as gray bars.
Tip In Gantt Chart views, the colors, patterns, and shapes of the bars represent specific things. To see what any item on the Gantt chart represents, just point your mouse pointer at it and a description will appear in a ScreenTip. To see a complete legend of Gantt chart items and their formatting, on the Format tab, in the Bar Styles group, click Format and then click Bar Styles.
The Tracking Gantt view scrolls to display the Gantt bar for task 18, Original art review. This task was added to the plan after the initial baseline was saved. As you can see in the Tracking Gantt view, this task has no baseline bar, indicating that it has no baseline values.
To get a broader look at the project plan’s baseline, you’ll adjust the zoom level. You can see that currently none of the later tasks in the project plan match their baselines.
This project plan includes a previously saved baseline that you will now overwrite. That’s fine at this stage of the new book project, where the planning is complete and you’d like to have the most up-to-date baseline before recording any actual work. However, after work has been recorded, you should be careful about overwriting any previously saved baseline values. Once you overwrite a baseline, the original values are replaced and cannot be retrieved. Saving additional baselines is often a better strategy after work on the project has begun.
Task 18 now has a baseline, and all of the other tasks’ baseline values now match their scheduled values.
The Task Usage view appears. As you may recall from Chapter 7, “Fine-Tuning Task Details,” the two sides of the usage view are split by a vertical divider bar. The Task Usage view lists resources under the tasks to which they’re assigned. This information appears in the table on the left side. On the right side, you see rows organized under a timescale. The rows on the right side show you the scheduled work values for each task or assigned resource. The Task Usage view color-codes the rows on the right side: task rows have a shaded background, and assignment rows have a white background.
This table includes the Actual Work and Remaining Work columns that you will work with shortly, although they might not yet be visible. The values in the Work column are the task and assignment totals for scheduled work. Note that each task’s work value is the sum of its assignment work values. For example, the work
This table includes the Actual Work and Remaining Work columns that you will work with shortly, although they might not yet be visible. The values in the Work column are the task and assignment totals for scheduled work. Note that each task’s work value is the sum of its assignment work values. For example, the work
This table includes the Actual Work and Remaining Work columns that you will work with shortly, although they might not yet be visible. The values in the Work column are the task and assignment totals for scheduled work. Note that each task’s work value is the sum of its assignment work values. For example, the work
This table includes the Actual Work and Remaining Work columns that you will work with shortly, although they might not yet be visible. The values in the Work column are the task and assignment totals for scheduled work. Note that each task’s work value is the sum of its assignment work values. For example, the work
In the timephased grid side of the view, you can see the daily scheduled work and actual work values for the three resources through Thursday, April 26. Because you entered an actual work value for the entire task, Project assumes that the work was done as scheduled and records these timephased values for the resource assignments.
In the timephased grid side of the view, you can see the daily scheduled work and actual work values for the three resources through Thursday, April 26. Because you entered an actual work value for the entire task, Project assumes that the work was done as scheduled and records these timephased values for the resource assignments.
Hany’s actual and remaining work values are updated, and those updates also roll up to the task and its summary task (Project highlights the changed values). However, the actual and remaining work values for Jane Dow, the other resource assigned to the task, are not affected
Again, Project assumes that the actual work value that you entered for Hany was completed as scheduled; therefore, her work and actual work timephased values match through Monday, April 30.
Entering timephased actuals requires more work on the project manager’s part and might require more work from resources to inform the project manager of their daily or weekly actuals. However, doing so gives you far more detail about the project’s task and resource status than the other methods used for entering actuals. Entering timephased values might be the best approach to take if you have a group of tasks or an entire project that includes the following:
● High-risk tasks
● Relatively short-duration tasks in which a variance of even one day could put the overall project at risk
Tasks for which you’d like to develop or validate throughput metrics, or rates at which a given quantity of a deliverable can be completed over a given time period, such as copyedit 3000 words per day
● Tasks in which sponsors or other stakeholders have an especially strong interest
● Tasks that require hourly billing for labor
At this point in the new book project, the Acquisition work has been completed, and the Editorial phase has just begun. Because of the larger number of resources involved and the variability of the editorial work, these tasks are the riskiest ones so far in the project.
As soon as you entered the first actual value for the task, the scheduled work value changed to match it. Both work and actual work values rolled up to the summary task levels and were distributed among the specific assignments to the task. You can see this happen in the timephased grid on the right and the table on the left.
As soon as you entered the first actual value for the task, the scheduled work value changed to match it. Both work and actual work values rolled up to the summary task levels and were distributed among the specific assignments to the task. You can see this happen in the timephased grid on the right and the table on the left.
This step concludes the actual work for this task. Next, you’ll enter actual work values for the assignments on the next task.
This step concludes the actual work for this task. Next, you’ll enter actual work values for the assignments on the next task.
The resource’s actual work values were rolled up to the task’s actual work values. The original work values were saved in the baseline should you ever need to refer to them later.
At this point in the new book project, work on the Editorial phase has been completed, and the team has started work on the next phase, Design and Production. However, you need to troubleshoot a delay in work caused by an unforeseen problem.
The Gantt Chart view scrolls to display the Gantt bar for task 31, Proofread and index. Currently, this task has two days of actual work completed and several days of scheduled work remaining
At this point in the new book project, work on the Editorial phase has been completed, and the team has started work on the next phase, Design and Production. However, you need to troubleshoot a delay in work caused by an unforeseen problem.
Project splits task 31 so that the incomplete portion of the task is delayed until Wednesday
Project splits task 31 so that the incomplete portion of the task is delayed until Wednesday.
As you can see, although the duration of task 31 remains 10.4 working days, its finish date and subsequent start dates for successor tasks have been pushed out. Although we have addressed a specific problem, in doing so, we have created other problems in the remainder of the project. You will address this and other problems in the project plan in later chapters.