Importing % Complete from Access Database into Microsoft Project

[popper]

Can anyone explain to me why when I import the percent complete value at the task level from an Access database into Microsoft Project, the progress bar does not show up on the Gantt chart. Only when the percent complete is manually entered does this occur. This is a real puzzle.

Please help!

 

[PDQBach]

Not a puzzle. It's a derived field based on Actual Duration and Duration.

It's also a field that means nothing. Nobody cares how many days have elapsed. People care how much work has been done.

Think of it this way: you have a task that will take one day of work and it has 10 days of duration. Let's assume no work has been done. What do you care if 8 days have elapsed? What do you care if 10 days have elapsed? What do you care if 20 days have elapsed?

Now, assume that all work on the task has been done and repeat those questions.

See the difference.

What you care about is how much work has been done. You should give some thought to using the %Work Complete field.

 

[popper]

Yes PD, you are right. I discovered that if I import the actual Duration and form a fracton of this to the duration we get the percent complete.

With regard to your comments about its meaning, I could not agree more. Percent complete should reflect the achieved output rather than input of time or hours. We don't care about Actual Duration. We have calendars to mark that sort of thing. Microsoft have finally recognised this by introducing Physical Percent complete (as if there is any other kind) in recent versions.

Thanks for your help.