% Work Complete

[pjadss]

Hi everyone!

I would like to ask 2 things.

-First of all, what´s the main difference between %complete and %work complete?
-Second of all, in my Update Project, when I insert the column "%complete" the tasks wich didn´t start yet, comparing with the date i put in the.... Project>Project Information>Status Date and Tools> Tracking>Update project.... they all appear 100% or others that are going on, should have 0%<..%<100% and they don´t!!!
-I even tried over the column "% Complete" to define in "Customized filds" >formula--"% Work Complete = Actual Work", but didn´t work either...

Shall I need to put the correct percentage one by one,to each task and then, in the end look forward to the Total % of the project??But my project as 200 tasks!!!

Thanks a lot for helping,

Pedro Santos

 

[procygnus]

Pjadss - can you share your project plan?

 

[PDQBach]

%Complete is "per cent of elapsed time"; %Work Complete is "per cent of estimated work complete"

Let's say you have a task "Prepare report", you know it will take 2WD of work and you also know that it will take 20 calendar days to perform the task (research, follow-ups, waiting for replies, etc.)

During the first week, the resource uses 1 WD to do the initial research.

After one week:
%Complete = 25% (1/4 of the elapsed time)
%WorkComplete = 50% (half of the estimated work)


I'm not sure I understand your other problem but you may find that clearing:

Tools > Options > Calculation-tab "Updating task status updates resource status" helps.

 

[pjadss]

Hello!

Thanks for helping..

I send the project plan, as you ask (procygnus).

As you can see the total "% Work Complete" in this project is 71%!
But the only way, for me to get it, was to assign manually each % for every tasks. I would like to have it automatically!

I tried these steps...:Tools > Options > Calculation-tab "Updating task status updates resource status" helps.

But did not work either...

My objective is to rich the "% Work Complete" everytime I want in this project..for example,the end of this project is 01 July so if I define in the project information this date, I will have 100% Work Complete automatically, or if i want for instance, in the day 1st of June i will have % in between 71% and 100%, isn´t it?

The purpose of this %, is to show the real Promp compliment Indicator in the end of every month..

Tanks,
Pedro Santos

 

[PDQBach]

As with virtually every data entry option in Project, changing the "Updating task status updates resource status" setting does not force recalculation of previous data entry, it only affects subsequent data entry.

After changing the setting you'll have to go back and enter the correct %WorkComplete values. Yes, I know: it's a heavy burden at first, but once it's done you'll only have to do your daily/weekly updates on tasks where progress is actually being reported.

As for having Project automatically updates %Work Complete, that's simply impossible. How does Project know that work was done on a task? The resource may have been sick, the resource may be working on several tasks in parallel and may have made progress on some tasks but not on others ... you are, after all, the PM and even you don't know what progress has been made until you have your weekly/bi-weekly/whatever progress meeting with your resources.

 

[procygnus]

Pedro

What is your update cycle? Daily/Weekly?
What is your update procedure?

A few observations:
1. I see you use choose to display progress line at current date in relation to actual plan. Assuming your update cycle is one week, it is more prudent to display progress line at project status date you set in 'Project Information' or 'Update Project' dialog.
2. As PDQBach suggests, you have to update tasks individually unless you want only an approximation of progress. The issue here is that your plan contains too many tasks with durations ranging from a low of 1 day to a high of 124 days (about 5 months equivalent). You may like to reconsider the granularity of your tasks that you wish to manage. There is always two levels at which plans can be managed specially in large or complex projects - one, the master plan for project managers and the second for unit/area managers or team leaders. Separate the micro-level from the macro-level. Let the team leaders create their own plans for their deliverables and give you progress at each update/review cycle. The KISS (Keep it Simple) guideline applies.
3. Your plan now has a large number of 'Finish no earlier than' constraints, making 'Update Project' difficult. That is, MSP cannot automatically reschedule certain tasks because of the constraints applied. To find these tasks, Filter/More filters.../Should start by filter and give the same date as project status date. You then have to change the constraint dates of all these tasks using 'Task Information' dialog. I can only suggest that you copy plan to a new file and experiment setting all constraints to 'As soon as possible' to allow 'Update Project' to work.
4. '% complete' is for % of schedule complete. % work complete is self explanatory. The flag in Tools/Options/Calculation tab, 'Updating task status updates resource status' links the two values if checked, ie, when you update % complete in Tools/Tracking/Update Task, it automatically updates '% work complete' proportionately.
5. I did not understand why you are getting 0% or 100% complete only and not values in between. Your 'Update Project -> Update work as complete through' option has two settings. Which of these two are you using (my first question on your 'update cycle' refers).
6. You cant customize a dynamic field like '%work complete' and set it to be equal to 'actual work'.
7. Your objective is to use the '% work complete' to show what indicator? I did not understand the phrase "real Promp compliment Indicator". Could you please explain again?

Regards

 

[pjadss]

Procygnus,

4. I have this option in use. Should i?

Answering your questions:

5. I´m using the option " Set 0%-100% complete".
7. In english i don´t know exactly the translation of this indicator, anyway, below i show the formula:

IPF – Índice Progresso Físico (portuguese)
= % complete work / % predictable work
(IPF ? 1 - optimistic situation)

Regards