Download Tracking Project progress

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Tracking Project Progress
Suggested lesson time
45-55 minutes
Lesson objectives
To begin tracking an active project, you will:
a
Modify the environment for tracking. You will use the Tracking Gantt Chart to modify
the environment for tracking.
b
Enter data for completed tasks. You will use the Update Tasks dialog box and the
Tracking toolbar to enter data for completed tasks.
c
Enter data for tasks in progress. You will use the Update Project dialog box and the
Tracking toolbar to enter data for tasks in progress.
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Modifying the Environment for Tracking
As you enter information about a project's progress, the Gantt Chart reflects the
progress of each task by displaying a thin, black bar in the center of the main
task bar. The progress bar displays the completed percentage for each task.
When the task is 100% complete, the progress bar extends the entire length of
the task bar.
The Tracking Gantt Chart displays a pair of bars for each task. The top bar of
each pair represents the current schedule: red for critical and blue for noncritical. If the task is complete or in progress, Microsoft Project uses a darker
color to represent the portion of the task that is complete. The bottom bar, which
appears in gray, represents the original plan. The top bar changes to reflect
changes in your schedule; the bottom bar doesn't change, so that you can always
compare the current schedule to the original plan.
Let's take a look at a project by using the Tracking Gantt Chart.
Task A-1: Applying the Tracking Gantt Chart
q Objective: To apply a view that best illustrates project progress.
1. Open the file C:\Student\Track Plan. A baseline plan has been set.
2. Choose View, More Views to display the More Views dialog box.
3. In the Views list box, select Tracking Gantt and click Apply.
4. Press [Alt][Home] to move to the start of the project.
5. Look at the two sets of Gantt bars. The Tracking Gantt view displays two sets of
Gantt bars. The lower bars represent the baseline task dates, and the upper
bars represent the current task dates. You can use this view to compare the
baseline plan to the current plan.
Changing the Current Date
Concepts >
Microsoft Project uses the system date on your computer as the current date. In
a project, you can view the current date line. It is a dotted vertical line marking
the location of the current date. This line is displayed in the Gantt Chart,
Resource Graph, and Resource Usage views.
At some point, you may want to change the current date from within Microsoft
Project. This allows you to analyze project data from any perspective.
To change the current date:
1. Choose Project, Project Information.
2. In the Project Information dialog box, select the entry in the Current Date
text box.
3. Type the date that you want to use as the current date.
4. Click OK or press [Enter].
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Lesson 2: Tracking Project Progress
Let's change the current date of a project.
Task A-2: Changing the current date
ü Before you begin: The file Track Plan appears in the project window. The
Tracking Gantt view is applied.
1. Choose Project, Project Information to display the Project Information dialog box.
2. Look at the Current Date text box. Microsoft Project displays today's date.
3. Change the date to 3/4/03.
4. Click OK to close the Project Information dialog box.
5. Press F5 to display the Go To dialog box. You can use this dialog box to
quickly move to a specific task or date.
6. In the Date text box, type 3/4/03.
Click OK.
7. Look at the line between 3/3/03 and 3/4/03.
This line represents the current date, which is now in the middle of the
project timeline.
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Entering Data for Completed Tasks
You have entered all of the information for each task, and you've created a
baseline plan. As the project progresses, you will enter information about what
happens in each task.
By definition, a finished task has a % Complete value of 100. The task could
have started and finished on- or off-schedule or changed duration.
Tasks That Started and Finished on Schedule
Microsoft Project provides you with some options for updating tasks. You can
use the Tracking toolbar or the Update Tasks dialog box. To display the
Tracking toolbar, choose View, Toolbars, Tracking. Figure 2-1 displays a copy of
the Tracking toolbar and identifies the buttons on the toolbar. To display the
Update Tasks dialog box, you can click the Update Tasks button which appears
on the Tracking toolbar, or you can choose Tools, Tracking, Update Tasks.
Figure 2-1: The Tracking toolbar.
When a task is completed on schedule, the data in the Scheduled field are copied
to the Actual field. To accomplish this, you can click the 100% Complete button
on the Tracking toolbar, or enter 100% in the % Complete field of the Update
Tasks dialog box.
Once the percent complete is set to 100, you can change any of the Actual values
and Microsoft Project will not recalculate them. Actual values that you enter are
copied to the corresponding Current Start and Finish fields.
Task B-1: Tracking a single task that started and finished on schedule
ü Before you begin: The file Track Plan appears in the project window. The
Tracking Gantt view is applied.
1. Choose View, Toolbars, Tracking to display the Tracking toolbar.
2. Slowly drag the mouse pointer over the buttons on the Tracking toolbar to view the
ScreenTips associated with each of the buttons.
3. If necessary, scroll back in the Gantt Chart to display task 3.Select task 3 (Interview
Subject Matter Experts).
4. Look at the Gantt bars for task 3. The bars indicate that the task is on the critical
path, a baseline has been set, and it is 0% complete.
5. On the Tracking toolbar, click the 100% Complete button
to record that task
3 has been completed. A check mark appears in the Indicators column. Now,
let's take a look at the Update Tasks dialog box.
6. Verify that task 3 is selected. On the Tracking toolbar, click the Update Tasks button
to display the Update Tasks dialog box.
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7. Notice that % Complete is 100% and that the Actual and Current Start and Finish dates
are the same.
8. Click OK to close the Update Tasks dialog box.
Practice Task
1. Mark task 4 (Search The Web) 100% complete.
Tracking Multiple Tasks
Concepts >
Now that you know how to track a single task that started and finished on
schedule, let's track multiple tasks that started and finished on schedule. To
save time when tracking tasks, you can update multiple tasks by selecting both
tasks and clicking the appropriate button on the Tracking toolbar. Let's try it.
Task B-2: Tracking multiple tasks that started and finished on schedule
ü Before you begin: The file Track Plan appears in the project window. The
Tracking Gantt view is applied. Complete the Practice Task exercise at the end
of Task B-1.
1. Drag to select tasks 6 and 7 (Create Outline and Present To Publisher).
2. Mark both tasks 100% complete. (On the Tracking toolbar, click the 100%
Complete button.)
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. Look at the change in the
3. If necessary, click the Go To Selected Task button
Gantt Chart. The bars that were once shaded blue to indicate a task are now
solid blue to indicate the progress of the task. Also, task 5, which is a project
summary task, now displays a summary progress bar underneath the
summary bar.
Tracking Tasks that Finished Off-Schedule
For completed tasks that started or finished off-schedule, you must enter the
actual date that deviated from the schedule in the Update Tasks dialog box.
•
If the task started early or late, first enter the date the task started in the
Actual Start text box. Microsoft Project moves the task to the actual start
date. Then, to indicate that the task is finished, enter 100 in the % Complete
text box.
•
If the task finished early or late, then enter the date the task finished in the
Actual Finish text box. Microsoft Project automatically marks any tasks with
an Actual Finish date as 100% complete and sets the Remaining Dur text
box to zero.
•
If both Actual Start and Actual Finish dates differ from the schedule, enter
the Actual Start date first, and then enter the Actual Finish date.
If a task is behind schedule, you can update the project by rescheduling the
remaining duration of the task. The easiest way to reschedule remaining
duration is to click the Reschedule Work button on the Tracking toolbar.
Rescheduling the remainder of a task has a different effect on tasks that have
started than on tasks that have not started.
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•
If the task that you're rescheduling hasn't started, Microsoft Project moves
the entire task to start on the current date. It automatically assigns a
constraint of Start No Earlier Than (the current date).
•
If the task that you're rescheduling is in progress, Microsoft Project moves
the remaining duration of the task to start on the current date. It assigns a
special constraint of Resume No Earlier Than (the current date).
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Lesson 2: Tracking Project Progress
Task B-3: Tracking tasks that finished late
ü Before you begin: The file Track Plan appears in the project window. The
Tracking Gantt view is applied.
1. Select task 8 (Revise Outline).
2. Display the Update Tasks dialog box. (On the Tracking toolbar, click the Update
Tasks button.)
3. Under Actual in the Finish text box, type 2/5/03 to replace NA with a task
finish date.
4. Click OK to close the Update Tasks dialog box.
5. Look at the Gantt bars for task 8.
Notice how the subsequent tasks are effected. The actual finish dates have
been extended.
Practice Task
1. Mark task 9 (Subject Matter Experts Review) 100% complete.
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Entering Actual Data for Tasks in Progress
What's New:
•
Concepts >
Use Network Diagram view
A task that is in progress has an Actual Start date but no Actual Finish date and
a % Complete greater than 0 and less than 100. You can indicate that a task has
started by entering the start date in the Actual Start text box. Use this method if
the Actual Start is different than the Planned Start.
Using the Update Project Dialog Box
When some aspects of a project occur as scheduled, you can use the Update
Project dialog box to copy some or all of the information from the Scheduled text
boxes to the Actual text boxes. In the Update Project dialog box, use the
following options:
•
If most tasks in your project are currently on schedule, select Entire Project.
Enter exceptions in the Tracking table.
•
For greater control over the tracking process, select one or more tasks and
choose the Selected Tasks option.
•
If you want Microsoft Project to calculate % Complete as a number oftasks
that should be complete by the current date, select Set 0% — 100%
Complete.
•
If you want Microsoft Project to enter an Actual Start value but you want to
enter a value for % Complete yourself, select Set 0% or 100% Complete. An
Actual Finish value is copied from the Scheduled Finish text box only if the
Scheduled Finish date is earlier than the current date (as it appears in the
Project Information dialog box).
Task C-1: Tracking tasks that are currently in progress
q Objective: To require Microsoft Project to estimate the percentage of a task that
is complete.
ü Before you begin: The file Track Plan appears in the project window. The
Tracking Gantt view is applied. Complete the Practice Task exercise at the end
of Task B-3.
1. Select and look at task 12 (Write Content). This task was supposed to begin on
2/6/03 and finish on 3/7/03. Our current date is 3/4/03. Therefore, task 12
should be started and more than half completed.
2. Choose Tools, Tracking, Update Project. The Update Project dialog box appears.
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3. Look at the dialog box.
You can use this dialog box to record percentages of work completed or to
reschedule uncompleted work.
4. Verify that Set 0% - 100% Complete is selected. For each of the selected tasks, a
percentage of completion is automatically calculated and recorded.
5. Select Selected Tasks to indicate that this estimation be performed only on the
selected tasks.
6. Click OK.
7. Look at the Gantt Chart. (You might have to scroll the Gantt Chart to the right.)
Task 12 has an estimated percentage of completion recorded, and the
summary task, Development Phase, has also been updated.
Manually Updating an Unfinished Task
Concepts >
In addition to automatically updating tasks in progress, you can manually enter
a percent complete for an unfinished task. For example, imagine that someone
who is working on a particular task has given you an estimate on the percentage
of the task that is complete. To enter a percent complete for an unfinished task,
display the Update Tasks dialog box and enter the appropriate percentage in the
% Complete text box. Let's try it.
Task C-2: Entering a percent complete for unfinished tasks
q Objective: To enter your own estimate of percent completion.
ü Before you begin: The file Track Plan appears in the project window. The
Tracking Gantt view is applied.
1. Select task 13 (Add Graphics).
In this task, students
click the Update Tasks
button to see
percentages complete
for a task.
2. Click the Update Tasks button.
3. In the % Complete text box, type 15. If your date is different than Microsoft
Project's, you can override it.
4. Click OK.
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Rescheduling Uncompleted Work
Concepts >
At some point, you may need to reschedule uncompleted work. You can
reschedule the work to start on the current date or a future date. In addition,
you can have Microsoft Project reschedule the uncompleted work, or you can
reschedule it yourself. To have Microsoft Project schedule uncompleted work:
1. Display the Gantt Chart, if necessary.
2. Verify that the appropriate task is selected.
3. Choose Tools, Tracking, Update Project.
4. Select Reschedule Uncompleted Work To Start After and type the
appropriate date in the accompanying text box.
5. Select Selected Tasks to reschedule the selected task only.
6. Click OK.
Splitting a Task
When you reschedule work, a split task can result. A split task occurs when the
scheduling is interrupted. For example, you may have a task that requires
materials that won't be available for a few more days.
You can also split a task by following the steps below:
1. On the Standard toolbar, click the Split Task button.
2. On the task's Gantt bar, click the area of the bar on the date where you want
the split to occur. Drag the second part of the bar to the date on which you
want the work to resume. You can split a task multiple times. If you find
that you want to remove a split, drag a portion of the Gantt bar until it
touches another portion.
Task C-3: Rescheduling uncompleted work
ü Before you begin: The file Track Plan appears in the project window. The
Tracking Gantt view is applied.
1. Look at the finish date of the project.
It is 3/26/03.
2. Verify that task 13 is selected.
3. Display the Update Project dialog box. (Choose Tools, Tracking, Update Project.)
4. Select Reschedule Uncompleted Work To Start After and in the accompanying text
box, type 3/6/03.
5. Select Selected Tasks.
6. Click OK.
7. Look at the Gantt Chart. A split task has been created.
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Lesson 2: Tracking Project Progress
8. Place the mouse pointer over the critical bar for task 13. The finish date is now
later.
9. On the Gantt Chart, look at tasks 3 through 13. In a number of instances, the
actuals for the tasks are different than the baseline plan.
10. Display the Project Statistics dialog box.
11. Look at the Actual Finish statistics versus the Baseline Finish statistics. The Current
Finish date is now 3/28/03. The Variance Finish is 3.25 days. The finish date
has moved forward three days.
12. Close the Project Statistics dialog box.
Adding a Progress Line to a Gantt Chart
Concepts >
If you have saved a baseline plan for your project, you can add a progress line to
the Gantt Chart. A progress line connects and is a visual representation of inprogress tasks. Microsoft Project draws progress lines connecting in-progress
tasks in a Gantt Chart thereby creating a graph. Peaks that point to the left
represent work that is behind schedule. Peaks that point to the right represent
work that is ahead of schedule.
To add a progress line:
1. Choose Tools, Tracking, Progress Lines. The Progress Lines dialog box is
displayed.
2. Verify that the Dates And Intervals tab is active.
3. Select Display Selected Progress Lines.
4. In the Progress Line Dates list box, click to display a drop-down arrow.
5. Click on the drop-down arrow to display a drop-down calendar, and then
select a date.
6. In the Display Progress Lines In Relation To box, select Actual Plan or
Baseline Plan.
7. Click OK. You can also add a progress line by using the mouse.
Viewing Progress in the Network Diagram
You can also view the progress of your project in the Network Diagram view. If a
task is complete, its node will have an X drawn through it. If a task is in
progress, its node will have a slash (\) through it. Tasks that have not yet
started remain unmodified.
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Task C-4: Viewing progress in the Network Diagram
ü Before you begin: The file Track Plan appears in the project window. The
Tracking Gantt view is applied.
1. Choose View, Network Diagram.
2. Choose View, Zoom to display the Zoom dialog box.
3. In the Zoom dialog box, select 50% and click OK.
4. Look at the nodes at the beginning of the project. Tasks that are complete appear
with an X through them. Tasks that are in progress appear with a slash
through them.
5. Return the view to Tracking Gantt.
6. Save the file as My Track Plan.
7. Close the file.
Practice Task
In this activity, you will track the project progress by marking tasks complete
and adding lines.
1. Open the file C:\Student\Practice Tracking.
2. View the Tracking Gantt Chart and move to the start of the project.
3. Change the current date to 1/20/04.
4. Select task 1 (Paint The walls) and task 2 (Lay Carpet) and indicate that
they started and finished on schedule.
5. Select task 3 (Install Partitions) and indicate that it finished late on 1/18/04.
6. Select task 4 (Install Network Cables) and indicate that it is behind schedule
with only 15% completion at this point.
7. Save the file as My Practice Tracking.
8. Compare your Tracking Gantt Chart with the one in Figure 2-2.
9. Close the file.
Figure 2-2: My Practice Tracking after step 7 is complete.
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Lesson 2: Tracking Project Progress
)
Wrap-up for Lesson 2
a
When do you begin tracking your project?
Ideally, you begin tracking your project after the planning is complete
and the project is in progress.
What do the two sets of bars in the Tracking Gantt Chart represent?
The top bar of each pair represents the current schedule: red for critical
tasks and blue for non-critical tasks. The bottom bar, which is gray,
represents the original plan.
b
List the steps necessary to track a task that finished late.
1. Choose Tools, Tracking, Update Tasks (or click the Update Tasks
button on the Tracking toolbar).
2. In the Actual Finish date text box, enter the finish date for the task.
3. Click OK.
c
How are completed tasks represented in the Network Diagram?
Completed tasks appear with an X through them.
How are tasks in progress represented?
Tasks in progress appear with a slash through them.
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