There are three distinct tracking methods within Microsoft Project Online and Project Server. Understanding these practices – and how they relate to the way you plan your tasks – will help you choose the tracking level that adequately meets the needs of your project.
Figuring Out the Level of ‘Task Progress’ Detail that is Appropriate for Your Organization.
As an administrator, you may have noticed that Microsoft PPM allows you to specify which tracking method you would like to use. The options are shown under “Task Settings and Display.”
Deciding which method is best for your organization can be a tough and multi-faceted decision. To choose wisely, you need to know the three widely-accepted levels of detail that you can go into while planning tasks.
They are:
Choosing your PPM Task Setting
Once you have selected the level of detail that you want to go into when planning tasks, you can more easily make a decision about how you will oversee your project’s progress.
If you desire to do Schedule Management, the Percent of Work Complete method will probably work best for you. It simply monitors the percentage of the duration that is complete, to-date.
You can see in the image below that when 50% is added to the task, the overall task is marked as half complete. The only issue with this data is that you have no insight into how much effort it took to complete the task.
For those of you that are following along, you may have noticed that this tracking method is called “percent of work complete.” It is true; if you assign a resource to a task then there will be an element of work involved with that task (see below). The only issue is the fact that with the Percent of Work Complete method, you do not track the actual work completed by the resources – so this information is essentially irrelevant.
If you want to dig a level deeper and perform Work Management, then you will likely want the Actual Work Done and Remaining Work method to follow project progress. It is a great option because it allows you to observe the actual work completed on each task, and it also specifies the remaining work. By using this process, you can legitimately track the actual number of hours worked.
Finally, there is Cost Management. Keep in mind that if you embark with Cost Management within Microsoft Project, it may open you up to scrutiny within your organization. So, if you’re going to use it, you better have accurate numbers.
Because of this, we recommend that you use the Hours of Work Done per Period method.
With this approach, you can follow the actual work completed by a resource. It is typically broken down over time, by the day. You can see in the example below that the Task Usage view is used to show the task, the resource working on the task, the Baseline work, the planned work (aka, Work), and the actual work (aka, Act. Work) completed each day.
Now we know what you’re thinking – we haven’t shown you any costs. As long as your resources have a standard rate, you can see the costs in the Task Usage view by swapping out the Base. Work, Work, and Act . Work fields with Base. Cost, Cost, and Act. Cost fields. These fields will expose the costs for your project, broken down by day.
Now if you think that you would never use the Hours of Work Done per Period method because it’s too much work, we tend to agree with you. No project manager has the time to get into that level of detail for each assignment in their schedule. However, Microsoft PPM does have an answer to this: timesheets!
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