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Planned dates vs real dates (reality)?

Anonymous
2024-04-03T15:23:35+00:00

Hi, I am having a hard time. I am between a rock and a hard place.

I started an MS-Project last month based on the initial infos I got with the dates. But the more we progress in time, the less the planned dates are making sens. I have to manage it while dealing with 2 things:

  1. The original dates were given to the client by the managers without consulting the tech teams becasue we have a deadline on end of September. That deadline has money impact that the company would have to spend for not respecting it and they DO NOT want it to happen.
  2. But on our tech side they say we cannot complete before that deadline because of other priorities they have to respect (multi-client). They are not working 8h/day, 40h/week. In my first presentation to the manager, I had included hollidays, vacations and estimated of hours per week (aprox 2 days/week) but that was putting the global end date way past September.

Effects:

While still having the initial dates with a global ending dates of Sept-27, I have uncompleted activities with completion dates in the past (ex: February). So anyone looking at the project right now would say it does not make sense to have activities that are not completed with completion dates in the past.

How can I make it more real in terms of projections of what the reality is without changing the overall project ending date (end of Sept) because if I look at reality, chances are we will not be able to complete in time and managers are saying IT HAS TO.

Can I have 2 sets of dates: planned and real? That way I would have a better idea on the real global ending date?

  • How would I manage the real dates if I from times to times I have to change the start or/and end real dates?

My question here is related to managing this MS-Project file, not wiping the tech (out of scope for this question).

One thing to add, our tech team were told since Sept last year to start working on this but they did not. So we are staring this project with 7-8 months late (I started on this in March this year).

Microsoft 365 and Office | Project | Other | Windows

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Dale Howard [MVP] 29,865 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2024-04-03T15:55:39+00:00

Browser-Ice --

What I think you are missing in your projects is Baseline information. When you have completed planned a project and you are ready to "go live" with that project, you should save a Baseline for the project. In the Baseline, you will capture the original planned Start, Finish, Duration, Work, and Cost for every task, along with the original planned Cost and Work for each resource. This is a VERY important step that must be done before you "go live" with the project.

During the Execution stage of the project, you will be doing things like entering actual progress on the tasks in the project, and when necessary, rescheduling incomplete work from the past into the current reporting period. After doing this each week, you should immediately go into Variance Analysis. Assuming you DID save a Baseline, you can use the Tracking Gantt view to compare the current schedule of each task with its original Baseline schedule, and you will be able to see schedule variance visually displayed in this view. You can then apply the Variance table to analyze Start and Finish variance, you can apply the Work table to analyze Work variance, and if needed, you can apply the Cost table to analyze Cost variance.

If your Variance Analysis process shows your project is slipping badly, you may also need to do Plan Revision to try and bring the project "back on track" against its original goals and objectives.

This is how to properly use Microsoft Project, which should eliminate your current frustrations with using the tool. Just a few thoughts to guide you. Hope this helps.

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  1. Dale Howard [MVP] 29,865 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2024-04-03T15:58:32+00:00

    Browser-ice --

    I forgot to mention that I have a couple of YouTube videos on saving a Baseline and analyzing variance in your Microsoft Project schedules. You might want to watch them at:

    https://youtu.be/FKyrYQ3LCpM https://youtu.be/SohT4N8y7fk

    Hope this additional information helps.

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  2. Dale Howard [MVP] 29,865 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2024-04-03T16:55:32+00:00

    Browser-ice --

    No, your Baseline is NOT the first version you created. To save a Baseline, you need to display the Project ribbon, click the Set Baseline pick list and select the Set Baseline item. In the Set Baseline dialog, leave all of the default items selected, and then click the OK button. If you did not do those steps, you have not saved a Baseline.

    By "rescheduling incomplete work from the past", I mean that you have moved work from the past that did not get done or did not even get start from last week's reporting period into this week's reporting period. To do this, you first need to set a Status date which represents the last day of last week's reporting period. Then you need to display the Project ribbon and click the Update Project button. In the Update Project dialog, select the "Reschedule uncompleted work to start after _____" option, and click the OK button.

    I feel very sad for you, my friend. Your employer has done you a huge disservice by giving you a complex and powerful tool, but not giving you the training on how to use the tool effectively. Would your employer be willing to pay for you to take a self-paced course on Microsoft Project from a 20-year Microsoft Project MVP? To find out, refer them to the following web site and ask them for permission for you to take the course:

    https://www.dalehowardmvp.com/ultimate-microsoft-project-training/

    If they allow you to take this course, the money will be well spent, and it will put an end to your struggles. If they are unwilling to let you take the course, your struggles will continue and you will probably get more frustrated. It is impossible for us to teach you everything you need to know in this user forum. So, I hope your employer is willing to invest in your future. Hope this helps.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-04-03T16:12:53+00:00

    I guess my baseline is the first version I did based on the dates the managers presented to the client.

    Since then, Summaries have been added or moved. I think this would mess up the compare to the baseline analysis?

    About your "rescheduling incomplete work from the past into the current reporting period." you mean pushing the "End" field date?

    • You mean push the "End" date to the aproximated one given by the tech right?
    • but the work done is based on the amount of work they can put in per week, they are not full time. So if they say they have done 50% and estimate completing in 2 weeks, putting the new end date will change that %. No matter the ending date, the tech still only did 50% of the required work. So I guess I push the date and put back that % given by the tech after?

    I am not a PM. This is about the 5th time I have used MS-Project in my life. They gave me this to do because my workload wasn't 40h/w.

    I am just trying to find a balance between the Tech side and the manager side when updating this project.

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-04-03T15:57:24+00:00

    Hi, thank you for reaching out. My name is Deeksha and I'm a Microsoft user like yourself and I will try to help you as best as I can today.

    Step 1: Create Baseline Open your project plan in Microsoft Project. Go to the "Project" tab in the ribbon. Click on "Set Baseline" and choose "Set Baseline..." In the "Set Baseline" dialog box, select the option to set the baseline for the entire project and click "OK".

    Step 2: Add Custom Fields for Real Dates Go to the "View" tab in the ribbon. Click on "Tables" and select "More Tables..." In the "More Tables" dialog box, click on "New" to create a new table. Name the new table something like "Real Dates" and click "OK". In the "Column Definition" section, click on "Insert Column" to add a new column. Name the column "Real Start Date" and set the field to a date format. Repeat the process to add another column named "Real End Date".

    Step 3: Track Progress and Input Real Dates Switch to the "Real Dates" table you created in the previous step. Enter the actual start and end dates for tasks in the "Real Start Date" and "Real End Date" columns, respectively. Update these dates regularly based on progress and feedback from the tech teams.

    Step 4: Compare Planned vs. Real Dates Switch to a view like the Gantt Chart that displays both planned and real dates. Customie the Gantt Chart to include both sets of dates for tasks. Use color-coding or different formatting to distinguish between planned and real dates. Analyse the differences between planned and real dates to identify any deviations from the original plan.

    Try these steps and hopefully, it resolves your issue. In case you need further help or assistance, please let us know. You can also contact Microsoft Support if the problem persists.

    Best regards Deeksha

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