As a PM, I can control project schedule from tasks

Project managers, or any other management role (PMA, PMO, PfM, PgM), can control project schedule from tasks at CONTROL > Control Schedule > Update from Tasks, using the web application and the mobile application:

Task data can be aggregated up to their work package to calculate dates, percent complete, etc.:

  • If a work package includes 10 tasks and 3 of them have been completed, we can say percent complete is 30%.
  • If a work package includes tasks with start and finish dates, the work package’s percent complete can be calculated as a weighted average of percent completes and durations.
  • Work package planned finish should be the due date of the latest task.
  • Work package planned start should be the start date of the earliest task.

Let’s set an example to see how some automation rules can work. Imagine a project with two work packages (WP#1 y WP#2). WP#1 is baseline to start July 10th and finish July 21st. WP#2 is baselined to start by 10th, and finish by 21st. Therefore, the project itself—work package #0—is planned to start on July 10th and finish on 21st, taking a total duration of 8 days, just like WP#1.

Let’s move on to the project status date as of July the 17th.

Let’s assume work package WP#1 has 6 tasks represented in this schedule chart:

Applying the aggregation rules, work package WP#1 data can be calculated automatically:

  • Actual Start: July 13th (baseline start was 10th)
  • Planned Finish: July 20th (baseline finish was 21st)
  • Planned Duration: 6 days (baseline duration was 8 days)
  • Percent Complete: 25% = (2+1)/(2+1+1+3+1+4)

Let’s assume work package WP#2 has 2 tasks:

Applying the aggregation rules, work package WP#2 data can be calculated automatically:

  • Actual Start: July 14th (baseline start was 20th)
  • Planned Finish: July 23rd (baseline finish was 21st)
  • Planned Duration: 8 days (baseline duration was 2 days)
  • Percent Complete: 60% = 6/(6+4)

Finally, project (WP#0) schedule status can be calculated as of July 17th:

  • Actual Start: July 13th (baseline start was 10th)
  • Planned Finish: July 23rd (baseline finish was 21st)
  • Planned Duration: 9 days (baseline duration was 8 days)
  • Percent Complete: 45% = (25%*6+60%*8)/(6+8)
Frequently Asked Questions
How does PMPeople calculate percent complete from tasks?

The system calculates percent complete using the number and weight of completed tasks versus total tasks within each work package.

How are planned start and finish dates determined from tasks?

The planned start is set to the earliest task start date, and planned finish is set to the latest task due date within a work package.

Can project schedule data be automatically aggregated from task data?

Yes. Using CONTROL > Control Schedule > Update from Tasks, PMPeople can auto-calculate work package and project-level schedule data based on task-level inputs.