what is the best way of schedule UPDATE

Yes,

hours & cost update was my original question.

The best way is to choose % complete type as physical, then applying actuals to those activities which are started or finished and updating there remaining duration. finally pressing F9 to schedule

I have a Powerpoint presentation on a very simple method for updating small to medium schedules. Email me at daveforrestuk@aol.com if you want a copy.

Dear planners,



For your info, the complete manual is in the helpfiles



regards Alphons

You are great.

Thanks

I hope I get the formatting right, but here is is:



Types of Activity Dates



Start The current start date of the activity. Set to the remaining start date until the activity is

started, then set to the actual start date. An ‘A’ after the Start value indicates that it is the

Actual Start; an ‘*’ indicates that a Start constraint is applied to the activity.

Finish The current finish date of the activity. Set to the activity planned finish date while the

activity is not started, the remaining finish date while the activity is in progress, and the

actual finish date once the activity is completed. An ‘A’ after the Finish value indicates that

it is the Actual Finish; an ‘*’ indicates that a Finish constraint is applied to the activity.

Actual Start The date on which the activity actually started.

Actual Finish The date on which the activity actually finished.

Early Start The earliest possible date the remaining work for the activity can begin. This date is

calculated by the project scheduler based on activity relationships, schedule constraints, and

resource availability.

Early Finish The earliest possible date the activity can finish. This date is calculated by the project

scheduler based on activity relationships, schedule constraints, and resource availability.

Late Start The latest possible date the remaining work for the activity must begin without delaying the

project finish date. This date is calculated by the project scheduler based on activity

relationships, schedule constraints, and resource availability.

Late Finish The latest possible date the activity must finish without delaying the project finish date.

This date is calculated by the project scheduler based on activity relationships, schedule

constraints, and resource availability.

Planned Start The date the activity is scheduled to begin. This date is set equal to the early start date by

the project scheduler but can be updated manually by the project manager. This date is not

changed by the project scheduler once you apply an Actual Start date.

Planned Finish The date the activity is scheduled to finish. This date is set equal to the early finish date by

the project scheduler but can be updated manually by the user. This date is not changed by

the project scheduler once you apply an Actual Finish date.

Remaining Start The date the remaining work for the activity is scheduled to begin. This date is calculated

by the project scheduler but can be updated manually by the user. Before the activity is

started, the Remaining Start is the same as the Planned Start. This is the start date that

Timesheets users follow.

Remaining Finish The date the remaining work for the activity is scheduled to finish. This date is calculated

by the project scheduler but can be updated manually by the user. Before the activity is

started, the Remaining Finish is the same as the Planned Finish. This is the finish date that

Timesheets users follow.

Expected Finish The date the activity is expected to finish. Typically, this date is entered in the Timesheets

module by the primary resource. When scheduling your projects, you may choose to use or

ignore the Expected Finish dates.

Constraint Date The date for which the activity’s constraint applies. Depending on the constraint type, this

date could be a start or finish date. For example, for a Finish On constraint, the constraint

date is the date on which the activity must finish. If the activity does not have a constraint,

this field will be empty.

I would like to hear the answer to that also. Is it on line somewhere?



Thanks for sharing.

Ali,



I’ll send you a pdf of the page in question off-line.



Cheers,



Niek.

For schedule updates please refer to the manual (and I would advise to stick to that sequence).



For a description of the fields also the manual will give a detailed overview called "types of activity dates". It is on page 280 of my 4.1 version.



Best regards,



Niek.

If you want to update your schedule with the actual progress and don’t want to adjust the progress or dates to show the schedule impressive with on target. The sequence of schedule update should be as Niek suggested. In other case you could try to run the schedule with new data date and then update.

The preferred sequence is to capture and apply ’actuals’ and then schedule your project with the new data date. This will allow the software to calculate the remaining work, units and/or duration based on the (duration type) settings of each activity.



This is certainly the case when you use timesheets rather than manual updates.



Hope this helps,



Niek.

Hello



I usually first schedule with New Data Date then fill the actual progress. This way it is easy to visually follow the activities in bar chart area.



Previously I used to do in other way where I had to followup and concentrate on text and that was more difficult than following up bars as in this case.





Cheers.