Based on the process identified in the Schedule Management Plan, status information is provided by your team members on a periodic basis. Status is ALWAYS in the past. You should never receive actuals that are in the future.
The Schedule Management Plan should identify key information for schedule updates:
– Frequency and timing: Most projects are statused on a weekly cycle, but your project may have a different requirement such as bi-weekly or monthly. You should inform the team of the timing by stating, for example, that ‘Status information will be submitted as of close of business on Friday, and will be due on Monday by noon’. This supports the requirement that all status submitted represents true past progress.
– Content: Be specific about what information you need from the task owners. Actual Start, Actual Finish, and Remaining Duration, and any known changes to future tasks are recommended. Request information regarding any updates to expected start dates, estimated durations, expected finish dates, resource availabilities, and resource assignments.
– Format: How will the update information be submitted? Will you distribute spreadsheets with tasks scheduled for the period, will the status be done as a team in a meeting, etc.?
In Microsoft Project, Actual Start and Actual Finish dates will override everything else. They can supersede logic established by the links in your schedule. For example, a task is scheduled to Start on June 10th based on its predecessor. If you enter an Actual Start date of June 8th, the predecessor will be ignored, and the Finish for that task will be recalculated based on a start of June 8th and finish 2 days earlier. Actuals can also cause Duration to be recalculated. If a task has a Duration of 10 days and an Actual Start and Actual Finish are entered that are only 9 days apart, the Duration changes to 9 days.
The ‘as of’ timing that you specify, e.g. close of business on Friday, will be the Status Date that is used in the schedule. The Status Date is updated for each status cycle.
Next, the status is incorporated into the schedule.
In addition, the schedule model must also be modified to reflect any changes made due to corrective action for performance issues as well as for any changes approved through the change control process.
The first step in applying the weekly (or other cycle) status to your project is to set the Status Date.
On the Project ribbon, in the Status section, click the calendar icon next to Status Date. A dialog is displayed. Select the date needed from the pulldown. This should be the date that the status information has been provided up through for this cycle. Status Date is a finish date, meaning that it is at the end of the day selected in the pulldown.
Once the Status Date is set, you will need to review each task that needs status, and apply the status provided.
You may apply the Tracking Table, which displays a number of fields (most of which we don’t use) that are related to schedule statusing. Or, you may insert the Actual Start, Actual Finish, and Remaining Duration fields into any other table. Once you learn how to create you own custom tables, you may define your own status table with only the fields you need to use.
To identify tasks that need status, you may apply the Incomplete Tasks filter on the View ribbon, and then using the autofilter for the Start field, select Filters, Before…
A dialog is displayed. Type the day AFTER the Status Date into the filter, next to is less than and click OK.
This will display any task that isn’t 100% complete and has a Start before the Status Date.
All of the tasks and milestones displayed need to be reviewed and updated.
There are many approaches to applying status in Microsoft Project. The primary fields we recommend for statusing are: Actual Start, Actual Finish, Remaining Duration. If you are using Fixed Work, you may consider statusing using Remaining Work.
The most important thing in statusing is to define a standard approach and stick with it. In Microsoft Project, particularly in the status area, the order that you do things can affect the outcome. Once you have determined the process that works successfully for you, follow it every time you status. Pay close attention during the status process to make sure you’re getting the expected results. Applying status in Microsoft Project can be complex, and you can get unexpected results, if you don’t follow a systematic method.
We have defined a standard status process that provides consistent results. It is based on the status you receive for each task from your team. The approach we define simplifies the process as much as possible, while accomplishing consistent results.
Below is a brief example of the structure that we use to lay out the statusing process.
Specific scenarios, and all accompanying steps for applying status to tasks, can be found in the Statusing the Schedule document provided in this lesson.
For Tasks:
1. Started As Scheduled –
– Finished during this period –
– Started as scheduled and finished as scheduled – perform these steps…
– Started as scheduled and finished early or late – perform these steps…
– Still in progress at end of period –
– Started as scheduled and will finish as scheduled (in progress, on schedule) – perform these steps…
– Started as scheduled and will finish early or late – perform these steps…
2. Started Late –
– Finished during this period –
– Started late and finished (early, as scheduled or late) – perform these steps…
– Still in progress at end of period –
etc.