Managing Projects › Project Properties › Scheduling Properties (Projects) › Define Scheduling Properties

Define Scheduling Properties

You define scheduling properties for the following purposes:

• To open or close the project for time tracking.
• To autoschedule your project.
• To define the default staffing options.
• To set the project-level default earned value calculation method.
• To associate the project to an earned value reporting period.
• To override the earned value.

Best Practice: Set the percent complete calculation method at the beginning of your project and do not change it. Changing the method midway through the project changes the percent complete values for the project and tasks, which affects other calculations such as earned value metrics.

To define the scheduling properties for a project

1. Open the project.

   The Project: Properties: Main - General page appears.

2. Click Schedule on the content menu.

   The Project: Properties: Main - Schedule page appears.

3. In the Schedule section, complete the following fields, and click Submit:

   Start Date

   Defines the start date of the project.

   Finish Date

   Defines the finish date of the project.

   Set Planned Cost Dates

   Specifies whether to keep planned cost dates synchronized with the investment dates.

   Default: Selected

   As Of Date

   Defines the date by which you want information to be included in time and budget estimates. This date is used in Earned Value Analysis (EVA) calculations, such as Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS).

   Progress

   Indicates the level of work that has been completed on project tasks. Use the following as a guideline:

   • Not Started = 0 percent
   • Started = 1 - 99 percent
   • Completed = 100 percent

   Options: Completed, Started, and Not Started

   Default: Not Started

   % Complete

   Defines the percent of work that has been completed on the project based on the percentage of completion of the tasks and subprojects. This field is display only and system calculated if the % complete calculation method is set to duration or effort.

   Default: 0

   Values: 0 through 100

   Priority

   If you are using CA Clarity PPM with Open Workbench, defines the relative importance of this project in relation to all other projects. The priority controls the order in which tasks are scheduled during Autoschedule. The priority is subject to dependency constraints.

   Values: 0-36, where 0 is the highest

   Default: 10

   Status Indicator

   Indicates the project's status.

   Stoplight values:

   • Green = On Track
   • Yellow = Marginal
   • Red = Critical

   Status Comment

   Defines any comments about the project's status.

   % Complete Calculation Method

   Specifies the method for calculating the percent complete value for the project and tasks.

   Note: If you are using CA Clarity PPM with Microsoft Project or if your company uses an external job to calculate % Complete, select manual as the % complete calculation method.

   Values:

   • Manual. Use this method if you want to enter the percent complete for the project, summary, and detail tasks manually. The % Complete field is on the task properties page.
   • Duration. Use this method if you track percent complete based on duration. The duration is a measure of the total span of active working time for a task, based from the start date to the finish date of a task. With this method, you enter the % complete for the detail tasks. The % complete for summary tasks is automatically calculated based on the following formula:

     Summary Task % Complete = Total Detail Task Duration Complete / Total Detail Task Duration
     

   • Effort. Use this method to calculate the % complete for summary and detail tasks automatically based on the work units completed by resource assignments. The calculations are based on the following formulas:

     Summary Task % Complete = Sum of Detail Task resource assignment Actuals / Sum of Detail Task resource assignment Effort
     Detail Task % Complete = Sum of resource assignment Actuals / Sum of resource assignment Effort
     

     Note: If you assign a resource other than labor to a task and the % Complete Calculation Method field on the scheduling properties page is set to Effort, the effort and actuals for that resource are ignored in the calculation.

   Default: Manual

   Your changes are saved.