How to CORRECTLY status tasks in Microsoft Project

In this video, Kenny walks through the proper way to status tasks in a Microsoft Project schedule from adjusting the Status Date to resolving Out of Sequence conditions.
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[@rawahasan6707]

I've been using MS projects in the wrong way; you really opened my eyes.

[@dandanahy8841]

Great video - I use "Mark On Track" 100% of the time, after making the other necessary adjustments, as it makes doing updates so easy. I have never used the Remaining Duration field and honestly don't see any advantage in using it over the Duration Field. Maybe I missed something? I have PMs tell me all the time that they believe that a task is, for example, 60% complete. I apply Mark on Track and, in most cases the calculated % Complete ends up being +/- 10% of their guess. By the time the following week rolls around the PM is once again taking a guess and it's all very close. Thanks for the video.

[@michaeldoherty7434]

Very well explained and this should be basic training for PMs or schedulers.

[@garryrogers6699]

I would also use a baseline before making any changes to the status so that forecast and actuals can be retained for retrospective analysis. Perhaps this should have been covered. Otherwise, this is a very useful and informative video - many thanks.

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

Yes, I agree! I considered discussing the baseline out of scope for this video, but yes, in general a baseline should be set on the project at the very beginning before any official reporting cycles begin.

[@zarkosrzic86]

Great insight in tasks progress. Percentage complete is actually time based value.

[@paulfares6994]

The best video i have seen to date explaining this process!! Thank you :)

[@user-wb6rx1fr9y]

Excellent explanation. I am having a contractor argue with me that he don't have to update the status date and questioning why he has to. I am going to send him this link so he can hear it from the MASTER. Thank you Kenny!

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

Glad you found the video useful!

[@GuillermoTempo]

This is great instruction. Thanks for putting this together.

[@Chrisgomez93]

Great video! Any video that explains the change to remaining work when you mark on track? I have schedulers who don’t understand the importance of marking on track and how that affects remainingresource export

[@garymailer6765]

Kenny, really insightful - thanks 😀

[@michaelbreuker4170]

I see so many Master Schedulers, with 20 - 30 years of experience, updating task status using % Complete, and it is a huge pet peeve of mine. Of course these very experienced schedulers understand how to fix the issues caused by doing this, but it perpetuates a bad practice that junior schedulers then pick up.

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

I see it done all the time! People need to be taught the correct way.

[@Shgharavi]

completely practical

[@roldanduarteholguin7102]

Export the Azure, Chat GPT, Revit, Plant 3D, Civil 3D, Inventor, ENGI file of the Building or Refinery to Excel, prepare Budget 1 and export it to COBRA. Prepare Budget 2 and export it to Microsoft Project. Solve the problems of Overallocated Resources, Planning Problems, prepare the Budget 3 with which the construction of the Building or the Refinery is going to be quoted.

[@craigkaragitz8244]

Hi Kenny - I frequently use the "Status" column in MSP. The way you updated the status of the tasks, in the Status column it shows that Task A, which is going to finish after the original projected finish date, is "on Schedule" when really the task is "Late". Is there a proper way to Update a task and have it show "Late" in the Status column? Thanks!

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

Hi! the Status column is automatically calculated by MS Project, so you cannot change it. You can however create your own "Status" column using a custom Text field and a formula to have it show whatever you want.

[@GeromeVanWyk]

what happens if your actual start and baseline start are different - if you make mark on track will it not affect the actual start to align with the baseline start?

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

No, mark on track does not align the Actual Start date with the Baseline Start. It just adjusts the percent complete (actual duration) of the task relative to the current start and project status date.

[@trevorrabey736]

At the end, you still have a SNET date constraint on c. Even though the person has an "intended" start date, the task should still be scheduled asap. Why? Because that's basic CPM, and it doesn't work if there are date constraints in the network. We don't input dates when the project is first planned, and we shouldn't start doing it after we start tracking progress.

[@kennyarnold6848]

No, we really shouldn’t ignore reality just because of the CPM. If we know for a fact that task C isn’t going start right after task B then we shouldn’t leave it in the schedule that way.

[@amoghkhadke]

What about tasks which were expected to start before status date but haven’t started yet. How do I get projected completion date of that task. Is there any way apart from rescheduling uncompleted work after status date.??

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

Ask the person who is responsible for the task when they think it's going to start and when they think it's going to finish.

[@trevorrabey736]

"Is there any way apart from rescheduling uncompleted work after status date.??" What else would make sense? In CPM tasks are scheduled to start asap. A planned start earlier than the status date is not possible. Immediately after the status date is asap.

[@thewarmth2]

So, all the percentages you get from the person in charge of the task should go into the “physical % complete? Also, I imagine that changing task relationships just to get rid of the “out of sequence” condition should be made after an analysis, not just changing for the sake of solving the “out of sequence” condition.

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

You NEVER want to enter a number in the regular % Complete column. let MS Project calculation that for you by using the "mark on track" button after you update the start/finish dates for the task. Sure, you could wait to resolve the out of sequence issues after you statused all the tasks. It's in the video because many people don't know what it means for something to be out of sequence, let alone how to fix it. Out of sequence issues are very likely to arise when you start taking status on the schedule.

[@trevorrabey736]

Be very wary of asking questions where the answer could be a % (of anything, whatever), and wary of any answer in %. It is pretty much useless and uninformative. Example, if you have a task to lay 10000 bricks, and it has some planned duration, and it already actually started on some date in the past, and has been in progress for some days, and some number of bricks are laid, and some remain, so that as well as remaining bricks there is also some remaining duration, remaining work and remaining cost, then hearing someone say that the task is some % complete does not get you anywhere, and is not "data" that you can use. On the other hand, if you ask the right questions in the right order, and only accept proper answers to those questions, it all works. Has the task actually started? Answer is yes or no. When did it start? Answer is a date/time? How many days of actual duration? Answer is a number. How many days of remaining duration? Answer is a number. No % required.

[@trevorrabey736]

There is no need to insert the extra columns/fields into the entry table. There is a tracking table which has all of those fields. Instead of asking when the task started, surely it is necessary to ask first if it has actually started?

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

Sure, you can apply the tracking table if you like, Trevor.

[@Eleven2410]

I don't quite understand how can I keep track of late tasks. Example: today is 1 Jan 2024. The task was supposed to finish on 25 Dec 2023. But it's delayed and will only be completed on 7 Jan 2024. According to your guide, I'd have to adjust the remaining duration, so the new value of the Finish field would be 7 Jan 2024. So, this task is a late task, but MS Project won't highlight this task to me as a late task simply because the updated finish task is in the future. Is there any way around this? Thank you!

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

Hi @Eleven2410. You can keep track of late tasks by making sure you set a baseline on your tasks before you start to status them. When you set a baseline on a task, MS Project will store the originally planned start and finish dates in the Baseline Start and Baseline Finish fields. Once you start statusing tasks, you can see how far off from the baseline dates your tasks have moved by looking at the Start Variance or Finish Variance fields. Hope this answers your question.

[@trevorrabey736]

If you have task that has an actual start date and some actual duration in the past, and its scheduled finish is 25/12/2023, and you are told that the best estimate now is 07/01/2024, what choice do you have but to increase the remaining duration? You are calling this task "late" simply because you now forecast a finish which is later than the original. If you don't have a baseline, then MSP just forgets about the original 25/12/2023. You only need a baseline if you want to fret about the variance. You can still happily plan and re-plan without it.

[@Knarcout]

shouldn't you "set the baseline" first so the baseline start and baseline finish dates are saved. So whatever changes you make on the duration or on the "Start" or "finish" wont affect the baseline... im not a pro, just thinking if setting the baseline should be in the initial procedures. i think it should..

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

Hi! yes, I would recommend having a baseline set before you start to status a project. I didn't cover that because I considered baseline stuff to be out of scope of this video.

[@trevorrabey736]

Once task c has an actual start date, its predecessors are irrelevant. There is no need to make the dummy FS link from A to replace the FS link from B to c which was obviously wrong.

[@kennyarnold6848]

Would still probably be good to know what tasks were necessary predecessors to the task.

[@darrinkinney2268]

The actual people doing the work and know the dates, should be the actual people updating the schedule. This is a critical failure in the planning world. That being said, kinda cool to watch this. Seeing updates to MSP where people are clueless about the status date is hilarious. Might want to check out your other videos.

[@trevorrabey736]

I don't know whether you are saying that the people who do the work should update the schedule because they "know" the dates, or should not do it because they don't know how. They don't really know the dates, and they should not be asked for dates. If you already know the dates, you don't need the software. Finding out what the dates are is what CPM is for.

[@Smoke_C]

Another way to consider is to follow the following sequence (assuming tasks are set to Fixed Work): 1. Enter Actual start, 2. Enter Actual Work, 3. Enter remaining work (enter zero if it is complete), 4. Enter Actual finish. Also, make sure to use the calculation options (Options-Advanced): Move end of completed parts ... and Move start of remaining parts. This will ensure that no incomplete work is left in the past (before the status date). Using work makes it a lot easier to reflect a true completion % because at the end of the day, when human beings are working, effort measured in time is the critical factor.

[@trevorrabey736]

You did not take any account of the Physical % Complete, ie 60% Physical % Complete, except to type it in. It implies that % Complete should equal Physical % Complete. We need a new duration and new remaining duration. New Duration = 12/0.6 = 20 days, New remaining duration = 20 - 12 = 8 Days.

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

This isn't necessarily true. The Physical % Complete and the Duration Based % Complete do not need to be the same value and are often different in real world projects. Take this scenario for example: Imagine a 10 day task where the status date is at the end of the 5th day. The Duration Based % Complete will be 50% but perhaps the task manager states the physical % complete is only 25%. But they assure me they want to keep the current finish date where it is. How can this make sense? Well, consider this - maybe the task manager only spent 2 hours working on that task for the first 5 days but then plans to spend 6 hours each day working on the task for the next 5 days and therefore believes they can finish the task by the current finish date without moving it. In this case, it makes sense that the Physical % Complete of the task is only 25% but the duration based % complete is 50%.

[@michaelbreuker4170]

@@StructuredSolutionsInc well stated. This is what we teach at the College of Performance Management (CPM). Use the Physical Percent Complete as a sanity check, and if the physical and duration % complete differ by a significant amount, use that to challenge the task owner (CAM, Work Package Lead, key resource. . . whoever is providing the information to the scheduler) and ask why they different. But the finish date / remaining duration must be independently estimated. And, of course, use Physical % Complete for earned value calculations if the schedule is being used for EV.

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

@@michaelbreuker4170 I agree 100%!

[@trevorrabey736]

@@StructuredSolutionsInc I am not saying that physical %complete should always be the same as % complete, only that it usually is or should be. Let's skip the percentages and try some numbers. The task was to lay 10000 bricks. After 5 days of actual duration, it is hoped that 5000 bricks are laid, but sadly it is only 2500. All of the evidence of progress that we have at this point says that 7500 bricks cannot and will not get laid in the remaining 5 days. Pretending otherwise is just denial. However, as you say, someone may think that the first 5 days went different to how the remaining 5 days will go, and the forecast finish date is still the same as it was before any (and not enough bricks) were laid. He believes he can finish the task by the current scheduled finish date. Yeah, right. We should base our project plan on data such as numbers and arithmetic rather than belief. A belief is not the same as an estimate. In your example, you introduced the actual work and the remaining work, which is the information needed for physical %complete to not be the same as % complete. Well, that changes things a bit. The actual 10 hours should be logged on the days it occurred and the estimate of the remaining work should be distributed over the remaining duration. We don't know what the planned work was at the start, but at this point, at this status date, we know the actual work is 10 hours and the remaining work is 30 hours, spread over 5 days. Let's not kid ourselves. That guy resists re-estimating the remaining duration and the planned finish because he doesn't want to say his task is going to be late and that will delay other tasks, it's successors. It's already late, and we don't have to wait 5 days to find that out. If he insists on holding the finish date, then in 5 days we will know if he was right. If he was wrong, then we will have lost the opportunity to act on the early warning. CPM is all about early warning, timely action and avoiding surprises.

[@WaterCupBoi]

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[@jorgeorozco5634]

Awsome Video, i think is the only one in all youtube that explain very well this, i would like to know how should be properly updated once we ad som Work mhrs. caouse seems work and % complete are related even when what i want is to relate Work% Complete with Physical % Complete

[@StructuredSolutionsInc]

I will cover statusing tasks that have resource assignments in a future video!