Actual Duration vs. Duration  
Author Message
lenalb





PostPosted: Wed Apr 06 15:21:38 CDT 2005 Top

Microsoft Project >> Actual Duration vs. Duration When would you use Actual Duration and when would you use
Duration?
I went to help to find:
The Duration field is the total span of active working
time for a task. This is generally the amount of working
time from the start to the finish of a task.

The Actual Duration field shows the span of actual
working time for a task so far, based on the scheduled
duration and current remaining work or percent complete.

This program is too confusing
Thank you

DotNet256  
 
 
John





PostPosted: Wed Apr 06 15:21:38 CDT 2005 Top

Microsoft Project >> Actual Duration vs. Duration In article <0c4601c53ae2$e8443050$EMail@HideDomain.com>,
"Karen" <EMail@HideDomain.com> wrote:

> When would you use Actual Duration and when would you use
> Duration?
> I went to help to find:
> The Duration field is the total span of active working
> time for a task. This is generally the amount of working
> time from the start to the finish of a task.
>
> The Actual Duration field shows the span of actual
> working time for a task so far, based on the scheduled
> duration and current remaining work or percent complete.
>
> This program is too confusing
> Thank you

Karen,
Just like schedule dates, Duration is a field either entered by the user
or calculated by Project based on scheduled Start and Finish. Those
elements of a task define its plan. Actual values on the other hand
represent what is really happening once the task is started. Actual
Start is assumed by Project to coincide with schedule Start unless the
user manually enters an Actual Start date that is different from the
Start date. Then Project re-adjusts the schedule Start to agree with
what really happened. Keep in mind the original plan is captured by
values in the Baseline fields.

As you note, Actual Duration = Duration x % Complete. Pretty
straightforward. Many users are confused by the % Complete value they
see on a Summary line because it is NOT the sum or average of subtask %
Complete values. Rather % Complete for a Summary line is:
Summary % Complete = (sum of subtask Actual Durations/sum of subtask
Durations) * 100%.

I don't know if this helped but hopefully it gives a little more
background. Project can be VERY confusing. Truly understanding it
requires a solid understanding of Project Management principles and lots
of hands on use. Formal training can help but there is just no
substitute for experience gained with everyday use. Project is just not
as intuitive as other Office applications. Hang in there, most of us
(yeah even the MVPs) are still learning also.

John
Project MVP
 
 
Karen





PostPosted: Wed Apr 06 15:51:30 CDT 2005 Top

Microsoft Project >> Actual Duration vs. Duration You've been very helpful - Thank you very much!
>-----Original Message-----
>In article <0c4601c53ae2$e8443050$EMail@HideDomain.com>,
> "Karen" <EMail@HideDomain.com> wrote:
>
>> When would you use Actual Duration and when would you
use
>> Duration?
>> I went to help to find:
>> The Duration field is the total span of active working
>> time for a task. This is generally the amount of
working
>> time from the start to the finish of a task.
>>
>> The Actual Duration field shows the span of actual
>> working time for a task so far, based on the scheduled
>> duration and current remaining work or percent
complete.
>>
>> This program is too confusing
>> Thank you
>
>Karen,
>Just like schedule dates, Duration is a field either
entered by the user
>or calculated by Project based on scheduled Start and
Finish. Those
>elements of a task define its plan. Actual values on the
other hand
>represent what is really happening once the task is
started. Actual
>Start is assumed by Project to coincide with schedule
Start unless the
>user manually enters an Actual Start date that is
different from the
>Start date. Then Project re-adjusts the schedule Start
to agree with
>what really happened. Keep in mind the original plan is
captured by
>values in the Baseline fields.
>
>As you note, Actual Duration = Duration x % Complete.
Pretty
>straightforward. Many users are confused by the %
Complete value they
>see on a Summary line because it is NOT the sum or
average of subtask %
>Complete values. Rather % Complete for a Summary line is:
>Summary % Complete = (sum of subtask Actual
Durations/sum of subtask
>Durations) * 100%.
>
>I don't know if this helped but hopefully it gives a
little more
>background. Project can be VERY confusing. Truly
understanding it
>requires a solid understanding of Project Management
principles and lots
>of hands on use. Formal training can help but there is
just no
>substitute for experience gained with everyday use.
Project is just not
>as intuitive as other Office applications. Hang in
there, most of us
>(yeah even the MVPs) are still learning also.
>
>John
>Project MVP
>.
>