Give system admins an option to remove "Commit Dates" from the system.

[#1]

If you don't use commit dates and everything is based on planned dates setup by the project manager, as a system administrator you should be able to remove commit dates from the product. When commit dates are removed, no user will see them or set/change them anymore.

To be honest, most users don't even notice commit date until it starts messing with their projections. In the innovation lab there have been numerous requests to change commit date behaviour, that either haven't been implemented, or have been marked implemented when the solution doesn't actually resolve the issues users are experiencing.

The historical requests to fix commit date include:

1. Give system admins an option to remove "Commit Dates" from the system – 2100 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSAKAA4/detail

2. New Home: Admin ability to customize left side Work List – 970 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSgfAAG/detail

3. Viewing Planned Completion vs. Commit Dates – 510 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSB0AAO/detail

4. Commit Dates Approvals follow the same flow as all approvals – 180 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSaMAAW/detail

5. Ability to reject a proposed new date (commit date) – 150 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSZRAA4/detail

6. change the view for "Assigned To" view to use planned completion date instead of commit date – 100 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSG1AAO/detail

7. Home: Make Commit Date Field Editable – 90 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSmAAAW/detail

8. Provide option in set up area to turn off automatic set commit date – 70 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSlQAAW/detail

9. Allow clearing / deleting a commit date on a task – 60 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSShAAO/detail

10. Progress Status on Commit Date Later than Planned Completion Date – 70 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSlKAAW/detail

11. Allow change of commit date by PM after team member clicks "Work on it" – 60 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PSpdAAG/detail

12. Commit Date User Control – 40 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000PScwAAG/detail

13. Ability to batch update commit dates – 30 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0870z000000XiFvAAK/detail

14. Users with Manage it Access to Projects/Accepting Commit Dates – 20 points

https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0874X000000sYLlQAM/detail

So here is one idea that address all of the above, without impacting any current instances that are actively using commit dates.

1. Under ‚ÄòSettings’, ‚ÄòProject Preferences’ there is a default setting for how projects handle commit dates. Sys admins can set this to:

· Set to planned when edited

If ‚ÄòTrue’ or enabled, (default) Workfront continues to function as it currently does

If ‚ÄòFalse’ or disabled, changing the status, percentage complete, actual start date etc does NOT populate a commit date ‚Äì the field continues to be blank

· Calculate progress status on

Commit Date (default) Workfront continues to function as it currently does

Projected Completion Date Workfront ignores commit date unless accepted by someone with manage rights to the project (which would update the planned date and thus the calculations anyway)

· Commit date editable by

If set to ‚Äòassignees’ (default) Workfront continues to function as it currently does

If set to ‚Äòassignees and project owner’ all commit dates are editable by the current project owner or the assignee(s)

If set to ‚Äòassignees and project managers’ commit dates can be edited by the assignee OR anyone with manage rights to the project

· Commit date changes approved by

If set to ‚ÄòProject Owner’ (default) all commit date approvals go to the project owner ‚Äì current functionality

If set to ‚ÄòProject Managers’ commit date approvals can be accepted or rejected by anyone with manage rights to the project

2. Under ‚ÄòProject Details’, have the same fields as ‚ÄòSettings’, ‚ÄòProject Preferences’

Note that this fields can be hidden (deselected) in layout templates, meaning if they are set a particular way in project preferences (and/or templates), sys admins can choose whether project owners can change them or not

3. If you have permission to edit the commit date, you have permission to simple delete it. Doing so will have Workfront perform the same calculation for projected completion date that it would if a commit date had never been entered.

4. If you have permission to edit the commit date, it is editable anywhere it is displayed – home page right pane, any dashboard/report, and view that includes the commit date field, task details pane etc. This includes selecting multiple tasks in a view/report and bulk editing to update or remove it.

5. Commit date becomes an option in areas dealing with dates

· A date field option on calendars

¬∑ The ‚Äòsort by’ drop-down on the home page

· Left side worklist of the home page (planned for implementation)

6. If a commit date is generated that is different to the planned completion date, it shows in the home screen along with task/issue/project status change approvals and proof approvals. The workflow is a single stage with only one approval needed, and either contains just the project owner or all people with manage rights to the project (depending on the setting in project preferences)

7. The Project owner and/or users with manage rights to the project can reject a commit date. While the commit date will still be on record, the planned completion date and progress status will NOT be based on the commit date.

[#2]

Can we get an update on this? It is NOT delivered. Mucking up your calculations and making it even harder to fix them is NOT a solution.

I've just had a client ask me why "an alleged enterprise project management system can't do what I can do in a simple spreadsheet in five minutes". They want users to see when they can start a task earlier than planned because someone finishes early, and commit dates are completely mucking this up if the user changes status or clicks 'Work on it' - the commit date becomes the planned date, which means the projected date becomes the planned date, which means and indication of an early start is lost. And with the 'delivered feature' the only remedy if for the project owner to identify all of these tasks, and one by one remove and then re-assign the same person to it, and hope when the re-assignee gets the spam notification of being assigned to a task they were already working on, they don't click 'work on it'.

Given the long rants of customers who find this unusable (like here: https://one.workfront.com/s/question/0D50z00006Px3ZhCAJ/work-on-it-button-and-commit-dates), Workfront's point blank refusal to make it optional is confusing.

[#3]

Since this has been marked as delivered when it hasn't, a new idea covering all current suggestiions for commit date has been added here: https://one.workfront.com/s/idea/0874X000000sYWFQA2/detail

[#4]

'Hiding' the commit date does nothing to resolve the issues a commit date creates for both the start and end dates of the project. We should not be depending upon an end user to figure this out - that is the least of their worries when trying to get their work done; Admins should have the ability to remove commit dates from a project plan.

[#5]

The State of Ohio agrees that system administrators should have the ability to disable this feature. It causes the schedule to lock into commit dates set by others and if the PM assigns a task to themselves. We have to remove task assignments to get around this problem, which leads to poor schedule management practice.

[#6]

The State of Ohio agrees that system administrators should have the ability to disable this feature. It causes the schedule to lock into commit dates set by others and if the PM assigns a task to themselves. We have to remove task assignments to get around this problem, which leads to poor schedule management practice.

[#7]

We also agree that hiding the date does not solve the problem!