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DavidCo3
June 29, 2016
Question

Commit Dates are killing us

  • June 29, 2016
  • 75 replies
  • 8014 views
Hi, Commit Dates are really killing us and causing a lot of confusion/frustration with users. e.g. A task is originally scheduled for a certain date and an assigned user clicks 'Work On It', Workfront sets the commit date to the planned date (assuming the user doesn't propose an alternative commit date - and we ask them not to do this). If the task's planned date is later changed, the user's original commit date remains. Our users don't remember to go and update their commit dates on such tasks. This then affects tasks' and projects' projected dates, and more confusingly for the user, it leaves the original commit date on their mini-calendar on the My Work screen. We would love to just be able to switch off the Commit Date functionality completely. As this doesn't appear to be possible, how else can we try to keep the commit dates aligned with the planned dates? There doesn't seem to be a way to centrally edit commit dates (even one-by-one, let alone in bulk). The only way I know of doing this is to log on as the user and change the commit date on each task. This is impractical with thousands of tasks in progress per month. Do other customers have this issue? How do you handle it? We have a team who are in charge of scheduling people at the right time, so we really don't need the users to be setting alternative commit dates. Thanks, David.
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Mohini__Mini_Si
July 19, 2016
I agree with everyone here. Get rid of them completely.
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Anonymous
July 19, 2016
Removing them already! In Reply to Mohini (Mini) Sinha:
I agree with everyone here. Get rid of them completely.
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VicAl1
July 19, 2016
Is your timeline (dependancies plus duration) driven by the Planned Completion Date or the Projected Completion Date? Ours is driven by the Planned Completion Date and thus the Commit Date doesn't change the timeline.
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Anonymous
July 19, 2016
We use planned completion date and the commit dates don't interfere with the baseline or overall timeline. However it's confusing to our team and causes them more work by having to accept any date changes to the project or their tasks will still have the original commit date and not get updated. It's more trouble than it's worth just to get the team members buy-in or agreement for doing the assignment as I understand it was design for. In our enviroment we gain the buy-in and their work estimates through our planning activities so they are fully aware of when we need them to perform work.
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VicAl1
July 19, 2016
Yeah I have a Dashboard that lists the Tasks Completed Last Week and the Tasks Scheduled for this week and we review those in our Weekly Status Meeting so everyone knows what they’re working on. The only time I pay attention to the Commit Date is if someone changes it. As the PM I get notified and if the new date is ok, I change the Planned Completion Date. If the new date is not ok, I at least know to have a conversation and go from there. Vic Alejandro, PMP, CSM | IT | Project Manager IV Denver Water | t: (303-628-7262) | c: (303-319-6473) http://www.denverwater.orghttp://www.denverwater.org INTEGRITY | VISION | PASSION | EXCELLENCE | RESPECT
Doug_Den_Hoed__AtAppStore
Community Advisor
Doug_Den_Hoed__AtAppStoreCommunity Advisor
Community Advisor
July 21, 2016
Hi Non Commiters, I have an update on this that covers the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Let's go backwards. The Ugly: I confirmed with Workfront that there are no plans to change how the Commit Date behaves in the near to mid term. The Bad: once a User chooses Work On It, the Commit Date cannot be cleared, even by the API The Good: as mentioned, I am pleased to announce that (by popular demand on this thread) AtAppStore has developed a Syncronize Commit Date plugin for our UberCalc AtApp. Every hour (and on ad-hoc button click) it will automatically search for EVERY incomplete editable Tasks whose Commit Date differs from its Planned Completion Date and FORCE the Commit Date to match the Planned Completion Date. In doing so: Planned Dates Trump Commit Dates Assignees need not "remember" The My Work Calendar dates match Plan We intend to release the Synchronize Commit Dates plugin next week. Long term, it will have a one time installation fee of its own, but in appreciation to those on this thread who helped us (ahem) commit to this enhancement, will waive it for any customer who licenses UberCalc before August 31, 2016. Thank you for raising the interesting Challenge! Regards, Doug
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VicAl1
July 21, 2016
But the Commit Date should not be effecting your timeline. The timeline uses your Planned Completion Date (which is unrelated to and not connected to the Commit Date). So I guess I’m not understanding why the Commit Date would mess up anyone’s plan. Am I missing something? Vic Alejandro, PMP, CSM | IT | Project Manager IV Denver Water | t: (303-628-7262) | c: (303-319-6473) http://www.denverwater.orghttp://www.denverwater.org INTEGRITY | VISION | PASSION | EXCELLENCE | RESPECT
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PhilipSt
July 21, 2016
Hi Vic, The problem we have is that once a User has changed the commit date, that's the date the User sees, not the Planned Date. So, there is the very real possibility of the PM expecting completion on one date, and the User working to a different timeline. Now, the PM can accept that new date (then it becomes the new Planned Date), but if your project is getting a lot of updates, it's easy to miss... Best to have the opportunity to disable the Commit Date at least .. Cheers, Phil
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EricLu2
July 21, 2016
Hi: Commit Date functionality would be fine if it were not linked to Planned date in any way. Presenting it as the due date to users is what generates all the confusion for us. As far as we are concerned, the Planned Date is the date the deliverable is due. The commit date is not necessarily related, from a business perspective, to that planned date. I don’t like how WorkFront software has logic that relates, or changes behavior, based on that Commit date. Good explanation, Phil. It really brings into specific relief the reason why we don’t like the Commit Dates. Thanks! Eric
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MichaelLaberge
July 21, 2016
Thanks, Doug! This sounds like a great workaround and something that would work for us in the short term. I'm not familiar with UberCalc currently. Will definitely check back next week.
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