I am still quite a newbie here with Workfront but I wanted to point out a concept that many new users (including project managers) are having a hard time grasping.
That is the simple, but all important, task. Let's just take a newbie new, I feel like sometimes this is their experience:
1. Okay I need to add 4 tasks on this new project. Clicks on Add Task, puts in the description and done. Easily adds 3 other tasks below that - boom! (mood: excited)
Task 1 - Gather specs info | 1 Days | 0 Hours | Start On 2/6/17 | Due On 2/6/17
Task 2 - Draft specs doc | 1 Days | 0 Hours | Start On 2/6/17 | Due On 2/6/17
Task 3 - Get specs feedback | 1 Days | 0 Hours | Start On 2/6/17 | Due On 2/6/17
Task 4 - Finalize specs doc | 1 Days | 0 Hours | Start On 2/6/17 | Due On 2/6/17
(all tasks are default Calculated Assignment & As Soon As Possible)
2. Neat it auto calculated the end date! But this will take longer than 1 day so I better add Hrs to each task. Each will take about 4 Hrs so I'll add to all 4 tasks. (mood: excited)
All Tasks 1-4 | 1 Days | 4 Hours | Start On 2/6/17 | Due On 2/6/17
Okay I refreshed and it still only says it will take 1 Day even though I have 16 hours of work in Hrs. (mood: confused ) > Often new users don't understand if each task duration is 1 day (meaning 4 days total) or if they all take 1 day total (impossible when think about 4 tasks x 4 hours)
3. I'll just try and just change the due date to what my deadline is for Task 3 (2/8/17).
Oh that didn't work! (mood: worried). Why did it change the date back and give this error: "[task] has a constraint date of 2/8/17, which is after the completion date of the 2/6/17 planned completion. Please adjust the date accordingly."
4. It seems like that error says I need to change the completion date to after 2/8 (which makes sense). But isn't this supposed to auto-calculate the due date so I don't have to enter it in manually? (mood: confused, unsure )
5. Okay I know this project has to be done by 2/9/17 so I'll change go to Edit Project > Planned Completion. Done. What what happen? Now all due dates are on 2/9.
All Tasks 1-4 | 1 Days | 4 Hours | Start On 2/6/17 | Due On 2/9/17
6. Okay let's try changing that Task 3 to Due 2/8/17 because that's it's deadline. What happen? I just changed Task 3 due date and they all changed to 2/8/17 now. (mood: frustrated )
All Tasks 1-4 | 1 Days | 4 Hours | Start On 2/6/17 | Due On 2/8/17 Project Planned Completion | 2/9/17
7. This is still not right as the work takes 2 days (4hrs x 4) but it says Planned Completion 2/9/17 which is 1 day. Grrr. Since that Due date can't be used for deadlines I'll change all tasks Durations to 0.5 days so they match the Pln Hrs to fix it. Oh I can't do that in Tasks > Edit because it's Calculated. I can only change Pln Hrs - which are correct. (mood: frustrated and stuck ) > Users often try to change the Due On date to a Deadline and it's distrusting when that doesn't work for them. Also, they are not used to knowing thinking about Start On dates because they are always in flux.
8. I just need to put a deadline on Task 3 for 2/9 and make sure Task 4 is done by the project deadline of 2/20/17. Why is this so difficult? (mood: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
9. Wait let's see what happens if I change Tasks > Edit > Task Constraint > Fixed Dates
Nope just got that error because the project completion date is still 2/9/17. Hmmmmm... Oh lets fix the Completion date to 2/10/17 like the deadline and try again. That worked! Woohoo:
Task 3 - Get specs feedback | 2 Days | 4 Hours | Start On 2/8/17 | Due On 2/9/17
Task 4 - Finalize specs doc | 1 Days | 4 Hours | Start On 2/8/17 | Due On 2/8/17 Project Planned Completion (manual edit) | 2/10/17
10. Now it says 2 Days duration for Task 3 that's confustion because it only takes 4 hours. (mood: ,confused ) Hey wait why is the start date for tasks 2/8 not 2/6 (today)?. Oh it looks like it automatically change from Schedule From : Project Started to Schedule From : Project Completed I hope that doesn't mess anything up (mood: unsure , confused ).
11. Okay I'm just going to set all tasks to Duration to Simple and Constrain to Fixed Date except Task 3 which will be No Later than 2/9
This can cause issues with Templates etc. Anyway just throwing this out there as a possible new user experience.