How can you have a template automatically scale based on timeframe? IE a template set to 9 months can automatically reduce to 5 months.

[RebeccaWe]

I have a template that maps a project 9 months out. Often times, we end up not kicking off a project until 5 months out.

When this happens, I go in and manually adjust the timeline so that the durations are evenly reduced and distributed. Is there a way that the template can automatically do this?

Right now the template is set up as a "start from" but I have a fixed deadline that all my tasks work back from. So, if I use my 9 month template but my timeframe is only 5 months, it just has the first third of my tasks all overlapping and due at the same time.

Thanks in advance!

[JillAc]

This wins question of the month. Following to see if anybody has a clever answer.

[Doug_Den_Hoed__AtAppStore]

I'll bite, Jill: my answer is No.

But.

Although there is no native way to compress a schedule within Workfront as such, there are some workarounds that might be close enough:

• consider changing your Projects (and Templates) to be Planned From Completion Date and work backwards
• consider keeping your Projects (and Templates) as Planned From Start Date, but Get A Handle on them
• consider creating different schedules (e.g. if "8hrs/day" is your standard, create more aggressive ones such as "10hrs/day", "12hrs/day", "24hrs/day", etc.) and -- upon Project Creation, where the timeline simply Doesn't Fit, apply one of the latter as the Project Schedule, then recalc timeline -- effectively compressing the schedule -- and check again until you find a schedule that Does Fit...then (of course) figure out how to staff those hours with extra folks and/or overtime, accordingly
• finally (if doing so warrants the effort in time folks would then save adjusting projects), consider creating multiple copies of a standard Template (e.g. "Something that takes 9 months" to "Something in 8 months", "Something in 7 months", etc.) and adjust the templates where possible so that each copied template then fits its overall duration, and teach people how to then choose whichever template could still hit the available due date, when the Project is initially created

Regards,

Doug