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How to set up Projects with consideration to time zones and holidays

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I'm a new Group Admin setting up and configuring Workfront for my department. Our Sys Admin made us aware of schedules that were built for each time zone. These time zone schedules have built in exclusions for holidays. I'm trying to determine the pros and cons of using these schedules and where they should be set. It's been recommended to have each project owner set the schedule of their time zone they reside in but what happens to tasks that are assigned to people outside of that time zone? Are there other options worth exploring in setup which don't involve someone manually selecting a schedule for each project they build? The majority of people reside in FL but we work with people in CA and across the United States. 

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Correct answer by
Employee

Hi @DanaLa3

 

Thank you for your question! Schedules define the working hours and holidays for users, teams, and projects; Workfront uses them to calculate planned dates, duration, and task timelines. 

 

Pros:

  • If a project or user is tied to a specific time zone, having a schedule for that time zone ensures that work hours and holidays reflect their reality
  • Built-in holidays for the respective time zones avoid scheduling work on non-working days
  • Tasks will be scheduled during local working hours for users within the time zone

 

Cons:

  • If a project schedule is set to one time zone, tasks assigned to users outside that time zone may not align with their working hours (example: a task scheduled for 9:00am EST might be 6:00 AM for a user in CA, which could lead to confusion or unrealistic deadlines) 
  • Requiring project owners to select a schedule manually adds administrative overhead and increases the likelihood of errors or inconsistencies

 

Our article below covers a few tips and tricks for working with different timezones:

https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/workfront/using/basics/tips-tricks-for-basics/working-acr...

 

To answer your question, if a task is assigned to someone in a different timezone and they don't have a user schedule configured, Workfront respects the project schedule. The planned start and end dates are based on the project’s time zone. The task’s time stamps will display differently depending on the user’s time zone, but the deadlines will remain consistent relative to the project’s time zone. This can lead to potential mismatches if users in other time zones are expected to work outside their normal hours.

 

- Monica

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2 Replies

Avatar

Correct answer by
Employee

Hi @DanaLa3

 

Thank you for your question! Schedules define the working hours and holidays for users, teams, and projects; Workfront uses them to calculate planned dates, duration, and task timelines. 

 

Pros:

  • If a project or user is tied to a specific time zone, having a schedule for that time zone ensures that work hours and holidays reflect their reality
  • Built-in holidays for the respective time zones avoid scheduling work on non-working days
  • Tasks will be scheduled during local working hours for users within the time zone

 

Cons:

  • If a project schedule is set to one time zone, tasks assigned to users outside that time zone may not align with their working hours (example: a task scheduled for 9:00am EST might be 6:00 AM for a user in CA, which could lead to confusion or unrealistic deadlines) 
  • Requiring project owners to select a schedule manually adds administrative overhead and increases the likelihood of errors or inconsistencies

 

Our article below covers a few tips and tricks for working with different timezones:

https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/workfront/using/basics/tips-tricks-for-basics/working-acr...

 

To answer your question, if a task is assigned to someone in a different timezone and they don't have a user schedule configured, Workfront respects the project schedule. The planned start and end dates are based on the project’s time zone. The task’s time stamps will display differently depending on the user’s time zone, but the deadlines will remain consistent relative to the project’s time zone. This can lead to potential mismatches if users in other time zones are expected to work outside their normal hours.

 

- Monica

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Level 1

Thanks so much. I appreciate all of the detail you provided.