Project Templates based on Planned Completion Date

[TamBo64]

Greetings! We're new to using the project templates within Workfront but have had step-by-step task-based cycle time templates in use for years in other systems. We know what the dates should come out to and that they are not. Sometimes the timing is off by days, a week. Other times a single tasks or parent/child family will be off by a full month or more. Plus with the job in Planning and the deadline and tasks in the future the Projected Completion dates are also way off. Tried building as a template. Applying to a test Project, Saving as Template once 'fixed'. Applying to new test or live jobs with no success, yet . Project Info: Schedule from Completion Date Status Planning (for now) Condition Type; Progress Status Using Milestone Path and Milestones Includes Parent / Child tasks Last task only Must Finish On All other tasks ASAP (tried other options including all ALAP, others constraints, and a mix of constraints) Settings: Tasks Info: Status New Duration Type Simple Constraint -- tried many options though from other resources it seems ASAP is best with Completion Date or Must Finish On scenario. Tracking Mode - User Must Update ('side question' : should we change this to Predecessor?) I can upload examples if needed though I am frequently amazed at the great answers submitted without any visuals to reference. Tammie Bouchard National Safety Council

[JillAc]

The only thing I can think is that the Marketing Schedule in the Setup is not including weekends and holidays in the work week, and your Duration number of days are counting weekends. Those two things have to match.

[TamBo64]

Jill, thank you, appreciate your response. In our case, Marketing Schedule has accounted for weekends, holidays and a lunch break; forgot to include that in my post. Tammie Bouchard National Safety Council

[KatherineHa1]

I'd create a view that shows the Planned Start and End TIME for each task, sometimes you can then see where things get pushed. I am not familiar with the Tracking Mode option?? But we do use predecessors to drive our schedules. Katherine Haven, PMP VP, Director, Business Technologies - PMO FCB

[JillAc]

Can you post a screen shot of a section of a sample project that shows duration, predecessors, planned start, planned completion, constraint? That might help.

[JillAc]

That's a good point, the TIME of your final Must Finish On can mess with due dates. I always make that final due date in the Project "Must Finish On" at 5:00PM. " (I also work from Completion, contrary to popular opinion on best practices on this board �� ). I do struggle with working toward a Completion Date when a project is in progress, but at the beginning of setting up a new project, it works really nicely, once you start to figure out how it thinks.

[TamBo64]

This is an example. Each time I think it's figured out and solved the issue pops up again. The schedules where it is the biggest problem are our direct mail which has certain task dates that must equate to other production schedules provided by the vendor. Our pre-Workfront schedules were able to accommodate that but trying to build the same in Workfront has been tricky. Tammie Bouchard National Safety Council

[TamBo64]

I've made some manipulations to get certain dates where I need them to be. FYI only, the manipulated fields are not the fields requiring the specific dates corresponding to vendor's schedule but had a big effect on where those other dates land. Tammie Bouchard National Safety Council

[JillAc]

It looks like now it's working properly? One thing that helps me is to use the icons that show "critical path" so I can trace backwards all the tasks that lead to the final Must Finish On. Jill Ackerman