task actual durations

Hi All,

Next month we're going to be conducting a review of some of our templates to determine if they need adjustments before we start launching our 2023-release projects.

I created a report that shows task Planned Duration, Actual Duration, and a calculated field showing the difference (in week days) between the Planned Start Date and Actual Completion Date.  When running my report, I noticed something curious with the Actual Duration data.

For example, I've got a task with a Planned Start Date of 1/20/22, a Planned Completion Date of 2/3/22, and an Actual Completion Date of 2/16/22.  The Planned Duration is 10 days, and my calculated field yields 19 days.  However, the Actual Duration shows 0 days.  When I take a look at the task details, the Actual Start Date and Actual Completion Date show identical date/time values.

Is this because the user simply marked the task complete without any additional steps?  Does the user have to click on Work On It to start the clock prior to completing the task in order for the Actual Duration field to reflect meaningful data?

Thanks.