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Activity General Details

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If you have the required privilege, you can add or edit General activity details by typing or choosing information in the necessary fields.

Using the Details Form in a portlet, click Edit General Information to add or modify details.

When finished editing, click Save to update the activity in the project management database.

Field Definitions

General section
Activity ID
The identifying code for the activity, which can contain up to 10 characters and must be unique within the project.
 
Activity Name
The activity name, which can contain up to 120 characters, does not have to be unique.
 
WBS
The selected activity's assigned work breakdown structure (WBS) element. To select a new WBS, click .
 
Milestone
Indicates if the activity is a project milestone.
 
Calendar
The selected activity's calendar.

To select a new calendar, click .

Primary Resource
The name of the selected activity's primary resource. Typically, the primary resource is the person responsible for the work on the activity and for reporting activity status.

To select a new primary resource, click . The list of resources you can select from includes only resources you have access to, based on resource security, and current project resources.

Activity Type
The activity type determines how the activity's schedule is calculated.

Task Dependent - Scheduled according to the activity’s calendar, rather than the calendars of assigned resources.

Resource Dependent - Scheduled according to the calendars of assigned resources. Use this activity type when the activity duration may be affected by resource availability.

Start Milestone - A zero-duration activity with no resources.

Finish Milestone - A zero-duration activity with no resources.

Level of Effort - An activity that has a duration determined by its dependent activities. Administrative activities are typically Level of Effort.

WBS Summary - An activity type used to roll up date, duration, and percent complete values for a group of activities that share a common WBS code level.  Click here for more information about WBS summary activity.

Duration Type
Duration type determines how remaining duration, units, and units/time are calculated when you update an activity that has resources assigned. The activity's duration type should correspond to the factor that is least flexible in the project: schedule, costs/work effort, or resource availability. Choices are:

Fixed Units/Time - Used when resource availability is a limiting factor, that is, the activity has fixed resources with fixed productivity output per time period. When the activity duration or units are changed, resource units per time remain constant. This duration type is typically used for resource dependent activities.

Fixed Units - Used when costs/work effort is a limiting factor. Use this duration type when the total amount of work (costs or units) is fixed, and increasing resources can decrease the duration. In this case, if you update the duration or units/time, the units remain constant.

Fixed Duration & Units/Time or Fixed Duration & Units - Used when schedule is a limiting factor. These duration types are typically used for task dependent activities, which are activities whose duration remains constant regardless of the number of resources assigned. Choose between these two fixed duration types by deciding whether you want remaining units or units/time to remain constant.

For Fixed Duration & Units/Time, the duration and units/time remain constant as the units are changed. Use this duration type when the activity must be completed within a fixed time period and the resource availability is fixed.

For Fixed Duration & Units, the duration and units remain constant as the units/time are changed. Use this duration type when the activity must be completed within a fixed time period and the total amount of work is fixed.

Percent Complete Type
Determines how an activity's percent complete is calculated. Choose a percent complete type that represents how activity progress can be most accurately reported. Choices are:

Duration - Used when progress for the activity can best be reported based on original or planned work days and scheduled work days remaining.

Units - Used when actual work effort accomplished and actual work effort remaining can be used to accurately represent progress for the activity.

Physical - Used for activities whose progress can most accurately be assessed based on physical inspection or personal judgment or when using weighted steps to assess the progress on an activity.

Auto Compute Actuals
When this option is selected, progress for the activity is computed automatically. Actual start, actual, activity percent complete, and remaining duration are calculated based on the start of the activity and the current data date. Actual and remaining units are calculated based on the budgeted or planned units and the activity percent complete.

Caution: If you choose the Auto Compute Actuals option for an activity, actual and remaining units/costs are automatically updated for all of the activity's resources. If you do not want to automatically update progress for all of an activity's resource assignments, turn off the Auto Compute Actuals option for the activity and turn this option on for the specific resources you want to update automatically. To turn on the Auto Compute Actuals option for individual resources, you must have access to the features available through the Resources menu.

Activity Dates and Duration
Started
Indicates if the activity has started and displays the start date. Once an activity is in progress, the letter A appears in the date field to indicate that it represents an actual start date.
 
Finished
Indicates if the activity has finished and displays the finish date. Once an activity has finished, the letter A appears in the date field to indicate that it represents an actual finish date.
 
Remaining Duration
The remaining number of work periods needed to complete the selected activity. Calculated as Remaining Finish Date - Remaining Start Date.
 
Total Duration
Calculated as the activity's actual duration plus remaining duration.
 
Percent Complete
The status of the activity, calculated based on the percent complete type.

If the selected activity's percent complete type is set to Duration, Duration Percent is calculated from the original or planned and remaining duration: Duration % Complete = ( Original or Planned Duration – Remaining Duration)/ Original or Planned Duration.

If the selected activity's percent complete type is set to Units, Units Percent is calculated from the actual and remaining units: Units % Complete = (Actual Labor Units + Actual Nonlabor Units)/(Actual Labor Units + Actual Nonlabor Units +Remaining Labor Units + Remaining Nonlabor Units).

If the selected activity's percent complete type is set to Physical, Physical Percent is recorded manually.

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