If you are utilizing Microsoft Project and face an end date discrepancy, you may need to utilize the 'Update Project' tool in Microsoft Project
While delays in tasks are inevitable in any project, it's essential to make adjustments to keep the project on track and reschedule the remaining work. Why? Because the assigned resource can no longer complete those tasks on the originally planned date. Without making these adjustments, the resource risks becoming overloaded by needing to complete both the unfinished work and the new assignments scheduled for the same period.
The first step is to shift the scheduled dates for all incomplete tasks to a date beyond the status date, which represents the end of the last reporting period. This becomes the earliest possible date the work can be completed. The status date in MPP is the same as the data date in SmartPM. Your status date and data date in SmartPM should match.
- To do this, navigate to the Project ribbon > Status section > Update Project button. This opens the Update Project dialog.
- In the dialog, select the second option, "Reschedule uncompleted work to start after," and set the date field to the current status date. Then, ensure the "Entire project" radio button is selected and press OK.
This will move all tasks with uncompleted work to start (or continue, if any actual work has been recorded) after the current status date. Change highlighting will show the full scope of adjustments made to the project schedule. As a result, incomplete tasks will move forward along with any dependent tasks, and in some cases, this may lead to resource over-allocations as the work is rescheduled.
After performing the 'Update Project' function, you will want to compare the end date for your project/key milestone in the Microsoft project to the scheduled end date in SmartPM. If the end dates do match, you will want to export your newly updated MP file and re-upload to SmartPM.
Rescheduling lingering uncompleted tasks is a simple but impactful feature in Microsoft Project. Using it ensures that your schedule accurately reflects the remaining work needed to complete the project. We recommend incorporating this step into your weekly status updates to minimize the manual effort of moving work forward.
If you are still having a date discrepancy after performing the 'Update Project' function, please contact SmartPM Support: support@smartpmtech.com