Plan H

Plan V

Use this page to Organize Plans with Projects.

To access this page:

  1. Click Track > Project in Navigation pane.
  2. Click Plans.

Plan V

Plan H

Use this page to Organize Projects with Plans.

This page has the following tabs:

General tab

Field

Description

Name

Displays the plan name.

Require Comment

Displays an option to indicate if users are required to enter a comment when finishing a task after the planned finish date. Users finish a task by clicking Next Action on the Work List when a task status is In Progress. Values are:

  • Inherit – The Require Comment setting is inherited from the most granular level in the hierarchy. If the Require Comment setting is set to[None], Inherit is used by default. The requirement hierarchy’s most granular level is task, followed by tag, plan and parameter.
    Require Comment settings set at the task level override those set at any other level. If a task’s Require Comment setting is set to[None]or Inherit, the task’s Require Comment setting is inherited from the tag level (provided the tag level does not also have a Require Comment setting of[None]or Inherit). If the tag level has a Require Comment setting of Inherit or[None], Require Comment settings are then inherited at the plan level (provided the plan level does not also have a Require Comment setting of[None]or Inherit), and so on.
    For example, the Require Comment list box has been set to[None]at the parameter level. At the plan level, it has been set to Inherit. At the tag level, the Require Comment list box is set to Yes. At the task level, Task A in the Plan has a Require Comment setting of Inherit. Task B in the plan has a Require Comment setting of No. In this scenario, Task A would have a Require Comment setting of Yes. Task B would have a Require Comment setting of No. 
  • Yes – This task will require a comment when the user clicks Next Action on the Work List after the planned finish date.
  • No – This task will not require a comment when the user clicks Next Action on the Work List after the planned finish date.

Require Late Comment

Displays an option to indicate if users are required to enter a late comment when finishing a task after the planned finish date. Users finish a task by clicking Next Action on the Work List when a task status is In Progress. Values are:

  • Inherit – The Require Late Comment setting is inherited from the most granular level in the hierarchy. If the Require Late Comment setting is set to[None], Inherit is used by default. The requirement hierarchy’s most granular level is task, followed by tag, plan and parameter.
    Require Late Comment settings set at the task level override those set at any other level. If a task’s Require Late Comment setting is set to[None]or Inherit, the task’s Require Late Comment setting is inherited from the tag level (provided the tag level does not also have a Require Late Comment setting of[None]or Inherit). If the tag level has a Require Late Comment setting of Inherit or[None], Require Late Comment settings are then inherited at the plan level (provided the plan level does not also have a Require Late Comment setting of[None]or Inherit), and so on.
    For example, the Require Late Comment list box has been set to[None]at the parameter level. At the plan level, it has been set to Inherit. At the tag level, the Require Late Comment list box is set to Yes. At the task level, Task A in the Plan has a Require Late Comment setting of Inherit. Task B in the plan has a Require Late Comment setting of No. In this scenario, Task A would have a Require Late Comment setting of Yes. Task B would have a Require Late Comment setting of No. 
  • Yes – This task will require a late comment when the user clicks Next Action on the Work List after the planned finish date.
  • No – This task will not require a late comment when the user clicks Next Action on the Work List after the planned finish date.

Default Calendar

Displays the calendar used for the schedule status calculations for the selected plan. Refer to Use a Calendar for more information.

Attachments

Click to open the Attachments page to upload files and to download and view files that have been uploaded. Refer to Upload Files for a Plan, Task or Work List Item for more information.

Audit Information

Planned Start Date

Displays the earliest start date of all tasks in the plan according to the project schedule.

Planned Finish Date

Displays the latest finish date of all tasks in the plan according to the project schedule.

Actual Start Date

Displays the earliest date work on all tasks began in the plan. Work begins for a task when the user clicks Next Action on the Work List for a task that is in Ready status.

The Actual Start Date may differ from the Planned Start Date.

Work on a task starts when a user clicks Next Action on the Work List when a task is in Ready or Waiting on Dependency status.

Actual Finish Date

Displays the latest date work on all tasks completed in the plan.

The Actual Finish Date may differ from the Planned Finish Date.

Work on a task finishes when a user clicks Next Action on the Work List when a task is in a status of In Progress.

Plan tab

Use this tab to:

Field

Description

Plan File Type

Displays the type of file imported into dspTrack™ to create the plan. Values are MSProject 2012 and Excel 2007.

NOTE: Before a file can be imported:

  • A Plan File Type option must be selected
  • The Plan File Type selected must correspond to the file type of the file being imported.

Refer to Import a Project File into dspTrack™ for more information.

Plan Actions

Upload

Click to upload a file to import into a plan or click the download icon to download a project file while exporting a file.

Prior to import, the file type must be selected in the Project File Type list box on the General tab. Refer to Import a File into dspTrack™ for more information.

Import

Click to import an uploaded file into dspTrack™.

Refer to Import a File into dspTrack™ for more information.

Deactivate/Activate Plan

Click to activate or deactivate a plan, The label for this field displays Activate or Deactivate according to the plan’s current state. The tasks in an active plan display on the Work List and work on these tasks can be tracked. Tasks in an inactive plan do not display on the Work List and work on these tasks cannot be tracked.

Refer to Activate and Deactivate a Plan for more information.

Calculate

Click to recalculate the Critical Path for the plan, taking into account the current Critical Path of the project in MSProject.

NOTE: This feature is available for plans based on MSProject files only. If the Project File Type is Excel 2007, this icon is disabled.

NOTE: This button is disabled if:

  • No tasks have been added to the plan
  • The tasks in this plan were added using an Excel import.

NOTE: If a project was created in dspTrack and is to be exported, it must be exported before the critical path has been calculated (i.e., before the Calculate icon is clicked on the Plan tab of the Plan page’s Vertical View).

Export

Click to export the plan into an Excel file or an MSProject file. Refer to Export a Project File for more information.

Status Configuration tab

Use this tab to Set Parameters for Schedule Status Calculation.

Field

Description

Schedule Status Outlook ID

Displays an option indicating whether any task’s schedule status in the plan can improve or cannot improve. Values are:

  • Optimistic – A task’s schedule status can improve. For example, a task passes the Post-Start Warn threshold and its schedule status icon is red. Work on the task begins. The schedule status icon for the task changes to green.
  • Pessimistic – A task’s schedule status cannot improve. The schedule status either does not change or become worse. For example, if work on a task has not started and the Pre Start Warn threshold has passed, the schedule status icon for that task is yellow. Depending on how work proceeds on the task, the task’s scheduled status icon remains yellow or changes to red, but will never be green, even if the task is back on schedule.

Warning Thresholds (%)

Pre Start

Displays a value that represents a percentage calculation. If work has not started on a task (the task is in Ready or Waiting on Dependency status), the Pre Start Warn Threshold sets the point in time prior to the planned start date that the task’s schedule status is behind and its Schedule Status icon is yellow.

Refer to Set Parameters for Schedule Status Calculation for more information.

Post Start

Displays a value that represents a percentage calculation. If work on the task has not started, the Post Start Warn Threshold sets the point in time after the planned start date that the task’s schedule status is late and its Schedule Status icon is red.

Refer to Set Parameters for Schedule Status Calculation for more information.

Pre End

Displays a value that represents a percentage calculation.

If work has started on a task (the task is in In Progress status), the Pre End Warn Threshold sets the point in time prior to the planned finish date that the task’s schedule status is behind and its Schedule Status icon is yellow.

Refer to Set Parameters for Schedule Status Calculation for more information.

Post End

Displays a value that represents a percentage calculation.

If work on the task has started (the task is in In Progress status), the Post End Warn Threshold sets the point in time after the planned finish date that the task’s schedule status is late and its Schedule Status icon is red.

Refer to Set Parameters for Schedule Status Calculation for more information.

Additional Information tab

Security tab
Field Description
Setup Click to open the Plan Access Setup page to grant users permission to make updates to the plan or to restrict users to read only access. Refer to Set Plan Security for more information.
Register Unregistered Users Click to open the Plan User Registration page to register users who were imported into dspTrack™ along with a project file, but who do not have user accounts in the platform. Refer to Register Unregistered Users Imported into dspTrack™ for more information.

Archive tab

Use this page to Archive a Plan.
Field Description
Last Archived On Displays the last archived date (i.e., the last time the user in the Last Archived By field clicked Create New Archive).
Last Archived By Displays the user ID of the last user who clicked Create New Archive.
Create New Archive Click to create an archive. dspTrack™ stores a copy of that plan and the date the archive was saved in an archive table, and the data can then be used as the basis for reports.