I have a resource with work hours - 20 hrs for 2.5 d task [task is Fixed Unit, Effort Driven], I want when I update my Resource Actual hours as 10 hrs it may or may not imply that 50% of the work is completed. I don't want to track it through Physical % Complete.

I just want that PM enters Actual Work Hrs & % Complete based on Status not an automated Calculation. 

Hello,

Go to Tools -> Options -> Calculations -> First Checkbox - Updating tasks Status updates Resource Status. Uncheck this.

When this check box is cleared, you can enter values in the Actual Work field for resources but the % Complete doesn't gets updated unless you go and update appropriate %.

As you stated that a task of 20hrs is 10 hrs complete in this case the project will not automatically mark % complete as 50. Now you have liberty to update Actual % Complete too.

Whether this check box is selected or cleared, once a task % is made 100 percent complete, work on assignments is also marked complete. But filling in entire 20 hrs for above won't make task 100%

Hope this clarifies. You can refer to MS Project help file for more information on this option.

Be very careful to establish a simple, clear tracking and updating procedure. If it feels hard, or produces nonsense, or does not make sense, then you are doing it wrong.

Here is a hint about updating.

The 3rd button on the Tracking Toolbar says in the tooltip that it is "reschedule work" but actually it is "reschedule duration". This is obvious because it works the same even if there is no resource assigned and no work. It is just a small mis-label. And of course it does also, but indirectly, "reschedule work" to the future, relative to the Status Date. If you have planned duration in the past, then you have not yet finished updating the task, if not made a mistake.

Similarly, just as you can not have planned duration (or planned work, or planned cost) in the past, relative to the Status Date, you cannot have progress in the future, relative to the Status Date. If you do have progress in the future then you have probably made a mistake.

The typical mistake, although there are other ways, is typing in more % complete than is the max possible given that the task actual start is not early enough. For example, if the Status Date is at what was planned to be the end of the 6th day of a 10 day task, and if the task actually started 6 days ago and there have been 6 days of actual duration (all of these actuals are in fields in the Tracking Table), you cannot type in 80% Complete because this would be like saying there has been 8 days of actual duration out of 10 days total duration, and 2 of those actual days are in the future,relative to the Status Date. It is impossible for a task which started 6 days ago to have more than 6 days of actual duration. It may have fewer than 6 days of actual duration, which will leave planned duration in the past, relative to the Status Date, and this must be rescheduled.

MSP allows both planned duration in the past, relative to the Status Date, and progress in the future, relative to the Status Date.

However, for your plan to make sense after updating it must not show either of them. For tasks which have actually started but not yet finished as of the Status Date, all of the black progress lines on the blue and red bars in the Gantt View should line up along the Status Date.

Everything done must be to the left of the Status Date and everything planned must be to the right.

Hi ,   Welcome to this Microsoft Project forum:)   Further to the two excellent responses, I would suggest you leave Project to calculate the percentages.  Enter the Actual Work and then adjust the Remaining Work to meet your needs.    You might like to have a look at my free series for beginners on Microsoft Project in the TechTrax ezine, particularly #25 et seq on tracking, at this site: http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc  or this: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23
(Perhaps you'd care to rate the articles before leaving the site, :)  Thanks.)   FAQs, companion products and other useful Project information can be seen at this web address: <http://www.mvps.org/project/>   Hope this helps - please let us know how you get on :)   Mike Glen
MS Project MVP

• Proposed as answer by Sapna Shukla - Project MVPModerator Monday, January 24, 2011 2:14 PM

Can any one please tell how does this work in MS project 2010. I am trying it with a fixed duration and resource loaded task, but it is not working. Do we have to check.uncheck any other box in MS project 2010.