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Use of Estimating feature:  Why are estimates applied to summary tasks?

  • 1.  Use of Estimating feature:  Why are estimates applied to summary tasks?

    Posted Nov 05, 2015 11:56 AM

    Scenario:

     

    • Task A; 2 resources - 0 ETC
    • Summary Task - 0 ETC
      • Task B; 2 resources - 0 ETC
      • Task C: 0 resources - 0 ETC

    For project total of 0 ETC.

     

    Using Estimating from Project Properties tab, set ETC to 1000.  Expect to see:

     

    • Task A; 2 resources - 500 ETC
    • Summary Task - 500 ETC
      • Task B; 2 resources - 500 ETC
      • Task C: 0 resources - 0 ETC

    For project total of 1000 ETC.  (no resources on summary task, so it is just a summary of Task B)

     

    Actually see:

     

    • Task A; 2 resources - 500 ETC
    • Summary Task - 250 ETC
      • Task B; 2 resources - 250 ETC
      • Task C: 0 resources - 0 ETC

    For project total of 750 ETC.

     

    Appears that during the estimating process, new ETC is divided between all tasks with resources assigned AND summary task where child task has resources assigned.

     

    On CA PPM 14.2.0.237 05 12.

     

    Have not used this feature before, so, can't say that it ever worked differently.  Behavior appears to be inconsistent with documentation which states:

     

    Apply New ETC Across Tasks

    You can apply estimates (ETC) across all tasks by editing and applying the ETC at the project level. Applying ETC at the project level distributes the ETC value across all the project tasks according to task duration, resource availability, and resource allocation. The current ETC assumes the new value.

     

    If their are no resources on the task on the task, one expects no ETC to be applied - even in my example, Task C has no resources and not ETC is applied, as expected - but the summary task, which has and cannot have resources assigned, is considered during the division of ETC.

     

    This cannot be the intended behavior - please agree!  Its simply unusable unless one outdents all tasks so that none are summary tasks, then apply the ETC, then indent the tasks back to where they should be.  This is not a realistic workaround.

     

    Dale



  • 2.  Re: Use of Estimating feature:  Why are estimates applied to summary tasks?

    Posted Nov 05, 2015 01:52 PM

    Also, Project Properties\Estimating page, when looking at Mode=Estimating rules, only tasks at highest level show up - any task indented under a summary task does not show up.  Summary tasks do not show up, either (thought that Top-down might mean estimates at summary level would be cascaded to underlying child tasks....).

     

    Have set rules up for a tasks to set ETC based on Project custom attribute value - changing the value ought to cause ETC to update - it doesn't - nothing happens.  If I manually apply the rule, then and only then, does it work.

     

    Wiki instructions might be useful if everything worked.  Right now, seems that significant portions of the feature don't work, making it useless.

     

    What am I missing?  Or is it really broken?

     

    Dale