I'm looking for options to track my tasks that go beyond my baseline date. I don't want to simply update the baseline date because I won't know how far behind they are. Is the only option to create another column for actual completion date?
To my understanding there is no option in SmSh to freeze a reference plan or a one-time situation.
Therefore the best is indeed to store reference dates in specific columns, which unfolds other benefits.
Rather keep actual dates (to be updated) as Gantt dependencies, hence the added column would shelter your baseline (and it is suggested you lock it ). You could be interested in another new column calculating delta between baseline and actual ... and set up conditional formatting to alert if delays becomes to large.
Although not exactly what you hoped for, i hope it opens you to your own solutions.
I appreciate the feedback. Might be a good idea for future SmSh versions to include tracking of tasks behind schedule automatically.
I agree that i could add in a column for the delta and then place a conditional format against the column but since I have to constantly update the new column with an updated date, i know how far behind schedule it is.
Thanks again!!
@Charles: That's a great idea. Any ideas about to show the difference between a baseline date and an actual date graphically?
Ellen
I would suggest that, once you've setup your "Delta" column calculating the difference between Actual and Baseline, you use the smartsheet lab for graphs
https://smartsheetlabs.com/smartsheetcharts
Thanks Charles! I din't even know that existed!
I have been using the formula to subtract expected completion date (column G) from today's date. Anything positive is behind schedule and triggers alerts to responsible parties. It isn't the cleanest option but works for our projects.
=today()-g2
