Update Project End Date if Tasks Finish Early

Bill H

I have a project with multiple sets of activities grouped by "area". I'm using dependencies to determine the start/finish dates of tasks throughout. I have a milestone at the end to give me the "finish" date (essentially "when all prior tasks completed").

Some of the tasks later in the project can be completed early, but updating them to 100% doesn't change the indicated end date. But if those tasks finish early, it means there's less work remaining, hence the project will finish early.

What's the best way to have the projected end date automatically update when tasks finish early and thereby reduce the work remaining?

Kleerfyre

I would recommend using planned and actual dates to track this correctly. You could use an automation that when the %complete is marked 100%, record the date it is recorded in the actual end date column.

Bill H

@kleerefyre thanks for the suggestion. I had thoughts along those lines but wasn't sure if there was a pre-defined way of handling this. If I go this way, what are your thoughts on best practice for how to determine the projected end date? Currently I just have a milestone "work complete" set as with the hierarchy of groups of tasks as a dependency (so it gives me the projected completion date). My goal is to be able to see the impact on the projected end date as tasks are completed early.