Collecting Earned Value Metrics (Team Member)

As you perform the tasks in your project plan, you will find earned value to be the most important means of gauging your progress. Earned value can tell you if you are ahead or behind schedule, whether work is taking more or less time than expected, and even whether you are projected to finish on time. To calculate earned value, the dashboard needs to know the actual amount of time you spend on each task, as well as the date each task is completed. The dashboard makes it easy to collect this information.

The instructions below provide a quick introduction to several of the most common features you will use on a team project. Much more information is available elsewhere in the online help.

As you work, use the active task selector on the dashboard to designate the task you are currently performing.

For convenience, you can choose to work through the tasks that have been assigned to you for this project. Click the double-left-arrow that appears to the left of the active task name, choose "Tasks Lists," and select the earned value task list you're using for this team project. Then, the active task selector will show you the tasks you need to perform, listed in chronological order as they appear in your task list. (To change the chronological order of these tasks, see the discussion of "Flat View" in the Managing Your Personal Earned Value Schedule help topic.)

Use the Play/Pause button to start/stop an internal timer. When you begin working, start the timer. When you are interrupted or you stop for the day, stop the timer.

There is a small down-arrow to the right of the play/pause button. Clicking this down-arrow will display a menu of tasks to which you have logged time recently. You can make a selection from this list to quickly resume a recently interrupted task.

If you make a mistake when logging time (for example, if you forget to start or stop the timer), you can correct the mistake with the Time Log Editor. To open the Time Log Editor, choose Time Log from the menu.

The task note indicator appears to the right of the hierarchy menus. Click this icon to read and edit notes about the components and tasks assigned to you. You can enter or edit notes about the tasks in your plan, but be aware that these notes will be seen and shared with the entire team.

When you select a task that has a dependency, an icon will appear to the right of the note indicator. This icon tells you whether the task depends upon other tasks, whether those other tasks are completed, and much more information. Place your mouse over the icon for more detailed information about the dependency. For more information about this feature, see the Task Dependencies help topic.

When you complete a task, mark it complete by checking the box at the far right hand side of the dashboard window. If you mark a task complete by mistake, you can clear the checkbox to mark it incomplete.

Checking the box will mark the current task complete as of the current date and time. If a task was completed in the past but you forgot to mark it complete, press the Ctrl key while you check the box. This will display a window allowing you to select the correct completion date.