Manage Project Page

This page displays management information relating to a project.

General

A project enables you to organize issues into one or more milestones and schedule work, tracking it through to completion. The General tab contains basic information about the project.

Depending on your permissions, you may be able to update this information.

To make changes to a project’s details:

Make the changes you desire, then click the Apply button.

To abandon changes before you have applied them:

Click the Reset button. The fields will be restored to their previous values.

To manage the allocation of users’ time to this project:

Click the Manage User Allocation link that can be found on the top left of this tab.

Description of form fields

Project name	The name of the project.
Planned start date	The date when the project is expected to start, typically set by the project’s manager. Ketura will not attempt to schedule the users’ time to the project before this date, even if it has been allocated to the project.
Alternative for	If this project is inactive, it can be designated an alternative for another, primary, project. For more information, see Contingency planning with alternative projects.
Active	Checked if the project is active. Only tasks in current milestones of active projects will show up in users’ In progress and Pending lists.

Milestones

This tab shows the project’s milestones. Each milestone represents a significant point in a project’s life, and contains an ordered list of issues.

Depending on your permissions, you may be able to perform the actions below, as well as change the formatting of time using the Time tab of the System Settings page.

About current milestones

The current milestone is highlighted in yellow, as too are any preceding milestones, which are also considered to be current. Only issues and tasks from current milestones of active projects will appear in users’ In progress and Pending task lists. This behaviour allows project managers to control which issues from the project are worked upon, and helps to prevent users from becoming overwhelmed by having an entire project’s issues and tasks appear in their Pending task list at one time.

To view more information about a milestone:

Click the milestone’s name in the milestone table. The name is a link to the management page for the milestone.

To change the current milestone:

Choose the milestone that you wish to make current from the Current milestone drop-down list box.
Click the Set Current button.
The selected milestone, and any others that precede it, will be made current.

To create a new milestone:

Click the New… button.

To change the order of the project’s milestones:

Select one or more milestones in the table.
Click Move Up or Move Down to move the selected milestones up or down the table, relative to the unselected milestones.

To delete one or more milestones:

Select the milestone(s) to be deleted.
Click the Delete button.

Keeping projects on track

Various ways to keep projects on track are discussed in Ketura Tour Step 5: Keeping Projects On-Track. One way is to re-balance work by moving issues between milestones. Ketura makes this very easy, enabling you to preview the effects upon the project schedule of re-balancing before committing to the change.

To re-balance milestones by moving issues between them:

Select two or more milestones in the table.
Click the Re-balance… button.

Updating milestone desired end dates

Each milestone has a desired end date. This is simply used as a point in time against which a project manager can measure a milestone’s expected and planned completion dates. Usually, this is set by a project manager explicitly to a particular target date for the milestone to complete. However, it is sometimes helpful to be able to set the desired end date for a milestone to the expected end date (that is, the date on which Ketura predicts the milestone will be completed, based on expected work remaining).

To set the desired end date to the expected end date for one or more milestones

Select in the table the milestones whose desired end dates you wish to change.
Click the Set End Date button.
The desired end dates of the selected milestones will be set to the expected end dates.

Description of table columns

Name	The name of the milestone. This is a link to the milestone’s management page. If all of the issues in the milestone are complete (that is, in an inactive state), the milestone name is shown with a line through it.
Actual or Expected Start Date	The actual date on which work on the milestone’s issues’ tasks was started or, if work has not yet started, the expected start date calculated based upon the expected work remaining for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues. The expected date represents the expectations of those to whom outstanding tasks are assigned.
Desired End Date	The Desired end date specified for the milestone, as specified by the project’s manager on the General tab of the milestone. This provides a fixed reference point in time against which progress can be measured. Desired end dates are shown on Gantt charts by an orange diamond. The desired end date for the project as a whole is the desired end date for the last milestone in that project.
Actual or Expected End Date	The actual date on which work on the milestone’s issues’ tasks completed or, if work has not yet ended, the expected end date calculated based upon the expected work remaining for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues. The expected date represents the expectations of those to whom outstanding tasks are assigned.
End Date Variance	The difference (in days) between the Actual or Expected End Date and the Desired End Date. The percentage value is the percentage difference between the expected and desired duration (from start to end) of the milestone. The variance is shown in red if the scheduled date is later than the project manager expected, or green if it is earlier or the same as expected.
% Complete (Expected Work)	The ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the milestone’s work done to the expected total work (which is sum of the milestone’s work done + expected work remaining). This column displays the combined estimates from all milestone task assignees of the progress towards completing the milestone.
Issues Complete	The number of issues in the milestone the are complete (that is, in an inactive state), out of the total number of issues.
Selection	A checkbox that, when checked, selects the project. Selected projects are highlighted with a blue background. You can select all the projects in the current table page by clicking the checkbox in the column’s heading.

Gantt

This chart shows the expected and planned timing and duration of the milestones in the project.

Expected schedules are calculated based upon the expected work remaining for all the tasks in the milestone’s issues, and so indicates the expectations of the people to whom outstanding tasks are assigned. Planned schedules are based on planned work for all the tasks in the milestone’s issues, taking into account work done. Planned schedules therefore show the intentions of the project’s manager.

Because both expected and planned schedules are shown, it is very easy to see whether each milestone is broadly on-track. The desired end date of each milestone is also shown, indicated by a small orange diamond.

The start and end times in this table are recalculated each time the project is viewed, and will therefore always be up-to-date when you first visit a page.

Detail

The tables on this tab provide information about the project: how long it is likely to take, the quantity of work involved, and the cost of that work.

The quantity of information available about the project can be overwhelming, particularly for users new to Ketura, so by default a more restricted set of information is shown.

To change the amount of information shown for the project:

Choose More detail or Less detail from the Show drop-down list box.

About unassigned tasks

Some tasks in your project’s milestones’ issues might not yet be assigned to particular people. Because Ketura does not know the identity or availability of those who will be working on these tasks, this has two important consequences:

Ketura ignores unassigned tasks when calculating schedules. This can make the schedules less accurate than they otherwise might be. Ketura therefore shows a warning triangle against information that is potentially inaccurate due to ignored unassigned tasks.
Ketura ignores unassigned tasks when calculating costs.

The different types of information: desired, expected, planned, actual and baseline

The tables on this tab contain several different sorts of information:

Desired schedule information relates to the Desired end date specified for each of a project’s milestones by the project’s manager. The desired end date for a project is simply the desired end date for the last milestone in that project.
Expected information is calculated based upon the expected work remaining for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues, and so represents the expectations of those to whom outstanding tasks are assigned.
Planned information is calculated using the planned work for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues, taking into account work done. Planned information therefore indicates the intentions of the project’s manager.
Actual information indicates what has actually happened, based on users’ work journals.
Baseline information is simply the planned information, as it was at the date set on the tab for baseline comparisons (the date for baseline comparisons is only shown when More detail is selected). Ketura takes snapshots of certain project and milestone information at the end of each day so that it is able to provide baseline comparisons.

Date variances are shown in red if the scheduled date, work effort or cost is worse than the project manager expected, and green if equal to or better than expected.

Other factors affecting the schedule

Other than the amount of work remaining (planned or expected), project schedules are also affected by when users are available to do work, as determined by their availability and allocation calendars. This means that factors such as holidays and sickness, as well as the allocation of users’ time to various projects, is taken into account automatically.

The schedules of individual milestones also depend upon when the work in any preceding milestones is predicted to be completed. Schedule predictions will take into account whether Ketura has been told (on the General tab of the relevant Manage Milestone page) that users will start their work on the milestone together, when all the work on previous milestones has been completed, or separately, as soon as each user has completed his or her work on previous milestones.

To change the baseline comparison date:

Click the … button after the For baseline comparisons, use data from date entry field.
In the pop-up calendar that appears, click on the date that you wish to use as a baseline.
Or, you can manually enter the date.

Schedule

The schedule tables provide information about the timing of the project.

For a description of the meaning of the different types of information (desired, expected, planned, actual, baseline), see the main explanation for this tab above. Unassigned tasks are ignored when calculating schedules, again as explained above.

Description of table columns

Start Date	The dates on which the project was planned to start (planned), is expected to start (expected), has started (actual), or was planned to start as of the baseline date (baseline).
Completion Date	The dates on which the project is desired to end (desired), is expected to end (expected), has ended (actual), project was planned to end (planned), or was planned to end as of the baseline date (baseline).
Duration	The duration (in days) of the project (from start to end) as is desired (desired), is expected (expected), has happened (actual), was planned (planned), or was planned as of the baseline date (baseline).
Variance to Desired	The variance (expressed in days and as a percentage) of the actual, expected, planned, or baseline durations when compared to the desired duration. The variance is shown in red if the duration value is worse than desired, and green if equal to or better than desired.
Variance to Planned	The variance (expressed in days and as a percentage) of the actual or expected duration when compared to the desired duration.The variance is shown in red if the duration is longer than the project manager expected, or green if it is shorter or the same as expected.
Variance to Baseline	The variance (expressed in days and as a percentage) of the actual, expected, or planned durations when compared to the baseline duration. The variance is shown in red if the duration is longer than the project manager expected, or green if it is shorter or the same as expected.

Work effort

The work effort table provides information about the amount of work needed for the project.

For a description of the meaning of the different types of information (desired, expected, planned, actual, baseline), see the main explanation for this tab above.

Description of table columns

Work Done	The actual amount of work done on the project thus far, or the actual amount done on the project as of the baseline date.
Work Remaining	The amount of work remaining as actual (actual), expected (expected), planned (planned) or as was planned as of the baseline date (baseline).
Work Total	For the Actual or Expected row, this is simply the sum of Work Done + Work Remaining. For the Planned row, this is the total amount of planned work for all of the project’s milestones’ issues’ tasks. For the Baseline (Planned) row, this is the total amount of planned work for all of the project’s milestones’ issues’ tasks as of the baseline date.
% Complete	The ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the project’s work done to the expected total work (which is sum of work done + expected work remaining). This column displays the combined estimates from all project task assignees of the progress towards completing the project.
Variance to Planned	The variance as a duration and as a percentage of the actual or expected Work Total compared to the planned Work Total. The variance is shown in red if the duration is longer than the project manager expected, or green if it is shorter or the same as expected.
Variance to Baseline	The variance as a duration and as a percentage of the actual or expected, and planned, Work Total when compared to the planned Work Total as of the baseline date. The variance is shown in red if the duration is longer than the project manager expected, or green if it is shorter or the same as expected.
Issues Complete	The number of issues in the project’s milestones that are complete (that is, in an inactive state), out of the total number of issues.

Cost

The cost table provides information about the cost of the project.

Other than for the baseline cost values (which are stored in the daily snapshot that Ketura makes of certain project information), cost information is calculated on the current hourly cost of users. Consequently, any changes in a user’s hourly cost over the duration of a project are not taken into account.

Description of table columns

Work Done	The cost of the actual amount of work done on the project thus far, or the cost of the actual amount done on the project as of the baseline date.
Work Remaining	The cost of the amount of work remaining as planned (planned), expected (expected), or as was planned as of the baseline date (baseline).
Work Total	For the Actual or Expected row, this is simply the sum of the Work Done + Work Remaining costs. For the Planned row, this is the cost of the total amount of planned work for all of the project’s milestones’ issues’ tasks. For the Baseline (Planned) row, this is the cost of the total amount of planned work for all of the project’s milestones’ issues’ tasks as of the baseline date.
Variance to Planned	The variance as a cost and as a percentage of the actual or expected Work Total compared to the planned Work Total. The variance is shown in red if the cost is higher than the project manager expected, or green if it is lower or the same as expected.
Variance to Baseline	The variance as a cost and as a percentage of the actual or expected, and planned, Work Total when compared to the planned Work Total as of the baseline date. The variance is shown in red if the cost is higher than the project manager expected, or green if it is lower or the same as expected.

Users

This tab shows status information for all the users who have performed work on the project or have tasks assigned to them in the project’s milestones’ issues. Information is also shown for any unassigned tasks.

The quantity of information available about the project can be overwhelming, particularly for users new to Ketura, so by default a more restricted set of information is shown.

To change the amount of information shown for the project:

Choose More detail or Less detail from the Show drop-down list box.

Description of table columns

User	The id of the user (including the unassigned user) for whom related project information is shown, followed in square brackets by the user’s last and first names. If you have permission to view the management page for the user, the id is a link to that page.
Planned Work	The planned work for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues that are currently assigned to the user. The total planned work is shown, even for any tasks currently assigned to the user that have had work performed on them while previously assigned to another user. Therefore, if you are concerned about the absolute accuracy of this figure, it is recommended that tasks that have work performed on them not be re-assigned: a new task, assigned to the new user, should be created instead of reassigning an existing task.
Work Done	The work done thus far by the user for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues, whether or not currently assigned to the user.
Expected Work Remaining	The expected work remaining for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues that are currently assigned to the user.
Work Total	The sum of Work Done + Expected Work Remaining
Work Variance	The variance of the Work Total to Planned Work (that is, Work Total - Planned Work), expressed as a quantity, and as a percentage relative to Planned Work. The variance is shown in red if the amount of work is higher than the project manager expected, or green if it is lower or the same as expected.
Cost Thus Far	The total cost of the work done thus far by the user for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues, whether or not currently assigned to the user. Cost information is calculated on the current hourly cost of users. Consequently, any changes in a user’s hourly cost over time are not taken into account.
Expected Total Cost	The total cost of the total amount of work (Work Total) expected to be performed by the user on this project. This is the sum of the Cost Thus Far + the cost of the Expected Work Remaining. Cost information is calculated on the current hourly cost of users. Consequently, any changes in a user’s hourly cost over time are not taken into account.
% Complete (Expected Work)	The ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the project’s Work Done to the Work Total for the user. This figure therefore indicates the user’s perception of their progress thus far on the project.
Actual or Expected Start Date	The date upon which the user first performed work on this project or, if he or she has not yet commenced work, the date on which the user is expected to begin work. This expected figure is based upon the schedule calculated using the expected work remaining for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues.
Actual or Expected End Date	The date upon which the user completed all his or her work on this project or, if the user has not yet completed work, the date on which he or she is expected to complete work. This expected figure is based upon the schedule calculated using the expected work remaining for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues.
Duration	The duration (in days) for the user from the Actual or Expected Start Date to the Actual or Expected End Date.

Trends

The graphs on this page show the trends over time of the various project work effort and cost figures. This essential information makes it possible to see at a glance whether or not a project is on-track and heading successfully toward completion.

Because the graphs show trends over the project’s lifetime, it is possible to spot potential sources of trouble (such as new work being added to the project as fast as existing work is completed) that might not be noticeable from the current information shown on the project’s Detail tab.

Work chart

This chart shows how the project’s work figures (expressed in days on the Y axis) change over time (the X axis). If work is ongoing on a project, the expected work remaining line should trend towards zero over time, if the project is ever to complete.

Description of chart series

Baseline	The planned amount of total work for the project (as indicated by the Planned Work Total figure on the Detail tab) as it was on the baseline comparison date.
Planned	The total planned work for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues (as indicated by the Planned Work Total figure on the Detail tab), as it has changed over time.
Expected Total	The total expected amount of work (the sum of the Done + Expected Remaining trends), as indicated by the Expected Work Total figure on the Detail tab, as it has changed over time.
Expected Remaining	The expected work remaining for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues (as indicated by the Expected Work Remaining figure on the Detail tab), as it has changed over time.
Done	The work done for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues (as indicated by the Actual or Expected Work Done figure on the Detail tab), as it has changed over time.

Cost chart

This chart shows how the project’s cost changes over time and is particularly useful if you are trying to meet particular cost targets. If work is ongoing on a project, the expected total cost line should be fairly constant if the project’s costs have been accurately predicted and are under control.

Description of chart series

Baseline	The cost of the planned amount of total work for the project (as indicated by the Planned Work Total figure on the Detail tab) as it was on the baseline comparison date.
Planned	The cost of the total planned work for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues (as indicated by the Planned Work Total cost on the Detail tab), as it has changed over time.
Expected Total	The cost of the total expected amount of work (the sum of the Done + Expected Remaining trends), as indicated by the Actual or Expected Work Total cost on the Detail tab, as it has changed over time.
Expected Remaining	The cost of the expected work remaining for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues (as indicated by the Actual or Expected Work Remaining figure on the Detail tab), as it has changed over time.
Expended	The cost of the work done for all the tasks in the project’s milestones’ issues (as indicated by the Actual or Expected Work Done cost on the Detail tab), as it has changed over time.

How Ketura obtains the information shown by the graphs

At the end of each day, Ketura records certain information about projects and milestones. This snapshot information is used to create the trend graphs. This means that if, for example, the Ketura server is stopped for several days, historical trend information for that period will not be available.

The baseline comparison date

It is possible to choose a baseline comparison date. A horizontal line is drawn on the graphs showing the planned work or cost figure as recorded on the baseline date. This is useful for comparing the trend lines against what was planned on a particular baseline date.

To change the baseline comparison date:

Click the … button after the For baseline comparisons, use data from date entry field.
In the pop-up calendar that appears, click on the date that you wish to use as a baseline.
Or, you can manually enter the date.

Trends that might indicate a project in difficulty

There are several trends that can indicate problems in a project.

Expected remaining trend is flat or rising. This indicates that as much (or more) work is being added to the project as time passes as is being completed. This could be indicative that the scope of the project is inadequately understood, and is likely to mean that the project will significantly overrun its intended completion date. If so, action should be taken so to better understand the remaining work on the project, so that it can be added to the system now and then properly tracked through to completion. It might also be necessary to take steps to reduce the amount of work being added to the project, for example, by taking a firmer line with a customer who is continually changing a project’s requirements.
Expected total trend is rising. This means that work is being added to the project over time. For some projects, this might be normal, but it could indicate that the project’s scope is poorly understood.
Planned trend is diverging from the expected total trend-line. Ketura makes it possible for a project manager to track his or her plan for a project (planned values) against what has actually happened and the expectations of those to whom work is assigned (the expected values). If the project manager and those doing work are able accurately to predict the amount of work on the project, the planned and expected total trend lines should be quite similar. If they are not, it might be necessary to look at ways of improving the way that project managers and/or task assignees calculate their estimates.
Work done trend is not rising steadily. If the work done trend-line is rising only slowly, it is possible that the people to whom work is assigned are not able to spend as much time on the project as anticipated. The project’s Allocation tab can be used to diagnose such problems.

Activity

This tab shows a breakdown of all the work performed on the project’s milestones’ issues’ tasks within a particular period of time, summarized by user and by issue. The information is calculated from all work journal entries with a start time within the chosen period.

To change the period for which activity information is shown:

Select one of the time periods (Today, Yesterday, This month, etc) in the For period drop-down. The From and To dates will be adjusted automatically.
Or, choose the From and To dates for the period you desire using the associated … buttons or by manually entering in the dates, then click Apply. The For period drop-down will be adjusted automatically.

However you select the date range, only work entries that start within that range will be shown.

Breakdown by user

This table contains a list of all users that have worked on the project in the selected time period. A user that has not done any work toward the project in the time period will not have an entry in the table, regardless of whether any of his or her time has been allocated to work on the project.

Description of table columns

User	The id of the user for whom related information is shown, followed in square brackets by the user’s last and first names. If you have permission to view the management page for the user, the id is a link to that page.
Allocated Work	The amount of the user’s time allocated to the project (on the Allocation calendars tab of the Manage Users page, reached using the global Users tab) in the chosen period.
Work Done	The total amount of work done on the project by the user in the chosen period, based on the user’s work journal entries. Any work journal entries within the period but dated in the future (that is, with a start time after the end of today) are ignored, as these cannot represent work that has actually been performed thus far.
Variance	The variance of the Work Done to Allocated Work (that is, Work Done - Allocated Work), expressed as a quantity, and as a percentage relative to the Allocated Work. The variance will be highlighted in red if the % Allocated Work Done column is less than 85% or more than 115%. Otherwise, it is highlighted green.
Cost	The cost of the total amount of work done on the project by the user in the chosen period. This is calculated by multiplying the Work Done column by the user’s current hourly cost. Consequently, any changes in a user’s hourly cost within the period are not taken into account.
% Allocated Work Done	The ratio of Work Done to Allocated Work within the chosen period expressed as a percentage. This figure indicates clearly whether the user has managed to spend the correct amount of time on the project within the period.
Notes	Provides a commentary on the % Allocated Work Done column.

Breakdown by issue

This table contains a list of all the issues in the project that have been worked on in the selected time period.

Description of table columns

Issue	The id and summary of the issue for which related information is shown. If you have permission to view the relevant issue, the id is a link to the issue’s page.
Work Done	The total amount of work done on the issue in the chosen period, based on users’ work journal entries. Any work journal entries within the period but dated in the future (that is, with a start time after then end of today) are ignored, as these cannot represent work that has actually been performed thus far.
Cost	The cost of the total amount of work done on the project. This is calculated by multiplying the Work Done column by the appropriate user’s (or users’) current hourly cost. Consequently, any changes in a user’s hourly cost within the period are not taken into account.

Allocation

The chart on this page shows whether, day-by-day in a given period, a particular user is managing to work the correct, allocated, amount of time as allocated on the Allocation calendars tab on the Users page. This can be especially useful in diagnosing project overruns: is the work just taking longer than expected, or has the user simply been unable to spend the expected amount of time on the project due to other commitments?

The X axis of the chart is divided into days; the Y axis indicates hours per day. A single % Allocated Work Done figure is also shown in a separate table, indicating whether the user has managed to work on the project the allocated amount in the chosen period.

To change the user for which allocation and percent allocated work done information is shown:

Choose the desired user from the For user drop-down list box.

To change the period for which allocation and percent allocated work done information is shown:

Select one of the time periods (Today, Yesterday, This month, etc) in the For period drop-down. The From and To dates will be adjusted automatically.
Or, choose the From and To dates for the period you desire using the associated … buttons or by manually entering in the dates, then click Apply. The For period drop-down will be adjusted automatically.

However you select the date range, only work entries that start within that range will be shown.

To manage the allocation of users’ time to this project:

Click the Manage User Allocation link that can be found on the top left of this tab.

Description of chart series

Allocated to This Project	The numbers of hours of the selected user’s time that have been allocated to the project on each day.
Allocated to Other Projects	The numbers of hours of the selected user’s time that have been allocated to projects other than this one on each day.
Unallocated	The numbers of hours of the selected user’s time that have not been allocated to any project.
Actual Work Done	The actual number of hours that the user has worked on each day, based on the user’s work journal entries. Work journal entries in the future (i.e. those with start dates after the end of today) are not included, as these cannot represent work that has actually been performed thus far.

Description of table columns

% Allocated Work Done	The ratio of Work Done to Allocated Work within the chosen period expressed as a percentage. This figure indicates clearly whether the user has managed to spend the correct amount of time on the project within the period.
Notes	Provides a commentary on the % Allocated Work Done column.