Project templates

[Captain Gaming]

Hi team,

Can I add planned start date(start_date) and planned end date(end_date) in Elements in the project task template config to capture planned start date and planned end date? Please let me know whether it is recommended to add or not?

Thanks,
Captain

[Uncle Rob]

A template is there to populate fields quicker and easier.
If you have no idea what projects might be generated in the future, how could you plan their start and end dates?
Project Management is the art of estimating complex, multi-person efforts under constraint of cost, schedule, and scope.

Since you have no idea the size and shape of the projects, or the availability of the resources, prepopulating Planned Start and Planned End is one of the worst things you can do, from a process perspective.

[Captain Gaming]

Hi @Uncle Rob 
Thank you for your response...
The Project Template Configuration can be found under Project Administration > Settings > Template Config
I was asking in project task template config is it allow to add planned start date(start_date) and planned end date(end_date) fields in Elements because if you observe in default elements the field(start_date) already there. According to Kb article Note: It is Advised NOT to overwrite OR include the same fields that are defined in Default Elements.
Link: Admin Guide to Project Templates - Support and Troubleshooting

[Namita Mishra]

Hi @Captain Gaming ,

Hope you are doing well..

Is there a particular reason \ objective because of which you would like to add it?

IMHO, do not add the planned start and planned end dates in the config.

Reason - When you create a new project using the template, the system ask for the start date and based on that the 1 day project is created. In other words, planned end date = planned start date = the date provided by the user.

Whe you apply the template on the existing project, then it picks the planned start date from the project record and using the relative duration (based on the template), the planned end date is automatically calculated.

Hope you find the response helpful.

Have a Great Weekend!

Thank You!
Namita Mishra

[Captain Gaming]

Hi @Namita Mishra 

I want to capture the Planned Start Date and Planned End Date at the Project Task level, not at the project level. To ensure these dates are captured at project task level in template, I attempted to include the start_date and end_date fields in the Elements field of the Project Task Template Configuration.

When I apply a template to a new project, the Project Task Planned Start and End Dates are automatically calculated based on the task duration and offsets defined in the template. However, I’ve noticed that the calculated duration (i.e., Planned End Date - Planned Start Date) is sometimes not accurate or as expected.

Ex: when you create a new project using the template, the system ask for the start date here i have given 2027 but in the project template I have given project task planned start dates and end dates captured in 2025 with 2 months duration. Now the project task planned start dates are adjusted with 2027 , but noticed that the calculated duration (i.e., Planned End Date - Planned Start Date) is sometimes not accurate or as expected.

However, based on the official KB article, it's advised not to include or overwrite fields already defined in the Default Elements. The field start_date (Planned Start Date) is already part of the Default Elements, so adding it again in the Elements list is not recommended.

Could you please advise whether I can include the Planned Start Date(start_date) and Planned End Date(end_date) fields in the 'Elements' field of the Project Task Template configuration to capture these dates or not?