Planning console tasks

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 10 minutes to read

    • You can perform several tasks on the planning console that you can perform on lists and forms, such as creating project tasks and copying projects. You can also perform several tasks unique to the console.

    Table 1. General console settings tasks
    Task How to perform the task
    Display a project in the planning console Select the project from the list in the project workspace banner.
    Figure 1. Project list
    Project list.
    Table 2. WBS hierarchy tasks
    Task How to perform the task
    Create a project task

    Click the add task below icon (Add task icon) on the row to create a new task.

    You can also click an existing task to determine the insertion point for the new task, and then click the add task above icon (Add task icon.) or the add task below icon (Add task icon.).
    Move a task up or down in the hierarchy Click an existing task, and then click the move up (Move up icon) or move down (Move down icon) icons.
    Indent or unindent a task in the hierarchy Click an existing task, and then click the unindent (Unindent icon.) or indent (Indent icon.) icons.
    Edit a task record Right-click a task and select Edit. The Project Task form appears in the overlay. You can also edit a field directly in one of the columns in the planning console. You can also edit project tasks that represent phases in the project workbench.
    Edit the State field Double-click the value in the State column to select a new state. The value of the State field also changes automatically when % complete is changed for a task.
    View and modify task status View the status of the project task based on the difference of the planned end date of the task from the current date. The status of the task updates automatically from Green to Yellow to Red as the planned end date approaches.

    You can manually update the task status by double-clicking the Status column and selecting a different task status. For more information, see Status field description in the Create a project task from a project topic.
    Add an agile phase or a test phase Right-click a project and select Add Agile Phase or Add Test Phase. The agile phase icon or test phase icons appear next to the task in the Name column. See phase icons.
    Note:
    • The Add Agile Phase option is available only for Agile and Hybrid projects. You must also have the Agile Development 2.0 plugin installed.
    • You can add multiple agile phases and multiple test phases to a project.
    • You can add only one test phase for a test plan in a project. You must have the Test Management plugin installed to view the Add Test Phase option.
    • An agile phase cannot overlap another agile phase for an assignment group in a project.
    • While creating a story, if a project has only one phase, then the story is tagged to the phase.
    Open a test plan or story Right-click a task (a task that represents a phase in the workbench) and then select Manage Test Plan. Select View Stories to view the stories list. If you have the scrum_product_owner role, select View Stories to navigate to the Backlog tab of the Agile Board.
    Note:
    The View Stories option is available only for Agile and Hybrid projects. You must also have the Agile Development 2.0 plugin installed.
    Cancel a resource plan for a Closed project Right-click the project and select Cancel Resource Plans. All past and future allocations for the selected resource plan are canceled.

    The option is available only for a project in any of the Closed states.
    Complete a resource plan for a Closed project Right-click the project and select Complete Resource Plans. All the requested and resource allocations for the resource plan post the completion date are deleted.

    The option to complete resource plans is available only for a project in any of the Closed states.
    Add an external dependency between tasks of different projects Right-click a task and select Add External Dependency. Select the project and task to which the dependency is added.
    View the project name of an external dependency Point to the link icon (Link icon) beside the external dependency task to display a tooltip which shows the name of the project to which the external dependency is added.
    Change the time constraint for a task Double-click a task under the Constraint type column and select an option: Start ASAP, Start on specific date, Start no earlier than, or Start no later than.
    • You can change the Constraint type for Automatic projects only.
    • When you change the time constraint for a task from Start on specific date to Start ASAP or vice versa, the planned start date and planned end date of the task are recalculated accordingly.
    • The Constraint date column displays the start date for all the constraint types other than Start ASAP tasks. This column is not available by default, you must add this column to the Planning Console from the Configuration menu.
    • The option is not available for a parent task. If a task has child tasks, the option is available only for the child tasks.
    • You cannot create a parent task with Start no later than or Start on specific date time constraint. When a new child task is added to a task with these time constraints, the time constraint for the parent task is converted to Start ASAP.
    • You cannot change constraint type for projects with Calculation type set as Manual.
    Allow task dates outside schedule Right-click a project task and select Allow outside schedule. The selected task is allowed to start and end on a non-schedule day (outside the regular project schedule) such as on a weekend. The off schedule task icon (Off-schedule task icon) appears next to the task in the Short description column.

    For example, if you use the project schedule Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 17:00 and a project task of duration 2 days should start on Saturday, then an off-schedule task is allowed to be scheduled on Saturday and end on Sunday. Similarly, if a task of duration 3 days starts on Friday, then an off-schedule will end on Sunday as opposed to ending on Tuesday.

    • The option is not available for a parent task. When a task is made off-schedule, its parent also becomes off-schedule. The project also operates as out of schedule if any of the children is set to out of schedule.
    • Once a task is allowed outside the schedule, the Follow schedule option is available for the task. Right-click the task and select Follow schedule to follow the schedule for the task.
    Note:
    • There is no difference between an off-schedule and an on-schedule task if there is no schedule defined at the project level.
    • 1 day is 8 hours for a task in a regular schedule and 24 hours for a task outside the schedule.
    Convert a task to milestone Right-click a task and select Convert to milestone.
    • You can convert a task to a milestone only until it is not in Work in Progress state. Once work in progress, the option appears as greyed out for the task.
    • The option is not available for a parent task. If a task has child tasks, the option is available only for the child tasks.
    Show or hide external dependencies Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then click the Hide External Dependencies switch.

    When this option is enabled, the external dependencies are not displayed when you add an external dependency between two projects. However, the Dependency column in the WBS section of the successor project still shows the value of external dependency.
    Show external dependency notifications Click the notification bell icon Notification bell icon. to display the notifications raised in the successor project. The notifications are triggered as a result of changes made in the predecessor project.
    External dependency notification example.
    • For a soft dependency, click Accept or Reject to accept or reject the changes in the notification.
    • For a hard dependency, view the displayed notification to review the changes in the notification.
    Save changes to the server Click the save icon Save icon. to commit changes made in the planning console. The option is available only when Client Side Planning Console is enabled.
    Expand or contract column width Click the side of the column and drag it right or left.
    Show or hide columns in the planning console Click the show or hide columns in gantt icon (Show or hide columns in gantt icon.), and then select or clear the check boxes for the columns available. Admin can customize which columns appear in this list. The selection is saved in the user preference. The next time you open the planning console, the same columns you selected will appear.
    Select WBS levels to show Click the show or hide columns in gantt icon (Show or hide columns in gantt icon.), and then select the level from the WBS Depth list.
    Expand or collapse sublevels for any level Click the arrow to expand or collapse any task that has one or more subtasks.
    Table 3. Gantt chart tasks
    Task How to perform the task
    View a summary of a task Point to a task.
    Figure 2. Tooltip for summary of the task
    Tooltip shows the summary of the task.
    Change the planned start or end dates of a task Click the task, and then drag the left or right edge of the task bar.
    Move a task to a new date Click the task, and then drag the whole task bar to a new location.
    Create a dependency between tasks Find the successor task in the relationship and double-click the value in the Predecessor column and enter a value that specifies the relationship. See Predecessor dependencies in the planning console for examples.

    Alternatively, you can create a relationship between two tasks by connecting the ends of the corresponding task bars in the timeline view.
    Select a baseline Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then select a baseline from the baselines list.
    Create a baseline Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then click Create new baseline. See Create baseline of a project for more information.
    Compare schedule baselines Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then select a schedule baseline from the baselines list. Click the show or hide columns in gantt icon (show or hide columns in gantt icon.), and then select the following columns to compare schedule baselines:
    • Baseline start date
    • Baseline end date
    • Baseline variance
    Display the critical path Click the critical path icon (Critical path icon). For more information on the critical path, see Gantt chart.
    Show date change Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then click the Show Date Change switch. When this option is enabled, the start and end dates of the task are displayed when you drag the task bar.
    Figure 3. Start date and end dates on task bar
    Start and end dates on the task bar.
    Show duration change Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then click the Show Duration Change switch. When this option is enabled, the duration of the task is displayed when you drag either end of the task bar.
    Figure 4. Task duration
    Duration on the task bar.
    Show weekends on the calendar Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then click the Show Weekends switch. The weekends appear as light-blue vertical bars in the Gantt chart.
    Figure 5. Weekend on task bar
    Light-blue colored vertical bar indicates a Weekend on the task bar.
    Zoom the calendar in or out On the top of the calendar, click one of the time periods, such as the month or day. Then select a Zoom Level from the calendar.
    Figure 6. Calendar zoom
    Calendar zoom options.
    When the zoom level in calendar is selected as Auto Fit, the Gantt view fits in one page to display the entire timeline for the project in one go without using the scrollbar.
    Open the tutorial Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then click Walkthrough.
    Open list of keyboard shortcuts Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then click Keyboard Shortcuts.
    Table 4. Other features or applications tasks
    Task How to perform the task
    Open the project workbench Click the Planning Console selection arrow on the banner and select Project Workbench. For more information, see Project workbench.
    Open live feed Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then click Show live feed.
    Export project data in MPP, CSV, or XML format Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then click Export Planning Console. For more information, see Export project data.
    Print the gantt timeline Click the more options icon (More options icon.), and then click Print.
    Note:
    • Printing on a smaller paper size might result in the gantt chart image being cut off. You may either zoom out using the gantt chart calendar, or increase paper size to print the gantt timeline for projects and tasks.
    • If the colored bars in gantt chart area are not visible in Print preview, then select the option for background graphics in the Print dialog.