Task Information

At the bottom of your page is the Task Information area, as shown below.

In this area, you can see for any individual task, all of the data relating to it.

There are 5 tabs in this area, called "General", "Links", "Resources", "Notes" and "Filters". Each tab is described in the following sections of this help.

The General Tab

On the General tab, you can change any of the core data relating to a single selected task.

This includes the:

• Name: This is the name of the task. You can make the name whatever you wish.
• Percent Complete: This is the actual current percentage of the task that has been completed, to date.
• Priority: This is the priority assigned to the task. It's a numerical value that is assigned by you to show others in the team how important it is that this task be completed.
• Locked: This checkbox allows you to lock and unlock the task. When the task is locked, the Planned Start Date and Planned Finish Dates are fixed and cannot be moved. You can unlock a locked task at any time.
• Milestone: This is a checkbox that shows whether the task is marked as a Milestone task or not. A milestone task is something that you feel is an achievement for the project.
• Planned Start Date: This is the date that the task is planned to start on.
• Planned Finish Date: This is the date that the task is planned to finish on.
• Planned Duration: This is the planned duration of the task, calculated as the elapsed time difference (in days) between the Planned Start Date and Planned Finish Date for the task.
• Planned Effort: This is the amount of effort that that is planned to be spent (in hours) completing the task.
• Actual Start Date: This is the date that the task actually commenced.
• Actual Finish Date: This is the date that the task ceased, when the task was marked as 100% complete.
• Actual Duration: This is the actual duration of the task, calculated as the elapsed time difference (in days) between the Actual Start Date and Actual Finish Date for the task.
• Actual Effort: This is the amount of effort that was actually spent completing the task, in hours.
• Baseline Start Date: This is the planned start date that was set, when the task was last baselined.
• Baseline Finish Date: This is the planned finish date that was set, when the task was last baselined.
• Baseline Duration: This is the planned duration that was set, when the task was last baselined.
• Baseline Effort: This is the planned effort that was set, when the task was last baselined.

The Links Tab

On the Links tab, you can add links (otherwise known as "dependencies") from other tasks, to this task.

Simply click on the tasks that are presented in the right hand column to "Add" them as a link to this task. Links work in the same way as dependencies in Microsoft Project. Therefore, if the tasks that link to this task are delayed, then they could delay the start of this task. This is known in project management terms as a "Finish-to-start" dependency.

Note:

• You can delete each link individually, by clicking on the "Remove" button beside the link you wish to delete.
• The "Lag" is the duration (in days) between the Planned Finish Date or one task and the Planned Start Date of the task that it links to.
• If you click on a task that appears in the left hand side of the "Links" panel, then the Gantt chart above will scroll to the relevant place and the task you have selected will immediately become visible. This helps you to find tasks which have links, more easily.

The Resources Tab

On the Resources tab, you can assign resources from your resource list to the task selected.

The list of all resources in your account will appear on the right hand side. You can then click "Add" to add one or more resources to this selected task. You can also click "Remove" to remove a resource from the list.

The Notes Tab

On the Notes tab, you can add notes about the task selected.

You can add notes to the task that you wish to share with your team. Here are some ideas for the types of notes you might add about a task:

• Describe the work competed to date and the work remaining on the task.
• List items that have come up that you want to draw to others attention.
• Record your notes about what you learnt when completing the task