How do I automatically show active tasks?

Active tasks: Use light-bulb icons to indicate which tasks have started

In my weekly project calls with stakeholders, I use light bulb icons to identify which tasks to discuss, update with status info, etc. 

Because my project schedules typically have a few hundred line items, I really don't want to be reading each line in the schedule to see which task is active. Believe it or not, other project managers actually read start dates for each task (out of hundreds of tasks) to see which tasks to ask for status or discuss!

My philosophy is simple: look but don't read. So I stuck in a simple formula for MS Project to use to automatically display light bulb icons for active tasks (start date >= today's date).

Time needed: <3 min

1. Insert a column (preferably to the left of the "Task Name" colum)
   • e.g., right-click on Task Name column > Insert Column > Field name: Text 1
   • Title: Start
   • Align data: Center
   • Ok
2.  Add a formula to determine whether a task will finish on time, finish semi-late or finish really late
   • e.g., Right-click on "Start" column > Customize fields > Highlight Text1
   • Select formula > Ok > Formula
   • Paste this formula in box: IIf([% Complete]<>100,IIf([Current Date]>[Start]-1,1,0))
   • Ok
3. Add graphical indicators to the formula
   • Click on Graphical Indicators button
   • Indicator criteria for: Nonsummary rows
   • Test for "Finish on Time?"
     • equals    1.00   [Select image of lighted light bulb]
   • Ok > Ok

Keep Tasks Green

A green schedule: Make sure that all tasks in your schedule are green

Philosophy of green schedules

As part of my weekly status calls with project stakeholders, I review two types of tasks:

• Open tasks: light-bulbs indicate whether someone should be working on the task (see light-bulb blog-post)
• Late tasks: red & yellow tasks are tasks that have missed or will miss their finish dates (see traffic light blog post)

Every status call invariably has a few tasks with yellow or red traffic lights. Some tasks show up late even though they completed on time.

Remove red & yellow lights: Change the finish dates to get green tasks and thus see if major milestones will still finish on time

This normally happens if I, as the PM, was not on the email chain mentioning the task had been completed. In which case, I close the task once notified. And the late indicator disappears.

But there are frequently tasks where the task owner says that the task requires more time or he hasn't started working on it. In which case, I ask for the new ETA and update the finish date. At which point the late indicator should  turn green.

Benefit of green schedules

Setting new finish dates, as opposed to leaving finish dates unchanged, helps show how finish dates for downstream tasks are changed. And as a result, whether major milestones are impacted. If red diamonds (late indicators for milestones) appear as a result of a task owner's new finish date, the whole team on the call sees the impact. And then it's trivial to negotiate for an earlier ETA.

Of course, you see this benefit only if you've correctly defined your predecessors & successors. But that's a topic for another blog post.

How do I Automatically Show Late Tasks?

Late indicators: Balls change color automatically depending on whether task will finish on time

Follow the three steps below to get  late task indicators such as shown in the screenshot. Colored balls indicate whether a task will finish really late, semi-late or is on track for finishing on time. 

Time needed: <3 min

1. Insert a column (preferably to the left of the "Task Name" colum)
   • e.g., right-click on Task Name column > Insert Column > Field name: Text 1
   • Title: Finish on Time?
   • Align data: Center
   • Ok
2.  Add a formula to determine whether a task will finish on time, finish semi-late or finish really late
   • e.g., Right-click on "Finish on Time?" column > Customize fields > Highlight Text1
   • Select formula > Ok > Formula
   • Paste this formula in box: IIf([% Complete]<>100,DateDiff("d",[Finish],[Current Date]))
   • Ok
3. Add graphical indicators to the formula
   • Click on Graphical Indicators button
   • Indicator criteria for: Nonsummary rows
   • Test for "Finish on Time?"
     • is less than    1.00  [Select image of green ball]
     • is less than    3.00  [Select image of yellow ball]
     • is greater than or equal to   3.00  [Select image of red ball]
   • Ok > Ok

That's it! You're done. Now MS Project will automatically display which tasks will finish on time, will be semi-late, or really late. Key rules to keep in mind:

• NO BALL: Task has completed. Only incomplete tasks (< 100%) will have colored icons indicating whether it's late or not. Summary tasks (complete or incomplete) also will NOT have any colored icons
  
• GREEN BALL: Task has a chance of finishing within 1 day of the planned finish date
• YELLOW BALL: This semi-late task is missing planned finished date by 1-3 days  
• RED BALL: This really late task has missed planned finished date by more than 3 days
• To change the criteria for the tasks that will finish late or really late, just change the # of days (currently set to 3 days) to the # of days you prefer