Configure Calculation Settings for a Project

Configure project calculation settings to define how the application computes values concerning activities and units at the project level.

To configure project calculation settings:

  1. Navigate to the project settings page
  2. Select the Calculations tab.
  3. In the Activities section, configure calculation settings for project activities:
    • When changing an activity to not started: Determines how units and duration are handled if activity progress is removed.
      • Reset planned duration and units to remaining: Select this option to reset planned unit spreads to match the remaining units.
      • Reset remaining duration and units to planned: Select this option to reset remaining unit spreads to match the planned units.
    • Link planned and remaining/at completion for not started activities: When enabled, ensures that the planned and at completion values remain in sync when changes are made to activities that have not started. When disabled, each field's values are calculated independently.
    • Define critical activities as: Select a method to identify critical activities:
      • Total Float less than or equal to: Select this option to identify critical activities based on the lack of flexibility in their scheduled dates. Enter a minimum float duration. When the project is scheduled, activities with total float values less than or equal to this value are marked critical.
      • Longest Path: Select this option to define critical activities based on the sequence of driving activities that determine the project end date.
  4. In the Units and Costs section, configure calculation settings for units and costs:
    • When updating actual units or cost: Determines how the application handles changes to the actual units or actual costs on an activity or activity assignment.
      • Add actual to remaining: Select this option to calculate a new at completion value when the remaining units or actual units change.
      • Subtract actual from at completion: Select this option to calculate a new remaining units value when the at completion or actual units change.
    • Recalculate actual units and costs when Duration Percent Complete changes: Select this option to recalculate actual units and costs when the duration percent complete is updated.
    • Link actual to date and actual this period units and costs: This setting is always enabled to ensure actual and actual this period unit and cost field values for an activity or resource assignment are recalculated when one of these values is updated.
    • Calculate costs from units: When enabled, modifying a resource or role assignment's units automatically updates its costs, and cost fields for the assignment are read-only. When disabled, assignment cost fields are directly editable. All new assignments inherit this setting, but its status can be modified per assignment.
    • Default Price/Unit for activities without resource or role Price/Unit: Enter a price/unit value to be used in cost calculations on activities without resource or role assignments or when a new assignment does not have any availability periods defined.

      Notes:

      • A Default Price/Unit value greater than 0 must be set if you will be entering labor or nonlabor costs on activities that have no resource or role assignments.
      • A change in this value only applies to new activity and resource assignment values. You must recalculate costs on the Activities page to update current activity and resource assignment values.
    • Specify the default Rate Type for new resource and role assignments: Choose the default rate type to be used when a resource or role is assigned to an activity. This can be modified per assignment.
    • Calculate project usage spreads when running Recalculate Costs: When enabled, Project Usage spreads are calculated when running the Recalculate Costs for the current schedule. This setting does not apply to scenarios or baselines.
  5. Select Save.

This setting is used in the following apps:

Risk
Schedule