Configure system-wide project preferences

Allow users to create projects without using a template

This preference allows users to create projects without using a template when creating a project from the following areas:

• Use the New Project option in a list of projects

• Convert an issue to a project from the issue's page

This preference is enabled by default.

NOTE

A group administrator can change this preference for a group. When a user belongs to multiple groups with different preferences, the user can create a project without a template if their Home Group has this preference enabled.

Set new project's status to

Determine the status of new projects.

NOTE

• If you or another Workfront administrator hides the status selected here, the default status changes to the first status in the status list.

• If a locked system or group status is set as the default status and later someone unlocks it, the system tries to replace it with a locked status of the same status type.

  If it can't find one, it looks for a required status:

  • If there is a required status that equates to the unlocked default status, the required status becomes the default status, even if it's unlocked.
  • If none of the required statuses equate to the unlocked default status, the first required status in the status list becomes the default status.

  For information about required statuses, see the articles Access the list of system project statuses, Access the list of system task statuses, and Access the list of system issue statuses.

Calculate Percent Complete based on

Workfront calculates the percent complete of a project or parent task using the percent complete of each task in the project and either the Duration or the Planned Hours of each task.

The percent complete of each task is manually set by task assignees.

You can select here whether Workfront will use the Duration or the Planned Hours of tasks to calculate the percent complete of projects.

If you select Duration, the Duration of each task in a project determines the overall percent complete for the project, and the Duration of each subtask determines the overall percent complete for its parent task.

If you select Duration, make sure you specify the Typical hours per work day and Typical work days per week in the Timelines section. Workfront uses this information when calculating a task's percent complete based on Duration.

If you select Planned Hours, ensure that all tasks on each project have the amount of Planned Hours defined, and that the amount is not zero.

For more information, see Project Percent Complete overview.

Automatically set the project's Condition based on the Progress Status

This preference allows users to set the Condition of a project manually to (On Target, At Risk, In Trouble) or to have Workfront set the Condition (Progress Status) automatically based on the project's progression on the timeline. For more information about the Condition of projects, see Overview of Project Condition and Condition Type.

Create baselines automatically

This preference automatically creates a baseline (snapshot) of task and project details when the status of the project changes to Current. For information about creating baselines, see Create project baselines.

Performance Index Method

The Performance Index Method (PIM) for the project controls the method Workfront uses to calculate Earned Value metrics such as Cost Performance Index (CPI) and Estimate At Completion (EAC). For more information, see Calculate Cost Performance Index (CPI) and Calculate Estimate At Completion (EAC)

• Hour-based: Workfront uses Planned Hours to calculate performance metrics like EAC and CPI. When the PIM is calculated based on hours, the EAC displays as a number of hours. Ensure that you have a value for Planned Hours, other than zero.

• Cost-based: Workfront uses Planned Labor Cost to calculate performance metrics like EAC and CPI. Ensure that your job roles or users are associated with Cost per Hour rates. When the PIM is calculated based on Costs, the EAC displays as a currency value.

  The project manager can modify this setting at the project level, using the Finance area in Project Details. For more information, see Manage information in the project Finance area.

Estimate at Completion

Determine which data Workfront uses to calculate the Estimate at Completion (EAC) which represents the projected total cost of a project.

• Calculate at project level: EAC for the parent task and project are determined by entering Actual Hours or Actual Labor Cost in the EAC Formulas. This calculation includes Actual Hours or Costs and Expenses added directly to the parent task or project.

• Roll up from tasks/subtasks: EAC for the parent task and project are determined by summing up the EAC for each child task. This calculation excludes Actual Hours or Actual Costs and Expenses added directly to the parent task or project.

  The project manager can modify this setting at the project level, using the Finance area in Project Details.For more information, see Manage information in the project Finance area.

For more information on how the EAC calculates, see Calculate Estimate At Completion (EAC).

Schedule From

Determine whether new projects are scheduled from Start Date or from Completion Date when they are created.

• Start Date: New tasks default to the As Soon As Possible Task Constraint and project managers are prompted to provide a Planned Start Date for the project.
• Completion Date: New tasks default to the As Late As Possible Task Constraint and project managers are prompted to provide a Planned Completion Date for the project.

User Time Off

Determine whether the time off of the Primary Assignee of a task adjusts the planned dates for that task on a project.

• Consider user time off in task durations: Any time off scheduled for a task's Primary Assignee adjusts the task's planned dates if the time off occurs during the task's duration. This is the default setting.

  For example, if a task with a Constraint of As Soon As Possible is scheduled to start on June 1 and complete on June 3, and the Primary Assignee has June 2 marked for Time-off, the task's planned dates adjust to June 1 through June 4.

  IMPORTANT:

  The Duration of the task does not change when you select this setting. Only the planned dates change, depending on the Task Constraint.

• Ignore user time off in task durations: The planned dates of each task on a project remain as originally planned, even if the Primary Assignee of a task has time off during its duration.

Consider the following when selecting options for this setting:

• When you change this setting, only the projects and templates created after the change inherit the updated setting.

• The Task Constraint value of the task determines which planned task dates to adjust:

  • The Planned Start Date
  • The Planned Completion Date
  • Both dates
  • Neither date.

  For example, if a task has a Constraint of Fixed Dates, the dates do not adjust when the Primary Assignee has time off, even if the option Consider user time off in task duration is selected. For information about task constraints, see Task Constraint overview.

Project timelines are automatically re-calculated

Determine when the timeline of a project is recalculated. For information about recalculating the project timeline, see Recalculate project timelines.

The following options are enabled by default. You can select one or more of the following settings:

• Every night: Select this to recalculate project timelines every night. Any changes you make to the project that might affect the timeline are not immediately visible. Workfront​​​ recalculates timelines at night only for projects where both of the following conditions are met:

  • Have a status of Current

  • Have had an update in the past 3 months

  • Have had an Update Type of one of the following:

  • • Automatic and On Change
    • Change Only
    • Automatic Only

    TIP:

    Projects that have an Update Type of Manual Only are not affected by this setting.

    When a project's scope changes: Select this to recalculate project timelines immediately as a project scope change occurs. For information about what constitutes a project scope change, see Recalculate project timelines.

When multiple users are assigned to a task use the schedule of the

If a project does not have a schedule assigned or if the users assigned to its tasks do not have a Schedule assigned to them, Workfront uses the system default schedule to calculate the timeline of the tasks.

If you assign multiple users to the same task in a project and the project has an assigned schedule and the users assigned to the tasks also have a schedule assigned to them, Workfront uses the following schedules:

• Primary Assignment: Workfront uses the schedule of the Primary Assignment on the task to calculate timelines.
• Project: Workfront uses the schedule of the project to calculate the timeline of each task.

For more information about schedules, see Create a schedule.

If a project does not have a schedule assigned or if the users assigned to its tasks do not have a Schedule assigned to them, Workfront uses the system default schedule to calculate the timeline of the tasks.

If you assign one user to a task in a project and both the project and the user assigned to the tasks have schedules associated with them, Workfront uses the following schedules:

• User: Workfront uses the schedule of the assigned user on the task to calculate timelines.
• Project: Workfront uses the schedule of the project to calculate the timeline of the task.

For more information about schedules, see Create a schedule.

Timeline Calculations

• Typical hours per work day: Set the number of hours in a typical workday for the users who will be working on projects. The default is 8 hours.

• Typical work days per week: Set the standard workweek for the users who are working on projects. The default is 5 days.

These 2 options convert days to hours, or weeks to days.

For example, if you have a task with 8 Planned Hours and the duration is calculated based on Planned Hours, Workfront converts those hours into days in order to show the Duration as days.

From the Typical work days per week field, Workfront calculates the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) value for your system. This is what Workfront uses when calculating allocations for users.

These values are used when you are planning projects timelines, budgeting for resources, or logging time against projects.

They are not used when you are establishing timesheets for users in the system, as described in Configure timesheet and hour preferences.

NOTE:

Workfront administrators cannot unlock Timeline Calculations preferences.

Custom Quarters

Configure custom yearly quarters for the users who will be working on projects. Custom quarters are usually quarters that do not match the traditional breakdown of quarters during a calendar year. You can add multiple custom quarters. For more information, see Enable custom quarters for projects.

NOTE:

Workfront administrators cannot unlock Custom Quarters preferences.

After a project has been marked as Complete, people can still

Determine the rules for your organization (or group, if you are configuring project preferences for a group) regarding whether a task or an issue can be deleted after the project status has been marked Complete.

• Delete Tasks: Allows users to delete tasks from a project after the project has been marked Complete.
• Delete Issues: Allows users to delete issues from a project after the project has been marked Complete.

After a Project is marked Complete, Dead, or it is Pending Approval, people can still

Determine the rules for your organization (or group, if you are configuring project preferences for a group) regarding what happens to tasks, issues, documents, and other objects in a project after the project status has been marked Complete, Dead, or is Pending Approval.

• Add and edit tasks Allows users to:

  • Edit tasks within a project after the project has been marked Complete, Dead, or is Pending Approval. This includes adding hours and changing expense entries on a task.
  • Add tasks to a project.

• Add and edit issues: Allows users to:

  • Edit issues within a project after the project has been marked Complete, Dead, or Pending Approval.
  • Add issues to a project after the project has been marked Complete or Dead. (You cannot add issues to a project that is Pending Approval.)

• Add documents to the project and to its tasks and issues: Allows users to add documents to a project (or to add documents to tasks and issues within the project) after the project has been marked Complete or Dead.

  This option does not apply to projects that are pending approval.

• Attach templates: Allows users to attach templates to a project after the project has been marked Complete or Dead.

  This option does not apply to projects that are pending approval.