Overview of the Project, Task, and Issue dates in Workfront

This article provides definitions to the most common dates associated with projects, tasks, and issues in Adobe Workfront. The images included here are examples of where the dates display in Workfront and they are not exhaustive. There are other areas that display the dates. All dates are also visible in project, task, and issue reports and lists.

For information about reports and lists, see the following articles:

For more information about project, task, and issue fields, see Glossary of Adobe Workfront terminology.

Actual Start Date

The Actual Start Date is the date a user actually starts working on a project, task, or issue. The Actual Start Date is empty when the project, task, or issue is created.

You can manually indicate when work started on a task or an issue, or the Actual Start Date automatically populates when the task or issue status changes from New to In Progress or Complete. The Actual Start Date of a project coincides with the date when the first task on the project starts.

For more information, see Overview of the project Actual Start Date.

Actual Completion Date

The Actual Completion Date is the date a user actually completes a project, task, or issue. The Actual Completion Date is empty when the project, task, or issue is created.

You can manually indicate when work completes on a task or an issue, or the Actual Completion Date automatically populates when any of the following occur:

The Actual Completion Date of a project coincides with the date when you completed the last task on the project.

For more information, see Overview of the project Actual Completion Date.

Approval Path Completion Date

The Approval Path Completion Date is the date when the approval of a project, task, or issue was granted and the Status of the item was changed.

The Approval Path Completion Date is visible in project,task, and issue lists and reports.

Approval Path Start Date

The Approval Path Start Date is the date when the project, task, or issue Status changed to “Pending approval” and the project approval request was sent to the approvers.

The Approval Path Start Date is visible in project, task, and issue lists and reports.

Budgeted Completion Date

This is a deprecated field for projects. Any information that this field might display in a list or report is related to a feature that Workfront has removed. This field cannot be updated.

The field is visible in project reports and lists.

Budgeted Start Date

This is a deprecated field for projects. Any information that this field might display is related to a feature that Workfront has removed. This field cannot be updated.

The field is visible in project reports and lists.

Commit Date

The Commit Date is the date by which a user assigned to a task or an issue commits to complete the task or the issue. This is different than the Planned Completion Date, as it is a more realistic estimate of the completion date given only by the user in charge of the work. For more information, see Commit Date overview.

Constraint Date

If you are using a Task Constraint that is tied to a specific date, then that specific date becomes the Constraint Date of the task.

The following task constraints update the Constraint Date field:

The Constraint Date is visible in a task list or report.

Converted Issue Entry Date

The date when the issue that was converted to the project or the task was created.

The Converted Issue Entry Date is visible in project and task lists and reports.

Due Date

The date when a task or an issue is due to complete. The Due Date of a task or issue is the same date as the Planned Completion Date.

The task and issue Due Date is visible in task and issue lists and reports.

For information, see the Planned Completion Date section in this article.

Due On

The date when the project is due to complete. The Due On date of a project is the same date as the project’s Planned Completion Date.

The project Due On date is visible in project lists and reports.

For information, see the Planned Completion Date section in this article.

Entry Date

The Entry Date is the date when a project, task, or issue was created in Workfront.

The Entry Date does not influence the timeline of projects, tasks, or issues, but it is important for tracking and reporting purposes. Workfront automatically generates the Entry Date when the object is created and you cannot manually edit it.

Estimated Due Date

The task and project Estimated Due Date shows a more realistic date of when the project or the task should complete.

Estimated dates are more in line with the reality of the project and task, as they take into account what influences the actual completion of the project or task. Estimated Due Dates are similar to Projected Completion Dates.

For more information, see Overview of Projected and Estimated Dates.

The project and task Estimated Due Dates are visible in project and task lists and reports.

Estimated Start Date

The task and project Estimated Start Date shows a more realistic date of when the project or the task could start.

Estimated dates are more in line with the reality of the project and task, as they take into account what influences the actual start of the project or task. Estimated Start Dates are similar to Projected Start Dates.

For more information, see Overview of Projected and Estimated Dates.

The project and task Estimated Start Dates are visible in project and task lists and reports.

Fixed End Date

The project requestor or owner identifies the Fixed End Date of a project when completing the Business Case. It is the date by which they recommend that the project must complete.

This is a manual estimation and it does not take into account any actual progress of the tasks on the project.

The Fixed End Date of a project is visible in the project’s Business Case section as well as in project lists and reports.

Fixed Start Date

The project requestor or owner identifies the Fixed Start Date of a project when completing the Business Case. It is the date by which they recommend that the project should start.

This is a manual estimation and it does not take into account any actual progress of the tasks on the project.

The Fixed Start Date of a project is visible in the project’s Business Case section as well as in project lists and reports.

Handoff Date

The date when a task becomes available for work. This means that all constraints, approvals and dependencies have completed and users can start working on the task.

The Handoff Date is a calculation and cannot be set manually.

For more information about the Handoff Date, see Task Handoff Date overview.

The Handoff Date of a task is visible in task lists and reports.

Last Finance Update Date

The date when any of the financial information on a project was updated. This includes updating financial fields in the Finance section or the Business Case section of the project.

The Last Finance Update Date is visible in project lists and reports.

Last Update Date

The date when the project, task, or issue was last updated. An update is considered any change that triggers a project, task, or issue to be saved. This includes changes of status, condition, timeline, finances, or any other field.

The Last Update Date is visible in project, task, and issue lists and reports.

Hour Entry Date

When you log time for projects, tasks, and issues to indicate how much actual time (in hours) you spend working on the project, task, or issue, the time you log becomes the Actual Hours of the project, task, or issue.

The date for which you log the time is the Hour Entry Date field on the hour entry.

The Hour Entry Date is visible in hour lists and reports.

For information about how to log time in Workfront, see Log time.

Planned Completion Date

The Planned Completion Date or the Due On date is the date when a project, task, or issue is planned to complete.

Depending on the Task Constraint, you might not be able to edit the Planned Completion Date of a task. Depending on the Schedule Mode of the project, you might not be able to edit the Planned Completion Date of a project.

The Planned Completion Date displays as the Due On date in some areas of Workfront.

For more information, see the following articles:

Planned Date Alignment

This is an automatic indicator that Workfront assigns projects, tasks, and issues to show when an item will be completed in relation to its Planned Completion Date.

The following are possible values for the Planned Date Alignment indicator:

The Planned Date Alignment is visible in project, task, and issue lists and reports.

Planned Start Date

The Planned Start Date is the date when a project, task, or issue is planned to start.

Depending on the Task Constraint, you might not be able to edit the Planned Start Date of a task. Depending on the Schedule Mode of the project, you might not be able to edit the Planned Start Date of a project.

For more information, see Overview of the project Planned Start Date.

Projected Completion Date

The Projected Completion Date is a real-time, calculated indicator of when the project, task, or issue will be completed. When the project, task, or issue is marked as Completed, the Projected Completion Date changes to the date of the Actual Completion Date.

If everything goes smoothly and as planned, the Projected Completion date should match the Planned Completion Date. Otherwise, due to the delays on the predecessor tasks, the Projected Completion Date might become different from the Planned Completion Date.

For more information, see Overview of the Projected Completion Date for projects, tasks, and issues.

Projected Start Date

The Projected Start Date is a real-time date of when the project, task, or issue begins and takes into account all the delays. This is a more accurate Start Date for the project, task, or issue than the Planned Start Date. The Planned Start Date does not take into account delays or past dates.

When you first plan a project, the Planned Start Date and the Projected Start Date of the tasks and of the project are identical. As delays may happen or tasks might be completed earlier, the Projected Start Date can become different than the Planned Start Date.

For a task, a Projected Start Date may also differ from its Planned Start Date when one of its predecessors is running behind the schedule.

For more information, see Overview of the project Projected Start Date.

Slack Date

Tasks can sometimes start and complete late without impacting the Completion Date of the project.

The Slack Date displays the exact date when a task could definitely impact the Completion Date of the project.

For information about the Slack Date of a task, see Task Slack Date overview.

Task Slack Dates are visible in task lists and reports.

Start On

The date when the project is planned to start. The Start On date of a project is the same date as the project’s Planned Start Date.

This field is visible in project lists and reports.

For information, see the Planned Start Date section in this article.