Enter the Actual Duration of a Task

You track progress by entering the amount of time (the duration) you’ve worked on a task. When you enter the actual duration of a task, Microsoft Project updates the actual start date, the percentage of the task that is complete, and the duration of the task remaining in the schedule. If you use effort-driven scheduling, you should not change the scheduled or actual duration of tasks. Instead, adjust the amount of work for the resource or resource units.

If the actual duration of a task is greater than the scheduled duration, you should enter the actual amount of work for the task. When you do this, Microsoft Project changes the actual finish date and increases the task duration. If you enter an actual duration instead of an actual amount of work, Microsoft Project updates the scheduled task duration to equal the actual task duration, changes the remaining task duration to zero, and marks the task as 100 percent complete.

To enter the actual duration of a task

1. On the View Bar, click Gantt Chart .
2. In the Task Name field, select the task for which you want to enter the actual duration.
3. On the Tools menu, point to Tracking, and then click Update Tasks.
4. In the Actual dur box, enter the actual duration of the task.

If you think the task is going to be finished sooner or later than originally scheduled, you can enter a new value in the Remaining dur box.

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