Earned value
A measure of the value of work performed so far. Earned value uses your original estimates and your progress to date to show whether the actual costs incurred are on budget and whether the tasks are ahead of or behind the baseline plan.
Effort-driven scheduling
The default method of scheduling in Microsoft Project, by which the duration of a task shortens or lengthens as resources are added to or removed from a task while the amount of effort necessary to complete the task remains unchanged. For example, a task may require 32 hours of work to be completed, but the task may be scheduled with a duration of 2 days. This indicates that more than one resource needs to be assigned to this task, namely two. Working 8 hours a day on the task, two people would complete the task in 2 days. If one resource is removed from the task, the duration would lengthen to 4 days, while the effort necessary to complete the task (32 hours) would remain unchanged.
Effort-driven scheduling applies only to resources being added to or removed from a task. It does not apply to Microsoft Project’s calculation rules when changing work, duration, and unit values for resources already assigned to tasks.
Elapsed duration
The amount of time needed to complete a task, based on a 24—hour day and a 7—day week, including holidays, weekends, and other nonworking days. See duration.
Embedding
A form of copying in which the copied object resides in the destination file only, with no link to the source file, but can be edited using the same tools available in the source file. Changes made to an embedded object exist only within the destination file and do not change the source file from which the object was copied. Likewise, changes made to the source file are not reflected in the embedded object. See linking.
Entered field
A field in which you type information.
Expanding
In an outline, making visible the collapsed tasks that are immediately subordinate to summary tasks. You can also expand and collapse resources in the Resource Usage view.
Export table
The Microsoft Project table used to export data in the MPX file format for use in another program.
Exporting
Transferring data from Microsoft Project to another program, such as Microsoft Excel. When you export data, you choose an import/export map that matches the arrangement of data in the program to which you’re exporting. See importing.