Project Schedules

Project schedules allow defining non-working days, such as weekends and holidays, for task scheduling.

By default, TaskRay comes preconfigured with the Simple project schedule mode, which makes every Saturday and Sunday a non-working day. It is possible to change this setting if needed.

Scheduling: Details

In TaskRay, scheduling is driven by tasks, which means that the project and task group schedules auto-adjust to encompass the task schedules within them. Therefore, the project and task group start dates are based on their first scheduled task, and the end dates are based on their last scheduled task.

Scheduling & TaskRay Task Fields 

When a task is scheduled, the following key data points (fields) are updated on the TaskRay Task record:

• Start Date: the date when the task is scheduled to start
• Estimated End Date: the date when the task is planned (estimated) to end; the task's due date
• Duration: the number of days between the task's Start Date and Estimated End Date (includes working and non-working days)
• Business Duration: the number of working days between the task's Start Date and Estimated End Date

Scheduling & Non-Working Days

With project schedules, tasks cannot be scheduled to start or end on non-working days. If a task's start or end date falls on a non-working day, TaskRay will automatically adjust its start or end date to the nearest business day. Additionally, non-working days are excluded from the Business Duration calculation. 
Example:

• Defined Non-Working Days: Saturday and Sunday
• Task Start Date: Friday
• Task Estimated End Date: Monday
• Task Business Duration: 2 days (excludes Saturday and Sunday)

Org-Wide Default Setting for Project Schedules [Admin]

The org-wide default for Project Schedules can be modified in Tools and Settings in TaskRay. This can be done either by the system administrator or by a designated TaskRay admin user who has the TaskRay - Admin Access permission set assigned.

By default, TaskRay comes preconfigured with the Simple project schedule. That said, TaskRay provides three options for Project Schedules:

• None: Assumes a schedule without consideration of non-working days or holidays for all projects. All days are working days and tasks can be scheduled on any day of the week.
• Simple: Assumes Saturdays and Sundays are non-working days, while Monday through Friday are working days. Applies to all projects.
• Advanced: References Business Hours defined in Salesforce Setup. This allows defining holidays and connecting different schedules to individual TaskRay Projects.
  
  Note | Advanced Schedule Configurations
  If you update your settings to the Advanced option, note that there are additional configuration steps that you will need to review.

To modify the project schedule mode:

1. In TaskRay, click on the Gear icon in the top right corner in the TaskRay toolbar.
   
2. Click on the Admin tab.
3. In the Project Schedule section, use the dropdown menu to select a Project Schedule option.
   
   

Advanced Project Schedule Mode: Additional Required Configurations

If you select the Advanced option for project schedules, you will also need to review a couple of additional configurations. From the technical standpoint, the Advanced project schedule mode requires defining Business Hours to outline specifics for project schedules (e.g. days of the week and holidays that should be designated as non-working days). Additionally, the defined Business Hours will then need to be linked to individual projects to apply non-working days to their schedules.

Step 1: Set Up Business Hours [Admin]

The first step is to configure the Salesforce Business Hours to outline all applicable non-working days. This includes defining the days of the week that should be considered working and non-working, as well as holidays,

1. From Setup, navigate to Company Settings | Business Hours.
2. Click on New Business Hours.
3. Step 1: Enter Business Hours Name and select the Active checkbox.
4. Step 2: Select the Time Zone that will apply to this Business Hours.
5. Step 3: For each day, select if it is a working or a non-working day using the 24 hours checkboxes.
   
   Note: Since TaskRay uses full days for scheduling tasks, it is not necessary to define the specific hours of the day as working or non-working.
6. Click Save.
   

Optionally, you can also add holidays and other custom non-working days to the Business Hours that you define.

1. On the Organization Business Hours page, in the list, click on the Business Hours that you want to add holidays to.
   
2. In the Holidays section, click on Add/Remove.
3. If you have already defined holidays for other Business Hours, those will appear in the Available Holidays box. To add them to this Business Hours, select the holidays from the list and move them to the Selected Holidays box using the Add arrow.
4. To create a new holiday, click on Create New Holiday.
5. On the Holiday Detail page, enter the Holiday Name, Description, and Date.
6. Click Save. Repeat the process for each additional holiday.
7. This holiday will automatically appear in the Selected Holidays list. Click Save.
   

Step 2: Connect Schedules to Projects

Now that you've defined Business Hours, your next step is to connect them to projects. For this step, you will use the Project Schedule field in Project Details.

1. In TaskRay, locate the project that you want to connect a Project Schedule (Business Hours) to and open its Project Details.
2. Locate the Project Schedule field and click on the Edit icon.
3. Select the desired Business Hours Name.
4. Click Save or Save & Close.

The project will now have working and non-working days as specified in the connected Business Hours.

Schedule Tasks on Non-Working Days

If you need to schedule specific tasks on non-working days, you can do so by applying an override to those tasks. For this purpose, you will use the Override Project Schedule field in Task Details.

1. In TaskRay, locate the task that you want to schedule on a non-working day and open its Task Details.
2. Locate the Override Project Schedule field, click on the Edit icon, and update the checkbox to true (checked).
3. Click Save or Save & Close.

You will now be able to schedule the task on any working or non-working day.