Project Schedules

This feature is available to the following product editions
  • Starter
  • Standard
  • Premium

Project Schedules allow you to define non-working days, such as weekends and holidays, for your projects. This setting determines the method for updating the Start Date, End Date, and Business Duration fields on tasks so that they are not scheduled to start or end on non-working days. If a task falls on a non-working day, it will adjust to start or end on the nearest working day. In addition, if a multi-day task crosses a non-working day, its dates will adjust to take into account the non-working day while preserving the task's business duration.

Note: The duration of tasks is calculated using Business Days, which only take working days into account. You can read more about task duration in the Schedule Tasks article.

In TaskRay, you can choose between 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 to connect different schedules to each individual TaskRay Project.

Any non-working days will be shaded in Plan View for visual reference.

Tip: If you are using Project Schedules, it is also possible to make exceptions to schedule certain tasks on non-working days if needed.

 

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 to him or her.

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

 

None

This option assumes that every day is a working day, allowing you to schedule tasks on any day of the week. Applies to all projects

 

Simple

This option assumes a project schedule where Saturdays and Sundays are non-working days while Monday through Friday are working days. With this setting, tasks cannot be scheduled on Saturdays or Sundays. Applies to all projects.

If you select this option, but need to make exceptions for certain tasks to be scheduled on a non-working day, you can do so using the Override Project Schedule field on the task. You can read more about this in the Schedule Tasks on Non-Working Days section below.

 

Advanced

This option allows you to link custom project schedules that define working and non-working days to each project. With this setting, tasks cannot be scheduled on the days that are defined as non-working.

By default, every project will have no schedule connected to it and will assume every day as a working day.

Step 1: Set Up Business Hours

For this purpose, TaskRay uses Salesforce Business Hours, which are then connected to projects via the Project Schedule field on each project. If necessary, you can create multiple unique Business Hours sets and then link them to specific projects in TaskRay.

  1. From Setup, navigate to
    • Lightning: Company Settings | Business Hours
    • Classic: Administer | Company Profile | 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.
    business_hours_setup.png

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.
    org_business_hours.png
  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.
    selected_holidays.png
    Tip: If you ever need to remove a holiday from Business Hours, you can do so on this page. You would need to select the holiday that you want to remove under Selected Holidays and move it to the Available Holidays box using the Remove arrow.

 

Step 2: Connect Project Schedules

Now that you've defined Business Hours, your next step is to connect them to projects. Keep in mind, you can connect different Business Hours to different projects.

For this step, you will use the Project Schedule field in Project Details.

Note: If you do not see the Project Schedule field in Project Details, that means that it has not been added to the Project Field Set. If you would like to add this field to the Project Details layout, you would need to modify the Project Page Layout.
  1. From Setup, navigate to:
    • Lightning: Objects and Fields | Object Manager.
    • Classic: Create | Objects.
  2. Select TaskRay Project.
  3. Navigate to the Page Layouts section and select the necessary page layout.
  4. Move the Project Schedule field into the page layout.
  5. Click Save.
  1. In TaskRay, locate the project that you want to connect a Project Schedule (Business Hours) to and open its Project Details.
  2. Double click on the Project Schedule field. Alternatively, click Edit to enter editing mode.
  3. Click on the Lookup icon next to the Project Schedule field.
  4. This will open a window where you can search and select Business Hours that you have defined in your org. Click on the desired Business Hours Name to make a selection.
  5. Click Save or Save & Close.

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

2017-07-29_18-26-11.png

 

Schedule Tasks on Non-Working Days

If you are using Project Schedules to define non-working days on projects, but need to schedule specific tasks on those 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.

Note: If you do not see the Override Project Schedule field in Task Details, that means that it has not been added to the Task Page Layout. If you would like to add this field to the Task Details layout, you would need to modify the Task Page Layout.
  1. From Setup, navigate to:
    • Lightning: Objects and Fields | Object Manager.
    • Classic: Create | Objects.
  2. Select TaskRay Task.
  3. Navigate to the Field Sets section and select the necessary page layout.
  4. Move the Override Project Schedule field into the page layout.
  5. Click Save.
  1. In TaskRay, locate the task that you want to schedule on a non-working day and open its Task Details.
  2. Double click on the Override Project Schedule field and select the checkbox. Alternatively, click Edit to enter editing mode and select the Override Project Schedule checkbox.
  3. Click Save or Save & Close.

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

override_schedule.png

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