1. TaskRay
  2. TaskRay Support Guide
  3. Time Tracking

Set Time Estimates

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

 

Setting time estimates on project tasks is one of the elements that allows for defining the scope of projects and determining how much time should be planned for completing the work. When team members are assigned to tasks with time estimates, they can use that information to plan out their work. When managing assignments, team members can log time against tasks to track how much they spend on executing the work. These time actuals can then be compared against set estimates to get insight into project performance, as well as to make potential adjustments for more accurate project planning.

Premium Edition & Time Estimates

The Premium Edition of TaskRay also leverages time estimates for capacity planning, such as in the Resource Planner. When it comes to capacity planning, time estimates are used as a means of measuring work and determining Resource utilization. Therefore, time estimates are required for capacity planning in TaskRay.

 

Set Time Estimates

All of the main TaskRay objects (TaskRay Task, TaskRay Task Group, TaskRay Project) have an Estimated Time (hrs) field. That being said, time estimates are set at the task level, which are then automatically rolled up and summarized at the parent level, such as on the related task group and project.

  1. Locate the task on which you would like to set time estimates and open its Task Details.
  2. Locate the Estimated Time (hrs) field and double click on it to edit.
  3. Enter the number of hours that are estimated to complete the work on the task. Use decimal points to set partial hours (e.g. a .5 value correlates with 30 minutes).
  4. Click Save.

Once the estimates are set on tasks, you can view summarized estimates on their related task group or project in the Estimated Time (hrs) fields.

Note: If you do not see the Estimated Time (hrs) field on TaskRay Task, TaskRay Task Group, or TaskRay Project objects, then you will need to add the field to the page layouts of applicable objects.

 

Billable Time Estimates

TaskRay also allows setting the default for billable or non-billable time type on tasks. For Standard Edition customers, this prescribes the default Billable value on time entries whenever users log time against a task. For Premium Edition customers, this also allows delineating between billable and non-billable types of work for capacity planning. You can read more about this in the following article: Set the Default for Billable Time Entries.

 

Time Estimates and Templates

If you are using templates to create projects, it is recommended to set time estimates on tasks at the template level. When templates are used to create new projects, set time estimates from templates are copied over to new projects. Not only does this help eliminate manual steps for setting up project data, but it also sets a consistent structure for project plans.