An item in Geniusproject can either become a phase, a task or a deliverable. To create and schedule tasks and deliverables in the Gantt chart, click on the item in the table that you would like the new item to be after, and click on the "Insert task" icon
(or "Insert milestone" icon
) on the toolbar. You can also press "Insert" (or "ALT-Insert") on the keyboard. A new task (Milestone) will be added to the table and chart.
![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/crdOsEawLZ29jRXee-sHK-H-9Mik7HAbCeTi__LuZh-7wO_zombBO1TBkkFcpFXJOrSgB2HxkaX8FTl3klASGWCB-tjLY62ASAvHY2e49awwNFuzCoxh9n013FFA6O5s6etimzsIsZ1uicy9kKmJmA)
To move an item, click on the "Move up"
or "Move down"
icons or simply move the item by drag and drop in the items section (Multiple selection for drag and drop possible).
Click on the
icon to indent and the
icon outdent an item. Once an item has items indented beneath it, it automatically becomes a phase.
Any items with a duration of one day or more is a task. An item with a duration of 0 days is a deliverable. The duration of a phase is the result of the durations of all items beneath it (not necessarily the sum as some items may occur in parallel); a phase cannot have a duration applied to it directly.
To schedule a task or deliverable, simply click on the task bar or deliverable diamond and drag it to the desired date.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jTiC4Rxn9qLDT8201PlJpckJdB7kkrUiXjWuHRFtqKytYBuP-P1vN229uDP9pEdvJ_Yc49hch14t7YSS2AzNafYHGab4G9WsvLchxh9zead2gaKHwnwqqfvpAiN3Vn3nby8cbfYorF4AbaG3eZcOSg)
To increase the duration for a task, click on the end of the task and drag it out to its new start or end date.
![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/yOx4at22TlaiZHZiBAStNBCqtbhXsfARoTusTSRB_cXVubuJM-6hb7YcddUW8J9lnAjeo7rxkjh3Wz4j3Wd_aVyquRaeo-YOl-CthDy_SuY9eHsKvBW8WYxYs7C-CZUZ7LGmgL9522krLJRqqwdQ0g)
Task or deliverable dates can also be defined in the "Item Properties" dialog box.
ItemProperties
The "Item Properties" dialog box displays all parameters of the selected item, as well as its assignments. The dialog box is composed of three tabs, the [General] tab, the [Dates] tab and the [Resources] tab. Depending on how you open the window, either one of the tabs may be active.
Navigate to the [Items] menu and select "Item Properties"
The Item Properties dialog box will open to the [General] tab
Note: It is also possible to open the dialog box by double-clicking in the Resources column of the Item table in the Gantt chart.
[General] Tab
![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/IeWgBWT3o6N3ExoFPbL4KatmfBR736sw88CQbESFCcv_k5E8TH7741haadE1Y7o0qZk75JeeY-ZmNVExciuNfTot_ZEJ3LuOYmLt4GdZg0-x2VNpE6ffBzZfRiomLrSfwxYCmUJUeOCs6AaIc9OYtw)
The [General] tab contains the following item properties:
Name | The name of the task or milestone. |
Duration | The sum of all calendar days between the start and end dates. When the Deliverable checkbox is checked, the duration is set to '0'. This value is always expressed in days. When the duration is changed, the Actual Start Date and Actual End Date are automatically updated. |
Work Progress | The project’s percentage of progress, computed using the progress of all tasks in the project. This data is updated when the agent "Update the project dates" runs. For a milestone, this value is always "0". Once the milestone is completed the value is set to "100%". |
Physical Progress | The project’s percentage of physical progress, computed using the cost of all tasks in the project (as the physical progress may not be in the same unit for all tasks). This data is updated when the agent "Update the project dates" runs. For a milestone, this value is always "0". Once the milestone is completed the value is set to "100%". |
Deliverable | When selected, the item is a deliverable. The duration is set to "0" and all date fields, except the Actual Start Date, are no longer editable. When an item is a Deliverable, only the first row on the [Resources] tab is available as only a single person can be responsible for a Deliverable. |
Enable on weekend | When selected, the tasks can be scheduled on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Checking the "Enable on weekend" checkbox has an impact on the task Duration. |
Current Start Date |
Please see [Dates] section. |
Current End Date |
Please see [Dates] section. |
Type |
The Activity Type of the task, not visible for Milestones. |
Priority |
The Priority of the task, not visible for Milestones. |
Status |
The Status of the task, not visible for Milestones. |
Description |
Text field that can be entered. |
[Dates] Tab
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/38oRDl2MOjykF9LVoyS8zDZ5bWaS0hKxRrwlgrL_IZDZMU1f7ZoP9gkNqKKHtoEQkr9iEZv59AWkIQAyTywTQVf4BECrCwC8w99_fo6OK76Yy1KSYKIKdHcRFguZBpc7cT6TXUFJT2SdBOSZ_4gtPg)
The [Dates] tab contains the following item properties:
|
| The date the task or milestone is scheduled to begin. This value can only be |
|
| changed until the task is in progress. |
|
| Can be update from the menu for all planned start dates based on a more |
|
| accurate forecast taking into account all actual dates already known in the |
|
| project: |
Planned Date |
Start |
![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Q-eH5btN3GpmTUod9MxqNEOcOm4uVw-Y0ebYBNRBYvpqhoKKJfEtk31KGnPLjICja-RJgGzSeAALazGVYp69SMJACb0y3D7xh_wQGOUirPGZHzApbFhLU1mPYOsaFT9NThCUmKLcDLo5i5L21PwAtA)
|
|
| When the Planned Start Date is changed, the duration is automatically updated. |
Planned Date | End | The date when the task or milestone is scheduled to end. This value can be changed until the task is completed or cancelled. When the Planned End Date is changed, the duration is automatically updated. |
|
| This is a computed start date taking into account all actual dates already known in the project as well as task dependencies. |
Current Date |
Start | At the beginning of the project, all current start dates are the same as planned start date. When the project is completed, all current start dates are the same as actual start dates. |
|
| When the project is in progress, current start dates represent the most probable forecast based on actual dates where they are available and on planned dates where actual dates are not yet known. |
Current Date | End | This is a computed end date taking into account all actual dates already known in the project as well as tasks dependencies. Equals to Current Start Date. |
Actual Date | Start | The date work on the activity actually began. This value cannot be modified. |
Actual date | End | The date the task was marked completed. This value cannot be modified. |
Initial Date |
Start | The start date of the last saved initial baseline. This value can only be modified from the menu:
![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Q-eH5btN3GpmTUod9MxqNEOcOm4uVw-Y0ebYBNRBYvpqhoKKJfEtk31KGnPLjICja-RJgGzSeAALazGVYp69SMJACb0y3D7xh_wQGOUirPGZHzApbFhLU1mPYOsaFT9NThCUmKLcDLo5i5L21PwAtA)
|
Initial Date |
End | The end date of the last saved current baseline. This value can only be changed from the menu "Plan > Initial baseline > Accept selected current dates as initial baseline" and "Plan > Initial baseline > Accept all current dates as initial baseline". |
[Resource] Tab
![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YPYnNhl6HdR_sdHQCXA_3nj7F20nmWHp7tot-5Mvp2LQL3JpqkM5PuPYn3OlMfaKHJzAX-unlgjb8CXUMcN-RsTvXDhm7eQ2X7IfdWLbqreESCaEDqAsYyj1EDJ75mPs_vTmA4gYRqgylNIGNyhaAw)
The [Resource] tab contains the following item properties:
Planned Load | The sum of all planned assignments to individuals in the Planned column of the [Resources] tab. |
Actual Load | The sum of all actual assignments to individuals in the Planned column of the [Resources] tab. |
Remaining | Difference between Planned-Actual. |
EAC Load | The EAC (Estimated at Completion) load is the sum of all individual EAC loads computed in the EAC column of the [Resources] tab. |
Delta | Difference between Actual-Planned. |
Initial Load | The sum of all initial assignments to resources in the Initial column of the [Resources] tab |
Unit | The Unit of the assignment |
Assigning Resources to an Activity
Once a task or deliverable has been created, resources can be assigned directly to them. In Geniusproject, multiple resources can be assigned to a single task but only one resource can be assigned to a deliverable.
To assign a resource to a task or deliverable, double-click in the cell in the resources column for that particular item, and the Item Properties dialog box will open to the [Resources] tab.
[Resources] Tab
This section contains all assignment information for the selected activity. To assign a resource to the item:
Click on a line in the resources column
Select the desired resource from the drop down list of resources included in the project
![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YPYnNhl6HdR_sdHQCXA_3nj7F20nmWHp7tot-5Mvp2LQL3JpqkM5PuPYn3OlMfaKHJzAX-unlgjb8CXUMcN-RsTvXDhm7eQ2X7IfdWLbqreESCaEDqAsYyj1EDJ75mPs_vTmA4gYRqgylNIGNyhaAw)
If the item is a deliverable, users will only be able to add an assignment to the first row, no further row can be added.
![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/u91_4YeEpcEmLa3l4WKNVYI-Hl96Pp1GULpCcrexC66gClDrupKrxbZj2zSRolnOX9qd8MkglrYjn3GIh2R-tZaYmTdj9IJm2QaeeaeaQYKRnFdy9Llo9vS1f_JxhRabCP-yygPe01xDLyArc_YNrg)
The [Resources] tab captures the following information:
Delete | This button is used to delete the resource from the list of assignees. The button is active only if the "Resources" column contains a name and if the Actual workload value is "0.000". |
Resources | A dropdown list of resources available from the current plan. The cell is only editable if the Actual workload value is "0.000". Only resources included in the Participants section of the "Project Description" document AND who have a unique "External ID" will be available in the drop down list. |
Planned | The planned workload for the given resource. This value can only be modified as long as the task is not completed or cancelled. It is possible for an individual user’s assignment (workload) to exceed the duration of the task. An alert will warn the user that the planned workload is greater than the duration and will offer the option to cancel or proceed. |
Actual | The actual amount of time the resource has already spent on the task. |
Remaining | The remaining workload for the resource. |
EAC | Estimate At Completion is the sum of the Actual and Remaining workload. |
Delta | Difference between Actual-Planned |
Initial | The initial workload is the amount saved with the initial baseline. |
Unit | The unit of measure for the assignments. It can be hours or days and is defined in the setup. |
Once assignments have been made, they can be seen in the Schedule chart at the bottom of the window.