This article outlines best practices for managing schedule tasks. 

To quickly locate a particular topic, click Ctrl + F (Command + F on a Mac) and search for the topic you're looking for within this article. Below are the topics covered: 

• Milestone and Critical Path Tasks
• Adding New Tasks
• Deleting Tasks
• Changing a Task Name
• Adding and Editing Task Predecessors and Successors
• Changing Dates/Durations on Tasks
• Changing the Phase and/or Subphase of a Task
• Updating Task Status
• Delay Flags
• Assignees and Trade Partners
• Cost Allocations and Purchase Orders
• Checklists 
• Required Documents
• Filtering and Setting Your Columns
• Comments
• History

The appendix at the end of this article contains links to other articles for more in depth information beyond what is covered here. 

✐ Note: You can always look up unfamiliar terms in our Comprehensive Glossary of Key Terms. Key terms are bolded, italicized, and in quotation marks. Ex: "Bill"

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Milestone and Critical Path Tasks

There are tasks in the schedule that will be flagged and treated differently. These include "Milestone Tasks" and "Critical Path Tasks"

• Milestone Tasks are Homebound’s required milestones or key target activities to be tracked throughout a project’s lifecycle. Milestone completion is a key component in cycle time reporting. 
• Critical Path Tasks are tasks along the project life cycle that affect the end date of a stage. The critical path represents the longest overall duration of a project. 

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Adding New Tasks

There are multiple ways to add a new task to a project schedule. 

1. Click on the tri-dot icon for the Phase and select "Add task"

2. Click on the tri-dot icon for a task and select "Add task as successor" or "Add task as predecessor", depending on the relationship you would like to assign between the tasks. 

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Deleting a Task

✐ Note: If a Task is not applicable to a particular project schedule then it is best to delete it rather than to mark it complete

To delete a task in the schedule simply click on the three dots on the right and click the red text, "Delete"

Changing a Task Name

To edit a task name, simply open the Task Super Drawer, click on the name of the task, and change it to whatever you'd like. 

✐ Note: Tasks that are Global Milestones cannot be renamed or moved from their initial phase; they are standard across the company.

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Adding and Editing Task Predecessors and Successors 

"Predecessors" and "Successors" are tasks that have logical relationships with one another. 

• Predecessor tasks determine the start or finish date of a following activity based on a logical relationship. 
• Successor tasks logically come after and depend on a task immediately preceding it.

There are multiple ways to add Predecessor and Successor tasks:

1. From the task's actions column, using the tri-dot icon
2. From within the task line
3. From within the Task Super Drawer

There are multiple ways to edit Predecessor and Successor relationships: 

1. From within the task line
2. From within the Task Super Drawer

Adding a predecessor or successor task from the tri-dot icon in the Task Actions column: 

Adding or editing predecessor and successor tasks from within the task line:

Adding or editing predecessor and successor tasks in the task super drawer:

✐ Note: Do not break relationships between tasks (i.e. deleting a predecessor or successor).

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Changing Dates/Durations on Tasks

Click on the date field and the calendar will appear allowing you to modify the date. You can also type a date in the date field if you'd prefer. Task duration can also be changed from within the task line. 

Dates and durations can also be changed from within the Task Super Drawer. 

Date changes made to an end date will automatically update the task duration. Vice versa, changing a task's duration will automatically update the end date. 

If date changes impact successor tasks, a pop-up modal will show changes to those relationships so you can confirm the change before saving. 

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Change the Phase and/or Subphase of a Task

Blueprint schedules are organized in a 3 layer hierarchy: Phase > Subphase > Task

"Phases" - also referred to as "Global Phases" - include Sub-phases and Tasks. They are at the top tier of the hierarchy in the schedule. They are considered Global as they are standard across the company and cannot be removed from a project. 

Click in the Phase column to move a task between those sections.

A "Subphase" is the second tier of the hierarchy in the schedule. Subphases group related tasks that would fall under a larger Phase - such as Frame 1st Floor (Subphase) under Framing (Phase). It is possible in Blueprint to create a custom or new Subphase. While subphases help organize tasks, they are not necessary and may not apply to every Phase. 

Click in the Subphase column to move a task between those sections. You can also create a new subphase by clicking into the "Create new" section and typing into it. 

✐ Note: Phases are "Global" meaning they are standard across the company and cannot be changed. Subphases can be customized. Not all Phases will have Subphases. 

"Tasks" are the third tier in the Schedules hierarchy. Tasks are used to designate any individual project activity like Install Cabinets or B&S Final Inspection. Tasks are the most granular view of the schedule and build out the day-to-day work on a project. 

The names of Tasks are clickable within Schedules. When Task names are clicked, the associated Task Super Drawer is opened. 

✐ Note: Milestone tasks cannot be moved out of their Global Phase.

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Updating Task Status

You can use the drop-down menu on the task line or at the top of the Task Super Drawer to update the status of the task. See below for the status options:

The "Complete" status will be disabled until the following criteria are met: 

• The task end date is in the past or current date
• All required documents have been added in the Task Super Drawer
• All checklist items have been checked in the Task Super Drawer

See the gif below for an example:

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Delay Flags

Delay Flags are used to denote delays to a specific task on a project schedule. 

• All delays that directly impact milestone or critical path dates will be flagged. Blueprint will prompt you to add Delay Flags in this scenario after dates are adjusted.
• Occasionally there are delays that do not impact the schedule as time can be made up elsewhere. Any 0 day delays that involve a trade partner or consultant should be recorded for reporting purposes. Blueprint will not prompt you to add flags in this scenario, you will need to manually add a delay flag.

To read more about the process of adding a Delay Flag, read this Delay Flag SOP Article. 

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Assignees and Trade Partners

Under the Details tab in the Task Super Drawer, you can add or edit an assignee and trade partner. 

• The Assignee on the task is the person responsible for completing it. The task assignee will receive a ball-in-court email notification when the predecessor task is completed.
• The Trade Partner drop down will show all trade partners with signed POs for that project. If there is a cost allocation or PO tied to the task, the trade partner drop down will auto-populate. 

Assignees can be added at the template level, but trade partners can not. All tasks should have an assignee and trade partner (when appropriate). 

The "Scheduled" checkbox indicates that the trade for this task has been scheduled. You can also use the "Resources" drop down on the task line to indicate that the trade has been scheduled. 

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Cost Allocations and Purchase Orders

Under the Relationships tab in the Task Super Drawer, you can find "Cost Allocations" tied to that schedule task. When the task is marked complete, the allocated costs are reported to Homebound's accounting team. 

You can also view the associated PO by clicking on the blue hyperlink. 

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Checklists

"Checklist items" on schedules are actions that must be completed before the entire task can be completed. A task cannot be marked complete until all checklist items have been checked.

Tasks that have checklist items will have a clipboard icon on the schedules list view.

If all checklist items are checked and the task is marked complete, a green checkmark will appear inside the clipboard icon. Clipboard icons without a green checkmark indicate that the task status is not yet marked complete.

Checklist items can be added or checked off at the bottom of the Details tab. 

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Required Documents

"Required Documents" are documents that must be linked in a project schedule task before the task can be marked complete, such as permits or surveys. 

Tasks that have a document requirement will have a file icon under the Files column. Once the document is uploaded, the icon will have a green dot over it.

Under the Files tab in the Task Super Drawer, you can add documents to the Required Documents section. Sometimes a sample document will be linked to ensure the user knows which document is required. You can also link additional documents in the section above. 

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Filtering and Setting Your Columns

There are a number of ways you can surface the most relevant information from your schedules, including Filters and Column settings.

Some of the most used Filter drop down options allow users to filter for milestone or critical path tasks, by assignee, or even group tasks by "upcoming". See the image below for all options under the Filter drop down. 

✐ Note: Be sure to click "Apply" to ensure your filters are saved.

Similarly, the Columns drop down allows users to show those columns that have the most relevant information for their specific needs. Start and End dates will always be visible, however users can select whether or not they want to see additional information, such as duration or duration variance, task status, and files or checklist items. 

It is best practice to always have task status, assignee, files and checklists visible at all times. Beyond those items, users can customize their view and it will stay consistent across all projects. See an example of a customized selection below. 

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Comments

"Comments" are allowed in many places across the platform, the Task Super Drawer included, under the Comments tab.

You can leave internal notes and @ tag other users to send an email notification and add them as a "Watcher". Watchers receive email updates for all changes made to the task.

The chat bubble icon will show the number of comments on a task. It will also turn blue when there are unread comments on a task. 

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History

The History tab in the Task Super Drawer will surface all previous activity on the task. 

Questions? Feedback? Email us at Product-Support@Homebound.com or chat with us in Blueprint!