Workflow spreadsheet columns

When the workflow displays in spreadsheet view mode (the default view) or in edit mode, data is presented in a spreadsheet of columns and rows. You review and enter information in the spreadsheet cells for each column.

Table 1. Workflow spreadsheet columns
Column Description
Tasks, Stages Lists the tasks and stages that make up the Advanced List, On-demand Campaign, or Corporate Campaignproject.

When in edit mode, click a stage or task to revise or change its sequence, name, or dependencies.

When in view mode, click a task to update status and scheduling information. For more information, see Post Task Update dialog or Starting an approval process from view mode.

Status Displays an icon to indicate the status of the task. Tasks can have one of the following statuses.
  • Pending
  • Active
  • Skipped
  • Finished

Approval tasks can have one of the following statuses.

  • Not Started
  • In Progress
  • On hold
  • Completed
  • Canceled
  • Approved

When an approval task has a status of Not started, in edit mode you can change the status to In Progress or Canceled. When the approval process is in progress for an approval task, this field is read-only. For more information, see Starting an approval process from view mode.

% Complete The percentage value that represents how complete a task is.

In edit mode, click the measuring bar for a task and enter a new % Complete number. The measuring bar expands to display a comparable level. For approval tasks, this field is read-only.

Forecast/Actual Start For tasks in the pending state, this field represents the Forecast Start date. Forecast Start dates display in italic font. After you change a task from Pending to Active, this field represents the Actual Start date. Actual Start dates are in regular font.

In edit mode, click in the cell to use a calendar to select a date and time.

Forecast/Actual End For tasks in the pending state, this field represents the Forecast End date. Forecast End dates display in italic font. After you change a task from Active to Finished, this field represents the Actual End date. Actual End dates are in regular font.

In edit mode, click in the cell to use a calendar to select a date and time.

Forecast/Actual Duration The duration of the task, in days, hours, and minutes.

If you enter both start and end dates, the system automatically calculates a value for this field (the Forecast/Actual End date minus the Forecast/Actual Start date).

Actual Effort The actual effort that it took to complete the task, as opposed to calendar duration. Effort is measured in days, hours, and minutes.
Anchored Dates Indicates whether the task is anchored. If a lock icon displays, the dates for the task are anchored.

To specify anchored dates for a task, click the column, then select Anchored from the menu. The task date cannot move even if the dates of the tasks it depends on change.

If a dependency is not met, the dates in conflict appear with a different icon and in a different font.

For example, suppose task 2.2 depends on task 2.1. If the target end date of task 2.1 is after the target start date of task 2.2, both the target end date of 2.1 and the target start date of 2.2 appear in red. This action occurs only if you anchored the date for task 2.2 by selecting the lock icon in the Anchored Dates column.

Schedule Through Indicators for which dates to use when you determine task dates. The following options are available.
  • Bus. - Business days only: include only standard, non-holiday, non-weekend dates in date calculations that are made for this task. This schedule is the default for all tasks.
  • Wkd. - Business days + Weekends: include weekends in date calculations that are made for this task.
  • Off. - Business days + Days off: include predefined system-wide non-work time in date calculations that are made for this task.
  • All - All calendar days: include all dates in date calculations that are made for this task. No dates are ignored when dates are calculated for this task.
Target Start

The targeted start date of the task. In edit mode, use the calendar to select a date.

You can add a custom milestone type to set a target and forecast dates for all tasks in a workflow in a project template. To do this, create a milestone with code START. Then, create a project template. In the workflow of this template, assign one task with this milestone type. When you create and save a project with a target start date that uses this template, the task with the new milestone type copies the project start date as its own target start date as well as its forecast start date. These target and forecast dates are then rippled to all dependent tasks in the project.

The milestone type START can only be assigned to one task in a workflow.

Target End The targeted end date of the task. In edit mode, use the calendar to select a date.
Target Duration The duration of the task, in days, hours, and minutes. The Target End minus the Target Start dates.
Target Effort The targeted effort that is estimated to complete the task, as opposed to calendar duration.
Milestone Type A task milestone that you choose from a list. Example options might be Meeting, Event, and Job Start. System administrators set the milestone types that are on the list.

For more information about setting up milestones, see the Marketing Operations Installation GuideDistributed Marketing Administrator's Guide.

Member Roles A role or roles that are associated with the task. These roles can be loaded automatically from the project template that is used to create the project, or the project owner can set them up manually.

When an approval task has a status of In Progress, On hold, or Completed, this field is read-only.

Members The people that are associated with the task.

If a workflow task has a role in its Member Role(s) column, when you assign people to roles, the workflow automatically adds a person in the corresponding Members column.

You can also add people to the Members column manually while you edit the workflow.

When an approval task has a status of In Progress, On hold, or Completed, this field is read-only.

Reviewer Roles A read-only field that shows the role or roles that are associated with an approval task.

These roles can be loaded automatically from the project template that is used to create the project, or the project owner can set them up manually.

Reviewer roles are used to pre-populate an approval process.

Reviewers A read-only field that shows the reviewers that are associated with an approval task. Reviewers are used to pre-populate an approval process.

If a workflow task has a role in its Reviewer Role(s) column, when you assign people to roles the workflow automatically adds a person in the corresponding Reviewer column.

Enforce Dep. If this task depends on other tasks, determines how strictly the system interprets dependencies. When this option is selected, the system restricts project members from updating this task until the tasks it depends on are finished.
Required Indicates whether this task is required. Required tasks cannot be skipped or deleted and their names cannot be changed.
Task Code A read-only code that identifies each task uniquely within a project. System integrators use this code to implement custom business logic for tasks.
Notes Any comments about the task.