Projected Dates and Rules
Projected dates, along with their associated link rules, are located on the left-hand side of the modal.
To add Projected Start and End dates to a Phase, click the dates field or the calendar icon, then select your dates.
When you enter Projected Start and End dates for a Phase, the modal will calculate the difference, showing the projected number of days to complete that phase.
You can do the same for each of your Phases or alternatively you can also set rules.
Rules & Linking Dates
There are two types of rules for Projected Dates:
- Rules within the same Phase, linking the start date and end date by a specified number of days.
- Rules between Phases, based on a set number of days between either the start date or the end date of the Phases.
For further details on Phases, please see Z.Planner - Settings - Phases & Milestones.
You can still have independent dates; not all dates need to be linked.
Add a Rule within the same Phase
Select the Link icon to the right of the Project Start date field.
A pop-up will appear for the Dates Link Rule. Enter the number of days between the projected start and projected end date for the Phase, then click [OK].
An orange arrow will then appear between the projected start date and projected end date, showing the number of days set in the Dates Link Rule.
Once the dates are linked, they will automatically update based on the rule set.
To update, remove, or cancel the rule, click the Link icon, make the necessary changes in the pop-up, and then click [OK].
Add a Rule between Phases
Select the Link icon between the Phases where you want to create a rule.
A pop-up will appear for the Dates Link Rule.
Enter the number of days between the Phases and choose whether it should be applied to the Start or End Date, then click [OK].
For example: Proto starts 30 days after Design [End Date].
An orange arrow will then appear between the Phases projected dates, showing the number of days set in the Dates Link Rule.
Once the dates are linked, they will automatically update based on the rule set.
To update, remove, or cancel the rule, click the Link icon, make the necessary changes in the pop-up, and then click [OK].
In more complex scenarios with multiple linked dates, changing a single date will update all connected dates along the chain.
Actual Dates
Actual dates are located on the right-hand side of the modal. Unlike projected dates, which follow rules, actual dates reflect when tasks were actually started and completed.
To add an Actual Start Date to a Phase, click the dates field or the calendar icon, then select your date.
If your projected dates have been entered, a figure will appear next to the Actual Start Date showing the difference in days between the projected start date and the actual start date.
The difference will be shown in red with a (+) if the actual date is later than projected, or in green with a (-) if it is earlier.
To add an Actual End Date to a Phase, click the dates field or the calendar icon, then select your date.
If projected dates have been entered, a number will appear next to the Actual End Date showing the difference in days between the projected and actual end dates.
The difference will be shown in red with a (+) if the actual date is later than projected, or in green with a (-) if it is earlier.
Actual Days represent the difference between the Projected Days and the Actual Days.
When an Actual End Date is entered, the Completed checkbox will automatically be checked, marking the Phase as complete.
If the Completed checkbox is selected before entering an Actual End Date, todays date will be filled in by default.
If the Actual End Date is removed, the Completed checkbox will stay checked and must be unticked manually.
To remove this, click into the Completed checkbox.
A pop up will appear asking, [Phase Not Complete?].
Select [Yes, Remove Actual End Date] to uncheck.
Production Delivery
Production Delivery is always visible by default within Phases and cannot be deleted, though it can be marked as inactive if not needed. This is because the delivery dates entered in your Production Dockets in Z.Hub are linked to the Production Delivery phase in Z.Planner.
The Production Delivery phase differs from all other Phases when it comes to Actual Dates. Projected Dates can still be entered as usual, with calculations remaining the same. Actual Dates, however, can be calculated either manually or automatically.
To add Actual Dates, click on the Actual Start or Actual End field within the Production Delivery Phase.
A pop-up will appear, giving the option to add dates either manually or automatically.
Add Actual Dates to Production Delivery - Manual
To add dates manually, set the toggle to Manual, enter the [Start Date] and [End Date], and then click [Save].
The Actual Dates entered will then be applied to the Production Delivery Phase.
Add Actual Dates to Production Delivery - Automatic
To add dates automatically, switch the toggle to Automatic.
Any Dockets containing the Product Costing will appear here, with showing the Docket Number, Reference, and From & To dates.
Select the dockets you want to link to the Actual Delivery Dates and click [Save].
The Actual Dates from the selected Docket(s) will then be applied to the Production Delivery Phase.
If multiple dockets are selected, the earliest "From" date will be used as the Start Date and the latest "To" date as the End Date.
If the dates on the selected Docket(s) are updated in Z.Hub, they will automatically update in the dates modal, since the dates are linked.
