Projects in Ruddr can be broken down into tasks. This is especially useful on larger projects where there are distinct roles and work initiatives. By using tasks, progress and performance can be measured on a per-task basis which improves overall project manageability.
To view a project's tasks, simply click on the Tasks tab (Figure 1) of the project dashboard screen.
Figure 1 - The Tasks Tab of the Project Dashboard Displays a List of Tasks on the Project
The tasks list shows the task number, billability, name, status, assignment, hours, revenue, and effective rate. Note that tasks can be assigned to project roles, to specific project team members, or both.
At the top of the task list, the following filters help you narrow down the list:
- Task name - Type in a partial or full task name.
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Status - The status of a task can be either:
- Not Started
- In Progress
- Completed
- Task Archived - Toggle between Active and Archived Tasks on the Project
Benefits of Using Tasks
Tasks help project leaders deliver a project with greater precision. By using tasks, a large scope of work can be divided into smaller and more manageable constituent parts. Two important benefits of using tasks in Ruddr are:
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Task-based budgeting - When setting up a budget for a project in Ruddr, you have the option of automatically creating the budget by aggregating all of the tasks for the project. This allows you to create a "bottoms up" budget that sums the hours and revenue across all tasks and project roles. For more information on creating a detailed budget from aggregated tasks, please see the Create a Project Budget article in the Ruddr Help Center.
- Task-based time tracking - When tasks have been defined for a project, team members can track time directly to specific tasks within the project. With time tracking at the task level, you can more easily identify trouble spots on projects that are taking too much time to deliver.
Create a Task
There are two ways to create a task on a project. You can create a new task "from scratch" or you can create tasks from task templates, which are managed in the Custom Data section of workspace settings.
To add a new task, simply click on the Create a Task button at the top of the task list (Figure 1). This will open the new task drawer (Figure 2) where you can provide information about the task. You will only see the Create a Task button if you have the Edit project permission.
Figure 2 - Create and Edit Tasks via the Task Drawer
The Basic Information section of the task includes the following fields:
- Task Name - The name of the task.
- Hours Budget - The number of hours the task is estimated to take. Note that when roles are assigned to a task, or when hours have been specified for member assignments, the total hours for the task becomes a read-only field that is calculated automatically from the role assignment and budget (Figure 3).
- Services Revenue Budget - The budgeted amount of fees associated with this task. Note that when roles are assigned to a task, the total revenue budget for the task becomes a read-only field that is automatically calculated from the role assignment and budget (Figure 3).
- Status - The status of the task, which can be either Not Started, In Progress, or Completed.
- Start and End Dates - The planned start and end dates of the task.
- Task Tags - Apply custom task attributes to the task. A Workspace Admin can set up any number of task tags for your workspace.
- Billability - Whether or not the task is billable. If a project is set as non-billable, then this task billability option is not shown. If a project is billable, but a task is set to non-billable, any hours worked on the task will be non-billable regardless of the billability setting of the project role or member.
- Task Code - Any internal task identifier that your team may use for the task.
- Notes - Any brief notes about the task.
Once you have provided the basic information for the task, you can apply various Settings:
- Lock time for this task - When checked, time can no longer be created or edited for this task.
- Cap the hours on this task - When this option is selected, time entries against this task will be prevented if the amount of time being entered will put the task over the budgeted hours specified.
- Cap the services revenue on this task - on time and materials projects, this setting will be enabled. When checked, time entries will not be permitted against the task if those time entries will put the task over the Services Revenue Budget.
- Only assigned members and roles can track time to this task - Setting this option will prevent members from entering time against the task unless they, or their role, are assigned to that task.
- Require notes on time entries for this task - When checked, any time entries associated with this task must have notes provided.
The next section of the New Task drawer is the Role Assignment & Hours section (Figure 3). If the project does not use roles then this section is called Member Assignment & Hours. This section is used to create an hours and revenue budget for the given project task.
Figure 3 - Role Assignment & Hours (or Member Assignment & Hours when Roles not in use)
The Role Assignment & Hours section allows team members to see their assigned tasks when tracking time toward the project. To add a new role or member to the task assignment, simply click the + Quick Add button.
In addition to budgeting hours per role, the number of hours on a task can be capped by role. The Cap the hours by role setting will prevent users from creating time entries for these roles, on this task, if those time entries will result in the role's hours budget being exceeded.
If a project uses roles, the task drawer will have an additional section called Member Assignment (Figure 4). This allows the task to be assigned to specific team members in addition to project roles.
Figure 4 - Assign Members to the Task in Addition to Assigned Roles
Create a Task from a Task Template
To leverage a task template, simply click the Add from Task Template action menu item (Figure 5) on the Create a Task button. This will open the Add Tasks drawer (Figure 6).
Figure 5 - Add a Task to the Project by Using Task Templates
Figure 6 - Select One or More Task Templates to Add to the Project
From the Add Tasks drawer (Figure 6), you can select one or more task templates to add to the project. Once you have selected the task(s) that you wish to add, click the Add button at the bottom of the drawer. This will close the drawer and return you to the Tasks tab of the project dashboard.
Edit a Task
To edit a task, you must have the Edit project permission. Simply click on the Edit menu option (Figure 7) in the action menu for the row that you want to edit. This will open up the same task drawer (Figure 2) that is used to create a new task. Once you have made your edits, simply click the Save & Close button to save the task and return to the task list.
Figure 7 - Access the Action Menu to Perform Select Actions for a Task
Clone a Task
Task cloning makes it easier to build out a large inventory of tasks quickly. To clone a task, you must have the Edit project permission. Simply click on the Clone menu option in the action menu (Figure 7) for the task that you want to clone. This will bring up a window (Figure 8) that will allow you to give the new task a name.
Figure 8 - Provide a New Name for the Task being Created as a Clone
Delete a Task
To delete a task, you must have the Edit project permission. Simply click on the Delete menu option in the action menu (Figure 7) for the task that you want to delete. If a task has time entries associated with it, the Delete menu option will be disabled. A task cannot be deleted when there are any time entries associated with it. If you wish to remove a task from the task list, but can not, or do not, wish to delete it, you can archive the task.
Archive a Task
To archive a task, you must have the Edit project permission. Simply click on the Archive menu option in the action menu (Figure 7) for the task that you want to archive. When a task is archived, it will no longer be possible for a workspace member to track time against it. To view archived tasks on the Task tab, select "Yes" or "All" in the Task Archived filter dropdown (Figure 1).
View Time Detail for a Task
To view time detail for a task, you must have project-level View time entries and expense items permissions. To view the time detail, click on the View Time Detail menu option in the action menu (Figure 7) for the respective task. This will bring up the Time Detail report for the specific and project and task.
Tasks and Time Tracking
When a project uses tasks, the time entry drawer will show the list of tasks (Figure 9) associated with the project. This list is grouped by My Tasks and Other Tasks. The tasks shown in the My Tasks section are assigned to the member by direct member assignment or by project role assignment. The tasks shown in the Other Tasks section are not assigned to the member either directly or by role. Note that Ruddr does not restrict a project team member from recording time to a task in the Other Tasks section.
When a member is associated with a task via a role assignment, the role is shown in a gray bubble to the right of the task name (as shown below). This can be particularly useful when a team member is assigned to multiple roles on the project team.
Figure 9 - When a Project Uses Tasks, Those Tasks are Available when Creating a Time Entry