Special Field Categories

The fields listed in the following tables (Custom Fields and Custom Outline Codes, Earned Value, and PERT Analysis) are all included in the tables found earlier in this chapter. In this case, these fields are listed by their function in the project plan.

Custom Fields and Custom Outline Codes

Custom fields can be used to create your own cost, date, duration, finish, flag, number, outline code, start, and text fields in Microsoft Project. The number of customizable fields of a given type can range from 10 to 30. When using Microsoft Project or the OLE DB Provider, you will see the fields listed with the type and the number of the custom field. When you're viewing the custom fields using Microsoft Access or Microsoft Excel, each custom field is stored in a unique table that contains all the data required to identify the custom field or custom outline code and where it is being used within a project. The table name is listed in the Microsoft Project Database column. Table B-11 shows custom fields.

Cross-References  

For more information about working with custom fields, see "Customizing Fields" and "Working with Outline Codes".

Table B-11: Custom Fields

Field	Available Categories	OLE DB Provider	Microsoft Project Database	Description
Cost1-10	Assignment	AssignmentCost1-10		The currency values for the custom Cost1 through Cost10 fields.
	Resource	ResourceCost1-10
	Task	TaskCost1-10
Date1-10	Assignment	AssignmentDate1-10		The date values for the custom Date1 through Date10 fields.
	Resource	ResourceDate1-10
	Task	TaskDate1-10
Duration1-10	Assignment	AssignmentDuration1-10		The duration values for the custom Duration1 through Duration10 fields.
	Resource	ResourceDuration1-10
	Task	TaskDuration1-10
Finish1-10	Assignment	AssignmentFinish1-10		The date values for the custom Finish1 through Finish10 fields.
	Resource	ResourceFinish1-10
	Task	TaskFinish1-10
Flag1-20	Assignment	AssignmentFlag1-20		The Yes/No values for the custom Flag1 through Flag20 fields.
	Resource	ResourceFlag1-20
	Task	TaskFlag1-20
Number1-20	Assignment	AssignmentNumber1-20		The numeric values for the custom Number1 through Number20 fields.
	Resource	ResourceNumber1-20
	Task	TaskNumber1-20
OutlineCode1-10	Resource	ResourceOutlineCode1-10		The values for the custom OutlineCode1 through OutlineCode10 fields.
	Task	TaskOutlineCode1-10
Start1-10	Assignment	AssignmentStart1-10		The date values for the custom Start1 through Start10 fields.
	Resource	ResourceStart1-10
	Task	TaskStart1-10
Text1-30	Assignment	AssignmentText1-30		The text values for the custom Text1 through Text30 fields.
	Resource	ResourceText1-30
	Task	TaskText1-30

Earned Value Fields

Earned value fields are used to measure the cost of work and are based on a task's baseline cost. Table B-12 shows earned value fields.

Cross-References  

For information about working with earned value, see Chapter 13.

Table B-12: Earned Value Fields

Field	Available Categories	OLE DB Provider	Microsoft Project Database	Description
ACWP	Assignment	AssignmentACWP	ASSN_ACWP	The earned value actual cost of work performed (ACWP).
	Assignment (Timephased)	AssignmentTimeACWP
	Resource	ResourceACWP	RES_ACWP
	Resource (Timephased)	ResourceTimeACWP
	Task	TaskACWP	TASK_ACWP
	Task (Timephased)	TaskTimeACWP
BAC	Assignment	AssignmentBaselineCost	ASSN_BASE_ COST	The earned value Budget At Completion (BAC). Same as the Baseline Cost field.
	Assignment (Timephased)	AssignmentTime-BaselineCost
	Resource	ResourceBaselineCost	RES_BASE_ COST
	Resource (Timephased)	ResourceTime- BaselineCost
	Task	TaskBaselineCost	TASK_BASE_ COST
	Task (Timephased)	TaskTimeBaselineCost
BCWP	Assignment	AssignmentBCWP	ASSN_BCWP	The earned value budgeted costs of work performed (BCWP) costs.
	Assignment (Timephased)	AssignmentTimeBCWP
	Resource	ResourceBCWP	RES_BCWP
	Resource (Timephased)	ResourceTimeBCWP
	Task	TaskBCWP	TASK_BCWP
	Task (Timephased)	TaskTimeBCWP
BCWS	Assignment	AssignmentBCWS	ASSN_BCWS	The earned value budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS) costs.
	Assignment (Timephased)	AssignmentTime-BCWS
	Resource	ResourceBCWS	RES_BCWS
	Resource (Timephased)	ResourceTimeBCWS
	Task	TaskBCWS	TASK_BCWS
	Task (Timephased)	TaskTimeBCWS
CPI	Task Task (Timephased)	TaskCPI		The earned value cost performance index, which is the ratio between BCWP and ACWP.
CV	Assignment	AssignmentCV		The earned value Cost Variance (CV), which is the difference between the budgeted (baseline) cost and the actual cost of work performed.
	Assignment (Timephased)	AssignmentTimeCV
	Resource	ResourceCV
	Resource (Timephased)	ResourceTimeCV
	Task	TaskCV
	Task (Timephased)	TaskTimeCV
CV Percent	Task Task (Timephased)	TaskCVP		The earned value Cost Variance percent (CV%), which is the ratio of CV to BCWP … … …, expressed as a percentage.
EAC	Task	TaskEAC	TASK_EAC	The earned value estimate at completion (EAC), which is the expected total cost of a task.
Earned Value Method	Task		TASK_ EVMETHOD	The method (Percent Complete or Physical Percent Complete) used to calculate BCWP … … ….
Physical Percent Complete	Task		TASK_PHY_ PCT_COMP	The percent complete value, also known as earned value percent complete; an alternative to BCWP.
SPI	Task Task (Timephased)	TaskSPI		The earned value schedule performance index (SPI), which is the ratio of BCWP to BCWS.
SV	Assignment	AssignmentSV		The earned value schedule variance (SV), which is the difference between BCWP and BCWS measured in cost terms.
	Assignment (Timephased)	AssignmentTimeSV
	Resource	ResourceSV
	Resource (Timephased)	ResourceTimeSV
	Task	TaskSV
	Task (Timephased)	TaskTimeSV
SV Percent	Task Task (Timephased)	TaskSVP		The earned value schedule variance (SV%), which is the ratio of SV to BCWS.
TCPI	Task	TaskTCPI		The earned value To Complete Performance Index (TCPI), which is the ratio of remaining work to remaining funds.
VAC	Assignment	AssignmentVAC		The earned value variance at completion (VAC), which is the difference between BAC and EAC, measured in cost terms.
	Resource	ResourceVAC
	Task	TaskVAC

PERT Analysis Fields

PERT Analysis is a technique used to evaluate task durations using best-case (optimistic), expected-case (expected), and worst-case (pessimistic) scenarios based on a task's duration, start date, or finish date. All PERT Analysis fields use Custom fields to store the information. Table B-13 shows PERT Analysis fields.

Cross-References  

For information about working with PERT Analysis, see "Setting Task Durations".

Table B-13: PERT Analysis Fields

Field	Available Categories	OLE DB Provider	Microsoft Project Database	Description
Expected Finish	Task	TaskFinish2		The expected finish date of a task for PERT Analysis calculations.
Expected Start	Task	TaskStart2		The expected start date of a task for PERT Analysis calculations.
Expected Duration	Task	TaskDuration2		The expected duration of a task for PERT Analysis calculations.
Optimistic Finish	Task	TaskFinish1		The optimistic finish date of a task for PERT Analysis calculations.
Optimistic Start	Task	TaskStart1		The optimistic start date of a task for PERT Analysis calculations.
Optimistic Duration	Task	TaskDuration1		The optimistic duration of a task for PERT Analysis calculations.
Pessimistic Finish	Task	TaskFinish3		The pessimistic finish date of a task for PERT Analysis calculations.
Pessimistic Start	Task	TaskStart3		The pessimistic start date of a task for PERT Analysis calculations.
Pessimistic Duration	Task	TaskDuration3		The pessimistic duration of a task for PERT Analysis calculations.