P6 EPPM calculates and stores time unit values in hourly increments, but users can set preferences to display time units in other increments, such as days or weeks. The values specified for Hours per Time Period are used to convert hours to other time increments for display, and to convert all non-hourly time increments to hours for storage in the database. As an administrator, from Application Settings, Time Periods tab, you can define Hours per Time Period settings globally, or you can specify that the Hours per Time Period settings should be defined per calendar.
When Hours per Time Period settings are defined per calendar, units and durations are displayed more accurately. When Hours per Time Period settings are defined globally and users set preferences to display units and durations in time increments other than hours, units and durations will display unexpected values when the Application Settings for Hours per Time Period do not match the work hours specified in calendars assigned to projects, activities, and resources. This occurs because the display reflects the conversion factor of the Application Settings Hours per Time Period settings, not the hours per day defined by the project's, activity’s, or resource's assigned calendar. For example:
- User Preferences, Time Units = day
- Application Settings, Hours per Time Period = 8h/d
- Activity calendar, Work hours per day = 10h/d
- User-entered activity duration = 30h
- Actual duration display = 3d6h (30h duration/8h per day, based on the conversion factor set in Application Settings)
- Expected duration display = 3d (30h duration/10h per day, based on the conversion factor set in the activity calendar)
To avoid unexpected display results:
- Select the 'Use assigned calendar to specify the number of work hours for each time period' option on the Time Periods tab of Application Settings.
- Specify the Hours per Time Period settings for each defined calendar.
- Assign these calendars to the appropriate activities and resources.