Scheduling mode (previously period mode)

Manual an automatic scheduling

The scheduling mode determines whether a task is scheduled manually or automatically, which gives you the option of deciding how much control you want over task scheduling in a Box.

The default scheduling mode depends on box configuration settings. To learn more about the scheduling rules, see the Automation (auto-scheduling) page.

There are five different modes explained further below:

Auto basic
Auto bottom-up
Auto top-down
Manual
Locked

The 'Auto bottom-up' scheduling mode is applied to tasks with empty date fields to avoid data corruption when the tasks are structured automatically using presets.

Configuration

The App admins can set the default mode of a box type in BigPicture Administration.
The Box admins can change the default scheduling mode of a box in the box configuration.

To enable the task scheduling:

Go to App configuration (wrench icon at top right) > BigPicture configuration > General > Fields. Only Jira administrators can access this page. The App creates a select list (single choice) custom field 'Task modes' during the installation.

Set the task scheduling mode

Inline editing

You can use inline editing to change the scheduling mode of a task:

Gantt
Scope
Board
Risks

Keep in mind, a change of a task scheduling mode can have a significant scheduling impact. If needed, switch to a different module to assess the situation before making a change.

Gantt module

In the Gantt module, there are multiple ways of changing a scheduling mode.

You can change the scheduling mode of a single task (or a group of tasks, using the multi-select option) by using the right-click dialog:

You can also select multiple tasks and click on the three-dot menu in the middle:

Available scheduling modes

Auto basic mode

Auto basic mode is the default scheduling mode in BigPicture.

Tasks in Auto basic mode react to automation based on non-working days, dependencies, and parents in Auto top-down and Locked mode.

Tasks set to Auto basic mode do NOT affect children’s dates (as tasks in Auto bottom-up mode) and do NOT shift children’s tasks when tasks are moved.

Manual

The start/end dates of a task have to be manually changed.

Start/end dates are unaffected by:

Dependencies
Scheduling mode of other tasks (an "auto top-down" parent task won't reposition a "locked" child)
A move of a parent task on a timeline

When in 'Manual' mode, you can enable the period warnings to show how your tasks impact other tasks in the task structure.

Locked mode

The duration and position of Locked tasks can't be changed.

Start/end dates are unaffected by:

Manual changes of start/end
Dependencies
Scheduling mode of other tasks (an "auto top-down" parent task won't reposition a "locked" child)
A move of a parent task on a timeline

To change the start/end dates of a "locked" task, you have to change the scheduling mode first.

Auto top-down mode

https://fast.wistia.com/embed/medias/g1hrql3n4g.jsonp

Child position - affected

A parent task in an "auto top-down" mode repositions its children ("auto top-down" and "auto bottom-up") to fit within its period:

When a child is longer than the parent, start dates are matched (child duration is NOT changed):

Child duration (period warning)

An "auto top-down" parent doesn't change the duration of a child.

When period warnings are active, the discrepancy of task periods is indicated:

Auto bottom-up mode

An "auto bottom-up" task period changes based on its children's period, i.e.:

Start date of the "auto bottom-up" task = earliest start dates of the child tasks
End date of the "auto bottom-up" = latest end date of child tasks

General rules and outcomes

The general rules and outcomes are presented in the table below:

Scheduling mode