The PPM Express Time report pack provides tools for tracking time logged in PPM Express timesheets.
General Settings
The reports are presented in six groups, which differ according to the type of data presented.
Data analysis is always performed within a specified time: Date Filter, which can be selected in the corresponding slicer.
Almost every report has a Date Filter slicer. You can select more than one value, such as “This Month” or “Previous Month”. The selected value is synchronized between the report pages.
In addition, you can use the optional Date Range filter of the filters sidebar.
To filter data for a specific date range (for example, from September 1 to September 15), use the Advanced filtering option:
- In the Filter type, select Advanced filtering.
- In the first condition, choose is on or after, and enter the start date.
- Select And to add a second condition.
- In the second condition, choose is on or before, and enter the end date.
In this case, clear the selected values in the slicer to prevent the panel filter from conflicting with it.
For timesheet reports, a Reporting Period filter is available.
Similar to the Date Filter slicer and the Date Range filter, the Reporting Period filter affects time entry data. However, it is specifically designed for analyzing timesheet information based on reporting periods.
To make period selection easier and more visible, the Reporting Period filter is displayed directly on the report canvas as a slicer in timesheet reports. This allows users to quickly switch between reporting periods without opening the Filters pane.
In some report pack visualizations, data are presented in periods:
- D – by day
- W – by week
- M – by month
- Q – by quarter
- Y – by year
- F – by financial periods (defined in the PPM Express Financial settings)
Analyzed Metrics
Only three metrics are analyzed in the Projects and Project groups of reports: Task Time, Custom Time, and Project Time. Metrics analyzing a resource's performance and administrative time are not included in this group, as they cannot be calculated within the scope of these reports.
The full set of metrics is the subject of analysis of the first three groups (Organizational, Resources, and Resource). For example, the tooltip on the screen below clearly presents these metrics.
| Organizational | Resources | Resource | Projects | Project | ||
Task Time |
Hours reported for the Project Tasks |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
Custom Time |
Hours reported for the custom entries |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
Project Time |
Task Time + Custom Time |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
Non-working admin time |
Admin hours of Non-working type, reported by a resource |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
|
Non-project admin time |
Admin hours of Non-project type, reported by a resource |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
|
Admin Time |
Non-working admin time + Non-project admin time |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
|
Reported Time |
Project Time + Admin Time |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
|
Expected Time |
The expected hours for a resource on a particular date. Determined by global and resource-level calendars and exceptions |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
|
Performance |
(Reported Time / Expected Time) * 100% |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
|
Difference |
Reported Time - Expected Time |
✔ |
✔ |
✔ |
|
|
Performance and Reported Time Metrics in Organization Management Report
The metrics for Organization Management report are calculated for two teams:
- Project Manager Team. A team that works on projects that a Project Manager manages
- Direct Manager Team. A team whose team members are managed by a Direct Manager
The Reported Time and Expected Time calculations for the Project Manager Team are performed for
- Resources that have Assignments to Tasks on projects that a Project Manager manages
- Resources with Task Time or Custom Time in their timesheets on projects a Project Manager manages
- Resources with allocated hours in the Resource Plan Project section
The Reported Time and Expected Time calculations for the Direct Manager Team are performed for Resources that a Direct Manager manages.
Project Reported Time vs Resource Plan Committed Time and Project Reported Time vs Tasks Effort
The Projects and Project reports allow assessing the time reported in timesheets for projects and comparing this time with the Committed Time in the resource plan and the Tasks Effort values of the corresponding tasks.
The 'Reported vs Committed' and 'Reported vs Effort' views are dedicated to this comparison.
Reported vs Committed Views
The metrics for this report are the following:
- Project Reported Time (short: Reported Time): Time reported on the project in timesheets. This is the sum of Tasks Time and Custom Time.
- Resource Plan Committed Time (short: Committed Time): Committed hours in the resource plan allocated to a resource for the project.
- Variance, hours (h): Calculated as [Project Committed Time] – [Project Reported Time].
- Variance, %: Calculated as ( [Project Reported Time] - [Project Committed Time] ) / [Project Committed Time].
Reported vs Committed Views
The metrics for this report are the following:
- Project Reported time (short: Reported Time) is the Time reported on the project in timesheets, the sum of Task Time and Custom Time.
- Tasks Effort: Task Effort field value is distributed evenly between task working days per each assignee. A task is included in the calculation only if it has assigned users and/or the Start Date and Due Date fields are populated.
- Variance, hours (h): Calculated as [Project Committed Time] – [Project Reported Time].
- Variance, %: Calculated as ( [Project Reported Time] - [Project Committed Time] ) / [Project Committed Time].
Clicking on the Project Reported Time metric in the table or chart activates the 'Drill through to the time entries details' button.
Time Entries
The five groups of reports listed above present the time from timesheets in an aggregated form.
As a rule, this is sufficient for high-level analytics.
However, if there is a need to view data on a particular time entry (Description, Is Billable, Cost Type), you can access them using the 'Drill through' functionality that is available for three reports:
- Resource Details
- Project Details
- Resources Details
Time Entries Registry Report
The Time Entries Registry report is designed to help users analyze reported time entries across different applications, particularly in Microsoft Excel. This report is a valuable tool for tracking and reviewing resource time usage, ensuring accurate reporting and data-driven decision-making.
This report is available from the Home page -> Resources tab -> Time Entries Registry.
The core element of this report is a structured table, which organizes and displays tracked time.
Row headers group entries by resource.
For each resource, you can view both Project Time (Tasks Time + Custom Time) and Admin Time (Non-project Time + Non-working Time).
The lowest hierarchy level of the table represents individual time entries.
Header icons allow users to expand or collapse different levels of data hierarchy.
To define or limit the dataset, both report sheet slicers and the Filters pane can be used.
Exporting Data
Users can export report data using the Export button in the table menu.
There are two export options:
1. Data with current layout export – Data is exported in the same structured layout as displayed in the report table.
2. Summarized data export – Data is exported in a format suitable for further processing in Microsoft Excel.
If users intend to transform and manipulate data within Excel, the 'Summarized data' export format is recommended.
When using the Summarized data export option, the Excel file remains connected to the Power BI semantic model. This allows users to keep their data up to date by refreshing it using the Refresh button in the Excel ribbon.
Timesheet Reports
The report pack includes a set of dedicated timesheet reports designed to analyze timesheet status, approval processes, and detailed time-entry information.
The following reports are available directly from the Home page:
- Timesheet Status Details
- Timesheet Status Summary
- Timesheet Approval Requests
Additional detail reports are available through drill-through from the summary reports:
- Timesheet Status Summary -> Timesheet Details
- Timesheet Approval Requests -> Approval Request Details
Timesheet Status Details
The Timesheet Status Details report is based on Timesheet Lines, where a Timesheet Line represents either project-related time or administrative time recorded in a timesheet. Each Timesheet Line consists of one or more time entries that may be reported on different dates and may relate to different tasks or custom entries.
In the report, time entries are grouped by reporting date and aggregated within the corresponding Timesheet Line. The Reported Hours field shows the total number of hours reported within the group.
By default, report data is sorted in the following order:
- Period (Ascending)
- Timesheet Owner (Ascending)
- Date (Ascending)
- Project Name / Administrative Name (Ascending)
Filters are available for all report columns in the Filters pane, allowing you to narrow down the displayed data.
The Project Name filter applies only to project-related time entries. Administrative Time records are not affected by this filter. To analyze a specific type of time entry, use the Time Type slicer.
A Time Type slicer is also available in the report header for quick filtering by a specific time category.
Timesheet Status Summary
The Timesheet Status Summary report provides timesheet information in a table format.
Each row in the report represents a single timesheet.
To help analyze data from different perspectives, report rows can be grouped using the Group By slicer available on the report page.
Timesheet Details
To view detailed information for a specific timesheet, open the Timesheet Status Summary report, select the desired row, and then use one of the following options:
- Right-click the required row, then click Drill through -> Timesheet Details.
- Click the required row, then select the Drill through to the Timesheet Details option above the table.
The Timesheet Details report opens with data filtered for the selected timesheet.
At the top of the report, a Timesheet Summary section displays key information about the selected timesheet.
The lower part of the report contains two views:
Timesheet Lines – Overview: This view displays the timesheet lines included in the selected timesheet without a daily breakdown of reported hours.
Timesheet Lines – Daily Hours: This view displays reported hours distributed by day, allowing you to analyze time entries at a daily level.
Additional details about individual time entries are available through tooltips. Hover over a value in the report to view detailed information for the corresponding time entry.
Timesheet Approval Requests
The Timesheet Approval Requests report provides information about timesheet approval requests in a table format.
Each row in the report represents a single approval request.
To help analyze data from different perspectives, report rows can be grouped using the Group By slicer available on the report page.
Approval Request Details
To view detailed information for a specific approval request, select the desired row and then use one of the following options:
- Right-click the required row, then click Drill through -> Approval Request Details.
- Click the required row, then select the Drill through to the Approval Request Details option above the table.
The Approval Request Details report opens with data filtered for the selected approval request.
At the top of the report, an Approval Request Summary section displays key information about the selected approval request.
The lower part of the report contains a table that displays Reported Hours by day.
Additional details about individual time entries are available through tooltips. Hover over a value in the report to view detailed information for the corresponding time entry.