Workflow: Schedule Management
The standard workflow for a PM (Project Manager) — build a detailed schedule, let the add-in run CPM, draw a Gantt chart to print for the site every week, track status and produce the reports for the client.
Objective
- Input: the project WBS (Work Breakdown Structure).
- Output: a printable Gantt chart + a task status table + the weekly report pack.
Workflow
Step 1 — Open the schedule template
DVD Cons → Schedule group → Setup menu → Gantt Tpl.
The add-in opens C:\DVDAddin\Template\GanttChart.xlsx as a new workbook. The template file contains:
- Sheet
HuongDan— in-file guidance on the column structure and the Predecessors syntax. - Hidden sheet
Input— the calendar data: column A is the list of public holidays, column B is the weekly calendar mask (YYYYYYN= work Mon–Sat, Sunday off), column D is the list of Lunar New Year (Tết) holidays. Do not edit this sheet by hand — change it through Calendar Setup in Step 3. - Sheets
MHC.VP_Schedule_Template(visible) andOPL.HY_Schedule_Templete(hidden) — two sample schedule tables that already carry the full standard column set. - A few sample result sheets (
EVM Report…,Dashboard…,Lookahead…, hidden sheets_BL_…,_Snap_…) that show what the reporting commands produce.
Save As a real project file, for example TienDo_MHC_VanPhong.xlsx. Copy the sample sheet into a new sheet so the original stays intact.
Step 2 — Build the WBS
Enter data from row 4 onwards on the schedule sheet (row 2 is the header row). The standard columns the add-in recognises:
| Column | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Activity ID | ✔ | Activity code, used to declare predecessor–successor links |
| Activity Name | ✔ | Name of the work item |
| Duration | ✔ | Number of working days |
| Start / Finish | ✔ | Start / finish date |
| Predecessors | recommended | Activity code + relationship code |
| Level | recommended | WBS level (1, 2, 3, 4) — Summary rows are shaded automatically |
| Complete (%) | recommended | Actual percent complete |
| Manpower | optional | Headcount, for the mobilisation chart. The Manpower command only accepts the column names Nhân lực / Manpower / Số CN / Công nhân |
| Actual Start / Actual Finish | optional | Actual dates, for the status update |
| BAC / AC | optional | Cost estimate and actual cost, for EVM and Cash-flow |
Besides the columns you fill in, the template also reserves the columns the add-in writes out itself: Constraint Type, Constraint Date (the Constraints command), Schedule %, Forecast, Δ Finish, Status, Remaining Duration, EV, PV, SV, SPI and Note. Do not type into this group of columns.
Example:
| Activity ID | Activity Name | Duration | Start | Finish | Predecessors | Level | Manpower |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOUNDATION WORKS | 1 | ||||||
| MHC1110 | Excavation | 5 | 01/06/2026 | 05/06/2026 | 2 | 8 | |
| MHC1120 | Blinding concrete | 2 | MHC1110FS | 2 | 6 | ||
| MHC1130 | Footing rebar | 3 | MHC1120FS | 2 | 10 | ||
| MHC1140 | Footing concrete pour | 4 | MHC1130FS | 2 | 12 | ||
| MHC1210 | Level 1 columns | 7 | MHC1140FS | 2 | 15 |
Predecessors syntax = Activity ID + relationship code:
| Code | Full name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
FS | Finish-to-Start | B starts once A has finished |
SS | Start-to-Start | B starts once A has started |
FF | Finish-to-Finish | B finishes once A has finished |
SF | Start-to-Finish | B finishes once A has started |
Milestones: set Duration = 0, then enter a date in Start and leave Finish empty (Start Milestone), or enter a date in Finish and leave Start empty (Finish Milestone).
Assign levels quickly
The Level column drives the WBS hierarchy and how Summary bars are drawn. Use Assign Level to set the level from the description (AI) or from the cell background colour, instead of typing each row by hand.
Step 3 — Configure the working calendar
DVD Cons → Schedule group → Setup. The window opens on the Gantt & Calendar Setup tab with three items:
| Item | Used for |
|---|---|
| General Settings | Default parameters of the Gantt chart (scale, display) |
| Calendar Setup | Declare the working days of the week + the list of public holidays used when scheduling |
| Column Visibility | Choose which columns show on the schedule sheet (visibility only, no data is deleted) |
A typical case: the site works Saturdays, takes Sunday off, plus the Vietnamese public holidays (Tết, 30/4, 1/5, 2/9, Hùng Kings' Commemoration Day). Declare exactly that in Calendar Setup, save, then click Gantt Chart — every long activity's Finish stretches out to the true number of working days.
Changing the settings does not redraw the chart
After changing the configuration you must click Gantt Chart (or turn Auto Draw on and edit a cell) to see the result. The working calendar affects every scheduling command, Auto Calc and Constraints included — recalculate the whole sheet after changing it.
Step 4 — Turn on Auto Calc and Auto Draw
DVD Cons → Schedule group → turn on Auto Calc.
When ON, every time you edit Duration, Start, Finish or Predecessors the add-in recalculates the whole schedule immediately. The Excel status bar shows a confirmation line Auto Calc: ON… for about 6 seconds.
The relationship between any 2 of the 3 columns Duration / Start / Finish:
- Start + Duration → Finish = Start + Duration working days.
- Start + Finish → Duration = the number of working days between the two dates.
- Editing Finish when Start + Duration already exist → Duration is recalculated.
Also turn on Auto Draw so the Gantt repaints after each calculation (about 0.7 seconds after you stop typing).
Turn it off for bulk data entry
Pasting a few hundred rows or reviewing durations across dozens of rows → turn Auto Draw off (keep Auto Calc on) to keep things smooth, then turn it back on. Turning Auto Calc off entirely also disables Auto Draw.
The state of both buttons is written to the user registry, so it survives an Excel restart — if dates start changing unexpectedly, check these two buttons first.
Step 5 — Draw the chart
Put the cursor in any cell inside the activity table (the add-in detects the header row and the data area itself) → DVD Cons → Gantt Chart.
The Gantt Chart window has 3 fields:
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Chart scale | Month / Week / Day. Defaults to the value in the Gantt settings |
| Column width | Width of each time column. Default 24 for Month, 12 for Week; choosing Day locks this field |
| Start column | The column letter where the chart area begins (for example AC). Leave it blank and the add-in picks one |
Click Draw. The add-in draws the Task / Summary / Milestone bars, the FS/SS/FF/SF link arrows, the Today line, the shading of weekend and holiday columns according to the working calendar, and the completed portion from the Complete (%) column.
The options you choose are remembered for subsequent automatic redraws.
Drawing the Gantt overwrites and cannot be undone
Ctrl+Z does not restore the previous chart area — save the file before the first draw on important data. Also do not run the command while the cursor is blinking inside a cell (cell edit mode) — Excel will reject the operation.
Step 6 — Weekly update
Every week:
- The site reports the % complete of each task.
- The PM enters Complete (%), and Actual Start / Actual Finish for tasks that have started / finished.
- DVD Cons → Schedule group → Update Status — the command runs immediately, with no dialog, adding 5 analysis columns with conditional formatting:
| Column | Contents |
|---|---|
| PV | Planned Value computed against TODAY() |
| SV | Schedule Variance = EV − PV |
| SPI | EV ÷ PV |
| Δ Finish | Days late (+) / early (−) |
| Status | 🚀 not started · ⏳ running · 🟢 early · 🟡 slightly late · 🔴 badly late |
The command is idempotent — run it as many times as you like and it only refreshes, it never duplicates the columns. One look at the Status column tells you which tasks are the bottlenecks to raise at the progress meeting.
- Click Gantt Chart again (or let Auto Draw do it) → save the file → export the end-of-week report to PDF.
Step 7 — Report pack for the site and the client PRO
The Reports & Snapshot menu in the Schedule group. Except for Baseline (which opens its own management window), all these commands run immediately, with no dialog; they only read data and generate a new sheet — the sheet is overwritten on every rerun and Ctrl+Z cannot restore it:
| Command | Output | Prerequisites |
|---|---|---|
| 2-Week Lookahead | A 21-day grid (1 week past + 2 weeks ahead), sheet preset for A3 landscape — for fast-cycle work | Start / Finish, ideally with Actual Start/Finish |
| 3-Week Lookahead | A 28-day grid (1 week past + 3 weeks ahead), A3 landscape sheet for the notice board | Start / Finish, ideally with Actual Start/Finish |
| Manpower | Weekly mobilisation peak chart + average line, highlighting over-allocated weeks | A manpower column (Nhân lực / Manpower / Số CN / Công nhân) |
| Cash-flow | Planned cost per period + cumulative S-curve | The BAC column |
| EVM Report | A BAC/PV/EV/AC/SV/CV/SPI/CPI/EAC/ETC/VAC table + a three-line S-curve | BAC, AC, Complete (%) |
| Variance Dashboard | A 1-page Schedule + EVM overview for management | as above |
| Health Check | The Health sheet: the DCMA scorecard (~12 metrics) + the list of flagged activities | Run Auto Calc first so Total Float exists |
| Baseline | Saves a frozen copy in a hidden _BL_* sheet, comparison goes to the BL Compare sheet | The source sheet must be visible |
| Snapshot / Snapshot Trend | The capture is stored in a very hidden _Snap_YYYYMMDD sheet + an SPI/CPI/critical-path-slip trend chart | Trend needs at least 2 captures — run Snapshot regularly every week |
A sensible run order each reporting cycle
Auto Calc → Update Status → Health Check (review the logic) → EVM / Cash-flow / Manpower → Baseline comparison → Variance Dashboard for management → Lookahead printed for the site notice board.
Step 8 — Track manpower and level it
Manpower reads the manpower column, adds up the people working simultaneously each day, then plots the weekly mobilisation peak with an average line:
| Week | Peak manpower | Vs. average |
|---|---|---|
| W31 | 165 | Below average |
| W33 | 268 | Over-allocated week |
| W34 | 254 | Over-allocated week |
| W35 | 141 | Below average |
Spot an over-allocated week → go back to the schedule sheet, move the activities that still have positive float out of the peak week, then rerun the command to see whether the mobilisation curve has flattened.
The command is read-only: it does not level manpower and it does not move dates. The column name must be one of the recognised set; name it something else and the command falls back to counting concurrent activities. Leaving the manpower cell blank on some activities makes the mobilisation curve lower than reality.
Step 9 — Print the weekly report
DVD Addin → Batch print:
- Driver cell (number) = the cell holding the current week number that the filtering/display formulas look up.
- Sheet-print cell = the cell holding the name of the Gantt sheet to print each iteration.
- Filename cell = the cell with the file-naming formula, for example
="TienDo_Tuan"&B1. - Tick combine all PDFs into one file if you want one continuous volume for the client.
Simpler still: select the sheets you need to send and click Sheets → PDF — remember that this command produces one PDF file per sheet next to the workbook, not a single combined file.
Send the reports to each party with Send Email: point To/Subject/Body at Excel cells, point the Attachments box at the cell holding the PDF path, and enable Batch with a driver cell so that one click sends to the client + the supervision consultant + the subcontractors.
Plan vs Actual comparison
There is no need to build two sets of Plan/Actual columns by hand — use Baseline PRO:
- Freeze the plan → open the Schedule Baseline Manager window → enter a Name (for example
BL1 — contract award plan) and a Description → Save baseline now. The frozen copy lives in a hidden_BL_*sheet inside the workbook itself. - At the end of the period, select the baseline in the grid, set the Compare Status Date, and click Compare with selected baseline.
- The BL Compare sheet gives: total tasks, number slipped, number ahead, number added, number deleted, average slip, maximum slip, together with a detail table of BL Start/Finish/Dur against the current values and ΔSlip.
One project can keep several baselines (BL1 at contract award, BL2 after a major revision). Deleting a baseline cannot be undone.
Exchanging with MS Project / Primavera P6
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
| Export XML (P6/MSP) PRO | Exports the schedule to an MS Project XML file (P6 can import it too) |
| Import XML (P6/MSP) PRO | Imports a schedule from an XML file exported by MS Project / P6 |
| Constraints PRO | Sets P6/MSP-style date constraints (MSO / SNET / FNLT / Deadline) to pin contractual milestones |
| Header Language | Flips the column headers between Vietnamese ⇄ English — use this command instead of editing by hand so the add-in still recognises the columns |
AI-assisted scheduling PRO
The Schedule AI menu:
- AI Gantt Builder — the AI generates a schedule outline from a BoQ (recommended; Activity IDs take the actual BoQ codes) or from a description of the package, and writes it to a new sheet with the add-in's exact Gantt structure, instead of you typing the activity list by hand.
- Schedule Recovery — freezes the figures at a Status Date, classifies each activity (Behind / Ahead / On schedule / Complete / Not started), then proposes a plan using one of three modes: Keep deadline (compress remaining), Push deadline (shift uniform) or AI re-plan. The result is written to 3 new columns at the end of the sheet; the baseline is not overwritten.
AI Gantt Builder and the AI re-plan mode need an AI service configured in Preferences ▸ AI Assistant with a valid API key; the other two Schedule Recovery modes are computed purely by formula and need no network.
Syncing with the team
Several people working on one schedule file → DVD Cons → Connect: one machine runs LAN Host (set Port, Data password and Admin password, then click ▶ Start Server), the other machines enter the Host IP to Connect LAN. Not on the same LAN? Use Internet (MQTT) — the whole team joins the same Room ID on a broker.
This is a real-time sync session between machines that are currently open, not a cloud file store. You should still assign each PM a part of the WBS (Foundation / Superstructure / M&E), keep one person as the owner of the master copy, and save the file after every session.
License gating
| Command | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Gantt Chart, Update Status | Needs a license (Standard or PRO) |
| The whole Reports & Snapshot and Schedule AI menus, plus Constraints, Export XML, Import XML | PRO |
| Gantt Tpl, Auto Calc, Auto Draw, Setup, Header Language | Free |
During the 30-day trial, every command including the PRO ones is fully available. STANDARD accounts activated before 01/07/2026 can still use the PRO commands until their license expires. After that, see license activation.
Related
- Gantt Chart — the whole Schedule command group in detail.
- Advanced Scheduling (Schedule Pro) — the PRO reports.
- Batch print — printing week by week with a driver cell.
- Connect — team sync over LAN / MQTT.
- Workflow: Batch Acceptance — build the acceptance plan from this same schedule table.