Task duration displays question marks (?) in MSP

Products

• Clarity PPM On Premise
• Clarity PPM SaaS

Issue/Introduction

When the Microsoft Project (MSP) Schedule is opened through the Clarity MSP Interface, all the durations show up with a question mark (?) at the end. 

Cause

This is due to having one or both of the following MSP Settings checked:

• New scheduled tasks have estimated durations
• Show that scheduled tasks have estimated durations

Resolution

It's recommended to have these fields unchecked, unless you are using estimated durations.  See below for the steps to uncheck these options.

For existing projects:

1. Open the project in MSP
2. Go to File->Options-Schedule in MSP
3. Under 'Scheduling options for this project', uncheck the check boxes for the below fields:
   • New scheduled tasks have estimated durations
   • Show that scheduled tasks have estimated durations
4. Click OK
5. Save the project back to Clarity
6. Open the project and verify that the project opens correctly without the setting rechecked.

To make this the default for all projects going forward:

1. Close out all open projects in MSP
2. Go to File->Options-Schedule in MSP
3. Under 'Scheduling options for this project', uncheck the check boxes for the below fields:
   • New scheduled tasks have estimated durations
   • Show that scheduled tasks have estimated durations
4. Click OK 

Additional Information

Link to Microsoft Forum topic on this issue: Summary tasks show question mark in duration 

See also: MSP Integration Known Issues