Configuring sensitivity report options

You use Sensitivity Options dialog to configure the sensitivity report that is displayed on the current tab of the Sensitivity Reports dialog. The settings that you enter on this dialog apply to the current tab only, which means that you can configure a different set of sensitivity options for each of the sensitivity reports.

To access the Sensitivity Options dialog, click Options on the Sensitivity Reports dialog.

Field Description
Number of items Specify the maximum number of tasks that should be included in the sensitivity report. You can specify any number from 10 to 500. For example, enter 50 to include the fifty most sensitive tasks in the report.
All tasks Click this radio button to include tasks in the sensitivity report regardless of their criticality.
Critical tasks Click this radio button to include only tasks that appear on the critical path in the sensitivity report. You might want to do this in order to focus on the tasks that are most likely to endanger the finish date of the project.
Tasks Select this check box to include normal tasks in the sensitivity report, or clear the check box to exclude normal tasks from the report.
Summary/expanded tasks Select this check box to include summary and expanded tasks in the sensitivity report, or clear the check box to exclude summary and expanded tasks from the report.
Milestones Select this check box to include milestones - tasks with no duration - in the sensitivity report, or clear the check box to exclude milestones from the report. Note that you cannot include milestones in the Duration Sensitivity report.
Hammocks Select this check box to include hammock tasks in the sensitivity report, or clear the check box to exclude hammock tasks from the report.
Name Click this radio button to identify tasks in the sensitivity report by their descriptive name.
WBS Click this radio button to identify tasks in the sensitivity report by their WBS code.
Full path Select this check box to display the full path of each task (either in the project hierarchy or in the WBS hierarchy) in the sensitivity report, or clear the check box to display the name or WBS code only for each task.
Bar colour Select the colour with which to display bars in the sensitivity report.
Label colour Select the colour with which to display explanatory labels in the sensitivity report.
Label position Specify whether to display explanatory labels in the centre or to the side of the bars in the sensitivity report.
Word wrap path

Select this check box to word-wrap the explanatory label text if required, or clear the check box to display the labels without word-wrapping.

 

You may find that sensitivity graphs do not display correctly unless you turn word-wrapping on; this depends on the size at which you choose to display the Sensitivity Reports dialog. It is advisable to turn on word-wrapping if you choose to display the full path of each task in the sensitivity report.
Pearson

Click this radio button to calculate correlations in the sensitivity report according to Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient.

 

Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient is a measure of the linear association between two variables that have been measured on interval or ratio scales. It can be misleadingly small when there is a relationship between the variables but it is a non-linear one.

 

This radio button is unavailable when configuring the Critical Index Sensitivity report, as that report does not require the use of correlation coefficients.
Spearman

Click this radio button to calculate correlations in the sensitivity report according to Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient.

 

Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient assigns a rank order to instances of each variable, then measures the linear association between the ranks. It may be a better indicator that a relationship exists between two variables when the relationship is non-linear.

 

This radio button is unavailable when configuring the Critical Index Sensitivity report, as that report does not require the use of correlation coefficients.

How do I...

Enter a number from 10 to 500 in the Number of items field. For example, enter 50 to include the fifty most sensitive tasks in the report.

  • Click the All tasks radio button to include tasks in the sensitivity report regardless of their criticality, or click the Critical tasks radio button to include only tasks that appear on the critical path.
  • Use the Tasks, Summary/Expanded tasks, Milestones and Hammocks check boxes to specify which types of task to include or exclude.
  • Click the Name radio button to identify tasks in the sensitivity report by their descriptive name, or click the WBS radio button to identify them by their WBS code.
  • Select the Full path check box to display the full path of each task (either in the project hierarchy or in the WBS hierarchy) in the sensitivity report, or clear the check box to display the name or WBS code only for each task.
  • Select the Word wrap path check box to word-wrap the explanatory label text if required, or clear the check box to display the labels without word-wrapping.
  • Select the colour with which to display bars in the sensitivity report in the Bar colour field.
  • Select the colour with which to display labels in the sensitivity report in the Label colour field.
  • Specify whether to display explanatory labels in the centre or to the side of the bars in the sensitivity report in the Label position field.

Click the Pearson radio button to calculate correlations in the sensitivity report according to Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, or click the Spearman radio button to use Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient.

Related Topics:

Viewing sensitivity reports