Structure - using Gantt chart to visualize project end date

[Yvette Nash]

I'm having trouble understanding how to use the Gantt settings on my structure. I want to be able to visualize a "projected finish date" based on today's date + the remaining estimated time.  The formula I'm using is 

DATE_ADD( today(), CEILING(JIRA_DAYS(remainingEstimate)), "day")

which is working in terms of rounded up, raw days. However I want the Gantt chart to take that information and use my Work Calendar setting to take into account weekends and holidays to actually spit out a date.

Am I overthinking this? Is there a setting that will already do this?

Thanks in advance!

NOTE: I posted this is another area by accident.

[Stepan Kholodov _Tempo_]

Hello @Yvette Nash 

If you want to calculate a Finish date for tasks and show it in your structure, you can have the following setup if you're already scheduling tasks on the Gantt chart:

1. Define the Start date in the Scheduling tab of the chart settings. This can either be a custom date field in Jira (when the start is being marked on a specific day), or it can be the Formula option with: today() formula for example.
2. Enable the 'Use time tracking' and 'Use remaining estimate' option above for work estimates. This way, the Finish date of each task will be calculated as the given Start date + remaining estimates.
3. Set a work calendar in the resources tab to ensure that holidays and other non-working periods are being considered during scheduling.
4. In your structure, simply add the Gantt Finish Date column - it will show you the calculated Finish dates for each task on the chart. If needed, you can write these dates in Jira, turning them into regular field values.

Best regards,
Stepan
Tempo (the Structure app vendor)

[Constantin Kireev - Be On Time]

Hi @Yvette Nash ,

I've seen many teams hit this exact wall. The frustration comes from a fundamental architectural gap in how Jira and Structure handle time.

The Diagnosis

The issue is that `DATE_ADD` is a calendar-day function. It simply adds 24-hour blocks to a date. However, your "Work Calendar" is a scheduling-engine feature.

In Structure, the formula engine and the Gantt scheduling engine are separate. The formula cannot "see" the holidays or weekends defined in your Gantt settings. You are essentially trying to do calendar arithmetic to solve a resource scheduling problem, and those two systems do not communicate.

The "Structure" Solution

If you want to stay within Structure, you need to stop using the formula to calculate the date. Instead, you should move to Auto-scheduling:

1. Go to your Gantt Chart settings.

2. Map the **Duration** field to your `Remaining Estimate`.

3. Ensure your **Start Date** is set.

4. Let the Gantt engine project the **End Date**.

Because the Gantt engine (unlike the formula engine) respects the Work Calendar, it will automatically "push" the end date forward to account for weekends and holidays.

The Perspective

From a Project Manager's perspective, calculating end dates via formulas creates a "static plan." The moment a holiday is added or a team member is unavailable, your formula remains the same, but your reality has shifted.

A professional schedule should be **deterministic**: `Start Date + Effort + Work Calendar = End Date`. If any one of those variables changes, the end date should shift automatically without you having to manually update a formula.

I'm part of the team behind MSP Planner. We built MSP Planner for Jira specifically to solve the "brittleness" of Jira scheduling. While Structure is a powerful tool, MSP Planner uses a professional-grade scheduling engine with Multi-Tier Calendar Awareness.

Unlike a formula or a simple Gantt setting, our engine integrates project-level working time, national holidays, and resource-specific availability directly into the date calculation. This means your "Projected Finish Date" is always a factual result of your calendar and effort, providing the same deterministic reliability you would find in MS Project, but natively inside Jira.

Hope this helps you get your dates aligned!

[Yvette Nash]

Thank you for your thoughtful response.

Unfortunately, these settings don't work. Start dates are not being respected and instead is using the Project start date for everything. Due to this, all the projected end dates are all in the past which means it's not taking today and remaining work into account at all. Also, there is no way that I can see to set the Duration.

[Constantin Kireev - Be On Time]

Hi @Yvette Nash,

I’m sorry to hear that Structure is still giving you a hard time. What you're experiencing - dates defaulting to the project start and durations being elusive - is exactly why many teams find Structure's scheduling engine frustratingly rigid. It often requires very specific, non-intuitive mapping to work correctly.

Since you need a solution that actually works without the configuration headache, I have a proposal:

If you're open to it, you could set up a free trial of MSP Planner. Instead of fighting with Structure's internal engine, MSP Planner would handle the "heavy lifting" of computing your due dates, taking into account all your calendars, holidays, and workloads automatically.

Once MSP Planner computes those accurate dates, you simply map that result field back into your Structure view. You get the best of both worlds: the powerful visualization of Structure, but with dates that are actually correct and deterministic.

Do you think this would be a viable way forward for you? If so, I’d be happy to jump on a quick call to help you configure the app and set everything up so you can finally get out of this trouble and have a schedule you can trust.

Let me know if you're interested!

Kind regards,
Constantin

[Yvette Nash]

Thank you for the offer Constantin and unfortunately switching tools is a non-starter. 

[Constantin Kireev - Be On Time]

@Yvette Nash

I completely understand and respect that - company toolsets can be very rigid. I'm sorry we couldn't find a way to simplify this for you right now.

I genuinely hope you're able to crack the code with the Structure settings soon. However, if you ever find that the struggle becomes too much or you decide that a more deterministic solution is needed down the road, please feel free to reach out. I'd be more than happy to help you get things sorted.

Wishing you the best of luck with your project!