Change duration of project- task remain the same

[Annette]

Is it possible to change the duration of a project from 90 days to 60 days?
The tasks remain the same, the project is just accelerated by 30 days. If so,
where in project can the change be made?

Any assistance is appreciated.


Thanks

 

[Rod Gill]

Simply change the Task durations to match expected durations and the project
shortens. This is of course provided you have linked your tasks together
rather than entered dates. If you typed dates for tasks you have to manually
adjust them.

--

Rod Gill
Project MVP

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[davegb]

Is it possible to change the duration of a project from 90 days to 60 days?
The tasks remain the same, the project is just accelerated by 30 days. If so,
where in project can the change be made?

Any assistance is appreciated.

Thanks

Depends. Is it possible to get the work done in 60 days instead of 90?
Project is a handy tool, but it can't accomplish the impossible. Most
projects I've done could not be shortened by 33% without some major
changes either to scope, quality, or both. And shortening a project
what much will ineveitably increase cost significantly. Has that been
accounted for? Just because I can create a schedule in Project which
shows the project complete in 60 days doesn't mean it can be done in
reality. Can each task be shortened by 33%? Very unlikely. Most
projects have at least a few tasks which are "Fixed Duration", like
government permits or paint drying. They can't be accelerated.

From the fact that your original duration was 90, not 88 or 91, and

your new duration is 60, not 59 or 62, I'd guess that your project
durations are being set by edict, not by proper scheduling practice.
If that's the case, I'll give you 3 to 1 odds it'll never be done in
60, or that if it is, the quality of the final product ends up
unacceptable.

It sounds like you or your management need a reality check.

Hope this helps in your world.

 

[Marty]

Its kind of like asking if you can just change the total on a
spreadsheet to make it lower and let the computer change the detail.
You wouldnt normally do that as you really want to think about how to
make the project shorter. Realistically you can:
- Shorten duration of various tasks (by cutting scope or providing
more resource or working additional hours per day or additional days
per week)
- Overlap activities (understanding that this sometimes leads to
resource conflict where a person needs to work on two or more tasks at
once)

Sometimes it is tedious but much better to work through the detail,
this will give you a better outcome anyway.