Keeping Task Schedule Intact

[Robin Roe]

Just wondering if people generally apply dependencies to tasks after resource
levelling the schedule? My problem is that if I don’t apply dependencies to
all tasks I constantly have to resource level future tasks that have shifted
due to an earlier schedule slippage, but perhaps there is a better/easier
solution?

E.g. Phase 1 and 2 have 100 tasks each and are due to last a year. Phase 2
cannot start until Phase 1 finishes. Phase 1 gets delayed by one month, so as
a consequence all tasks in Phase 2 should shift out a further month. If I
don’t put dependencies between all tasks, they will not shift uniformly and I
will therefore loose the resource levelling.

I generally do the resource levelling manually.

Any ideas are much appreciated

Thanks

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

If you are absolutely sure NO tasks of phase 2 will be able to start before
the end of phase one, you can put a dependency from phase 1 to phase 2.
A (recommended) alternative is to define (a) milestone(s) at the end of task
groups in phase 1 and link those to a starting milestone in phase 2, which
nturn is a predecessor to the start tasks of phase 2..

Hope this helps,

--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
+32 495 300 620
For availability check:
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/Calendar.pdf

 

[Robin Roe]

Jan

Thanks you for the reply. My question probably isn't very clear below.

I already have a milestone at the start and finish of each phase with
dependencies to all relevant tasks within that phase. I have a Finish/Start
dependency between Phase 1 Finish & Phase 2 Start Milestones. My question
though is how to uniformly shift resource levelled tasks forward a month in
Phase 2 without having to resouce leavel again. Is it Standard practise to
apply dependencies to keep resouce levelled tasks in place?

Thanks again

 

[davegb]

Jan

Thanks you for the reply. My question probably isn't very clear below.

I already have a milestone at the start and finish of each phase with
dependencies to all relevant tasks within that phase. I have a Finish/Start
dependency between Phase 1 Finish & Phase 2 Start Milestones. My question
though is how to uniformly shift resource levelled tasks forward a month in
Phase 2 without having to resouce leavel again. Is it Standard practise to
apply dependencies to keep resouce levelled tasks in place?

Common practice yes, standard practice, some places, good practice,
no. Even if you've scheduled properly, that is, achiveing schedule
continuity (all tasks linked, no Summary lines linked), you will have
to resource level again if the schedule is delayed a month. You're
doing the rest of the project a month later, so things have changed.
If you're scheduling resources time off, like vacations, then that's
changed. If you're using Task Calendars, things have changed. There
will be different holidays during the new time period, things have
changed. All these things necessitate the unpleasant reality that you
need to relevel when you have a major schedule change.

 

[Robin Roe]

Thanks, that answered my question while raising some pertinent points

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

I couldn't imagine the problem, and still can't.
Having Project do resource leveling takes only seconds, so why not do it
when you need it?
--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
+32 495 300 620
For availability check:
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/Calendar.pdf

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi Robin,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

I may be wrong, but it sounds as though you are levelling by entering dates
for the tasks? If so - don't! The "Correct" sequence is to enter Tasks,
then their Durations and then the Precedence (dependencies). From that,
Project will create the project for you and allow you to examine the
results. When, and only when, you have the correct project network with
identified critical tasks and path, should you assign Resources to undertake
the plan that Project is designed to produce for you. You then need to
level to remove any overallocations. If you do that and it doesn't meet your
required end date, then you need to re-asses your plan until it does. If
subsequently there is a delay, then updating the project as of now will
automatically move uncompleted tasks to show you a new schedule.

FAQs, companion products and other useful Project information can be seen at
this web address: http://project.mvps.org/faqs.htm

Hope this helps - please let us know how you get on

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for Project Tutorials