Leveling - and a lack of trust in the results

[Dehnemi]

OK – I’m still not trusting leveling.

Create three task all with the following settings:

Task A, Duration 10d, Resource A[50%], Priority 100
Task B, Duration 5d, Resource A[100%], Priority 500
Task C, Duration 5d, Resource A[50%], Priority 700

Allow the default leveling settings in particular automatic leveling and
allow splits.

My question, and I don’t see why this is far reaching, is why doesn’t Task B
start on the heal of Task C with Task A being split till after Task B is
complete. It is as if it is ignoring the fact that Task B has a higher
priority of Task A.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Dehnemi --

If you are going to use Priority numbers on tasks, then I strongly recommend
that you do not use the default values in the Resource Leveling dialog.
Instead, I recommend that you select the "Priority, Standard" setting on the
Leveling Order pick list. This will put the Priority number at the top of
list of factors considered in the leveling process. If you change this
setting and attempt to level again, I believe you will see the results you
seek. Hope this helps.

 

[salgud]

OK ¡V I¡¦m still not trusting leveling.

Create three task all with the following settings:

Task A, Duration 10d, Resource A[50%], Priority 100
Task B, Duration 5d, Resource A[100%], Priority 500
Task C, Duration 5d, Resource A[50%], Priority 700

Allow the default leveling settings in particular automatic leveling and
allow splits.

My question, and I don¡¦t see why this is far reaching, is why doesn¡¦t Task B
start on the heal of Task C with Task A being split till after Task B is
complete. It is as if it is ignoring the fact that Task B has a higher
priority of Task A.

I would caution you against Automatic Leveling. With this option on, you
lose control of if and when Project levels. It will automatically re-level
any time the schedule changes. Much better to leave it manual, and when
you're ready, manually level.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

salgud --

I didn't notice that the questioner mentioned he/she has selected the
Automatic leveling option. Agreed. Automatically leveling is NOT a wise
option to select. Thanks for sharing!

OK ¡V I¡¦m still not trusting leveling.

Create three task all with the following settings:

Task A, Duration 10d, Resource A[50%], Priority 100
Task B, Duration 5d, Resource A[100%], Priority 500
Task C, Duration 5d, Resource A[50%], Priority 700

Allow the default leveling settings in particular automatic leveling and
allow splits.

My question, and I don¡¦t see why this is far reaching, is why doesn¡¦t
Task B
start on the heal of Task C with Task A being split till after Task B is
complete. It is as if it is ignoring the fact that Task B has a higher
priority of Task A.

I would caution you against Automatic Leveling. With this option on, you
lose control of if and when Project levels. It will automatically re-level
any time the schedule changes. Much better to leave it manual, and when
you're ready, manually level.

 

[salgud]

salgud --

I didn't notice that the questioner mentioned he/she has selected the
Automatic leveling option. Agreed. Automatically leveling is NOT a wise
option to select. Thanks for sharing!

"Allow the default leveling settings in particular automatic leveling and
allow splits."

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

salgud --

OK, now what? I admitted I missed what he said, and thanked you for
sharing. So, what's your point in this latest post?

 

[Dehnemi]

Thanks I'll try your suggestion - I don't use automatic leveling either it
was merely for this simple example of my concern. Is there a quick reference
for hierarchy when it comes to leveling?

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Dehnemi --

Microsoft Project uses five criteria during the leveling process to
determine which tasks to delay and/or split. These factors are:

Predecessor -- Tasks that are not predecessors are delayed before tasks that
are predecessors.
Total Slack -- Tasks with more Total Slack are delayed before tasks with
less Total Slack.
Start Date -- Tasks with a later Start date are delayed before tasks with an
earlier Start date.
Priority -- Tasks with a lower Priority number are delayed before tasks with
a higher Priority number.
Constraints -- Tasks without Constraints are delayed before tasks with
Constraints.

Microsoft has never released to the public the algorithm used in the
leveling process, so we don't really know how the software applies these
five criteria, or in what order the software applies them. All we know for
sure is that the above five criteria are considered.

If you select the Priority, Standard leveling order, however, that setting
places the Priority number at the top of the criteria list, and the software
considers that factor first. Therefore, if you intend to use Priority
numbers on tasks, you should select this option for sure. Hope this helps.

 

[salgud]

salgud --

OK, now what? I admitted I missed what he said, and thanked you for
sharing. So, what's your point in this latest post?

Sorry, I misinterpreted your post, thinking you were saying the OP hadn't
said he was using auto-leveling. After I posted the quote, I realized you
weren't questioning, but commenting. My mistake.

 

[salgud]

Dehnemi --

Microsoft Project uses five criteria during the leveling process to
determine which tasks to delay and/or split. These factors are:

Predecessor -- Tasks that are not predecessors are delayed before tasks that
are predecessors.
Total Slack -- Tasks with more Total Slack are delayed before tasks with
less Total Slack.
Start Date -- Tasks with a later Start date are delayed before tasks with an
earlier Start date.
Priority -- Tasks with a lower Priority number are delayed before tasks with
a higher Priority number.
Constraints -- Tasks without Constraints are delayed before tasks with
Constraints.

Microsoft has never released to the public the algorithm used in the
leveling process, so we don't really know how the software applies these
five criteria, or in what order the software applies them. All we know for
sure is that the above five criteria are considered.

If you select the Priority, Standard leveling order, however, that setting
places the Priority number at the top of the criteria list, and the software
considers that factor first. Therefore, if you intend to use Priority
numbers on tasks, you should select this option for sure. Hope this helps.

They used to use ID number as a final arbiter, if the others were all
equal. Has that changed?

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

salgud --

That has not changed. If all of the five criteria are equal, the final "tie
breaker" is ID number. Tasks with higher ID numbers are delayed before
tasks with lower ID numbers. Hope this helps.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

salgud --

OK, now both of us have admitted our mistakes. No one's perfect.

 

[salgud]

salgud --

OK, now both of us have admitted our mistakes. No one's perfect.

Hey, wait a minute, I never admitted to not being perfect!

 

[Gérard Ducouret]

Hi Dale, Hi salgud,

I'm not sure, but don't you think that in some circumstances the date of
creation intervene too. For example when the conflict happens between 2
tasks with the same ID, located in 2 different plans (same duration.). I
observed that Project delays the last created task (Insert the Created
field)
Thanks for your opinion

Gérard Ducouret

 

[salgud]

Hi Dale, Hi salgud,

I'm not sure, but don't you think that in some circumstances the date of
creation intervene too. For example when the conflict happens between 2
tasks with the same ID, located in 2 different plans (same duration.). I
observed that Project delays the last created task (Insert the Created
field)
Thanks for your opinion

Gérard Ducouret

I haven't had the opportunity to observe that. I will watch for it now,
though. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Gerard, my French friend --

I hadn't thought about overallocations across multiple projects. To throw
one more factor into the mix, when leveling across multiple projects, the
software will also consider the Priority number for each project in the
leveling process. Thanks for sharing one additional factor of which most
people don't think (including me).