MS PROJECT : need help with a task

[j00cy]

Hi guys i have a gannt chart, i have one task that goes over 2 days
one task per day) it starts on the 30/11/08, and finishes on th
1/12/08.

i have the first task for 30/11/08 , the date is 30/11/08 on the task

then when i want to put in 1/12/08, it has the start date as th
1/12/08 and finishes on the 2/12/08.

I tried a must finish on contraint but it still comes up as finishin
on the 2nd.

What should i try?

cheer

 

[JulieS]

Hello j00cy,

First step is to change your date format to one showing date and time.
Go to Tools > Options, View tab and change the date format to show
date and time. If a task starts at 10:00 am and has a one day
duration, it will end at 10:00 am on the following day.

There may also be a mismatch between your definition of how many hours
are in a day and what you have allowed for working hours in your
calendar.
For details take a read of FAQ #5 at:

http://project.mvps.org/faqs.htm

Also, generally speaking, you should not be manually entering in
dates. A task starting on Nov 30, 2008 with a one day duration,
should end on Dec 1, 2008. Entering an end date will set a Finish No
Later Than constraint and may likely move the start date. Typing in a
start date sets a Start No Later Than constraint and may likely move
the Finish date.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project

 

[j00cy]

ok thanks ill give that a g

 

[Dip]

Hi Julie:

You said in this thread that we should not enter dates "manually". Which is
the best way to enter a date then? I normally do not enter any date until i
am pretty sure on the planned schedule. I let project keep today's date as
its reference start date. When i do know of the plan and resources in a "more
certain" way, I enter this (resources and date) in the resource pane of the
gantt chart (split pane). Is this an unsafe way of dates?

Thank you,
Dip

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi Dip,

I'm sure Julie won't mind me jumping in here. Project's job is to calculate
a schedule for you, not to present the schedule you've already calculated.
To enter dates, therefore, is to do Project's job and thus there would be no
point in forking out for an expensive product!

Project is designed to allow you to enter the Tasks, their Durations and the
Precedence logic linking them together. You must enter one date - the Start
Date of the project in Tools/Project Information, whence Project will
calculate all the dates, including the end date of the project, telling you
what is possible with the data you enter. As Julie said, entering dates
just fixes constraints on the tasks and thus you lose a lot of the
flexibility that Project allows and makes your job that much more difficult.

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

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

 

[JulieS]

Hi Dip,

I'm sure Julie won't mind me jumping in here. <snip>

I certainly do not mind at all Mike. Your advice is always welcomed and
appreciated. ;-)

Project's job is to calculate
a schedule for you, not to present the schedule you've already calculated.
To enter dates, therefore, is to do Project's job and thus there would be no
point in forking out for an expensive product!

Project is designed to allow you to enter the Tasks, their Durations and the
Precedence logic linking them together. You must enter one date - the Start
Date of the project in Tools/Project Information, whence Project will
calculate all the dates, including the end date of the project, telling you
what is possible with the data you enter. As Julie said, entering dates
just fixes constraints on the tasks and thus you lose a lot of the
flexibility that Project allows and makes your job that much more difficult.

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

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

<snip>

 

[JulieS]

You're welcome j00cy. Glad to have helped.

Julie

 

[Dip]

Hi Mike,

Thank you very much. This is the way I am working at the moment.
Thanks, Julie!

Dip

 

[Mike Glen]

You're welcome, Dip

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