Possible to check relationship variances when comparing projects?

[ROR]

When comparing 2 versions of a project, I would like to find if it is
possible to check for relationship variances.

During the project life cycle it is possible for a contractor to maintain
the end date of a project by changing task durations or relationships.

 

[Crit Chain]

Try saving a baseline at several key points during the life of the project.
Project has ten baselines built in, start with 1 and work up from there at
each pre determined key point. Then you can compare the deltas between
original and as accomplished at each baseline point.
Tools --> Tracking --> Save Baseline --> Select Baseline for the original
and baseline1 > baselein10 as appropriate through the life of the project.

This automatically populates the fields Baseline Start, Baseline Duration,
Baseline Finish and a few others. By inserting the Baseline Duration,
Baseline1 Duration, Baseline2 Duration etc. you can see both if there were
changes and roughly when the changes were made in the life of the project.

 

[salgud]

When comparing 2 versions of a project, I would like to find if it is
possible to check for relationship variances.

During the project life cycle it is possible for a contractor to maintain
the end date of a project by changing task durations or relationships.

In answer to your question, it's hard to check dependencies between
projects. One way would be to take the predecessor and successor columns,
copy them to XL and compare them side by side. You might even be able to
create a formula in another column to compare them.

I've also done it with a crude, but effective method of printing out both
Network Diagrams, and, if both were done the same way, putting one on top
of the other on a window or light table so you can see the bottom one
through the top one. I know, sounds kludgy, but if it gets the job done,
who cares? Remember to always reverse the two NDs, putting the one on top
on the bottom to check again. Sometimes a difference between the two won't
show up with the one on top, but will when they're reversed.

As for whether or not a contractor, or anyone for that matter, can change
durations and dependencies to meet a schedule, the answer is yes and no.
Yes, durations can be changed if you can find ways to accelerate some tasks
and get them done faster. Frequently, this is done by sacrificing quality,
without saying so, of course. Often with disastrous results.

As for changing dependencies, this is much rarer. I have seen occasions
where you could legitimately change dependencies and shorten a project. But
in general, the dependencies should reflect the realities of what has to be
done first before other things can be done. I.e., you can't put up sheet
rock until you've framed. OTOH, you can start framing and then start
rocking before the framing is finished. If the original schedule did not
incorporate this concept, there's a good place to change a dependency from
straight FS to FS with lead time and make up some of the time you need.

As with any time saver, there are disadvantages to this. You now have the
carpenters and the rockers working in the same area, and this can be a
recipe for disaster. There are often these subtle realities that some less
experienced PM's miss. It's one of the big differences between good PM's
and great PM's.

Hope this helps in your world.

 

[John]

When comparing 2 versions of a project, I would like to find if it is
possible to check for relationship variances.

During the project life cycle it is possible for a contractor to maintain
the end date of a project by changing task durations or relationships.

ROR,
When talking about comparing two projects, may I assume you are
referring to the Compare Project Versions utility? You can include the
Predecessor and Successor fields in the comparison. The difference field
created in the comparison file will tell you if there is a change
between links in each file but you will still have to manually review
the Predecessor/Successor field to determine exactly what is changed.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP