lk50 --
To add to the two excellent answers already given, here is how I would
handle your situation:
1. In your project, click Project - Project Information.
2. Click the Schedule From pick list and select the Project Finish date
item.
3. Click the OK button.
This will put Microsoft Project into "backwards" scheduling mode. As you
have been warned by the others, you should NOT leave the software in this
"backwards" scheduling mode when you finish planning the project.
4. Do all task planning for the project, including task names, WBS, task
dependencies, and task Durations (if appropriate),
5. Place a final Milestone task at the end of the project, name it Project
Complete, and link it to any predecessor task(s).
The software will show you a calculated Start date, which is the date when
you need to begin work on your project. The problem with this, however, is
that your project has no Slack. I think of Slack as "the amount of time for
things to go wrong in your project." In the real world, things go wrong.
If your project has no Slack, and then things do go wrong, your project will
finish late. So, you need a Start date that is earlier than you think you
need.
6. Click Project - Project Information again.
7. Click the Schedule From pick list and select the Project Start date
item.
8. Click the Start Date pick list and choose a date EARLIER than the
current calculated Start date (to give you time for things to go wrong).
9. Click the OK button.
Just one more thought. Hope this helps.
