Re: Fixing Start AND End Dates of tasks
From: Steve House (sjhouse.remove.this_at_to.send.hotmail.com)
Date: 07/29/04
- Next message: Gérard Ducouret: "Re: Same Resource in Groups"
- Previous message: Steve House: "Re: Change Resource mid task"
- In reply to: Helena: "Fixing Start AND End Dates of tasks"
- Next in thread: John: "Re: Fixing Start AND End Dates of tasks"
- Reply: John: "Re: Fixing Start AND End Dates of tasks"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 17:14:48 -0400
You really can't fix both start and end directly. In fact, you really
shouldn't be fixing any dates at all unless you are dragged kicking and
screaming into a constraint situation and simply have no other options. You
can get the effect of a fixed date at both ends, at least partially, by
making the task a fixed duration task and fixing the start date with a "Must
Start On" or "Must Start No Earlier Than" constraint. If the start was
fixed to 16 Aug and the duration was fixed to 5 days, that would mean the
end date would be 20 Aug. However that is not quite the same thing as
fixing the dates without regard to work or resources as editing can still
change duration and thus end date.
The situation I'd urge you to ponder is this: You may be saying that you
need to fix those dates because that's when you need to accomplish something
in order to meet your objectives and deadlines. But you need to be asking
whether it's even possible to do it then. Supposing parts aren't available
or the person doing the work is ill? Supposing the tasks that come before
it are delayed, what happens then? How do you KNOW it's even possible to
schedule that task on that date? By using Project and letting the dates be
calculated according the the according to precedence logic, precedence
duration, and resource availability Project can tell you if it is possible
to meet those dates and if the initial calculation says no, then you have a
model that you can use for "what-if" experimenting to get some idea of what
you have to tweak, re-arrange, or resources to juggle in order to make it
possible to meet your objectives. It's giving you some input into your
management processes about the proactive decisions you must make in order
manage the project so that it meets it goals. It'll only do that if you let
it do its job and do the calculations for which it is designed.
As I put it to my classes - you don't tell it the schedule you have, it
tells you the schedule you can get.
Hope this helps
-- Steve House [MVP] MS Project Trainer/Consultant Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs "Helena" <Helena@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:C1B1DB5E-1D1C-487D-96BB-C37B32F1918A@microsoft.com... > Hi, I'm reasonably new to MSP, and have a need to fix the Start AND End date of a task. Is there a way of doing this? All the available constraints seem to apply to either one or the other.... > > Many thanks. > -- > H
- Next message: Gérard Ducouret: "Re: Same Resource in Groups"
- Previous message: Steve House: "Re: Change Resource mid task"
- In reply to: Helena: "Fixing Start AND End Dates of tasks"
- Next in thread: John: "Re: Fixing Start AND End Dates of tasks"
- Reply: John: "Re: Fixing Start AND End Dates of tasks"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Relevant Pages
|
