Re: Keep Task Days Together

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In article <A666EFE2-BF17-4BA9-864A-1267985B5977@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"MSPuser" <MSPuser@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I have a project that uses a â??Spring & Fall Onlyâ?? calendar with winter and
> summer designated as none-working time. The challenge is to keep tasks from
> being auto-scheduled to start in spring and finished in the fall.
>
> For example, a 5-day task with the predecessor which finishes on 05/29/06
> can be scheduled by MS Project from 05/30/2006 to 09/05/2006. This is not
> acceptable, as the task must be completed within 5 calendar days, i.e. it
> must be moved to 09/04/06 â?? 09/08/06.
>
> Putting constraints would not be a good solution as the schedule has
> hundreds of dependent tasks and it may require frequent adjustments back and
> forward in the future.
>
> Please suggest a way to auto-move the task forward to assure that it would
> be always completed within 5 days no matter when the predecessors finishes.
>
> Thank you in advance.

MSPuser,
You have a very unique scheduling need. Project just isn't set up to
easily shift tasks as in your example but it is possible if a simple VBA
macro is used to automatically adjust the schedule. The macro could be
set up to run on user demand or it could be set up to run automatically
when the file is opened or closed.

However just a comment. It appears to me that a simple shift of task
duration won't reflect reality. If there is that much delay between
working periods, I would think some "reorientation overhead" would be
needed. For example, let's say a task is 5 days duration and would
ordinarily start on May 28. Because of the end of May cutoff, the task
would need to be re-scheduled to the first of September. However, my
guess is that whoever is going to do the task will NOT be able to just
pick it up and start working on Sept. 1. Very likely there will be some
prep work before the task can actually be started. I could be wrong, but
there aren't too many things that can just be shelved for long periods
of time and then be instantly re-started.

John
Project MVP
.