Re: "Start no earlier than" always the same as "Start date"

I don't think I follow you. I do not try to supply dates tasks shall
begin. I try to supply a date before which tasks cannot begin. That's
what I'm unable to do.

Do you say that manual corrections to MS Projects calculated
suggestions are forbidden? Does my wish to modify the output break the
whole application?


I have a number of tasks, a number of resources and a number of time
frames. Some tasks can be performed by anyone in the team. Some tasks
can be performed by only some people. And for some tasks I do not have
the full information. If I can adjust things so resource A does not
perform task 1, as I'm not sure he can handle it, then things are fine.
If not, I have to go through a long fact finding mission trying to
figure out if A can handle it with an unknown amount of training, or if
I have to call in B. I know for sure that A has the skills to perform
one of 1, 2 or 3, but I don't know if he can do all of them.

If MSP allocates A to task 1, you say I'm not allowed to manually move
the task 2 days ahead in time so C can do task 1 instead?

Now D could help reasonably well, but I happen to know that he sits in
a different office from B, who could have provided the needed support.
Besides D and A work well together, but B simply cannot stand C.

Do you say that MS Project demands that I enter all this information in
absolute numbers in the file, and that I'm not allowed to make any
adjustments afterwards? Is ignoring this kind of information what you
mean by using "MS Project properly"?

OK, now I have published the plan, but there was a problem with the
material to perform task 3, so it has to move. I will obviously want to
move as few things as possible, as everyone already is working
according to the published plan. But any single one of the tasks 4, 5,
6, 12 - 18 and 20 could be moved somewhat, even if that implies moving
two more tasks, provided it doesn't affect E, who will retire in the
middle of the project, and whom we cannot afford to train specially for
just one more task.

A human can see that task 7 can be squeezed to half the time with an
undesired but acceptable loss of quality, and task 3 can go in there.
Can a computer program see that?

I cannot see any way to enter this kind of information in Project, and
therefore I would appreciate a way of making manual adjustments.


It seems your answer to my Question 1 is "SNET is used for automatic
calculations, and that only", and I'm willing to accept that. Thanks!

I'm not sure you provided any answer to Question 2, but if you did so,
I'd like a second opinion.

Regards
Magnus


Steve House [Project MVP] wrote:
When you use MS Project properly, you do NOT supply the dates tasks will
begin. Project's job is to calculate those dates for you based on the
project's over-all start date, the links that represent the required
sequence tasks must occur in, the durations of the various tasks in the
sequence, and the availability of the resources required to do the tasks. I
like to put it as "You don't tell Project the plan you intend to work,
instead Project tells you the plan you'll be able to work." The SNET
constraint is there so the plan can accomodate exceptions to the normal
calculation - The basic calculation may place a task starting on 01 April
but the supplier of the parts required for that task won't be able to
deliver them before 15 April. You put a SNET constraint of 15 April on that
task so Project places it on the date the parts will arrive. It'll never
move earlier than that, but if the tasks leading up to it are delayed or
take longer than expected Project can still push it back later.

Project doesn't document a predetermined schedule - when you begin to enter
data into Project the schedule is unknown and its job is to create it.

--
Steve House [MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs


<mlewanfr@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1141990198.679002.124110@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
For each task, I have two important dates: One date before which the
task cannot start, and one deadline.

The Deadline works fine with the deadline field. It is a fixed date,
and I can move the task around freely before it, and I get a warning if
I move the task after the deadline.

However, for the first date, I cannot make this work. I define a
constraint date of type "Start no earlier than". As soon as I move the
task the constraint date follows the task start date.

They are always the same. I change the constraint date, the start date
changes. I change the start date, the constraint date changes.

Question 1) What purpose does the "Start no earlier than" have, when it
is identical to the start date?

Question 2) Is there some other way, where I can have a fixed first
date, similar to the deadline? A "birth line" so to say?

Thanks for you help
Magnus


.

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