Re: Summary Bar Linking

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Wow! You just stepped into a hornet's nest. There are widely varying
opinions about linking summary lines in this forum. I'm in the
"strongly against it" group. The reasons some of us discourage it
include:

1. It's a major cause of "circular references", which are circular
loops of task dependencies, obviously impossible in the real world.

2. They hide the real CP.

3. They can cause problems with Resource Leveling.

4. They can cause problems with EVA.

Bottom line is, linked Summary lines misrepresent what's actually
happening in the project. Sooner or later, mostly depending on how
advanced your scheduling and tracking is, you'll get into trouble with
them. In my mind, they're just an easy way to avoid having to define
the real dependencies between tasks. Defining these dependencies is the
most important part of CPM scheduling. Bypassing defining them and
going on with a schedule is like not bothering to build a foundation
under your house.

Oh yes, I should add, IMHO!

Hope this helps in your world.

Paul wrote:
I have inherited a plan where the former owner has on a few occasions
linked to the summary bar. Can someone please tell me the disadvantages of
linking to the summary bar. For example, is it true that linking to a
summary bar project will not show a critical path through the whole plan?
Are there any other reason why you should not link to summary bars?

Thanks for your help.

Paul

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