Add "dated" events to a project

[Reno Planner]

Hello,

I am managing a project that has meetings on specific dates. I need these
on the actual project schedule on the proper days without "messing up" the
rest of my linked events etc. Can anyone help?

Thanks.

 

[Jim Aksel]

You can always make a meeting a milestone with no predecessors or successors
and then key the date. Not advisable however.

Usually, there are given predecessors to a meeting such as drawings
complete, specification complete, plans ready for approval, etc. In this
case, if the meeting must happen on a given day, you are faced with a couple
of choices.

All the choices for a constraint type are available on the Advanced Tab of
the Task Properties. Double click the task, then select the Advanced tab.
Your options there are to select a Constraint Type from the drop down, and
then specify a date such as "Finish No Later Than" ... December 31, 2007.

Alternatively, you may choose a deadline date from the same tab.

Be careful on selecting constraint types since they can be routinely
violated with predecessor logic. Project will warn you.

You can see if tasks have constraints or violated deadlines by a visual
display in the indicators column.
--
If this post was helpful, please consider rating it.

Jim
It''s software; it''s not allowed to win.

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for FAQs and more information
about Microsoft Project

 

[Dave]

Hello,

I am managing a project that has meetings on specific dates. I need these
on the actual project schedule on the proper days without "messing up" the
rest of my linked events etc. Can anyone help?

Thanks.

Hi Reno

Not sure what "messing up" means. You can just enter them. Clearly
those attending the meeting won't be working on other activities at that
time so you will need to split activities that straddle the meetings.

If you use levelling, set the meeting dates to be priority 1000 and
allow levelling to split tasks to fit around them.

If they occur at fixed periodic intervals, you can insert a recurring
task to make entering them a little easier.

Dave

 

[Reno Planner]

Dave,

Thanks for the help. I need to avoid linking these meetings to other tasks
because they will happen when they are scheduled regardless of predecessors.
We are early enough in this project (construction) that other events could
change. Will I have to "unsplit" the original task that straddled the
meeting?

Thanks,
Robyn

 

[Reno Planner]

Jim,

Thanks - this is good advice. The people working on this project are flying
in from distant areas so the meetings will go on regardless of whether
drawings are complete. That is why I am trying to avoid linking these
events. I will give the "finish NLT" a try. That seems like a viable option.

Thanks!
Robyn

 

[Steve House]

I think I'd go for a Must Start On constraint rather than a MFNLT. I'm
usually a die-hard disciple of NOT using fixed dates in a project plan but
this is one of those rare situations where they really do make the plan a
more accurate model of reality - as you said, those meetings WILL start of
the designated date come hell or high water, the date determined completely
independently of whatever else is happening in your project, and that is
exactly what a constraint is intended to represent.

 

[Dave]

Since these tasks occur at effectively pre-determined dates, you simply
have to enter them. Don't link them to other tasks (turn off the
automatic linking function if that is hindering you).

The point about splitting them is that those people who are working on
tasks that straddle the meeting will have to stop doing so whilst they
participate in the meeting. So if a four day task starts on a Monday of
a week on which there is a meeting on the Wednesday, those working on
the task will stop on Tuesday evening, participate in the meeting on
Wednesday and carry out the remaing two days of work on their task on
Thursday and Friday. So no, you don't un-split the straddling task.

If the meeting is sufficiently short (a small fraction of the day) then
I wouldn't even bother splitting the task - I would rather must make
sure that the total number of hourse worked by resources per week is
correct.

If you have a task straddling a meeting and that task then slips, you
should remove levelling from it (or indeed all tasks prior to
relevelling) and splits will automatically be removed.

Hope this helps.

 

[Reno Planner]

Thanks for the help, Dave!
Robyn

Since these tasks occur at effectively pre-determined dates, you simply
have to enter them. Don't link them to other tasks (turn off the
automatic linking function if that is hindering you).

The point about splitting them is that those people who are working on
tasks that straddle the meeting will have to stop doing so whilst they
participate in the meeting. So if a four day task starts on a Monday of
a week on which there is a meeting on the Wednesday, those working on
the task will stop on Tuesday evening, participate in the meeting on
Wednesday and carry out the remaing two days of work on their task on
Thursday and Friday. So no, you don't un-split the straddling task.

If the meeting is sufficiently short (a small fraction of the day) then
I wouldn't even bother splitting the task - I would rather must make
sure that the total number of hourse worked by resources per week is
correct.

If you have a task straddling a meeting and that task then slips, you
should remove levelling from it (or indeed all tasks prior to
relevelling) and splits will automatically be removed.

Hope this helps.

 

[Reno Planner]

Thanks for the help, Steve! I think I will go with the Must Start On.
Robyn

I think I'd go for a Must Start On constraint rather than a MFNLT. I'm
usually a die-hard disciple of NOT using fixed dates in a project plan but
this is one of those rare situations where they really do make the plan a
more accurate model of reality - as you said, those meetings WILL start of
the designated date come hell or high water, the date determined completely
independently of whatever else is happening in your project, and that is
exactly what a constraint is intended to represent.

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

Jim,

Thanks - this is good advice. The people working on this project are
flying
in from distant areas so the meetings will go on regardless of whether
drawings are complete. That is why I am trying to avoid linking these
events. I will give the "finish NLT" a try. That seems like a viable
option.

Thanks!
Robyn