All tasks begin on Project Start Date

[stephanie]

Finish-to-Start is not working. All my tasks begin on the Project Start
Date. What do I need to adjust?

 

[Sarah]

Go to Tools>Options>Calculation tab and make sure the calculation mode
is set to automatic.

 

[stephanie]

Thanks. It is.

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

Have you entered actual dates? Are the tasks more than 0%complete (that
fixes start dates); do theuy have constraints like must finish...?

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi Stephanie ,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

Make sure you haven't set constraints by typing in dates. Insert a column
for Constraint type or View/Table/More tables.../ and select Constraint
Dates. Either way, reset them all to As Soon As Possible ( ie no
constraints).

FAQs, companion products and other useful Project information can be seen at
this web address: http://project.mvps.org/faqs.htm

Hope this helps - please let us know how you get on

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP

wrote:

 

[stephanie]

Thanks, Jan.
I entered Project Start Date and started entering tasks with durations.
None is more than 0% completed. I've changed no defaults, so would expect
the default Finish-to-Start dependency to apply. That is, I would expect
task #2, with the same resource, to begin at the conclusion of task #1. Yes,
Automatic Calculations is selected. No, I have entered no constraints.
I have entered about twenty tasks; Project indicates that they all begin on
the Project Start Date.
I have also tried both selecting and de-selecting New Work is Effort Driven.
Thanks for your help.

 

[stephanie]

Thanks, Mike. And thanks for the Welcome. I will probably be spending a lot
of time hanging out here.
Nope. No constraints. All register as ASAP (and the constraint date is NA)
except #1, which is, of course "no sooner than project start date."
See my reply to Jan, just above or just below this; it includes a few other
things I've done and not done.
Hope to hear from you again.

 

[stephanie]

Many thanks to all of you. Maybe this is a clue: I have added Summary
Items, which I understand add up and report the times in the group of tasks
it precedes.
It works fine. But it is operating under the impression that I have a
12-hour Work Day. I have made no changes to the default 8-hr day and 40-hr
week. They are set as stated.
What do you think? (I'll post this separately in a minute)

 

[Gil Sturgeon]

Is it possible you do not have relationships between tasks? Check to see if
your tasks have predecessors. If they don't, you will need to add the
relationships. If they do then check the relationship to see if it is start
to start.

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

Here's the misunderstanding: No links apply unles you enter them!
Select teh tasks to be linked, click the "Link Tasks" button!
HTH

 

[Steve House [Project MVP]]

Takle a look at the the article "Default Working Hours" in the FAQs on the
MVP web site. It sounds like you changed the entries on the Tools, Options,
Calendar menu rather than the correct "Change Working Time" settings.

 

[stephanie]

I changed nothing.

Takle a look at the the article "Default Working Hours" in the FAQs on the
MVP web site. It sounds like you changed the entries on the Tools, Options,
Calendar menu rather than the correct "Change Working Time" settings.

 

[stephanie]

There is no relationship between tasks except that they are performed by the
same resource.

 

[Gil Sturgeon]

By relationship I mean successors and predecessors. Most likely your options
configuration is set to start new tasks on the project start date and if you
do not have predecessors, constraints or actual starts to cause them to
start on a later date then all new tasks will start on the project start
date. My guess is that you do not have predecessors assigned to your tasks.
Predecessors are not automatically assigned when you add a new task you must
create them yourself. The quickest way to add finish to start relationships
to your tasks is to select them all and click on the link button on your
tool bar.

 

[stephanie]

but I don't want them linked.

Hi,

Here's the misunderstanding: No links apply unles you enter them!
Select teh tasks to be linked, click the "Link Tasks" button!
HTH
--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/
+32-495-300 620

 

[stephanie]

Bingo. I had read the HELP blurb "the default link type is finish-to-start"
to mean that new tasks are linked f-t-s unless otherwise modified.
Many thanks, Gil!

(if you have time, please look at my problem "Summary Rows," also 8/23.
It's probbly equally simple.)

 

[stephanie]

(Think Gilda Radner's voice Never Mind! ...although I did give you credit
there...

Linking fixed that glitch, too. As you had probably already guessed.

 

[Steve House [Project MVP]]

As an amplification ... True, the default task type is FS *when* you put in
a link but task aren't linked automatically.

 

[Gil Sturgeon]

Glad I could help.

Bingo. I had read the HELP blurb "the default link type is
finish-to-start"
to mean that new tasks are linked f-t-s unless otherwise modified.
Many thanks, Gil!

(if you have time, please look at my problem "Summary Rows," also 8/23.
It's probbly equally simple.)