Can increase durations "automatically" to meet a new project expectedfinish date?

[JPD]

I have a project that originally was planned to finish 3/31/08. Some
requirements have changed and the new planned finsih is 6/31/08. I
would like the project to extend to the new finish date without having
to modify each task duration.

Is there a way a project will extend duration automatically using a
"weighted" duration and increasing to meet new finish date? I would
also like the resource allocation % to remain the same and spread over
the new duration.

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

You'll have to do that through a VBA procedure:
It works well if no task has a constraint and if no task is 100% done.
First set a baseline
Now enter an additoinal task fixed at the new end date
Then run this macro:

Sub Newduration()
Dim Olddur As Single
Dim Newdur As Single
Dim Job As Task
Olddur = Application.DateDifference(ActiveProject.ProjectSummaryTask.Start,
ActiveProject.ProjectSummaryTask.BaselineFinish)
Newdur = Application.DateDifference(ActiveProject.ProjectSummaryTask.Start,
ActiveProject.ProjectSummaryTask.Finish)
For Each Job In ActiveProject.Tasks
If Not Job Is Nothing Then
If Not Job.Summary Then
Job.Type = pjFixedUnits
Job.Duration = Job.Duration * Newdur / Olddur
End If
End If
Next Job
End Sub

Hope this helps


--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project Most Valuable Professional
+32 495 300 620
For availability check:
http://users.online.be/prom-ade/Calendar.pdf

 

[Dave]

I have a project that originally was planned to finish 3/31/08. Some
requirements have changed and the new planned finsih is 6/31/08. I
would like the project to extend to the new finish date without having
to modify each task duration.

Is there a way a project will extend duration automatically using a
"weighted" duration and increasing to meet new finish date? I would
also like the resource allocation % to remain the same and spread over
the new duration.

Thanks for your help in advance!

It strikes me as a dangerous way of modifying a schedule. Don't the new
requirements add any additional tasks? If the new date is a target date
rather than a calculated one, then this approach contravenes a number of
best practices.

Anyway, I suppose that if you were to add the duration1 and number1
columns, you could apply a multiplier to the number 1 column and make
duration1 = duration * number1. duration 1 could then be copied to the
duration column. This approach could be iterated until something like
the desired effect was obtained. Similarly, the amount of work on fixed
work tasks would have to be increased accordingly. You would have to
decide how to handle any fixed duration tasks.

If you have any dates on tasks starting or finishing in your schedule
you may well find that this results in scheduling conflicts which you
have to sort out.

 

[JPD]

Dave,

Yes this is not a best practice. I wont get into the details but just
extending the durations is ok with the client. Basically this 1x job
has turned into a 2x job.


Jan,

I will try out the VBA and see if that works for me.....