FS predecessor not affecting start date

[Aren Cambre]

Well, it's happening again. I have two tasks, 7.1.1 and 7.1.2. I just
created these two tasks from scratch. Their start dates defaulted to
6/16/03, the start date for the project.

On task 7.1.1, I set a constraint of Start No Earlier Than -- 4-8-04.
That task's start date appropriately updated to 4-8-04. Then on task
7.1.2, I adjusted its predecessor to task 7.1.1 (of course, indexing
off of 7.1.1's actual ID), using a Finish-to-Start (FS) 0d lag
relationship. I have not modified 7.1.2 in any way except to give it a
name and a predecessor.

Task 7.1.2's start time stays fixed at 6-16-03.

Tasks 7 and 7.1 both have the default start date: 6-16-03. Task 7's
start and end dates and grayed out, and its percent complete is 18%.
(This stems from the fact that other tasks under 7 are completed.)
Interestingly, task 7's end date is 3-30-04 despite the fact that task
7.1.1 has a 4-8-04 start date!

In the Gantt chart, the line that indicates a relationship between
7.1.1 and 7.1.2 goes to the left instead of to the right.

I know i could manually change task 7.1.2's start time, but that would
break its dynamic nature.

I have installed the Project 2003 update that addresses the problem
with un-indenting tasks.

What's up with this?

 

[John]

Aren,
There are three things that will cause a task linkage to appear
inoperable.
1. Calculation is set to manual
2. A constraint is set on the successor task (check the Constraint Type
field)
3. The Actual Start field is something other than "NA"

My guess is one or more of these items is causing the problem.

Hope this helps.
John

 

[Aren Cambre]

John,

Thanks for the suggestions. You prodded me on to the correct answer.
When I went to Tools-->Options-->Calculation, I hit the Calculate Now
button. In there I found that Project somehow had me overallocated on
a particular task. I removed the overallocation, and now it schedules
the task just fine. So weird.

By the way, it is not possible to put NA as a Start Date.

Aren

 

[Steve House]

Please note - the Start date and the Actual Start date are entirely
different fields. While you cannot have "NA" in the Start field, you can
(and do) have it in the Actual Start field until you post some actual
progress to the task.

 

[Aren Cambre]

Is that what you get when going to Tools-->Tracking-->Update Tasks?

Aren

 

[Steve House]

Yes, plus when an entry is made into the Actuial Start field it is
simultaneously entered into the Start field. They will correspond but they
are not the same field. To view Actual Start and edit it if necessary,
switch the Gantt Chart table to the Tracking Table. (Views, Tables,
Tracking). When you use the Update Tasks tool, Project looks at the Start
field and assumes the task began on that date, then copies it into the
Actual Start field. If it began on some other date than shown in the
schedule, go at it from the other side, displaying the trable table and
entering the date it actually began in the Actual Start field. If you do,
Project will set the Start field equal to it. If you need to see the
originally scheduled date, well, that's what a baseline is for. Before
entering ANY progress information, save a baseline, a snaphot of the
schedule as you intend to work it. Then, as things progress, you can see
where you stand vis a vie the original plan by comparing the current
schedule and actuals to the baseline.

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

 

[Aren Cambre]

Man, the sheer complexity of Project is insane. I think Microsoft
badly needs to un-obfuscate this product.

Aren

 

[Steve House]

It's not that complicated once you get the hang of it. But unlike many
programs you do need to understand the theoretical foundations to use it
effectively. As I put it in my classes, you don't need to understand the
techniques of the professional writer in order to know everything there is
to know about MS Word, but you *do* needs to understand the techniques of
formal project management discipline to understand the workings of MS
Project. Put another way, you can have power or you can have simplicity of
use but you can never count of having both at once.

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

 

[Aren Cambre]

Put another way, you can have power or you can have simplicity of

use but you can never count of having both at once.

So Visual Studio .Net is really a figment of my imagination?

Seriously, there are many ways in which Microsoft could do a better
job. It is far too easy to unintentionally break features in Project.

Aren

 

[Steve House]

I agree that it is easy to get unexpected results. In my experience,
however, they usually come about when a user tries to make the software work
the way they think it ought to work rather than taking the time to
understand the way it actually does work. It is also essential to
understand something about formal PM principles, especially the concepts
embodied in the PMBOK and CPM/PERT methodolgies because I grant you Project
does virtually no hand-holding whatsoever and happily lets you create
project plans that are absolute nonsense without a peep of complaint.

Oh, and .NET *is* just a figment of your imagination LOL