how do I put a project end date in project

[Rich Asher]

Hi,

brand new to using Project so need some help for my course! have had to draw
an activity on arrow network, fully analysed and compare it with gantt chart
on the PC; my project is due to end later than it technically needs to so to
compare float etc I need to put an end date in but not schedule tasks from
that date - schedule from start date.This should then spread the tasks
accordingly with plenty of float?

Many thanks

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

You can put an end date by introducing a milestone with a must finish on
constraint.

That will NOT spread any tasks, Project doesn't spread, it will give you
earliest and latest dates, and the difference between them called Total
Slack (same as float but that is Project's vocabulary)

Hope this helps,

 

[Steve House [Project MVP]]

Jan gave you one way. Another would be to use a finish milestone to show
the project's end, as Jan suggested. But instead of a MFO constraint, set a
deadline of your desired latest finish date on the milestone. When you
display slack times, such as in the Schedule table view, you'll see the
amount of time each task could theoretically be delayed without pushing the
milestone past your latest acceptable finsih while the milestone itself sits
on the date where your present schedule will cause it to fall. Project's
slack time calculations are identical whether you use constraints or
deadlines designate the latest aceptable finish date. But note, as Jan
said in neither case will Project spread out the tasks to fill the allotted
project length. If you want to do that it's going to be a manual process.

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

A deadline would not reset the project end. You ALSO need a SNET constraint
or MFO to replace SNET and deadline.

 

[Steve House [Project MVP]]

Except that is a fictitious project end when you use MFO. As an example,
you might see the last task ending 1 Sept and then you have a month of
inactivity until the milestone shows up sitting on Oct 1st, placed there by
your MFO. I sugest the project end is whenever the last bit of work takes
place on the latest task in the project. It might be before the required
ending or after but the end is precisely at that point in time when there's
no more work left to do and the deliverable is complete - not earlier, no
later - and not some arbitrary date you've selected as the point when you
want it to be over.

And for the purpose of calculating slack time, the "project end" is
considered the deadline date of the last task. Deadlines affects
calculations exactly like an MSO except that they don't give you a fictitous
impression of the results you can expect when you work the plan by placcing
tasks where you want to see them instead of showing you where they're really
going to happen when you go out and try to do the work.
--
Steve House [MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs