How to setup Predecessors?

[dallr]

As I understand it every task must have a predecessor. I understand th
logic of this and why this is needed. However, how do i setu
predecessors in the following situation.

Example:
Lets say that I am bulding a house and also furnishing it as an entir
project.
Some of the tasks can be:
1. Build Foundation.
2. Put up Walls.
3. Roof
4. Plumming
5. Electrical

Now lets say that I want to start purchasing some furniture after th
Roof goes up. The Predecessor for Furniture purchasing is the completio
of the roof.
Now I want to start looking at the furniture 2 weeks after the roo
goes up how do i indicate the furniture shopping must start 2 week
after the roof goes on. Becuase if I don't do this then the project pla
will look like the the roof shopping should start right after the roo
goes on.

I hope I made my question as clear as possible.
Dan

 

[akphidelt]

For this you use the "Lag" time.

When you enter a predecessor you will enter Finish-to-Start... then next to
it you will add 2w or 14days to the lag box.

 

[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Dane --

This is an excellent question. To specify the dependency relationship
between the Roof task and the Purchase Furniture task, do the following:

1. Select both tasks.
2. Click the Link Tasks button on the Standard toolbar.

When you link tasks by clicking the Link Tasks button, the software
automatically sets a Finish-To-Start (FS) dependency, which is the most
commonly used dependency type. However, you have three other dependency
types available, which are: Start-To-Start (SS), Finish-To-Finish (FF), and
Start-To-Finish (SF). In addition to these three other dependency types,
the software also allows you to add Lag time or Lead time (negative Lag) to
any of the four dependency relationships. In your case, you need to add two
weeks of Lag time to your FS dependency betweenn the Roof task and the
Purchase Furniture task by doing the following:

3. Place the tip of your mouse pointer anywhere over the link line between
these two tasks and double-click (I prefer to double-click on the arrow head
that is at the end of the link line, as it is a bigger target).
4. In the Task Dependency dialog, enter either "10d" or "2w" (without the
double quotes) in the Lag field.
5. Click the OK button.

If you float your mouse pointer over the link line now, you will see a
tooltip that reveals why there is a two week gap between the tasks, which is
because of the Lag time. Hope this helps.

 

[dallr]

Dale, Thanks for the quick response and your detailed feedback. I tak
it you are talking about the Lag option in the attached screenshot?

Dan

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[Dale Howard [MVP]]

Dane --

Yes, that is correct. And using the Task Information dialog is an alternate
method for setting dependencies. Hope this helps.

 

[dallr]

Thanks for jumping in Trevor, and I must say you raise a good point.

OK lets say we can start purchasing furniture at any time because in
fact we can do that. What would be the predecessor for this? Since
nothing in the construction of the house depends on it specifically.

And what would be the start time can I specifically set a start date
for this task? I understand manually setting start dates for tasks is a
bad thing.

Dane

 

[Dave]

Thanks for jumping in Trevor, and I must say you raise a good point.

OK lets say we can start purchasing furniture at any time because in
fact we can do that. What would be the predecessor for this? Since
nothing in the construction of the house depends on it specifically.

And what would be the start time can I specifically set a start date
for this task? I understand manually setting start dates for tasks is a
bad thing.

Dane

It may be the case the predecessor has to be the project start
milestone. Not every task can have a 'real' predecessor (or successor
for that matter).

Most projects are resource limited so levelling is used to determine the
work order.

In this case, as there is likely to be a delay between ordering the
furniture and receiving it, then it may be prudent to order it before
you can house it so that the project timescales are shortened.

That then puts a deadline on the completion of the roof task because
otherwise the furniture may arrive before you can house it and so a risk
is introduced because you might not meet your deadline. So there is a
link from the completion of the room to the delivery date.

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

Trevor suggests the Project Start with a lag time. That certainly works but
another alternate approach might be to set the predecessor "Construction
Complete, Ready to Move -in". Let's say you expect it will take a day to
order the furniture and 2 weeks for delivery. You want the furniture to
arrive the day the house is finished. Predecessor (controlling task) is
"Ready For Move-in", successor (controlled task) is "Order Furniture", link
is Start-Finish (not FS), and has a 2 week lead time added in the link. Now
the finish of the "Order.." task will be placed 2 weeks before the projected
"Ready To Move-in" date.