MS Project

[Dave]

Will project show critcal path without real constraints in place? If you
have linked two tasks and assigned the first with the constraint of finished
no earler than June 30 and the second task as start no sooner than June 30,
there is no constraint and no critical task/path.

If the above second task had a constraint of start no latter than June 28,
then there would be a critical task and it would show red and a critical path
would also show.

So, it is possible to set up a project with no critical path by using the
correct combination of constraints... YES/NO ???

 

[Jim P]

Dave,

No. (Based on my understanding and my testing).

Microsoft's definition for Critical Path is: The series of tasks that
must be completed on schedule for a project to finish on schedule. Each
task on the critical path is a critical task. (See Help for Critical
Path).

An easy test is to create a highlight filter for Critical Tasks. No
matter what you do, Microsoft will always identify the Critical path
tasks.

Jim Peters

 

[John]

Will project show critcal path without real constraints in place? If you
have linked two tasks and assigned the first with the constraint of finished
no earler than June 30 and the second task as start no sooner than June 30,
there is no constraint and no critical task/path.

If the above second task had a constraint of start no latter than June 28,
then there would be a critical task and it would show red and a critical path
would also show.

So, it is possible to set up a project with no critical path by using the
correct combination of constraints... YES/NO ???

Dave,
It might be, I don't know, but the real question is, why would you want
to set up such a unrealistic schedule? It sounds like you are looking
for mind exercise.

The best schedule plans do not have any constraints. By default the
finish date of the last task determines the critical path - if there are
no other constraints to alter it. Adding constraints to a schedule is
unfortunately often done when users do not fully understand the benefits
of a dynamic schedule and they want to "control" what happens. Project
has several ways of helping the user to identify problem areas or
monitor performance to certain critical points. One of them is critical
path analysis. Why try to circumvent a useful feature of the application?

That's my opinion at least.
John
Project MVP