Parallel tasks with different durations displayed as critical

[RonT]

I have several task, to be performed in parallel, which have different
durations. They are all displayed as "Critical Path" when actually only the
longest duration task should do so. Is this a program fault or do I have a
switch set incorrectly somewhere?

 

[John]

I have several task, to be performed in parallel, which have different
durations. They are all displayed as "Critical Path" when actually only the
longest duration task should do so. Is this a program fault or do I have a
switch set incorrectly somewhere?

RonT,
As I recall the most common cause of this problem is if the tasks have a
constraint (e.g. Must-finish-on). It is also possible that even though
the three tasks are in parallel, the path of Successors of each of those
tasks could still put them on the critical path.

One other thing you might want to check is Tools/Options/Calculation
tab. At the bottom of the options window check the value set for the
critical path. The default setting is "0" days but if it has been
changed to a positive number, than many tasks could be on the critical
path.

Beyond that, I'd have to know more about how the file is structured to
offer more suggestions.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

 

[RonT]

Thanks for the reply.

All the task are "ASAP", not other constraints such as "must finish on".
The Slack setting for critical path on the Calculation page is at 0. I have
tried changing it earlier to no effect.
An additional problem has shown up since I posted originally: I have one
task that is not on the critical path according to the line from the
successor but the task and the line to the predecessor are red, denoting
Critical path. I have tried deleting the links and reestablishing them but
get the same results.

 

[John]

Thanks for the reply.

All the task are "ASAP", not other constraints such as "must finish on".
The Slack setting for critical path on the Calculation page is at 0. I have
tried changing it earlier to no effect.
An additional problem has shown up since I posted originally: I have one
task that is not on the critical path according to the line from the
successor but the task and the line to the predecessor are red, denoting
Critical path. I have tried deleting the links and reestablishing them but
get the same results.

RonT,
It's been a while since I worked with critical paths so I have forgotten
some of the little quirks that might be causing your problem. However,
if you don't mind sending your file via e-mail (zip it first), I would
be happy to take a look at it and give you an answer. With a real file
to review it is much easier to diagnose problems. If the file has
sensitive information, I can provide you with a macro that will
de-sensitize it or you can also go to fellow MVP, Jack Dahlgren's
website at: http://masamiki.com/project/macros.htm
His "scrub" macro is essentially the same as my de-sensitizing macro.

If you can't (or don't wish to) send your file, hopefully someone else
will read this thread and offer some suggestions.

John
Project MVP

 

[davegb]

I have several task, to be performed in parallel, which have different
durations. They are all displayed as "Critical Path" when actually only the
longest duration task should do so. Is this a program fault or do I have a
switch set incorrectly somewhere?

Are they linked at all?