Schedule gaps

[JMJMJM]

I've noticed unexplainable gaps in a Project file.

To track it down, I have reduced the project to just two tasks with no
resources. Each task is 3d in duration. The 2nd task has a link of 1FF.
The project has a total
duration of 38d!!! with the obvious gap between the end of the 1st task and
the beginning of the 2nd.

Anyone have any ideas on why this might be and how to fix it?

JMJMJM

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Nonworking time?

 

[JMJMJM]

Thanks. But no, that's not it. The project schedule is the default
schedule. Also, if I replace the task with an identical task, then the
problem goes away. So, it's starting to look more and more like a bug to me.
Is there any way to validate the integrity of a file? Are Project files
often corrupted through "normal" use? Is there somewhere I can look up to
see if this is a known bug?

JMJMJM

 

[Francisco Alcala]

Are you using Project 2003? If so, make sure that you have SP1 installed.

I once had this exact problem in a Project Server environment. When I opened
the project in my PC, it looked perfect, but on several other PCs the same
project had the same behavior you are defining. After a lot of head
scratching, we figured out that the only difference between my PC and the
others was the SP1.

We installed SP1 on the other PCs. The problem dissapeared.

Hope that helps.

 

[JMJMJM]

Francisco,

Thanks for trying. However, I'm using Project 2003 and already have SP1
installed. I'm not in a Project Server environment, for the record.

JMJMJM

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

If the problem occurs on every PC, snd me the file I'll try to see what's
happening.
(address on the website)
HTH

 

[JMJMJM]

Jan,

Thanks for offering. I hadn't tried it on other machines yet partly because
I have only one license but probably mostly out of laziness. I just tried it
on another machine that I have. When I levelled on the 2nd machine, the
problem was resolved. So, it appears to be something about the 1st machine
or installation. I tried re-installing to the 1st machine but there was no
affect --- still had gaps after levelling.

For the record, the problem exists on a Dell Latitude X300 (notebook) and
the second "well-behaved" machine is a Dell Dimension 4600 (desktop).

Next, on the first machine, I "Cleared Levelling" and then "Levelled
Resources" and the gaps disappeared.

I did all of the above on the simple two task project that I had reduced the
problem to. I went back to the full project and tried the same and found an
identical situation; that being, I needed to clear levelling before
re-levelling to eliminate gaps (some of which I wasn't previously aware of).
Fortunately, doing this leads to a result that matches the result for the
same file on the 2nd (well-behaved) machine.

I'm not sure of the ramifications of clearing levelling after I start
tracking the project. I'm suspicious that this may adversely impact my
ability to manually "fine tune" assignments, etc as I proceed. In any case
and for the time being, it appears that I've found a "work around".

Thanks for your and Francisco's help.

Sincerely,
JMJMJM

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

So far so good!

Just a precision: don't be afraid of clear leveling.
Leveling introduces delays ands stores them on assignment level.
Clear leveling just puts them to zero.
That is why clear leveling is so much faster than leveling itself (can take
minutes on pools with many files); it is so much simpler.

Hope this helps.