Start date/time calculation issue for successor tasks w/ 0% resour

[Chris Bock]

I have discovered an oddity in the way Project 2002 calculates start
date/times for successor tasks, though it's not always consistent in failing.

When it does occur is when two tasks are linked to each other and the
successor task (Task2) contains a resource with 0% allocation. The problem I
see is that the start date/time of Task2 will be 5:00PM on the last day of
Task1 rather than 8:00AM the next day. If I remove the 0% allocation on the
resource, then the start date/time changes to 8:00AM the next day (which is
what I expect).

Task1 1d Mon 3/13/06 8:00AM Mon 3/13/06 5:00PM
Task2 1d Mon 3/13/06 5:00PM Tue 3/14/06 5:00PM Resource[0%]

As to why I use resources with 0% allocations -- I do this when I reflect
outside resources not within my control/scheduling. This avoids leveling
issues and also doesn't include their hours when I total effort for the plan.

Any thoughts out there?

 

[JulieS]

Hi Chris,

When you assign the "outside" resource at 0%, Project assumes as the
resource is doing zero work, they can do that anytime. You'll notice if you
assign only that resource, the task duration shows zero and the task is a
milestone.

The only work around I can come up with is to assign 1 minute of work to
force the task to attend to the resource's calendar.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie

 

[Steve House [Project MVP]]

Just leave the resources off of those tasks altogether. If you need a note
of who is doing the task use a text field but leave the resource assignmnet
blank.