Urgent Circular References

[Andrew]

Hi,

I am getting the circular reference error message on the last task on a
project plan. I have tried the following:

1, Removed all predecessor and successors for the task. Error message still
appears.
2, Deleted the the task, circular reference moves up to the previous task
3, Deleted the roll up that the task was a child of, circular refence moves
up to the last task of the previous roll up.
4, Deleted that roll up. Circular reference is now on a task that does not
exist in the plan!?!?!

Any handy hints, tips or plain old fixes would be appreciated

 

[John]

Andrew,
The most prevalent reason for circular references is because
predecessors or successors are attached to Summary lines and your
description of the "moving" circular reference reinforces that suspicion.

Although Project allows predecessors and successors to be applied to
Summary lines, it is not recommended practice. It will work if the user
is experienced and very careful but but it will more likely produce
unexpected results and circular link problems such as you describe.

Hope this helps.
John

 

[Andrew]

John,

Thanks, however links off and to summary tasks are one of my all time MSP
bugbears!

I've managed to get round it by deleting the said tasks, saving as a mpd and
then re-entering the lines. Time consuming and annoying, but hey that's
Project!

I find that the bigger the plan is, the more random MSP behaves. Glad I've
found the forum though, disproves the theory about old dogs and new tricks.

TTFN,

Andrew

 

[John]

Andrew,
I'm not sure what a "bugbear" is but I will assume it is something to
avoid. Actually, MSP does not behave in random fashion. One problem we
humans have with computers is that they tend to behave in exact ways
based on a strict set of rules and that of course is counter to the way
we think (i.e. we are more adaptable and assume a lot of things true or
not). You are correct though that a large plan will likely have many
linkages which can be difficult to manage. Such a plan requires care and
feeding by its human caretaker.

John