Comments on: Real-Life MS Project: Delays (the good kind…) http://www.alexsbrown.com/msproj-delays.html The online home of Alex Brown, project management expert Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:17:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Alex Brown http://www.alexsbrown.com/msproj-delays.html/comment-page-1#comment-8199 Alex Brown Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:38:58 +0000 http://wp.alexsbrown.com/msproj-delays.html#comment-8199 David, I strongly recommend creating a milestone -- something like "Reposition machine finished". Make it a successor to your "reposition machine" task, and it should then fall on the end-date. Then run a date-based filter on your schedule, looking for any tasks that are being executed between the start and finish date for the "reposition machine" task. Make your "finished" milestone a predecessor for all of these tasks, and they will all get shifted to start after the task is complete. Of course, if the task is moving around as you update the rest of your schedule, you may have to remove all these dependencies and repeat the procedure. Because you have tied all the tasks to a single milestone, it should be easy to just clear out all the successors from that one milestone, re-run your filter, and fix the schedule again. Let me know if this helps. --Alex David,

I strongly recommend creating a milestone — something like “Reposition machine finished”. Make it a successor to your “reposition machine” task, and it should then fall on the end-date.

Then run a date-based filter on your schedule, looking for any tasks that are being executed between the start and finish date for the “reposition machine” task. Make your “finished” milestone a predecessor for all of these tasks, and they will all get shifted to start after the task is complete.

Of course, if the task is moving around as you update the rest of your schedule, you may have to remove all these dependencies and repeat the procedure. Because you have tied all the tasks to a single milestone, it should be easy to just clear out all the successors from that one milestone, re-run your filter, and fix the schedule again.

Let me know if this helps.

–Alex

]]> By: David Lazare http://www.alexsbrown.com/msproj-delays.html/comment-page-1#comment-8195 David Lazare Thu, 14 Oct 2010 01:46:50 +0000 http://wp.alexsbrown.com/msproj-delays.html#comment-8195 I was wondering if you could help with a related query I have. I need to include a task (Reposition machine) in the schedule that will require all other work to stop for its duration. This task has a predecessor and its start date could vary. How can I plan for this delay to all tasks? Thanks and regards, David. I was wondering if you could help with a related query I have.
I need to include a task (Reposition machine) in the schedule that will require all other work to stop for its duration. This task has a predecessor and its start date could vary. How can I plan for this delay to all tasks?

Thanks and regards,

David.

]]> By: Alex Brown http://www.alexsbrown.com/msproj-delays.html/comment-page-1#comment-1009 Alex Brown Tue, 04 Mar 2008 23:14:04 +0000 http://wp.alexsbrown.com/msproj-delays.html#comment-1009 Steve, you have a strange situation. Usually a milestone does not jump that way. If there were resources attached, I would say, "Look at the calendars for the resource." One thing to check in this situation is the "Task Calendar" field. It is possible for a task without resources to still get attached to a specific calendar. Usually you want this field to be blank, but if you have a calendar listed there, it could be forcing the milestone to jump. Steve, you have a strange situation. Usually a milestone does not jump that way. If there were resources attached, I would say, “Look at the calendars for the resource.” One thing to check in this situation is the “Task Calendar” field. It is possible for a task without resources to still get attached to a specific calendar. Usually you want this field to be blank, but if you have a calendar listed there, it could be forcing the milestone to jump.

]]> By: Steve Gibbons http://www.alexsbrown.com/msproj-delays.html/comment-page-1#comment-972 Steve Gibbons Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:48:12 +0000 http://wp.alexsbrown.com/msproj-delays.html#comment-972 I was following your article on Delays - the good kind. I decided to use a leveling delay edays to get a milestone on the date I wanted it instead of a "must finish on" constraint. I found that for every unit of edays it moved one day, except when I was getting close to the date I wanted, then one eday moved it about 3 days. I had removed the must finish on constraing and there were no resources assigned, and it wasn't even linked. I was using Project 2002. I didn't have time to try an isolate the cause. Do you know anything about this? I enjoy your web page. Steve I was following your article on Delays – the good kind.
I decided to use a leveling delay edays to get a milestone on the date I wanted it instead of a “must finish on” constraint. I found that for every unit of edays it moved one day, except when I was getting close to the date I wanted, then one eday moved it about 3 days. I had removed the must finish on constraing and there were no resources assigned, and it wasn’t even linked. I was using Project 2002. I didn’t have time to try an isolate the cause. Do you know anything about this?

I enjoy your web page.

Steve

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