Last Updated: November 8, 2023

Activity 7 - Determine Schedule Logic

Activity Page Outline

Application 1 - Determine Schedule Logic Workflow (25 minutes)

Learn the Determine Schedule Logic Workflow (10 minutes)

Update Journal on Determine Schedule Logic Workflow (15 minutes) jump to

Application 2 - Complete Determine Schedule Exercises (3 hours 55 minutes) jump to

Exercise 1: Define Timing Constraints (20 minutes) jump to

Exercise 2: Select Task Mode (10 minutes) jump to

Exercise 3: Select Task Mode and Timing Constraints for Master Project (30 minutes) jump to

Exercise 4: Review Scheduling Engine (15 minutes) jump to

Exercise 5: Link Detail Tasks and Milestones (10 minutes) jump to

Exercise 6: Link Detail Tasks and Milestones in Master Project (30 minutes) jump to

Exercise 7: Analyze Critical Path (20 minutes) jump to

Exercise 8: Format Network Diagram (40 minutes) jump to

Exercise 9: Analyze The 4 Hour House (40 minutes) jump to

Update Journal on The 4 Hour House and Determine Schedule Logic (20 minutes) jump to

There are two applications on the page. Complete each when directed in the MS Project Master Class Book.

This entire page should take 5 hours and 23 minutes to complete.

Determine Schedule Logic Workflow (25 minutes)

A workflow is a set of sequential or parallel processes or steps performed to complete a specific Activity in a project life cycle. It typically involves a series of interdependent tasks that must be completed in a particular sequence, often with specific criteria or conditions that must be met before moving on to the next step. The workflow for each Activity in this MS Project Master Class is the Activity (chapter) outline.

Learn Determine Schedule Logic Workflow (10 minutes)

(jump to the top of the page)

(jump to the top of the page)

Complete Determine Schedule Logic Exercises (3 hours, 55 minutes)

This exercise series focuses on determining a project plan's schedule logic. In this series, you will:

Define Timing Constraints: A direct relationship exists between timing or scheduling constraints and creating links or a network.

Select the Appropriate Task Mode: Selecting Task Mode, where tasks are manually vs. automatically scheduled, is a feature that can not be ignored.

Review the Scheduling Engine: This exercise reviews the Scheduling Engine rules and the subsequent impact of each feature’s rules on the schedule. The software’s features have specific rules that must be understood to understand how tasks are scheduled. In addition, if needed, some features may or may not be based on project management thinking; they are just software features.

Link Detail Tasks and Milestones: In this exercise, you will look at the various ways to set and edit links or dependencies.

Analyze Critical Path: This exercise is designed to give you a good understanding of CPM calculations.

Format the Network Diagram: One of the primary views in Microsoft Project is the network diagram. In this exercise, you will format or create a new template and then import that template into a new network diagram view. In addition, we will look at the fields used for the Critical Path Method in a Gantt Chart view.

Compressing Project Duration, Fast-Tracking, and Crashing: The last exercise reviews techniques for decreasing schedule duration.

In addition, this application will review several Microsoft Project features and characteristics defined below.

Before starting the first exercise, let’s review what is critical in Microsoft Project.

The obvious is that any task on the critical path is critical. In the figure below, in Project Options, you can define what task qualifies for the critical path.

In the figure below, in the What is Critical.mpp file, zero Total Slack is Critical. Task backgrounds are highlighted (the Critical highlight does not pick up Critical Milestones), and the taskbars for Critical task are red.

The only tasks identified as Critical in this What is Critical.mpp file is what is on the critical path.

However, in Microsoft Project, other tasks can classified as Critical when they meet other criterial other than having a specified amount of Total Slack.

For example, In the same project shown, the duration of Task 1 was changed from 3 days to 5 days, pushing out everything on the critical path.

A - However, that duration change pushed out Task 10, 1 day past the Deadline date, so it is now critical with -1day of Total Slack, or what is now called Negative Slack.

B - Task 3 and Task 4 have MSO and MFO timing constraints, which marks them as critical.

C - Task 5 has an ALAP timing constraint in a project that is scheduled from the start date.

D - Task 6 has a Start No Later Than date, on or later than, the current date.

All of these tasks, not just those on the critical path, are marked as critical in Microsoft Project.

Timing Constraints relate to this idea of critical in Microsoft Project.

Watch the video below on Timing Constraints (3:32 minutes). It uses the example of scheduling a personal tax return. (Not that you would ever do that; this is just an example.) This video is designed to illustrate how Timing Constraints drive the schedule and the types of links you use.

The video is sped up a bit to save viewing time.

(jump to the top of the page)

Exercise 1: Define Timing Constraints (20 minutes)

In this first exercise we are going review Timing Constraints with an exercise file. Because of the relationship between Timing Constraint and scheduling, a general best practice is to determine your Timing Constraints before you link tasks and milestones. A Timing Constraint can determine the types of links you make.

When you open the Travel.mpp file, Zoom Entire Project. This command is on the Bridge Quick Access Toolbar.

This plan, let’s say, is for your next business trip.

In the Travel.mpp file, notice you can insert a rudimentary drawing in the taskbar area of a Gantt Chart view. Limited formatting options are available, and a drawing can be attached to a task.

In this project, first change the formatting to show this date format: 1/28/09 12:33 PM. There are two ways to do this. One way is to change the date format in Options in the General category under Project view. If you changed the date format here, would this be in a local or global setting? Is the change applied only to this project or to all open projects?

Another way to change the format for just this project is to change the date format of the active table. Making this change is just for the table that is applied to the view currently active in the project; it does not make the change for any other project, table, or view that is open or applied.

To make the date change for just the table, on the ribbon select View / Tables command in the Data group, notice the Entry table is checked, More Tables… / Edit, and then make the selection in the Date format field.

In this plan, the Timing Constraint selected for the Flight Departs task is Must Start On because, for all practical reasons, even though a flight can be delayed and even legally leave a few minutes early, the departure time is non-negotiable. As travelers, we view the boarding and departure times as fixed in time and do whatever we need to do to be at the gate on time. During planning, this task would be ASAP for ALAP, but it is now fixed once the flight is purchased.

You are currently scheduled to depart on 6/17 at 4 PM, and there are a few things you have to do before you head to the airport, like take the dogs to the pet resort and pack. It typically takes about 90 minutes to get to the airport, pass security, and then go to your gate. Notice there is a 30-minute dependency lag because you like to get to the gate with about 30 minutes to spare or just about when boarding starts.

All other tasks are scheduled as late as possible (ALAP), and Microsoft Project pushes them toward dependencies or links, preventing them from moving up to the finish date.

Why are all of those tasks scheduled for ALAP? You don’t want to go to the airport now or tomorrow; you want to go two hours before departure.

And…. because you want Microsoft Project to automatically do some of the scheduling for you based on changes you might make.

Let’s say a couple of days before your departure, your customer calls and tells you they are out with a bad cold and need to reschedule for Monday, July 5. Rebook your flight to Sunday, July 4, at 4:20 PM so you can be on-site first thing Monday, the 5th.

Make that change in the Constraint Date field for the Flight Departs task and notice what happens. First, the schedule shifts toward that date because the tasks are ALAP. That is a good thing; it is one of the main reasons people use a project management tool like Microsoft Project: They want the schedule to shift based on change automatically. But in this case, the schedule isn’t calculated correctly because you are trying to schedule on a Sunday, which is a non-working day in the project calendar.

There are several ways to make Sunday a workday; perhaps you decide the best and easiest way to remedy this problem for this project is to make an exception for this July 4th date in the project calendar.

To make this exception, go to the Project tab / Change Working Time command on the ribbon, scroll through the calendar, and select the date July 4. In the Name field below, type in Travel Day and press enter. Select the detail again and click on the Details button to edit. Then select the Working times: radio button and click OK to accept the default values. Click OK again, and July 4. July 4 is a working day; your travel day is now scheduled correctly.

To change the message in your graphic, click on the cell and edit.

Project Example

When I did a lot of Project Server deployments, part of a deployment project always included training for project managers, team members, resource managers, and executives. Initially, the timing constraint on all training was ALAP, right up against the go-live date. However, training requires a lot of participants, rooms, trainers, and equipment scheduling, so at some point in the deployment schedule, training would always become Must Finish on a date. As everyone in the training business knows, come hell or high water, as an instructor, you make it to training on time. Once at the Defense Logistics Agency in Columbus (DLA provides supplies to the military and supports their acquisition of weapons, fuel, repair parts, and other materials), I trained many project managers on the first project management software available for the PC. Still, the DLA didn’t have the software yet. There was a snag in procurement, and they didn’t get the software for another six months. Everyone forgot what they had learned about the software, so we did the classes again. Training for almost any kind of deployment is almost always an ALAP activity.

ALAP planning will increase risk, so you must ensure it is tied to something tangible. In this case, the DLA should have made training a successor to procuring the software rather than scheduling the training against a promised deliverable.

ASAP Timing Constraints always push towards the Schedule Start Date as selected or entered in Project Information.

However, there is a scheduling feature in the software that will schedule new tasks against the current date. This feature is useful on long projects, where scope has changed months after the project started and you are changing a section of your schedule.

(By default, new tasks are scheduled at the Project Start Date if you schedule from the Project Start. If you schedule from the Project Finish Date, a new task is scheduled against the Finish Date.)

You can schedule a new task against the Current Date, by going to File / Options / Schedule / Scheduling options for this project: / Auto scheduled tasks scheduled on: / select Current Date.

The Current Date is based on the system clock by default, however, you can temporarily choose any date you want by changing the Current Date in Project Information.

Do the following:

• Schedule new tasks against the Current Date. Note that this is a local setting.

• Change the Current Date in Project Information to 7/4/21.

• Enter a new task, give it 2 hours duration and notice that it is scheduled with a semi-fixed Timing Constraint of Start No Earlier Than the Current Date you just entered as the temporary Current Date. As the Current Date changes, that Timing Constraint will stay the same.

Save your project.

(jump to the top of the page)

Exercise 2: Select Task Mode (10 minutes)

In this next exercise we will review the Task Mode feature in Microsoft Project. Although I argue, that all tasks should have the auto schedule Task Mode selected, this is a prominate feature in the software and must be addressed.

After you open Task Mode 2.mpp, note the following:

• The Task Mode for row zero, or what is also called the Project Summary Task, is Auto Scheduled. This can not be changed; it is always Auto Scheduled.

• Summary 1 and Task 1, 2, and 3 are Manually Scheduled tasks. If you use Manually Scheduled during the early rounds of estimating, notice that you can type in any text in the duration, start, and finish fields. The task responds to those entries if you type in an actual duration or date.

• Change Summary 1 to Auto Scheduled. What happens? In Auto mode, it calculates what it can. It moves to the first date in time. The rollup on the summary level, the period of the tasks indented below, is now five working days.

• Change Summary 1 back to Manually Scheduled. Change the Mode by clicking the Undo on the toolbar. Then click the Redo button and notice the behavior. Then, manually select Manually Schedule for Summary 1. The software keeps the last information calculated under Auto mode and puts it back to operating in manual mode. The thing to remember when switching between modes is that Project takes into account the current set of data and attempts to apply the Mode as well as it can.

• Change Task 2 duration to 10 days. The rollup on the summary level is not calculated because it is manually scheduled.

• Link Task 2 and 3 in a standard dependency. Dates are now calculated for Task 3. Manually Scheduled tasks do follow some rules if you want them to. In this case, a selection in Options is selected to adjust the dates for Manually Scheduled tasks when editing links. This selection in Options is shown in the figure below.

• Summary 2 and Tasks 4, 5, and 6 are Auto-Scheduled. Change Task 4 to 10 days in duration. A new finish date is calculated for the task, and its summary task, and the duration rollup on the summary task now spans 10 working days.

• Change Summary 2 to Manually Calculated and change the duration of Task 5 to 12 days. The rollup on the summary level is not calculated.

• Change Summary 2 back to Auto Scheduled. Notice that the timespan is rolled up to the summary, not the sum of all of the durations of the tasks indented below.

• Make sure Task 4's duration is 10 days, change Task 5's to 2 weeks, and then change Task 6's to 80 hours. Enter a new Auto Scheduled Task #7 at the same level as Task 6 and enter a duration of 4,800 minutes. Enter a new Auto Scheduled Task #8 at the same level as Task 7 and enter a duration of .5 months. These tasks are all of the same duration, so the rollup is still 10 days.

What would the duration of Summary 2 be if you linked Task 4 - 8? Try it, were you right?

You should be able to explain why all four of those tasks, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, are the same duration. If you are not crystal clear on why those tasks have the same duration, review the Project Calendar and Calendar Options for this project: in the Schedule category in Options.

Save this project.

(jump to the top of the page)

Exercise 3: Select Task Mode and Timing Constraints for Master Project (30 minutes)

Open your Master Project and do the following:

• Make sure all tasks are Auto Scheduled.

• Select the appropriate Timing Constraints for detail tasks and milestones.

• Ensure that the Timing Constraints for summary tasks are ASAP.

(jump to the top of the page)

Exercise 4: Review Scheduling Engine (15 minutes)

When we begin to link tasks, our schedule begins to take shape. Before starting to link, let’s review Microsoft Project’s scheduling engine.

This exercise reviews the Scheduling Engine rules and the subsequent impact of each feature’s rules on the schedule. The software’s features have specific rules that need to be understood to understand how tasks are being scheduled. In addition, some features, if needed, may or may not be based on project management thinking, they are just software features.

It is a bit like driving an automobile. The purpose of a car is to take a trip, and the car has all kinds of features to help you do that safely and comfortably. In many ways, all automobiles are alike. Traditional Project Management software also works pretty much the same way. It uses the same tools and techniques and follows pretty much the same sets of scheduling rules.

When driving an automobile, there are the “rules of the road” that we have to learn, and of course, different manufacturers approach this idea of “safely and comfortably” in distinct ways. With today’s cars, there is a standard set of safety features, such as safety belts, airbags, antilock brakes, backup cameras, and traction control, but more and more automobiles are becoming distinctive in the way safety features, and other characteristics make, and models are designed and used. For instance, The Washington Post described Tesla as less of a traditional automobile and more of an iPhone on wheels.

In Microsoft Project, certain features related to specfic types of rules related standard project management techniques. Such as Critical Path Method. However, redefining what is Critcal, is unique to Microsoft Project as project managment sofware tool.

Project Example

I was helping a group at Texas A&M University in Doha, Qatar, deploy a Project Server. When planning for the trip, I knew that Doha likely had the world's most concentrated per capita luxury cars. I envisioned taking a luxury car out to the desert, pointing the car in the direction of Saudia Arabia, and having a type of Top Gear experience. My customer said, “No, you can’t have a car.” He explained that I would get killed in one of our roundabouts and that there was a learning curve related to using them; you can’t just go figure it out. In addition, he explained, “The roads have camera monitors. When you get to the airport to leave the country, there will be a list of traffic citations, and you will have to pay them, or you can’t leave. We have a driver for you.”

One of the guys I was working with, I would guess he was in his late 20s, said, “Our visitors are lucky; we give them drivers.” He went on to tell the story of when he arrived from College Station. They gave him an apartment and a car, and the next day, he had to report to work. “I have no idea how I got through the Jaidah roundabout,” he nervously laughed.

Sure enough, on the way to campus each day and not far past the headquarters for Al Jazeera, my driver would approach the worst roundabout in the city, where hundreds of cars were converging from five or six directions at a pretty good speed. Each time we made it through, I would say, “I can’t believe we got through that.” The driver seemed nervous each time, so I asked him once, “How long have you been driving for Education City?” “Five years,” he replied. “How many times have you gone through this roundabout?” I asked. “Oh, many times each day,” he replied.

Later in the week, I remember telling the group I was working with, “Project Server is easy to learn, but you can’t expect your project managers to get into the driver’s seat and drive away in Microsoft Project without some training and rules to follow. I tried to explain that project managers need to be taught how the Microsoft Project scheduling engine works at a minimum and to follow some best practices. In addition, I argued that even if project managers figured out Microsoft Project independently, all of the project plans would look different. I told them, “If you want all of your project managers on the same page, which you do if you want meaning across projects, you have to teach them how to get through the roundabout of building a project in Microsoft Project.”

If you drive a Mazda, perhaps you are familiar with Inba Ittai, an expression of the symbiotic relationship and bond developed over time by a horse and rider. “The horse and rider as one.” Mazda attempts to design cars to feel like a natural extension of your being, cars that are more than safe and comfortable, cars that are enjoyable to drive. Mazda claims their “human-centric design" philosophy is about making cars that adapt to the driver, not forcing the driver to adapt to their car. I was hiking the Speyside Way in Scotland and one afternoon; I called an Uber to take me from the trail to one of my favorite Scotch whisky distilleries for the afternoon. The driver picked me up in her shiny new MazdaSpeed3 and told me how much she enjoyed driving the car. We spent the trip talking about those design features that create that feeling.

You will have to decide if Microsoft Project is enjoyable to use like it is to drive certain cars, but for now, what scheduling rules do we need to know about in Microsoft Project?

We have already covered these rules earlier in this MS Project Master Class, but let’s review serveral agian.

Open the Scheduling Engine.mpp file. As shown in the figure below, a scheduling message appeared when you opened this file. If you did not get a scheduling message, turn on scheduling messages; they are a good thing to see. Scheduling messages is a Global setting turned on or off in Options (File / Options / Schedule / Schedule / Show scheduling messages). Exit the project and open it again, and you will see this scheduling message.

These scheduling messages typically occur when there is a conflict between a fixed or semi-flexible Timing Constraint and a Link. The Timing Constraint determines a scheduled date, like Start No Later Than a date, and a Link wants to push the start date further out.

Usually, but not in this particular case, these messages can help you identify a problem in the schedule and which tasks are involved in this scheduling problem. As it turns out, this particular scheduling message is about as helpful as the check engine light on most cars and makes a couple of faulty suggestions.

Even though the message is unclear, it still gives you an idea of where to look for the problem.

It would be more useful for the schedule message to say:

The scheduling message above does point us in the right direction. The figure directly above shows that the schedule is being pushed out past the Must Finish On Timing Constraint on the last task. There are three days of negative slack, meaning the schedule needs to be brought in by three working days to be completed on time.

These are the primary features and scheduling rules to review or check for a project.

Calculation

Check to make sure Calculation is on. If not, changes will not be calculated when data is entered or changed. (Options / Schedule category / Calculation / Calculate project after each edit: / On.)

There are a couple of practical reasons to turn Calculation off. One reason is performance; on extensive schedules or when loading Master Projects with many large projects inserted, there might be an irritating wait time for the schedule to calculate when entering updates. If you have Calculation off, you can enter data and calculate when you want by pressing the F9 key.

Give it a try. Turn off the Calculate project after each edit. Enter two new tasks at the end of the task outline, giving both a duration of 5 days, and then link them together. There was a minor calculation when Duration was entered, but the tasks are just hanging there, ready to be calculated. Press F9 to calculate.

Turn auto calculation back on.

Project Information (Start Date, Scheduling, and the Project Calendar)

Open Project Information (Project tab / Project Information command). Check the Start Date, Scheduling From selection, and what project Calendar is being used.

Note that the schedule starts on 1/1/2021 and that the Project Start milestone in the schedule does start on the 1st. This milestone is a predecessor (Finish to Start type with zero lead or lag), but the next task, #3, Finalize Course Design, is not scheduled to start until the 4th. Why?

Explain why in the Notes field for the task Finalize Course Design.

Calendars

Open Change Working Time (Project tab / Change Working Time command) and note the exceptions and how a workweek and work day is defined for the Standard Calendar. Click the Options button and note that the selections are congruent with the calendar's definition.

Click Cancel, and in the For calendar: field, select the 7-Day—No Holidays calendar, review its definition, and click OK or Cancel.

The Standard Calendar determines the working and non-working days for the schedule. The project has 104 working days as defined by the Standard calendar, not calendar days. Convert that number to weeks (File tab / Options / Schedule category / Scheduling options for this project). Change the Duration entered in to Months.

Remember the five scheduling rules for calendars? The question has been on the last three review exams.

The project is almost four months and three weeks in calendar time. If you were reporting on this project,104 days might be considered calendar time instead of working time. Saying the project is a week short of five months is a little easier for people to understand.

Observe the Indicators for task #12, Shoot Final Video. The indicators tell us that there are task notes and that the task uses the 7 Day - No Holidays calendar.

Check the calendar selections for this task—Double-click on task # 2. Select the Advanced tab in the Task Information dialog box, note the calendar selected, and that the Scheduling ignores resource calendars is checked d. Notice that the task runs five days straight through the weekend, even though the project calendar has a five-day workweek and the resource assigned to the task is likely using a different calendar than the 7 Day - No Holidays calendar.

Check the resources calendar. In the bottom Task Form view, apply the Work theme and double-click on the Production and Manufacturing Manager assigned to the task. In the Resource Information dialog box, click the Change Working Time…button and note that this resource uses the Standard calendar. Make a note in Task Notes to be sure to get a commitment from the manager to work this weekend. Make the note stand out by bolding it in red.

Timing Constraints

Most tasks in this schedule have ASAP timing constraints, which means they are being pushed toward the start of the project. The Project Finish task is Must Finish On, 5/25/21, and #7, Produce Scratch Audio, is ALAP. Change #7 to ASAP and notice the task is no longer critical or on the critical path. Completing the task Produce Scratch Audio as late as possible should increase the performance on this task, although making it critical increases some risk. Right now, most of the tasks in this project are critical.

Links

Most tasks in this schedule have standard Finish to Start links with zero lead or lag. Identify the two tasks using different types of Links and highlight them in green.

Effort Driven Scheduling

Look at the Project Finish task and the information in the Total Slack column. We will review this field and related fields in the next section on the Critical Path Method. For now, negative three days means the schedule needs to be brought in by three working days so that this task can meet the Must Finish On date.

Let’s say #6, Develop Draft Material, is one of those tasks that can be shortened by assigning additional resources.

Select task #6 and note in the Task Form view at the bottom of the split window that the Task Type for task #6 is Fixed Work. Therefore, assigning an additional resource will decrease the task's duration proportionately.

In the bottom Task Form view, assign the Instructional Designer to the task. The task duration is cut by almost a third, the last task no longer has negative slack (float), and the critical path is much more realistic. Most tasks have more than a week of slack.

Resource Leveling

We have not reviewed this feature yet, but it is always essential to evaluate Resource Leveling when reviewing the scheduling engine settings for a schedule.

Resource Leveling is a set of features that will delay tasks around resource availability.

First, check if the leveling calculations are automatically applied (Resource tab / Leveling Options command). They should be Manual.

If you are uncertain if the schedule has been leveled in the past, you can clear leveling for the entire project (Resource tab / Clear Leveling comman ). Or, you can insert the column Leveling Delay to check if there are any tasks currently leveled.

Save the project. Consider compiling your list of things to check to ensure your schedule is calculated correctly.

Project Example

When someone sends me a schedule with erroneous calculations, these are the first things I check.

• That calculation is turned on.

• The project calendar and the corresponding selections in Options match.

• I review any task calendars.

• I check to see if resource leveling is on or if leveling has delayed tasks.

• I check to see if there are any Manually Scheduled tasks.

90% of the time, I will find the problem within a few minutes after checking these areas.

I had a customer who analyzed the schedules for large capital projects that had gone badly and eventually reached the courts to determine liability. To help establish liability, the customer would assess the selections made in the software related to the scheduling engine. Suppose it was determined that the schedule management team was misusing the scheduling engine and that the schedule was miscalculated. In that case, they might testify that the scheduling team was liable.

There are a few tools on the market that analyze schedules. One of my favorite tools is Project Analyzer by Steelray.

The tool I am currently using will analyze a project based on the DCMA 14-Point Assessment, developed by the Defense Contract Management Agency, and other criteria. The product is called Schedule Inspector by Barbecana. This tool works well, is easy to use, and is priced well. See: https://www.barbecana.com/schedule-inspector/.

(jump to the top of the page)

Exercise 5: Link Detail Tasks and Milestones (10 minutes)

In this exercise, we will look at the various ways to set and edit links or dependencies.

Watch the video below on “The five ways of setting and editing links in Microsoft Project” (7:24 minutes). During this exercise, you will create links in several different ways.

In the Types of Links.mpp file:

• Select the Start task and Task 1, right-click, and link them together using the Link command on the little toolbar at the top. You can also select tasks and use the Link command in the Schedule group under the Task tab.

• Double-click on Task 2, go to the Predecessors tab and make Task 1 a predecessor with a Finish to Start type and a 2-day lead.

Once a type of link is selected, lead or lag can be added. It is lag if the task is pushed toward the finish date or it is lead, bringing the task closer to the start date. In this case, enter -2 days in the lag field. Those negative two days bring the task closer to the start date.

Next:

Split the window (View/check Details). Right-click and apply the Predecessors & Successors detail in the Task Form view below. Select Task 3 in the top view. Using the form in the bottom view, change the dependency and Make Task 3 a Start to Start successor of Task 2, with a three-day lag. Task 3 will start three days after Task 2 starts.

• Drag the taskbars to make Task 3 a predecessor of Task 4. Move the cursor over the Task 3 taskbar and notice the move tool with the four arrows pointing in four directions. Click, hold, and then move the cursor up or down; the move tool turns into the link tool. Drag the link tool from the Task 3 taskbar to the Task 4 taskbar to link them together in a standard link or dependency.

• Double-click on the link between Task 3 and Task 4 to open the Task Dependency dialog box. Add 25% lead to the Finish to Start type of relationship.

• Make Task 4 a predecessor of Finish by entering 5 in the Predecessor column for the Finish milestone.

Save the project

In this example, Task 2 does not have a successor, but the best practice is that every detail task should have at least one successor, so it does need to be finished before the end of the project. Make it a predecessor to Finish. Do this by selecting Task 2, pressing the Control key, selecting the Finish task, right-clicking, and then clicking the Link command.

This is worth mentioning at this point. The project has an auto-link feature that links inserted or moved tasks to the tasks above and below that placement.

To turn Autolink on or off, go to File on the ribbon / Options / Schedule / Scheduling options in this project: / check or uncheck Autolink inserted or moved tasks.

Save the project.

We just covered nine ways to set and edit links. Unlike many features in most software, knowing how to accomplish something with an Office product isn’t always essential or valuable. However, with linking in Microsoft Project, it is helpful to understand how to edit them wherever you are in the software. Linking, making adjustments to links, is an ongoing activity during the planning and execution phases.

Remember, when lead is added to a dependency, it brings the successor in closer to the start date. Lag is moving the successor out in time.

In the illustrations in the following figure, there is lag in the Start to Start relationship between Task 3 and Task 4. There is also lag in the Finish to Finish relationship between Task 5 and Task 6.

There is no lead field in Microsoft Project, only a Lag field. The lag number, negative or positive, determines if it is lead or lag depending on the type of link used.

(jump to the top of the page)

Exercise 6: Link Detail Tasks and Milestones in Master Project (30 minutes)

Open your Master Project and complete the following:

• Link all of your detailed tasks and milestones. Except for the Project Started and Project Finished tasks, all detail tasks and milestones should have at least one predecessor and one successor.

• Avoid redundancy in your linking.

• Ensure summary tasks have no links.

(jump to the top of the page)

Exercise 7: Analyze Critical Path (20 minutes)

In this exercise, we are going to review the Critical Path Method. The actual exercise will only take a couple of minutes.

In addition to the graphic above on the different types of links, we are going to review nine addition graphics (#2-10) untill you have good sense of Crtical Path Method.

Graphic 2

We have been calculating the forward pass since we were kids, when we calculated point A to point B. The Backward Pass is really what is new in the Critical Path Method.

Project Example

I drive between Boulder, Colorado, and Tampa, Florida, two or three times a year, and I like to see different parts of the country along the way. During my next trip, I am planning to stop and visit Ada, Oklahoma, where my parents grew up. The next place I want to visit on this same trip is Mobile, Alabama. I have been there a few times for business, but my wife has not. Plus, I have been wanting to eat at Osman's again.

• Boulder to Ada (12 hours)

• Two nights in Ada (39 hours), two in Ada

• Ada to Mobile, Alabama (11 hours)

• Two nights in Mobile (37 hours)

• 7 hours to Tampa.

When planning this type of trip, we are doing the Forward Pass calculation of the Critical Path Method

Of course, Google Maps doesn’t let you enter stops or stays. If this was entered in Project, it would, and you could get as much detail as needed.

Open the Boulder to Tampa.mpp file.

This is my next trip, I am leaving Thursday the 18th at 6 AM and expected to get into Tampa Monday the 22nd at 4 PM. If I make any changes, the schedule will be recalculated immediately.

Because of how I think about this schedule, I used the 24-hour calendar to travel on weekends, etc. However, if you look at the figure below, Microsoft Project tells me the trip will take over 13 days. Something isn’t calculating correctly!

The schedule looks correct, but the rollup on the summary level can’t be over 13 days!

We have reviewed this particular issue three or four times. Think about what you know about the scheduling engine and selections. Debug and correct the problem, then save the project.

Critical Path Method

This next section reviews the calculations and related fields in Critical Path Method.

Graphic 3

The Backward Pass is the part of the Critical Path Method that is new to most of us.

Once the Forward Pass Calculation is complete, the schedule's end date, along with the Early Start and Early Finish dates for all tasks, will be available.

In MS Project, The Early Start field is the same as the Start field, and the Early Finish field is the same as the Finish field.

Once the Backward Pass Calculation is complete, Total Slack (Float) and Free Slack can be calculated. Total Slack is the amount of time a task can slip without pushing out the end of the project (if the end of the project has a Timing Constraint or Deadline). A task of zero Total Slack means it is Critical if the default definition of Critical is used.

Free Slack is the amount of time a task can be delayed without pushing out the start date of the immediate successor. A task could have zero Free Slack but have time in the Total Slack field and not be marked as Critical.

Graphic 4

Remember, in Microsoft Project, all durations and dates are in Working Time as defined by the calendars used for the project.

Microsoft Project uses the term Slack for the more commonly used term Float. If there is a negative number in the Total Slack field, that number (called Negative Slack), is the amount of working time that task needs to be brought in toward the start date, for the project to be completed on time.

Graphic 5

The following screens are the Critical Path Method (CPM) calculations.

This is a network diagram, like the Network Diagram view in Microsoft Project.

Each square is a node in the network diagram. Detail tasks and milestones in Microsoft Project are the network nodes.

The task name, duration, and links are all user-entered.

Early Start, Early Finish, Late Finish, Late Start, Total Slack, Negative Slack, and Free Slack are calculated in the Critical Path Method.

Graphic 6

During the Forward Pass, Early Start and Early Finish are calculated.

• Let’s say the first task (A) starts at zero. The Early Finish for task (A) is (Early Start + Duration = 3).

• Task (B) Early Start is 3 if it starts right after (A). (Early Start + Duration = 5).

• The longest path in this network diagram is 29, which becomes the project or scheduled finish date.

  If these numbers in this graphic represent days, this project is 29 days.

Graphic 7

Once the Forward Pass is completed, the Backward Pass can be calculated.

• Starting with the last task (G), the Early Finish is 29; the Late Finish is the same number.

• Late Start for task (G) is (Late Finish - Duration = 24)

• Late Start and Early Start, along with the Early Finish and Late Finish for the first and last tasks in a network diagram, are the same.

Graphic 8

Once the Backward Pass has been calculated, Slack is calculated.

Total Slack for a task is the difference between Early Finish and Late Finish.

For task (D), the difference between 21 and 24 is 3. This task has 3 Total Slack.

Graphic 9

Once Total Slack is calculated, the Critical Path can be easily identified.

Critical Path is the longest Path or sequence of project activities that controls the earliest a project is expected to finish.

Graphic 10

Free Slack is the amount of time that an activity can be delayed without delaying the start date of any immediate successor activities.

Mathematically, free float (slack) is calculated as the difference between an activity’s early finish date and the early start date of its immediate successors. If there is no difference, then the activity has no Free Float.

Technically, and this may be the case in Project, Free Slack can be calculated during the Forward Pass.

Task (C) is not on the Critical Path, but, if the task is delayed, it will push out the Early Start date of task (D). If it is delayed more than 3, it will push out the start of (D) and the end date of the schedule.

(jump to the top of the page)

Exercise 8: Format Network Diagram (40 minutes)

One of the primary views in Microsoft Project is the network diagram. In this exercise, you will format or create a new template and then import that template into a new network diagram view. In addition, we will look at the fields used for Critical Path Method in a Gantt Chart view.

This project opens with the Network Diagram view applied. While in this view let’s look at the features associated with this view.

Network diagrams aren’t used much these days. Printing a network diagram was very common, more than even printing Gantt Charts. However, this view is still the best place to check dependencies. If you are in an engineering environment and have access to a plotter, you could easily find that printing a network diagram is an important part of your project management practice.

The Format group resembles the function of editing taskbars in a Gantt Chart view. Edits can be made to a selected task (Box command) or the entire network (Box Styles command). The Layout command opens a dialog box for general graphical layout features. Allow manual box positioning will allow you to move the boxes around for display purposes manually. Moving the boxes does not change the schedule. When this radio button is selected, the Layout group becomes active. The Layout Now and Align commands can reposition the nodes (boxes). Again, this does not affect the schedule in any way.

The Box Styles command opens the Box Styles dialog box, which allows you to edit or design your own Network Diagram for all of the items in the Style setting for the box.

These style items are:

• Critical (tasks that have zero slack or the specified amount of slack or less defined for a critical task in Options)

• Noncritical

• Noncritical Milestone

• Critical Summary

• Noncritical Summary

• Critical Inserted Project (when another *mpp file has been inserted in the active project)

• Critical Marked (there is a field called Marked; it is a Yes/No field. This field allows you to flag a task for any reason)

• Noncritical Marked (there is a field called Marked; it is a Yes/No field. This field will enable you to flag a task for any reason)

• Critical External (an external link to a task in another *.mpp file)

• Noncritical External (an external link to a task in another *.mpp file)

• Project Summary (Row zero or the project summary task)

• Click on the different items in this box and note that there are various selections below for each item selected.

Templates determine what field data is displayed for a particular item. For instance, Select Critical Summary and then Noncritical Summary from the Styles box. Both items use the same Template; the only difference is the Border and Background selections.

You can edit and create your Templates. They are not stored in the Global.MPT file or accessed by using the Organizer. Templates for a Network Diagram view type are stored within that particular view. In this case, a view named Network Diagram is applied, and we see the available templates in that view. Views are stored in either the active project file or in the Global.MPT files are copied, moved, or deleted in the Organizer.

Boxes can be drawn for tasks that meet 13 different style criteria, such as Critical. A data template is selected for each style criterion, which determines the task fields shown in the box.

In this example, the template (Example—Critical Path) is a custom Template. Critical Path Method data is displayed in each box for Critical, Noncritical, and Critical Milestone nodes (tasks). However, Total Slack and Free Slack are not shown.

Add the two task fields, Total Slack and Free Slack, to the Example—Critical Path Template, as shown in the figure below. Select the Cell Layout button to ensure there are enough rows, then add the Total Slack and Free Slack fields from the drop-down list of fields. Arrange both fields like those in the figure below.

To do this,

• Click on More Templates… and select the Example - Critical Path Template.

• Click Edit. Add another row and on this row add the Free Slack and Total Slack fields. First, make sure you have the available rows, so click Cell Layout… and add a 4th row.

• Add Total Slack and Free Slack fields and be sure to Show Label in cell: and then Click Ok / Close / Ok to note changes.

• Save the project to save your changes.

You can also share these Network Diagram Box Templates between projects. In this next section, you will open your Master Project, create a new Network Diagram view, and import the Example—Critical Path Template into this new view.

Effectively working with custom elements like Views and the associated aspects of those elements greatly enhance your experience with Microsoft Project. In addition, it will save considerable time when you learn to share customization between schedules and versions of Microsoft Project. It would be great if all custom elements were stored and shared in one place like the Organizer. In this case, the change to the template is associated with the Network Diagram view, and it is not an element displayed or managed by the Organizer. However, the Organizer will still manage the view that the template is kept.

While we do this import, I want to illustrate another feature related to the Organizer, so I would like you to turn a selection on that; earlier in this MS Project Master Class, I suggested you keep it turned off. Go to File / Options / Advanced / Display and put a checkmark next to Automatically add new views, tables, filters, and groups to the global.

This is a global setting, so be sure to uncheck when finished with this exercise.

• In your Master Project, create a new Network Diagram view. Click the View tab on the ribbon. Then click the Other Views command in the first group, More Views and New.

• Create a Single view and then give the view a name. So that you can remember this easily, use your stage name as the name for this new view. If you don’t have a stage name yet, use the name of your first pet as your first name and your mother’s maiden name as your last. For instance, my first pet’s name was Mickey, and my mother’s maiden name was Perkins, so my stage name is Mickey Perkins.

• In the Screen: field, select Network Diagram. In the Group: field, select No Group. In the Filter: field, select All Tasks. Then, go ahead and show this new view in the menu.

• Click OK / Apply.

The next step is to import the Example - Critical Path Template from the Network Diagram view in the CPM1.mpp file, instead of creating it from scratch like we did above. You should be able to do this on your own.

• With your Master Project active, select the Format tab, open Bar Styles, import the Example - Critical Path template, and be sure to select the imported template for Critical, Noncritical and Critical Milestone items.

Last, let’s say you want to make this new network diagram available to any project you open in Microsoft Project.

To do this, you must ensure the network diagram view (your stage name) is in the Global.MPT file, along with the imported template.

• Go to the File tab on the ribbon / Info / Organizer and note that the view is already in the Global.MPT. When we created the network diagram view, it was placed there because of the selection we checked in Options that told the software to save new views to the Global.

• However, notice that the view is also included in the project. These are two views with the same name in two different files or locations. When we imported the template to this new view we created, it was imported to the view associated with your project when you imported it. The view you created is available for any project you open because it is in the Global, but if you want that view to have the imported template, you will need to copy the view from Master Project and replace the one in the Global.MPT is illustrated in the next figure.

  Save your project. Remember, changes to the Global.mpt file are saved when you exit Microsoft Project or save the Global.mpt file in the VBA Editor.

The Network Diagram view in the Global.mpt file that ships with Microsoft Project has ten templates, as observed in the figure below. When a new Network Diagram type of view is created, only the Standard template is available in that new view. Remember that if you are ever designing a new Network Diagram, you might want a template in Network Diagram includes with the Global.mpt fie. You can import these templates into a new or existing Network Diagram view.

Project Example

The Network Diagram isn’t as useful on your computer screen as a Gantt chart, even with a large monitor. However, if you have access to a plotter and are in a work culture that values schedules posted to the walls, Critical Tools offers some great products that work with Microsoft Project. I have used their products for years with customers looking for additional visual output.

One tool is the traditional WBS organizational chart, and the other is an Activity on Node Timescale PERT Chart or Network Diagram.

Microsoft released the Windows version of Project in 1990; Critical Tools started in 1991. Critical Tools has provided trusted 3rd party products for Microsoft Project for 30 years. See: https://www.criticaltools.com/

Before we finish this exercise, let’s look at the Critical Path Method in a Gantt Chart view, Microsoft Project’s central display.

Open your Master Project. The critical path is recalculated whenever you make a schedule change to your project.

Let’s change views and look at this critical path information in a Gantt Chart view.

• Select the Task tab on the ribbon and click the Gantt Chart command.

• Apply an existing table with the fields associated with critical path calculation (View / Tables / More Tables / Bridge Critical Path / Apply) and then zoom the entire project (View / Entire Project command). Note the early and late dates along with TS (Total Slack) and FS (Free Slack).

• You can also display Critical Path and Total Slack in the Task Bars (Format / check the Critical Tasks and Slack commands).

• As you already know, the table applied to this Gantt Chart view contains a shortlist of items that can be automatically formatted. To automatically format the background of critical tasks, change the background for the Critical Tasks item in Text Styles.

Last, uncheck Automatically add new views, tables, filters, and groups to the global. (File / Options / Advanced / Display.)

Save your Master Project.

(jump to the top of the page)

Exercise 9: Analyze The 4 Hour House (40 minutes)

In this exercise, you will view a short video and discuss the techniques used to compress the duration of a project, along with fast-tracking and crashing.

Project Example

“Better, faster, cheaper” is often used in project management. From a value engineering perspective, these are the project management goals. Not everyone believes this, of course, and over the years, I have heard many project managers express the view that they tell management or their customers to pick two (fast, good, or cheap), but they can not have all three.

A former colleague, Dave Ewert, started and ran the executive MBA program at Georgia State in Atlanta. He had been taking students to Japan annually to review Japanese business practices. One of his customers in Japan was a large engineering firm. Once, when we were there doing work for KKE, we just happened to be staying at a hotel in Tokyo’s high-end fashion district, Ginza. Our rooms in the hotel overlooked a large KKE construction project. I counted over 30 cranes on the location, and it was the largest construction site in the city at the time.

The basis of Dave's relationships with most of his customers was the exchange of business information. Soon after our work for KKE in Japan, KKE sent a small group of project managers to Tampa and asked us to take them to different construction engineering firms to discuss project management.

One evening, at dinner at the Columbia Restaurant, the oldest restaurant in Florida in Ybor City, one manager said, “I don’t understand what is important or new about project management. Every project we do, we finish on time and budget.”

The next day, we met with the CEO and CFO of a construction engineering firm in Atlanta. They explained their value engineering process, which aims to shorten the duration and cut costs on every project. They had developed their own propriety project management enterprise system that all vendors on a project used. Weekly, they accounted for all costs and leveled all resources. The purpose of project management for this company was to be better, faster, and cheaper on every single project, and they wrote contracts with customers that divided spoils, for instance, if a project came in under budget.

The catchphrase “I feel the need, the need for speed” in the 1986 movie Top Gun is one reason why, along with cheaper and better, many companies have adopted project management practices. “Without sacrificing quality and cost, how can we get to market faster?” is a question many ask.

Just faster, sacrificing cost or quality doesn’t work. Being better but slower and more costly doesn’t work; we need all three.

People will always claim better, faster, cheaper, can’t be done. Some industries periodically stage events to demonstrate faster, better, and cheaper.

Sometimes, you must prove that something can be done better, faster, and cheaper.

China has worked to establish its credibility and national reputation by building megaprojects faster than any other country could in cultural contexts that have never built anything fast.

In an article titled “Why China Can Build Megaprojects So Much Faster,” Andrew Lainton explains:

“I have seen first hand on site all over Africa and Asia chinese funded Megaprojects under construction.  They are very impressive.  Undoubtedly they have made great strides on improving safety and reducing corruption which has held so many emerging economies back.  Now if you fake concrete tests to keep a project ón trac ‘you are more likely to go to jail than get a promotion.  Certainly it also helps that national, regional and local projects are ruthlessly aligned around a single vision.

The key differences though are that they do things differently.”

Across the street from my lawyer’s office in San Jose, Costa Rica, I watched China build La Sabana Stadium, the largest stadium in Central America, with 800 Chinese workers in just two years.

The Tico Times reported right after the stadium was opened:

“The pace of construction of the new stadium was unparalleled by Costa Rican standards. While most large construction projects in Costa Rica take excessive time to construct or repair, such as the Caldera Highway which took 34 years to plan and create (and continues to undergo repairs), construction of the National Stadium was an impressive example of how quickly a major project can be assembled when the right crew is employed, government bureaucracy is pushed aside, and funding isn’t an issue.

Or maybe it is just a sign of what the Chinese are capable of doing.”

Building Houses Faster and Better

In 1945, in Santa Rosa, California, the building association attempted to build a house as fast as possible as a promotional stunt and study building practices. Since then, almost every year, groups worldwide have tried to make something (primarily houses, office buildings, hotels, skyscrapers, and bridges) in record time.

The short video, The 4 Hour House, is one of the earliest record-building residential home attempts. In 1983, the Building Industry Association of San Diego County held a team competition among its construction trades. The challenge was to build a house from the foundation to finish in less than four hours to break the existing world record while meeting strict building codes. Considered an impossible task, two 350-member teams had to rethink the house-building process completely. The winning team completed their house in 2 hours and 45 minutes.

There were plenty of issues with this particular house, and the eventual owners complained about quality issues that the builder did not address. However, this complaint is heard in almost all production home neighborhoods nationwide. Since this house was built in the 80s, houses have been built faster and better in record times, but the tools and techniques have remained much the same in terms of Duration Compression, Fast Tracking, and Crashing a Schedule.

Before viewing this 4 Hour House video, here are some other examples.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity routinely builds hundreds of homes in just a few weeks. One of their essential techniques is controlling for inspection; all inspectors are on-site. These inspectors immediately point out what needs to be corrected.

2002, they built a house in 3 hours, 26 minutes, and 34 seconds.

Project Example

I have restored six historic homes in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and a small city in Colorado’s front range. The permitting process has an impact on extensive restoration and remodeling. In Colorado, I walk down to the permit office and get a fence permit, install a new exterior door, or redo the entire plumbing in about five minutes. When I am ready for the inspection, I call the city; they usually answer the phone by the second ring and schedule the next day to inspect. In Tampa, the inspection process is nothing less than a mind-numbing, time-wasting nightmare. I could waste a week attempting to get a single permit.

Proximity to lumber yards, hardware stores, plumbing, and electrical supply stores is another factor that can impact the duration of a building project. At one location in Historic Ybor City, I was good 30-40 minutes to most construction supply stores. In addition, spending windshield time driving through traffic and poorly maintained streets is also an energy-draining activity. During the Covid, when many electrical parts were unavailable because of supply chain problems, it took nearly a week to visit over a dozen electrical stores to get the parts I needed.

In Colorado, all supply stores are within a mile or less of each other, and there is no traffic. I could visit Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Budget Supply, and two or three small supply houses in less than one hour.

In Tampa/St. Staging a project by ordering most materials and having them delivered on-site before beginning work is a primary time-saving technique, but it requires good estimating and detailed planning.

This example illustrates that the context of a project can affect the techniques applied and the project's duration. I could restore a historic home in Colorado faster and with much less frustration than in Tampa/St. Petersburg.

However, in the next Project Example, very different home remodels and rebuilds are completed in nearly the same amount of time all across the country.

Project Example

On June 12th, 2006, a small plane crashed into the Tate House in the neighborhood Davis Island across a small channel from Island I lived in Tampa. The Tate family owned a local pizzeria and had a large extended family, so most people in the area knew them by name. Due to unfortunate circumstances involving the status of their insurance, the FAA, and the owner of the plane, the Tate family was unable to rebuild their home.

The TV show Extreme Makeover built the Tate’s a new house.

Timeline for this Tampa Extreme Makeover

• 01/08 Monday:  House demolished

• 01/09 Tuesday: New slab for the house is poured

• 01/10 Wednesday: Framing and roof go up

• 01/11 Thursday: Plumbing, electric, and drywall work are done

• 01/12 Friday: Cabinets, tile, and garage door are all installed

• 01/13 Saturday: Final touches. Flooring and landscaping completed

• 01/14 Sunday: Tate family returns to a brand new home

Exercise

View the 4 Hour House video (10:44) below. The general specs on this house are:

• Production home, but all cuts made onsite

• Around 1500 square feet

• Stick house built on a concrete slab

• 3 bedrooms 2 ½ bath

• Built from the ground up

• Includes landscaping - ready to move in

When you are done, complete the journal questions related to this exercise.

(jump to the top of the page)

(jump to the top of the page)

Review Microsoft Project Features Covered on Determine Schedule Logic (15 minutes)

Task Mode

Task Mode in Microsoft Project determines whether a task is scheduled manually or automatically using the scheduling engine rules. Here are the key points about Task Mode:

By default, tasks are set as manually scheduled, where only a few scheduling engine rules apply. You can change that default in Project Options.

The Task Mode field displays an icon indicating if a task is manually or automatically scheduled. You can toggle the mode by clicking this field or using the Task ribbon options or the Bridge Quick Access Toolbar.

You can select one of the modes to be the default for new tasks.

You can set the default task mode for all new tasks in a project via the Options dialog.

Timing Constraints

Understanding the three types of constraints in Microsoft Project is crucial as it empowers you to effectively schedule tasks by specifying conditions or restrictions on when a task can start or finish. These constraints are:

Flexible Constraints - These are your go-to when you want tasks to be scheduled based on dependencies and project dates without any date restrictions. Examples include "As Soon As Possible" (the default) and "As Late As Possible". These constraints offer the advantage of maximum scheduling flexibility.

Semi-Flexible Constraints - These allow tasks to be scheduled within a date boundary you set. Examples include "Start No Earlier Than" and "Finish No Later Than". These constraints provide some date boundaries while still allowing rescheduling within those dates.

Inflexible Constraints - These force a task to start or finish on a specific date, preventing automatic rescheduling. Examples include "Must Start On" and "Must Finish On". These constraints lock tasks to particular dates and should be used sparingly. 

Constraints are helpful when you need to account for external factors like resource availability, deadlines, milestones, or contract dates. It's recommended to use flexible constraints as much as possible to allow maximum scheduling flexibility based on dependencies. 

Semi-flexible constraints can provide some date boundaries while still allowing rescheduling within those dates. Inflexible constraints should be minimized, as they lock tasks to specific dates and prevent automatic rescheduling if delays occur. This can cause issues if dependencies or other factors change, as the locked tasks will not adjust accordingly. You can set constraints in the Task Information dialog's Advanced tab by selecting the constraint type and entering a date if needed.

Tasks with constraints other than flexible ones display an indicator symbol in the Indicators column, allowing you to quickly identify tasks with date restrictions applied.

Timing constraints give you control over task scheduling. Still, inflexible ones should be used judiciously to allow Microsoft Project's scheduling engine to adjust dates based on dependencies and project changes properly.

Linking tasks in Microsoft Project is not just a feature, but a powerful tool that can significantly enhance your project management. Establishing dependencies between tasks ensures that specific tasks cannot start or finish until their predecessor tasks have reached a particular point. This feature is crucial in creating an accurate and realistic project schedule, as it effectively helps you manage your project's timeline.Types of Task Links

1. Finish-to-Start (FS): This is the most common type of link. It indicates that the dependent task cannot start until the predecessor task has finished.

2. Start-to-Start (SS): The dependent task cannot start until the predecessor task has started.

3. Finish-to-Finish (FF): The dependent task can only be finished once the predecessor task has finished.

4. Start-to-Finish (SF): The dependent task cannot finish until the predecessor task has started.

You can link tasks using various methods:

• Select the predecessor task, hold the Ctrl key, and select the dependent task(s). Then, click the "Link Tasks" button on the Task ribbon or press Ctrl+F2.

• In the Predecessors column, enter the task ID of the predecessor task for the dependent task.

• Open Task Information in the Predecessors tab and enter links.

• Split the window, apply as Task Form view, and 

• Manually drag and link tasks on the Gantt chart view.

Microsoft Project allows you to link tasks across different subprojects within a master project file. This is useful when tasks in one subproject depend on tasks in another subproject. To link tasks across subprojects, specify the subproject file name and task ID in the Predecessors column using "File_Name\Task_ID."Lag and Lead Time

When linking tasks, you can also specify lag or lead time, which adds a delay or overlap between the related tasks. Lag time delays the start or finish of the dependent task, while lead time allows the dependent task to start or finish earlier.

Linked tasks are visually represented on the Gantt chart with link lines connecting them. Additionally, the Predecessors column displays the task ID(s) of the predecessor task(s) for each dependent task. Proper task linking is essential for creating a realistic and achievable project schedule, as it accounts for task dependencies and ensures that resources are allocated appropriately based on the project's critical path.

Critical Path

The Critical Path Method (CPM) in Microsoft Project is used to identify and manage the sequence of tasks critical to completing a project on time. Here's an overview of the Critical Path Method in Microsoft Project:

• The critical path is the most extended sequence of linked tasks determining the shortest possible project duration.

• Tasks on the critical path have zero total slack or float time, meaning any delay in these tasks will directly impact the project's finish date. Total slack can be redefined in Project Options. 

• Microsoft Project highlights critical tasks in red by default on the Gantt chart timeline when the "Show Critical Path" option is enabled.

Importance of the Critical Path

• The critical path represents the tasks that must be completed on schedule to prevent delays in the overall project.

• If you need to shorten the project's duration, initially focus on the critical path. 

• By focusing on the critical path, project managers can prioritize resources, closely monitor progress, and take proactive measures to avoid delays.

• Any delay in a crucial task will cause a corresponding delay in the project's completion date, making it essential to manage these tasks effectively.

Managing the Critical Path

• Regularly review and monitor the critical path, as it can change as tasks progress or new delays occur.

• Allocate appropriate resources and prioritize critical tasks to ensure they stay on track.

• If a critical task is delayed, explore options to mitigate the impact, such as reallocating resources, working overtime, or adjusting task dependencies.

• If feasible, consider using techniques like fast-tracking (overlapping tasks) or crashing (adding resources) to shorten the duration of critical tasks.

By effectively utilizing the Critical Path Method in Microsoft Project, project managers can gain valuable insights into the tasks that directly impact the project's timeline. This knowledge enables them to make informed decisions, allocate resources strategically, and take proactive measures to ensure successful project delivery within the planned timeframe.

What is Critical in Microsoft Project

A task (A) is marked as critical if the Total Slack, it is zero (meets the Total Slack criteria in Project Options). However, other schedule conditions can mark a task as critical, or calculate zero Total Slack.

B - A Must Start On or Must Finish On timing constraint.

C - An As Late As Possible timing constraint in a project scheduled from the start date in Project Information.

D - A task with a Deadline date at or past the date.

E - A timing constraint that is at or past the date.

(jump to the top of the page)

(jump to the top of the page)