How to setup Predecessors?

[dallr]

Sponsored Links

As I understand it every task must have a predecessor. I understand the logic of this and why this is needed. However, how do i setup predecessors in the following situation.

Example:
Lets say that I am bulding a house and also furnishing it as an entire project.
Some of the tasks can be:
1. Build Foundation.
2. Put up Walls.
3. Roof
4. Plumming
5. Electrical

Now lets say that I want to start purchasing some furniture after the Roof goes up. The Predecessor for Furniture purchasing is the completion of the roof.
Now I want to start looking at the furniture 2 weeks after the roof goes up how do i indicate the furniture shopping must start 2 weeks after the roof goes on. Becuase if I don't do this then the project plan will look like the the roof shopping should start right after the roof goes on.

I hope I made my question as clear as possible.
Dane

For this you use the "Lag" time.

When you enter a predecessor you will enter Finish-to-Start... then next to
it you will add 2w or 14days to the lag box.

"dallr" wrote:

>
> As I understand it every task must have a predecessor. I understand the
> logic of this and why this is needed. However, how do i setup
> predecessors in the following situation.
>
> Example:
> Lets say that I am bulding a house and also furnishing it as an entire
> project.
> Some of the tasks can be:
> 1. Build Foundation.
> 2. Put up Walls.
> 3. Roof
> 4. Plumming
> 5. Electrical
>
> Now lets say that I want to start purchasing some furniture after the
> Roof goes up. The Predecessor for Furniture purchasing is the completion
> of the roof.
> Now I want to start looking at the furniture 2 weeks after the roof
> goes up how do i indicate the furniture shopping must start 2 weeks
> after the roof goes on. Becuase if I don't do this then the project plan
> will look like the the roof shopping should start right after the roof
> goes on.
>
> I hope I made my question as clear as possible.
> Dane
>
>
> --
> dallr
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> dallr's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/dallr.htm
> View this thread: How to setup Predecessors?
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>
>

Dane --

This is an excellent question. To specify the dependency relationship
between the Roof task and the Purchase Furniture task, do the following:

1. Select both tasks.
2. Click the Link Tasks button on the Standard toolbar.

When you link tasks by clicking the Link Tasks button, the software
automatically sets a Finish-To-Start (FS) dependency, which is the most
commonly used dependency type. However, you have three other dependency
types available, which are: Start-To-Start (SS), Finish-To-Finish (FF), and
Start-To-Finish (SF). In addition to these three other dependency types,
the software also allows you to add Lag time or Lead time (negative Lag) to
any of the four dependency relationships. In your case, you need to add two
weeks of Lag time to your FS dependency betweenn the Roof task and the
Purchase Furniture task by doing the following:

3. Place the tip of your mouse pointer anywhere over the link line between
these two tasks and double-click (I prefer to double-click on the arrow head
that is at the end of the link line, as it is a bigger target).
4. In the Task Dependency dialog, enter either "10d" or "2w" (without the
double quotes) in the Lag field.
5. Click the OK button.

If you float your mouse pointer over the link line now, you will see a
tooltip that reveals why there is a two week gap between the tasks, which is
because of the Lag time. Hope this helps.

--
Dale A. Howard [MVP]
VP of Educational Services
msProjectExperts
http://www.msprojectexperts.com
http://www.projectserverexperts.com
"We write the books on Project Server"


"dallr" <dallr.3o9vna@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
news:dallr.3o9vna@DoNotSpam.com...
>
> As I understand it every task must have a predecessor. I understand the
> logic of this and why this is needed. However, how do i setup
> predecessors in the following situation.
>
> Example:
> Lets say that I am bulding a house and also furnishing it as an entire
> project.
> Some of the tasks can be:
> 1. Build Foundation.
> 2. Put up Walls.
> 3. Roof
> 4. Plumming
> 5. Electrical
>
> Now lets say that I want to start purchasing some furniture after the
> Roof goes up. The Predecessor for Furniture purchasing is the completion
> of the roof.
> Now I want to start looking at the furniture 2 weeks after the roof
> goes up how do i indicate the furniture shopping must start 2 weeks
> after the roof goes on. Becuase if I don't do this then the project plan
> will look like the the roof shopping should start right after the roof
> goes on.
>
> I hope I made my question as clear as possible.
> Dane
>
>
> --
> dallr
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> dallr's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/dallr.htm
> View this thread: How to setup Predecessors?
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>

[dallr]

Dale, Thanks for the quick response and your detailed feedback. I take it you are talking about the Lag option in the attached screenshot?

Dane

Dane --

Yes, that is correct. And using the Task Information dialog is an alternate
method for setting dependencies. Hope this helps.

--
Dale A. Howard [MVP]
VP of Educational Services
msProjectExperts
http://www.msprojectexperts.com
http://www.projectserverexperts.com
"We write the books on Project Server"


"dallr" <dallr.3oa17b@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
news:dallr.3oa17b@DoNotSpam.com...
>
> Dale, Thanks for the quick response and your detailed feedback. I take
> it you are talking about the Lag option in the attached screenshot?
>
> Dane
>
>
> +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
> |Filename: Lag.bmp |
> |Download: http://forums.techarena.in/attachment.php?attachmentid=7676|
> +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
>
> --
> dallr
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> dallr's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/dallr.htm
> View this thread: How to setup Predecessors?
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>

Are you sure that you should be setting up building the roof as a
predecessor to buying the furniture, even using lag or whatever?
You can decide, for whatever reason, that it is a predecessor, and link the
tasks, but it is not really a predecessor if shopping can start before the
roof is built.
You run the risk of making your project longer than it needs to be.
The CPM schedule is not about making a program about when you want to start
purchasing, but rather is about finding out how soon you can do it.

--
Trevor Rabey
0407213955
61 8 92727485
PERFECT PROJECT PLANNING
www.perfectproject.com.au

"dallr" <dallr.3o9vna@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
news:dallr.3o9vna@DoNotSpam.com...
>
> As I understand it every task must have a predecessor. I understand the
> logic of this and why this is needed. However, how do i setup
> predecessors in the following situation.
>
> Example:
> Lets say that I am bulding a house and also furnishing it as an entire
> project.
> Some of the tasks can be:
> 1. Build Foundation.
> 2. Put up Walls.
> 3. Roof
> 4. Plumming
> 5. Electrical
>
> Now lets say that I want to start purchasing some furniture after the
> Roof goes up. The Predecessor for Furniture purchasing is the completion
> of the roof.
> Now I want to start looking at the furniture 2 weeks after the roof
> goes up how do i indicate the furniture shopping must start 2 weeks
> after the roof goes on. Becuase if I don't do this then the project plan
> will look like the the roof shopping should start right after the roof
> goes on.
>
> I hope I made my question as clear as possible.
> Dane
>
>
> --
> dallr
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> dallr's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/dallr.htm
> View this thread: How to setup Predecessors?
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>

[dallr]

Thanks for jumping in Trevor, and I must say you raise a good point.

OK lets say we can start purchasing furniture at any time because in fact we can do that. What would be the predecessor for this? Since nothing in the construction of the house depends on it specifically.

And what would be the start time can I specifically set a start date for this task? I understand manually setting start dates for tasks is a bad thing.

Dane

dallr wrote:
> Thanks for jumping in Trevor, and I must say you raise a good point.
>
> OK lets say we can start purchasing furniture at any time because in
> fact we can do that. What would be the predecessor for this? Since
> nothing in the construction of the house depends on it specifically.
>
> And what would be the start time can I specifically set a start date
> for this task? I understand manually setting start dates for tasks is a
> bad thing.
>
> Dane
>
>

It may be the case the predecessor has to be the project start
milestone. Not every task can have a 'real' predecessor (or successor
for that matter).

Most projects are resource limited so levelling is used to determine the
work order.

In this case, as there is likely to be a delay between ordering the
furniture and receiving it, then it may be prudent to order it before
you can house it so that the project timescales are shortened.

That then puts a deadline on the completion of the roof task because
otherwise the furniture may arrive before you can house it and so a risk
is introduced because you might not meet your deadline. So there is a
link from the completion of the room to the delivery date.

If buying the furniture has no predecessor then it will be scheduled to
start as soon as possible (it always will be anyway), which will be day 1.
Sometimes a task like this has no "real" task as a predecessor, and since
you would like to give every task a predecessor (because it is a good rule
generally) you can make a project start milestone to fill this role.
Similarly, some tasks appear to have no "real" task as a successor, so use a
project finish milestone for this.

Date constraints to be avoided always.
--
Trevor Rabey
0407213955
61 8 92727485
PERFECT PROJECT PLANNING
www.perfectproject.com.au

"dallr" <dallr.3ocqfd@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
news:dallr.3ocqfd@DoNotSpam.com...
>
> Thanks for jumping in Trevor, and I must say you raise a good point.
>
> OK lets say we can start purchasing furniture at any time because in
> fact we can do that. What would be the predecessor for this? Since
> nothing in the construction of the house depends on it specifically.
>
> And what would be the start time can I specifically set a start date
> for this task? I understand manually setting start dates for tasks is a
> bad thing.
>
> Dane
>
>
> --
> dallr
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> dallr's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/dallr.htm
> View this thread: How to setup Predecessors?
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>

Trevor suggests the Project Start with a lag time. That certainly works but
another alternate approach might be to set the predecessor "Construction
Complete, Ready to Move -in". Let's say you expect it will take a day to
order the furniture and 2 weeks for delivery. You want the furniture to
arrive the day the house is finished. Predecessor (controlling task) is
"Ready For Move-in", successor (controlled task) is "Order Furniture", link
is Start-Finish (not FS), and has a 2 week lead time added in the link. Now
the finish of the "Order.." task will be placed 2 weeks before the projected
"Ready To Move-in" date.
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://project.mvps.org/faqs.htm for the FAQs


"dallr" <dallr.3ocqfd@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
news:dallr.3ocqfd@DoNotSpam.com...
>
> Thanks for jumping in Trevor, and I must say you raise a good point.
>
> OK lets say we can start purchasing furniture at any time because in
> fact we can do that. What would be the predecessor for this? Since
> nothing in the construction of the house depends on it specifically.
>
> And what would be the start time can I specifically set a start date
> for this task? I understand manually setting start dates for tasks is a
> bad thing.
>
> Dane
>
>
> --
> dallr
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> dallr's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/dallr.htm
> View this thread: How to setup Predecessors?
>
> http://forums.techarena.in
>