Objectives – MS Project 2010
q Use
constraints to set date limitations
q Set
a project schedule baseline
A task constraint
is a restriction or limitation that you or MS Project set on the start or
finish date of a task. During the course of a project, limitations may have to
be placed upon a start or finish date of a task. For example, while you can start doing your
income taxes at any time, you must complete them by April 15 (assuming you do
not file for an extension). Do not confuse task constraints with task
dependencies. While you may schedule
two tasks to start at the same time (dependency), you may not specify a certain
starting date (constraint).
All
tasks are assigned constraints. A constraint is either flexible or
inflexible. A flexible constraint is not
tied to a specific date; whereas an inflexible constraint is tied to a specific
date.
Task constraints can help create a more
accurate schedule by using detailed information to control start and finish
dates of important tasks. But they can
restrict your flexibility in scheduling.
You should make sure that any constraint for a task is necessary before
assigning that constraint, particularly if the task is part of the critical
path.
For this lab, we will be using the MS
Project Lab, MyLab5_XXX (where XXX
are your initials) from where we left off in Lab 5. You may use your previous file or download
MyLab5_XXX.mpp from Doc Sharing.
Applying Flexible Constraints
The following table lists the flexible
constraints and when they are flexible:
Constraint
Description
Flexible
for
As Soon As Possible (ASAP)
Starts the task as soon as possible based
on other constraints and dependencies
All projects
As Late As Possible (ALAP)
Starts the task as late as possible based
on other constraints and dependencies
All projects
Finish No Earlier Than (FNET)
Finishes the task on or after an entered
date
Projects scheduled based on a start date
Start No Earlier Than (SNET)
Starts the task on or after an entered
date
Projects scheduled based on a start date
Finish No Later Than (FNLT)
Finishes the task on or before an entered
date
Projects scheduled based on a finish date
Start No Later Than (SNLT)
Starts the task on or before an entered
date
Projects scheduled based on a finish date
The As Soon As Possible constraint is the default constraint for projects that
are scheduled from a start
date. Therefore, our project’s tasks all
currently are assigned the ASAP constraint.
(If project is scheduled from a finish date, As Late As Possible is the
default constraint.)
1.
Log onto Windows.
2.
Open your completed file
MyLab5_XXX.mpp. Check the addendum at
the end of this lesson to make sure your beginning file is correct.
3.
Save asMyLab6_XXX.mpp, where XXX are your initials.
4.
Make sure you are in Gantt
chart view, with the Entry table appearing.
5.
Click on task #6, Proposal To Accounting.
6.
Double click to open the Task
Information dialog box.
7.
Be sure that the General tab is selected and view the
currently scheduled start and finish dates for this task. (The task is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 21 and finish on Wednesday, October 23).
8.
Click the Advancedtab.
9.
Click the Constraint type down arrow and select Finish No Earlier Than.
10.
Click the Constraint date down arrow and select Wednesday, October 23, 2013. (See Figure 1).
Figure
1
11.
If the Effort Driven box is not
checked, do so now and then Click OK.
12.
If you get a Planning Wizard,
select Continue. Allow the scheduling conflict.
13.
The constraint is set for this
task. We have said that this task cannot
finish prior to October 23, 2013but
can finish any time beginning with October
23 (or later!).
14.
You will notice beside the
task, Proposal To Accounting, a flexible
constraint indicator icon. Notice
that a similar icon is next to the task, Install Software. What is its constraint? When was this constraint applied? (Hint: these are the tasks we manually
leveled to avoid resource conflicts, MS Project helped us in changing the
constraint on one of these tasks to meet our needs).
15.
Save the file.
Applying Inflexible Constraints
Inflexible constraints are tied to a
specific date and should be used less often because they take flexibility away
from the schedule. Inflexible
constraints are generally applied if the project’s start or finish date is
absolute and beyond your control. But be careful! The following table lists the inflexible
constraints and when they are inflexible:
Constraint
Description
Inflexible
for
Must Finish On (MFO)
Finishes task on an entered date
All projects
Must Start On (MSO)
Starts the task on an entered date
All projects
Finish No Earlier Than (FNET)
Finishes the task on or after an entered
date
Projects scheduled based on a finish date
Start No Earlier Than (SNET)
Starts the task on or after an entered
date
Projects scheduled based on a finish date
Finish No Later Than (FNLT)
Finishes the task on or before an entered
date
Projects scheduled based on a start date
Start No Later Than (SNLT)
Starts the task on or before an entered
date
Projects scheduled based on a start date
From the Gantt View, select the task, Issue RFPs. Open the Task Information dialog box for
this task.
Click the Generaltab
and view the currently scheduled start and finish dates for this
task. The task is scheduled to
begin Monday, October 28 and
finish on Tuesday, November 12, 2013.
Eleven days should be sufficient to issue and receive replies to our
Requests for Proposals. Although we should receive all the responses by Tuesday, November 12, we do not want to
wait beyond Monday, November 11,
2013. Therefore, we are going
to mark this task with a Finish No
Later Than constraint for November
11.
Click the Advanced tab.
Click the Constraint
Type down arrow and select Finish
No Later Than.
Click the Constraint
Date down arrow and select Monday,
November 11, 2013. (See Figure
2.)
Figure
2
Click OK.
The Planning Wizard dialog box appears. (Figure 3)
Figure 3
The Planning Wizard indicates a possible conflict and offers us
three options. One, to just cancel
the request. Another to continue,
but change to a better constraint.
Or finally, to continue with our original selection. Generally, you should either cancel or
accept the advice on how to avoid the conflict. Only when absolutely necessary, continue
with your selection; however, it could possibly affect your project’s
finish date.
Select the Continue. A
Finish No Later Than constraint will be set. option, and click OK.
A Scheduling Conflict message may appear. Select “Continue. Allow the scheduling conflict.” and
click OK.
The constraint is set.
An inflexible constraint indicator icon is
displayed in the Indicated field.
Note the “red” square versus the blue”
square for a flexible constraint.
Please Note: MS Project will, by default, honor constraint
dates over scheduled dates unless you remove this default from the
Tools-Options menu, then select the Schedule tab and uncheck Tasks Will
Always Honor Their Constraint Dates.
Bottom line, it is best to wisely use constraints and preferably
flexible constraints.
Save your file.
When task constraints are set, conflicts
can occur that can affect the project finish date or a task dependency. When a conflict occurs, the Planning Wizard appears, indicating a
conflict (or a potential conflict)
will exist if the constraint is applied.
The Planning Wizard monitors scheduling activities and offers
suggestions when appropriate.
1.
Click on the task, Evaluate Bids.
2.
Open the Task Information dialog box for this task. Click the General tab and note the start date
for this task is Monday, November 11, 2013,
finish date is November 14, 2013.
3.
Click the Advanced tab.
4.
Click the Constraint Typedown arrow and select Must Start On.
5.
Click the Constraint Date down arrow and select Monday, November 11, 2013.
6.
Click OK.
7.
The Planning Wizard dialog box
appears again.
8.
This time select the Canceloption. No constraint will be set on “Evaluate
Bids”.
9.
Save your file.
10.
From the View tab select Tables
from the Data group. Then select More Tables. The More Tables dialog box opens.
11.
Select Constraint Dates from the list and click Apply.
12.
Move the Gantt chart to the far side of your screen. Widen the table columns so all
information can be seen.
13.
Print this table. Include all the columns of the Table:
Constraint Dates but NOT the Gantt
chart. Be sure to include proper project
header information. Make sure you widen
the columns showing task information.
This will be Printout 1.
14.
Save the file.
Establishing a Baseline
Once the project schedule is completed and
all resource and task conflicts have been resolved, your current schedule
represents the best estimate of how
the project should proceed and what resources it will take. The emphasis is estimate. When entering any
type of project, regardless of experience, no one knows exactly what will
really happen; we can only give it our “best guess”.
Before the first task in the project
begins, a baseline should be
set. (Notice we have always saved our
project files without one in the past.)
A baseline is a record or “snapshot” taken of our forecast or
expectations. Without a baseline, we
cannot measure progress of a project. A
baseline is useful for comparing the planned schedule with later versions of
the schedule. A project baseline should
be viewed also as a learning tool.
Comparing the baseline to actual progress on a project can help you
identify upcoming problems on the project as well as helping future projects
with better duration estimates and more accurate resource assignments.
Think of a baseline as a forecast. If I predict that on my vacation I will spend
$400, I will make that my baseline or prediction. At the end of my vacation, if I discovered
that I spent $450, I know that I was over budget (by $50) because I had a baseline ($400) to compare to my actual
progress ($450).
Note: Once you
save a project with a baseline, any changes to the baseline should not be
made. However, if a baseline is saved
before the schedule planning is finished, a new baseline can be saved over the
existing baseline. If this is
necessary, you would access the Tools menu, point to tracking and then
click Save Baseline. This should only
be done to reset a baseline that was saved by accident.
We are now ready to save this
project with a baseline. Read
the following instructions carefully, because once saving a project with a
baseline, it is difficult to undo any mistakes previously made.
1.
First, save your current file as
MyBaseline_XXX.mpp (where XXX are your initials), without a baseline. This way, if you made any mistakes, you can
go back to MyLab5_XXX.mpp.
2.
On the Projecttab and the Schedule
group select Set Baseline.
3.
From the drop down select Set Baseline.
4.
The Set Baseline window
appears.
5.
In the For area, be sure that the Entire Project option is selected. Press OK.
6.
Once you set a baseline, you
can quickly monitor baseline statistics for your project.
7.
On the Project menu, click Project Information. In the Project Information dialog box, click Statistics. The Project Statistics window should appear.
Figure
4
8.
The Project Statistics window
will compare basic progress of your project with your baseline. This information comprises your Project
Summary Report. (Notice that the fields for baseline now contain information).
9.
Close this window and save your file.
10.
Print your Project Summary Report, (from this file,
MyBaselineXXX.mpp). Make sure it has all
appropriate information. This will be Printout 2.
At this point, you have been introduced to
the basics of project scheduling and resource management. There is much more to the software, but you
should be encouraged to experiment and discover on your own using on-line help
or books on MS Project.
Now that we have set a baseline for our project
all that is left to do is to implement our project and track our progress. However, a little review before we do
When submitting required printouts, if you
are not bringing them to class, from the Print Preview Page, take a screen shot
(in Windows
to a MS Word Document. Make sure to crop the screen to show only the report.
After cropping, resize the image appropriately.
If the printout is on more than 1 page, paste each page individually. Save the Word document containing printouts as Week_6_Printouts_XXX.docx
(where XXX are your initials) and submit this file to the Weekly iLab Dropbox.
Addendum
Task Information for the Beginning of Lesson 6
Project Information Statistics at the Beginning of Lesson 6
When you have
completed this lesson please save it as MyBaseline_XXX.mpp and submit the file
to the Weekly iLab Dropbox.
Also complete the following page and submit the Review Question
sheet to the Weekly iLab Dropbox.
Review Questions
Name
____________________________
Answer the following questions:
1) What
is the difference between a task dependency and a task constraint?
2) Give
a real-world situation when you might used the following task constraints:
a) Start
No Earlier Than
b) Start
No Later Than
c) Finish
No Later Than
d) Finish
No Earlier Than
e) Must
Finish On
f) Must
Start On
g) As
Late As Possible
3) What
is the importance of a baseline?
4) What
is an interim plan?
Turn in this
sheet with your MS Project file to the Week 6 iLab Dropbox.
Objectives – MS Project 2010q Use
constraints to set date limitationsq Set
a project schedule baselineA task constraint
is a restriction or limitation that you or MS Project set on the start or
finish date of a task. During the course of a project, limitations may have to
be placed upon a start or finish date of a task. For example, while you can start doing your
income taxes at any time, you must complete them by April 15 (assuming you do
not file for an extension). Do not confuse task constraints with task
dependencies. While you may schedule
two tasks to start at the same time (dependency), you may not specify a certain
starting date (constraint). All
tasks are assigned constraints. A constraint is either flexible or
inflexible. A flexible constraint is not
tied to a specific date; whereas an inflexible constraint is tied to a specific
date. Task constraints can help create a more
accurate schedule by using detailed information to control start and finish
dates of important tasks. But they can
restrict your flexibility in scheduling.
You should make sure that any constraint for a task is necessary before
assigning that constraint, particularly if the task is part of the critical
path.For this lab, we will be using the MS
Project Lab, MyLab5_XXX (where XXX
are your initials) from where we left off in Lab 5. You may use your previous file or download
MyLab5_XXX.mpp from Doc Sharing.The following table lists the flexible
constraints and when they are flexible:ConstraintDescriptionFlexible
forAs Soon As Possible (ASAP)Starts the task as soon as possible based
on other constraints and dependenciesAll projectsAs Late As Possible (ALAP)Starts the task as late as possible based
on other constraints and dependenciesAll projectsFinish No Earlier Than (FNET)Finishes the task on or after an entered
dateProjects scheduled based on a start dateStart No Earlier Than (SNET)Starts the task on or after an entered
dateProjects scheduled based on a start dateFinish No Later Than (FNLT)Finishes the task on or before an entered
dateProjects scheduled based on a finish dateStart No Later Than (SNLT)Starts the task on or before an entered
dateProjects scheduled based on a finish dateThe As Soon As Possible constraint is the default constraint for projects that
are scheduled from a start
date. Therefore, our project’s tasks all
currently are assigned the ASAP constraint.
(If project is scheduled from a finish date, As Late As Possible is the
default constraint.)1.
Log onto Windows. 2.
Open your completed file
MyLab5_XXX.mpp. Check the addendum at
the end of this lesson to make sure your beginning file is correct. 3.
Save asMyLab6_XXX.mpp, where XXX are your initials.4.
Make sure you are in Gantt
chart view, with the Entry table appearing.5.
Click on task #6, Proposal To Accounting.6.
Double click to open the Task
Information dialog box.7.
Be sure that the General tab is selected and view the
currently scheduled start and finish dates for this task. (The task is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 21 and finish on Wednesday, October 23).8.
Click the Advancedtab.9.
Click the Constraint type down arrow and select Finish No Earlier Than.10.
Click the Constraint date down arrow and select Wednesday, October 23, 2013. (See Figure 1).
Figure
111.
If the Effort Driven box is not
checked, do so now and then Click OK. 12.
If you get a Planning Wizard,
select Continue. Allow the scheduling conflict.13.
The constraint is set for this
task. We have said that this task cannot
finish prior to October 23, 2013but
can finish any time beginning with October
23 (or later!).14.
You will notice beside the
task, Proposal To Accounting, a flexible
constraint indicator icon. Notice
that a similar icon is next to the task, Install Software. What is its constraint? When was this constraint applied? (Hint: these are the tasks we manually
leveled to avoid resource conflicts, MS Project helped us in changing the
constraint on one of these tasks to meet our needs).15.
Save the file.Inflexible constraints are tied to a
specific date and should be used less often because they take flexibility away
from the schedule. Inflexible
constraints are generally applied if the project’s start or finish date is
absolute and beyond your control. But be careful! The following table lists the inflexible
constraints and when they are inflexible:ConstraintDescriptionInflexible
forMust Finish On (MFO)Finishes task on an entered dateAll projectsMust Start On (MSO)Starts the task on an entered dateAll projectsFinish No Earlier Than (FNET)Finishes the task on or after an entered
dateProjects scheduled based on a finish dateStart No Earlier Than (SNET)Starts the task on or after an entered
dateProjects scheduled based on a finish dateFinish No Later Than (FNLT)Finishes the task on or before an entered
dateProjects scheduled based on a start dateStart No Later Than (SNLT)Starts the task on or before an entered
dateProjects scheduled based on a start date
Figure
2
Figure 3When task constraints are set, conflicts
can occur that can affect the project finish date or a task dependency. When a conflict occurs, the Planning Wizard appears, indicating a
conflict (or a potential conflict)
will exist if the constraint is applied.
The Planning Wizard monitors scheduling activities and offers
suggestions when appropriate.1.
Click on the task, Evaluate Bids.2.
Open the Task Information dialog box for this task. Click the General tab and note the start date
for this task is Monday, November 11, 2013,
finish date is November 14, 2013.3.
Click the Advanced tab.4.
Click the Constraint Typedown arrow and select Must Start On.5.
Click the Constraint Date down arrow and select Monday, November 11, 2013.6.
Click OK.7.
The Planning Wizard dialog box
appears again.8.
This time select the Canceloption. No constraint will be set on “Evaluate
Bids”.9.
Save your file.10.
From the View tab select Tables
from the Data group. Then select More Tables. The More Tables dialog box opens.11.
Select Constraint Dates from the list and click Apply.
12.
Move the Gantt chart to the far side of your screen. Widen the table columns so all
information can be seen.13.
Print this table. Include all the columns of the Table:
Constraint Dates but NOT the Gantt
chart. Be sure to include proper project
header information. Make sure you widen
the columns showing task information.
This will be Printout 1.14.
Save the file.Establishing a BaselineOnce the project schedule is completed and
all resource and task conflicts have been resolved, your current schedule
represents the best estimate of how
the project should proceed and what resources it will take. The emphasis is estimate. When entering any
type of project, regardless of experience, no one knows exactly what will
really happen; we can only give it our “best guess”.Before the first task in the project
begins, a baseline should be
set. (Notice we have always saved our
project files without one in the past.)
A baseline is a record or “snapshot” taken of our forecast or
expectations. Without a baseline, we
cannot measure progress of a project. A
baseline is useful for comparing the planned schedule with later versions of
the schedule. A project baseline should
be viewed also as a learning tool.
Comparing the baseline to actual progress on a project can help you
identify upcoming problems on the project as well as helping future projects
with better duration estimates and more accurate resource assignments.Think of a baseline as a forecast. If I predict that on my vacation I will spend
$400, I will make that my baseline or prediction. At the end of my vacation, if I discovered
that I spent $450, I know that I was over budget (by $50) because I had a baseline ($400) to compare to my actual
progress ($450). Note: Once you
save a project with a baseline, any changes to the baseline should not be
made. However, if a baseline is saved
before the schedule planning is finished, a new baseline can be saved over the
existing baseline. If this is
necessary, you would access the Tools menu, point to tracking and then
click Save Baseline. This should only
be done to reset a baseline that was saved by accident. We are now ready to save this
project with a baseline. Read
the following instructions carefully, because once saving a project with a
baseline, it is difficult to undo any mistakes previously made.1.
First, save your current file as
MyBaseline_XXX.mpp (where XXX are your initials), without a baseline. This way, if you made any mistakes, you can
go back to MyLab5_XXX.mpp.2.
On the Projecttab and the Schedule
group select Set Baseline.
3.
From the drop down select Set Baseline.4.
The Set Baseline window
appears.
5.
In the For area, be sure that the Entire Project option is selected. Press OK.6.
Once you set a baseline, you
can quickly monitor baseline statistics for your project.7.
On the Project menu, click Project Information. In the Project Information dialog box, click Statistics. The Project Statistics window should appear.
Figure
48.
The Project Statistics window
will compare basic progress of your project with your baseline. This information comprises your Project
Summary Report. (Notice that the fields for baseline now contain information).9.
Close this window and save your file.10.
Print your Project Summary Report, (from this file,
MyBaselineXXX.mpp). Make sure it has all
appropriate information. This will be Printout 2.At this point, you have been introduced to
the basics of project scheduling and resource management. There is much more to the software, but you
should be encouraged to experiment and discover on your own using on-line help
or books on MS Project. Now that we have set a baseline for our project
all that is left to do is to implement our project and track our progress. However, a little review before we do
When submitting required printouts, if you
are not bringing them to class, from the Print Preview Page, take a screen shot
(in Windows
to a MS Word Document. Make sure to crop the screen to show only the report.
After cropping, resize the image appropriately.
If the printout is on more than 1 page, paste each page individually. Save the Word document containing printouts as Week_6_Printouts_XXX.docx
(where XXX are your initials) and submit this file to the Weekly iLab Dropbox.AddendumTask Information for the Beginning of Lesson 6
Project Information Statistics at the Beginning of Lesson 6
When you have
completed this lesson please save it as MyBaseline_XXX.mpp and submit the file
to the Weekly iLab Dropbox.Also complete the following page and submit the Review Question
sheet to the Weekly iLab Dropbox.Review QuestionsName
____________________________Answer the following questions:1) What
is the difference between a task dependency and a task constraint?
2) Give
a real-world situation when you might used the following task constraints:a) Start
No Earlier Than
b) Start
No Later Than
c) Finish
No Later Than
d) Finish
No Earlier Than
e) Must
Finish On
f) Must
Start On
g) As
Late As Possible
3) What
is the importance of a baseline?
4) What
is an interim plan?
Turn in this
sheet with your MS Project file to the Week 6 iLab Dropbox.
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