Microsoft ® Office Project 2007 Training Linking Project tasks [Your company name] presents:

Linking Project tasks Course contents Overview: Save time as you manage your project Lesson 1: Dependency links Lesson 2: Create task dependency links Lesson 3: Create lag time and lead time Two of the three lessons include a list of suggested tasks; all include a set of test questions.

Linking Project tasks Overview: Save time as you manage your project After you define your project’s tasks and estimate how long they’ll take, you’re ready to link them. Linking tasks creates a plan based on sequence and dependencies, regardless of specific dates. If the start date, duration, or finish date of one task changes, Project automatically reschedules all related tasks. Linking makes your plan more flexible and more reliable.

Linking Project tasks Course goals Apply any of the four task dependency types. Know when to use each of the task dependencies. Know when and how to use lead and lag time.

Lesson 1 Dependency links

Linking Project tasks Dependency links You can use four types of task dependencies (or links) to define the relationships between tasks in your Project plan. If you link tasks, Project will automatically adjust your schedule when any part of your plan changes. If instead you enter specific start and finish dates for tasks, you override that automatic adjustment. So you see the advantage to understanding how Project dependency types are used to link tasks.

Linking Project tasks Linking tasks 101 After you define your plan’s tasks and estimate how long it will take to complete them, you’re ready to schedule the tasks by creating task dependency links. By default, Project schedules all tasks to begin on the project’s start date and calculates the project’s finish date based on the last task to finish. When you enter task dependencies, Project adjusts the schedule to assign more accurate dates to each task.

Linking Project tasks Linking tasks 101 The picture illustrates the concepts. All tasks in a Project plan start at the project start date unless you specify otherwise. With no task dependencies or constraints applied, the project finish date is the same as the longest task’s finish date.

Linking Project tasks Linking tasks 101 The picture illustrates the concepts. Task dependencies, such as the Finish-to-Start dependency between the first and second tasks (shown here), can change the project’s scheduled finish date.

Linking Project tasks Predecessor tasks and successor tasks The four dependency types shown in the picture can help you schedule your real- world situation. A predecessor is a task whose start or finish date determines the start or finish date of its successor task. A successor is a task whose start or finish date is driven by its predecessor task.

Linking Project tasks Predecessor tasks and successor tasks The four dependency types shown in the picture can help you schedule your real- world situation. The type of relationship between a predecessor task and a successor task determines the type of task dependency to use.

Linking Project tasks Finish-to-Start dependencies When the work of Task 2 can start only after all the work of Task 1 is finished, the tasks have a Finish- to-Start (FS) dependency. The FS dependency is created by default when you link two tasks in Project. The order in which you select the tasks treats the first as the predecessor, the second as the successor. Task 1 is the predecessor of Task 2, and Task 2 is the successor of Task 1.

Linking Project tasks Start-to-Start dependencies When the work of Task 2 cannot start until Task 1 starts, the tasks have a Start-to- Start (SS) dependency. In the real world, SS dependencies generally occur because you want the work of two tasks to overlap. For example, “Level concrete” (Task 2) can’t begin until “Pour foundation” (Task 1) begins.

Linking Project tasks Start-to-Start dependencies Overlapping work also helps to reduce the overall duration of a project. If Task 1 will take 10 days to complete, and Task 2 will take 5 days to complete, and you set an FS dependency, the overall duration of the two tasks is 15 days. If you set an SS dependency, the overall duration of the two tasks is only 10 days (the time required by Task 1).

Linking Project tasks Finish-to-Finish dependencies When the finish date of Task 1 determines the finish date of Task 2, they have a Finish- to-Finish (FF) dependency. For example, “Inspect electrical” (Task 2) can’t finish until “Add wiring” (Task 1) finishes.

Linking Project tasks Finish-to-Finish dependencies Like SS dependencies, FF dependencies reduce the overall amount of time it takes to complete work on two tasks, if the work can overlap or be done in parallel. If Task 1 will take 10 days to complete, and Task 2 will take 5 days to complete, and you set an FS dependency, the overall duration of the two tasks is 15 days. If you set an FF dependency, the overall duration of the two tasks is only 10 days (the time required by Task 1).

Linking Project tasks Start-to-Finish dependencies When the start date of Task 1 determines the finish date of Task 2, the tasks have a Start-to-Finish (SF) dependency. This is how you create just-in- time scheduling. Say a related task needs to finish before a milestone or project finish date, but it doesn’t matter when and you don’t want a late finish to affect the just-in-time task. Create an SF dependency between the task you want scheduled just in time (the predecessor) and its related task (the successor).

Linking Project tasks Test 1, question 1 If you’re not certain how the work of Task A relates to the work of Task B, which dependency type should you create? (Pick one answer.) 1.Start-to-Start (SS). 2.Finish-to-Start (FS). 3.Finish-to-Finish (FF). 4.Start to Finish (SF).

Linking Project tasks Test 1, question 1: Answer Finish-to-Start (FS). By using the FS dependency type, you avoid introducing scheduling conflicts and can take advantage of Project’s ability to update the plan automatically when changes occur.

Linking Project tasks Test 1, question 2 After “Lay the Carpet” and “Install the Lights” are both finished, “Paint the Walls” should start immediately. To put these task relationships in your plan, which dependency types should you create? (Pick one answer.) 1.“Lay the Carpet” Finish-to-Start with “Install the Lights,” and “Install the Lights” Finish-to-Start with “Paint the Walls.” 2.“Lay the Carpet” Start-to-Start with “Install the Lights,” and “Paint the Walls” Finish-to-Start with “Lay the Carpet.” 3.“Lay the Carpet” Finish-to-Finish with “Install the Lights,” and “Paint the Walls” Finish-to-Start with “Lay the Carpet.”

Linking Project tasks Test 1, question 2: Answer “Lay the Carpet” Finish-to-Finish with “Install the Lights,” and “Paint the Walls” Finish-to-Start with “Lay the Carpet.” The minute that both “Lay the Carpet” and “Install the Lights” are finished, you can start on “Paint the Walls.”

Linking Project tasks Test 1, question 3 It will take a writer 12 days to write a manual and an editor 6 days to edit it. Which type of dependency will get the work completed in the shortest possible time? (Pick one answer.) 1.FS — finish writing and then start editing. 2.SS — start writing and start editing at the same time. 3.FF — finish editing at the same time as finish writing.

Linking Project tasks Test 1, question 3: Answer FF — finish editing at the same time as finish writing. Editing will finish when the writing finishes. And because the two tasks overlap, the overall duration is 12 days.

Lesson 2 Create task dependency links

Linking Project tasks Create task dependency links It’s time to learn how to create links between tasks and after that, to think about when to link them. If you move a task or insert a new task, Project automatically links it in the same way as the tasks around it. By getting all of your tasks in order first, you make sure that the link you like stays just the way you want it.

Linking Project tasks Create an FS dependency After you’ve identified two tasks that will be dependent on each other, identify one task as the predecessor. Then select the predecessor task by clicking its ID number. Next, press the CTRL key and select the task that will be the successor of the task that you have already selected. Then, click Link Tasks on the Standard toolbar.

Linking Project tasks Create an FS dependency After you’ve identified two tasks that will be dependent on each other, identify one task as the predecessor. Then select the predecessor task by clicking its ID number. If you need to remove a dependency link: 1.Select the linked tasks. The order of selection does not matter. 2.Click Unlink on the Standard toolbar.

Linking Project tasks Type dependencies in the Predecessors column What if you need to set dependencies between tasks that are quite far apart in the Project plan? Project provides a simple solution, as shown in Figure 1: You can create dependency links by typing directly in the Predecessors column.

Linking Project tasks Type dependencies in the Predecessors column What if you need to set dependencies between tasks that are quite far apart in the Project plan? First, note the predecessor task’s ID number. Then, scroll to the task that will become its successor. In the Predecessors field of the successor task, type the predecessor task’s ID number and the appropriate dependency abbreviation: SS, FF, FS, or SF.

Linking Project tasks Type dependencies in the Predecessors column What if you need to set dependencies between tasks that are quite far apart in the Project plan? To remove a dependency link from the Predecessors column, select the ID number of the predecessor task, and then press the DELETE key.

Linking Project tasks Suggestions for practice 1.Create an FS dependency by using the Link Tasks button. 2.With a single button click, create multiple FS dependencies. 3.Create an FS dependency by typing in the Predecessors column. 4.Change an FS dependency to an SS dependency. 5.Change a task duration. Online practiceOnline practice (requires Project 2007)

Linking Project tasks Test 2, question 1 What method can you use to make a task that appears lower in the task list (with a higher task ID number) the predecessor of a task that is higher in the list (with a lower task ID number)? (Pick one answer.) 1.Use your mouse to drag across the tasks from top to bottom, and then click Link Tasks. 2.Hold the CTRL key, click the lower task, click the task that appears higher in the task list, and then click Link Tasks. 3.Hold the Shift key while clicking each task, and then click Link Tasks.

Linking Project tasks Test 2, question 1: Answer Hold the CTRL key, click the lower task, click the task that appears higher in the task list, and then click Link Tasks. Tasks are linked in the order in which you selected them when you use the CTRL key.

Linking Project tasks Test 2, question 2 The duration of your current Project plan is 11 days, and it has a Finish-to-Start dependency between all four tasks. Task 1 is two days; Task 2 is three days; Task 3 is four days; and Task 4 is two days. Which of the following changes will create a Project plan with the shortest overall duration — without changing the project’s start date? (Pick one answer.) 1.Create a Start-to-Finish dependency between Task 1 and Task 2. 2.Create a Start-to-Finish dependency between Task 2 and Task 3. 3.Create a Start-to-Finish dependency between Task 3 and Task 4.

Linking Project tasks Test 2, question 2: Answer Create a Start-to-Finish dependency between Task 3 and Task 4. This shortens the overall duration to 9 days without affecting the start date of the Project plan.

Lesson 3 Create lag time and lead time

Linking Project tasks Create lag time and lead time Life can be complicated. What if your plan needs to include complex task relationships? In Project, you can build in a delay between the finish of one task and the start of another. Or you can make one task overlap with another.

Linking Project tasks Create lag time and lead time The picture illustrates each approach. For delay, use lag time. This accounts for something that must happen between two tasks, such as waiting for a shipment of supplies to arrive. For overlap, use lead time. If a task can start a week before the previous one is finished, a lead time of seven days gets that second ball rolling.

Linking Project tasks Lag time Lag time is a delay between dependent tasks. For example, suppose you plan to start editing a manual three days after writing starts. For the “Edit Manual” task, you’d enter 3 in the Lag field on the Predecessors tab in the Task Information dialog box, and then click OK.

Linking Project tasks Lag time Lag time is a delay between dependent tasks. You can also enter lag time directly in the Predecessors column of the successor task in the chart portion of the Gantt Chart view. If “Write Manual” is Task 1 and “Edit Manual” is Task 2, in the Predecessors column of Task 2, you could type 1SS3.

Linking Project tasks Lead time Lead time is overlap between dependent tasks. For example, if the “Prepare Binders” task can start two days before its predecessor task “Print Manual” is finished, you can create a lead time of two days, and work on the tasks will overlap, proceeding at the same time.

Linking Project tasks Lead time Lead time is overlap between dependent tasks. Lead time is entered as a negative value in the Lag field on the Predecessors tab in the Task Information dialog box. For this example, you’d double-click “Prepare Binders” to open the dialog box, select the Predecessors tab, then type -2 in the Lag field. Finally, you’d click OK.

Linking Project tasks Suggestions for practice 1.Create lag time between tasks. 2.Create lead time between tasks. 3.Add a task. Online practiceOnline practice (requires Project 2007)

Linking Project tasks Test 3, question 1 Suppose the task “Paint the Walls” cannot start until after the task “Lay the Carpet” has started. The tasks are both ten days long, and work on them can overlap. Which dependency type and lag time or lead time will get the work completed in the correct sequence and in the shortest possible time? (Pick one answer.) 1.“Lay the Carpet” Start-to-Start to “Paint the Walls” with a lead time of three days. 2.“Lay the Carpet” Start-to-Finish to “Paint the Walls” with a lag time of three days. 3.“Lay the Carpet” Start-to-Start to “Paint the Walls” with a lag time of three days.

Linking Project tasks Test 3, question 1: Answer “Lay the Carpet” Start-to-Start to “Paint the Walls” with a lag time of three days. This schedules “Lay the Carpet” to start first and “Paint the Walls” to start three days later.

Linking Project tasks Test 3, question 2 The task “Select Pictures” must be completed at least one week before the task “Presentation” finishes. Which dependency type and lag time or lead time will get all the work done in the shortest possible time? (Pick one answer.) 1.“Select Pictures” Finish-to-Finish to “Presentation” with a lead time of one week. 2.“Select Pictures” Start-to-Finish to “Presentation” with a lead time of one week. 3.“Select Pictures” Finish-to-Finish to “Presentation” with a lag time of one week.

Linking Project tasks Test 3, question 2: Answer “Select Pictures” Finish-to-Finish to “Presentation” with a lead time of one week. The tasks are linked by their finish dates, but “Select Pictures” will finish one week before “Presentation” does.

Linking Project tasks Test 3, question 3 The task “Write Manual” will take 15 days, and the task “Edit Manual” will take 12 days. Which dependency type and lag time or lead time will get all of the work done in 18 days? (Pick one answer.) 1.Assign the editing task a Start-to-Start dependency type with a lead time of 6 days. 2.Assign the editing a Start-to-Start dependency type with a lag time of 6 days. 3.Assign the editing an Finish-to-Start dependency type with a lead time of 6 days.

Linking Project tasks Test 3, question 3: Answer Assign the editing a Start-to-Start dependency type with a lag time of 6 days. Editing will start 6 days after the start of writing. Writing and editing will overlap for 9 days and then editing will continue for another 3 days, making the overall duration 18 days. Well planned!

Linking Project tasks Quick Reference Card For a summary of the tasks covered in this course, view the Quick Reference Card. Quick Reference Card

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