Project 2016 - Introduction

Lesson – Scheduling Tasks

Project 2016

W ORKING WITH D EPENDENT T ASKS

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Discussion

A project is more than just a list of tasks. Nearly every project must schedule tasks based on when a previous task is completed or started. This relationship between tasks is known as a dependency relationship. A dependency relationship tells Microsoft Project which tasks must be started or finished before other tasks can begin. This method assists Microsoft Project in calculating the length of a project and its finish date. In task relationships, there are predecessor tasks and successor tasks. A predecessor task must either start or finish before another task can start or finish. A successor task depends on a previous task to start or finish before it can start or finish. Microsoft Project provides 4 possible types of task relationships: Finish-to-Start , Start-to-Start , Finish-to-Finish and Start-to-Finish . • Finish-to-Start – The predecessor task must be complete before the successor task can start. For example, walls must be primed before you can start to paint them. • Start-to-Start – Both tasks start simultaneously. For example, install plumbing and electricity at the same time in a house under construction. • Finish-to-Finish – Both tasks finish simultaneously. For example, all house inspections must finish at the same time. • Start-to-Finish – The start of the predecessor task determines the end of the successor task. For example, the roofing task is scheduled to start on a particular date. At the time work on the roof starts, the task of obtaining the roofing materials must end. This results in dependency lines which may flow to the left and upward. Since we think about time flows going to the right and down, this relationship is rarely used.

View information about task relationships by pointing to the link line in the Gantt chart. When you point to the line, a ScreenTip appears and displays the type of relationship, such as Start-to-Start , and the task names.

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