Microsoft Projects Behind the scenes

1 How Project schedules tasks: Behind the scenes

Applies To: Project Professional 2013 Project Standard 2007 Project Standard 2010 More...

This article discusses the technical side of how Project schedules the tasks in your Project.
People are sometimes confused when Project automatically moves a task to a different time
than they expected. Or they wonder why changing, say, a task constraint caused other
tasks to move unpredictably. Heres your chance to understand the big Why? behind
Projects powerful scheduling engine.

This isnt necessarily easy to understand at first, but going through it will make you a more
knowledgeable project managerand give you firmer control over the end date of your
project.

2016, 2013, 20102007

These instructions are specific to Microsoft Project 2016, 2013, and 2010.

What do you want to learn?

1. How does the project start date affect the schedule?
2. How do task links affect the schedule?
3. How do constraints on tasks affect the schedule?
4. How do task types affect the schedule?
5. How does effort-driven scheduling affect the schedule?
6. How do manual and automatic scheduling affect the schedule?
7. How does float (or slack) affect the schedule?
8. How do deadline dates affect the schedule?
9. How do calendars affect the schedule?
10. How do resource assignments drive the schedule?
11. Yet more technical information about how Project schedules

1.1 How does the project start date affect the schedule?

When you add a new task to a schedule, it automatically is scheduled to start on the
projects start date. As tasks are added to the schedule and connected to other tasks, the
start times of tasks will change, and the last task to finish determines the projects finish
date.

To find the Project start date or to change it to another date, click Project, and then
click Project Information.

Of course, there are going to be exceptions. For example, tasks dont move around as other
tasks move. Read below in this article to learn more about manually versus automatically
scheduled task scheduling.

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When you create a new project, you first
enter the project's start date. When you
schedule a project from the start time, all
tasks start at the project start date unless
you specify otherwise.
For both manually scheduled tasks and
automatically scheduled tasks, with no
task dependencies or constraints applied,
Microsoft Projects Behind the scenes
the project's duration is the same as the
duration of the longest task. In other
words, the project finish date is the same
as the longest task's finish date.
Task dependencies, such as the finish-
to-start dependency between the first and
second tasks (as shown here), can change
the project's finish date.

Nearly all projects should be scheduled from a known start time. Even if you know the date
that a project must be completed, scheduling from a start date gives you maximum
flexibility.

However, you might want to schedule from a finish date when:

You need to determine when a project must start so that it finishes on a specific
required date.

You are not sure when your project will begin (for example, you are receiving work
from another source that could be delayed).

Your project management methodology requires you to schedule from a finish date.

As you work with your project that is scheduled from a finish date, be aware of differences in
the way that Project handles some actions:

When you enter an automatically scheduled task, Project automatically assigns the
As Late As Possible (ALAP) constraint to the finish date of the task. You should set other
constraints only when necessary (Right-click a task, then click Task Information).

If you drag a Gantt bar to change the finish date of a task, Project automatically
assigns a Finish No Later Than (FNLT) constraint for an automatically scheduled task.

If you change your project to schedule from a finish date and it was previously
scheduled from a start date, you will remove all leveling delays and leveling splits from
tasks and assignments that have been automatically scheduled. Tasks that are manually
scheduled are not affected.

If you use automatic leveling to reduce resource overallocations in your project,

Project will add a leveling delay after a task rather than before a task (To check leveling
settings, click the Resource tab, then click Level Resource).

1.2 How do task links affect the schedule?

Task links (dependencies) show the relationship in time of one task to another. Linking tasks
creates task dependencies. The long chain of tasks determines the entire length and end of
a project.

Project management tip As you link tasks in a project, a critical path of links is set up.
This critical path determines the end of your project. Learn more about the critical path.

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 Microsoft Projects Behind the scenes

Link Example Description

type

Finish-to- The dependent task (B) cannot begin until the task that it
start (FS) depends on (A) is complete.

For example, if you have two tasks, "Dig foundation" and

"Pour concrete," the "Pour concrete" task cannot begin until
the "Dig foundation" task is completed.
When you link tasks in Project, the default link type is finish-
to-start.
This link type is the default type. If you dont specify a link
type, the Finish-to-start relationship is assumed.

Start-to- The dependent task (B) cannot begin until the task that it
start depends on (A) begins.
(SS)
The dependent task can start at any time after the task that
it depends on begins. The SS link type does not require that
both tasks begin at the same time.

For example, if you have two tasks, "Pour concrete" and

"Level concrete," the "Level concrete" task cannot begin until
the "Pour concrete" task begins.

Finish-to- The dependent task (B) cannot be completed until the task
finish that it depends on (A) is completed.
(FF)
The dependent task can be completed at any time after the
task that it depends on is completed. The FF link type does
not require that both tasks be completed at the same time.

For example, if you have two tasks, "Add wiring" and "add
plumbing," both must be completed at the same time before
any inspection can be done.

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 Microsoft Projects Behind the scenes

Link Example Description

type

Start-to- The dependent task (B) cannot be completed until the task
finish that it depends on (A) begins.
(SF)
The dependent task can be completed at any time after the
task that it depends on begins. The SF link type does not
require that the dependent task be completed concurrent
with the beginning of the task on which it depends.

This link type is rarely used in project management. An

example would be roofing a home, and the two tasks: add
roofing, supervise the work. In this case, the roofing can
start, but the supervisor needs to show up at some point
before the end of the roofing.

Note about manually scheduled tasks When you link a manually scheduled task to
another task, Project respects the link type and places the manually scheduled task relative
to the other task. For example, the successor task with a finish-to-start link is shown as
beginning when the predecessor finishes. However, the successor task will only move when
the link is created. If the predecessor later changes its finish date, the successors start date
will remain unchanged.

However, you can configure Project so that a manually scheduled task does not move when
it is linked to another task.

1. Click File, click Options, and then click Schedule.

2. Uncheck the Update manually scheduled tasks when editing links check box.

1.3 How do constraints on tasks affect the schedule?

Constraints allow you to control the start or finish date of an automatically-scheduled task.
There are three types of constraints:

Flexible constraints do not have specific dates associated with them. Setting these
constraints allows you to start tasks as early as possible or as late as possible, with the task
ending before the project finish, given other constraints and task dependencies in the
schedule.

Semi-flexible constraints require an associated date that controls the earliest or

latest start or finish date for a task. These constraints allow a task to finish at any time, as
long as it meets the start or finish deadline.

Inflexible constraints require an associated date that controls the start or finish date
of the task. These constraints are useful when you need to make your schedule take into
account external factors, such as the availability of equipment or resources, deadlines,
contract milestones, and start and finish dates.

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 Microsoft Projects Behind the scenes
Project management tip In nearly all cases, use the ASAP constraint. This gives the
scheduling engine the most flexibility in determining the ideal finish date for your project.

Here are two ways to instantly view the constraints on your tasks.

To review or change the constraint on a task, right-click on the task, click Task
Information , then click the Advanced tab. Constraint information is in the Constraint
type and Constraint date boxes.

If the constraint is anything other than ASAP or ALAP, the constraint type will display
its associated graphical indicator in the Indicator column in any sheet view, such as the
Gantt chart.

Constraints with moderate scheduling flexibility will restrict a task from starting or finishing
before or after a date you choose. For example, a task with a Start No Earlier Than (SNET)
constraint for June 15 and a finish-to-start dependency to another task can begin June 15 if
its predecessor is finished by June 15 (or later if its predecessor finishes after June 15), but it
can't be scheduled before June 15. For example, this might be appropriate use of constraints
if you have a building permit that is only good for a specific dates. In this case, the SNET or
FNLT constraints might be used.

With the default finish-to-start task

relationship and an ASAP constraint
applied to these tasks, the successor task
(the second one) is scheduled to begin as
soon as the predecessor task (the first
one) is scheduled to finish.

With a SNET constraint applied, the

successor task cannot begin before the
constraint date, even if (as shown here)
the predecessor task is completed before
the constraint date.

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The following table lists the constraints provided in Project.

Constrain Constraint Description

t type name

Flexible As Late As Schedules the task as late as possible with the task ending
Possible before the project ends and without delaying subsequent
(ALAP) tasks. This is the default constraint for tasks when you
schedule from the project finish date. Do not enter a task start
or finish date with this constraint.

Flexible As Soon As Schedules the task to begin as early as possible. This is the
Possible default constraint for tasks when you schedule from the
(ASAP) project start date. Do not enter a start or finish date with this
constraint.

Semi- Start No Schedules the task to start on or after a specified date. Use
Flexible Earlier Than this constraint to ensure that a task does not start before a
(SNET) specified date.

Semi- Finish No Schedules the task to finish on or after a specified date. Use
Flexible Earlier Than this constraint to ensure that a task does not finish before a
(FNET) certain date.

Semi- Start No Later Schedules the task to start on or before a specified date. Use
Flexible Than (SNLT) this constraint to ensure that a task does not start after a
specified date.

Semi- Finish No Schedules the task to finish on or before a specified date. Use
Flexible Later Than this constraint to ensure that a task does not finish after a
(FNLT) certain date.

Inflexible Must Finish On Schedules the task to finish on a specified date. Sets the early,
(MFO) scheduled, and late finish dates to the date that you type and
anchors the task in the schedule.

Inflexible Must Start On Schedules the task to start on a specified date. Sets the early,
(MSO) scheduled, and late start dates to the date that you type and
anchors the task in the schedule.
 By default, all tasks in a project that is scheduled from the start date have the ASAP
constraint applied. Likewise, by default, all tasks in a project that is scheduled from the
finish date have the As Late As Possible (ALAP) constraint applied.

Inflexible constraints usually override any task dependencies and restrict a task to a date
you choose. For example, a task with a Must Start On (MSO) constraint for September 30
and a finish-to-start dependency to another task will always be scheduled for September 30
no matter whether its predecessor finishes early or late. You can change this behavior.
Click File, click Options, click Schedule, then select the Tasks will always honor their
constraint dates check box.

1.4 How do task types affect the schedule?

Task types apply only to automatically-scheduled tasks, and come in three flavors: fixed
units, fixed work, and fixed duration. Project looks at a tasks type to determine how
duration, work, and units will behave as Project schedules your project.

Each of the task types affects scheduling when you edit one of the three elements as
follows.

In a If you revise units If you revise If you revise work

duration

Fixed units task Duration is Work is Duration is

recalculated. recalculated. recalculated.

Fixed work task Duration is Units are Duration is

recalculated. recalculated. recalculated.

Fixed duration Work is recalculated. Work is Units are recalculated.

task recalculated.

To change a task type, double click the task name in the Gantt chart, then click
the Advanced tab.

Some examples

Let's say you have a fixed-units task, with 1 full-time resource unit available for 8 hours each
day. You set the task up with a 10-day duration and 80 hours of work.

If you find out that another full-time resource can assist on the task, Project
recalculates the task's duration. The task now has two units assigned, with a 5-day duration
and 80 hours of work.
 If you find out that you have 8 days to complete the task rather than 10, Project
recalculates the task's work. The task now has an 8-day duration, with 64 hours of work and
1 resource unit.

If you find out that the task will take 20 hours of additional work, Project recalculates
the task's duration. The task now has 100 hours of work, with a duration of 12.5 days and 1
resource unit.

Now let's say you make the same task a fixed-work task. This means that the task can take
only the amount of work that you specify: no more, no less. In this example, the task has 1
full-time resource available for 8 hours each day, and it has a 10-day duration with 80 hours
of work.

If you find out that another full-time resource can assist on the task, Project
recalculates the task's duration. The task now has 2 units assigned, with a 5-day duration
and 80 hours of work.

If you find out that you have 8 days to complete the task rather than 10, Project
recalculates the task's resource units. In order to get the task done in 80 hours over 8 days,
1.25 resource units must be assigned. The resource unit that is currently assigned to the
task is allocated at 125%. You need to assign another resource to account for the additional
25% allocation.

If you find out that the task will take 20 hours of additional work, Project recalculates
the task's duration. The task now has 100 hours of work, with a duration of 12.5 days and 1
resource unit.

Finally, let's say you make the same task a fixed-duration task. This means that the task
must be completed in the duration that you specify. Again, in this example, the task has 1
full-time resource available for 8 hours each day, and it has a 10-day duration with 80 hours
of work.

If you find out that another resource can assist on the task, Project recalculates the
work assigned to each resource. When just 1 resource was assigned to the task, that
resource had 80 hours of work to complete. When you assign another resource to the task,
each resource has 40 hours of work to complete over the same 10-day duration, for a total
of 80 hours of work. By adding another resource unit, you also revise the allocation of both
units to 50% each, making them both available to work 50% on other tasks.

If you find out that you have 8 days to complete the task rather than 10, Project
recalculates the task's work. The task now has an 8-day duration, with 64 hours of work and
1 resource unit.

If you find out that the task will take 20 hours of additional work, Project recalculates the
task's resource units, so that the additional work can still be completed within the 10-day
duration. The task now has 100 hours of work, with a duration of 10 days and 1.25 resource
units. The resource unit that is currently assigned to the task is allocated at 125%. You need
to assign another resource to account for the additional 25% allocation.

NOTE: Because assignments of cost resources don't have values for work or units, these
values will not be recalculated when the task's start date or finish date is modified. Dates
also are never recalculated for a cost resource assignment, because you cannot modify the
work or units.

Heres a table of things to keep in mind about task types.

Tips and Gotchas Explanation

Look out for effort- If you click Fixed Work in the Task type list, you cannot change
driven tasks the Effort driven setting for the task. Fixed work tasks do not
have flexible work values and are therefore always effort-driven.
See more about effort-driven tasks later in this article.

Add a column to help You can view and change the task type for each task directly in
you change task type your view by inserting the Type field. Click the column to the right
of where you want to insert the new column, click
the Insert menu, and then click Column. In the Field name list,
click Type.

Summary tasks are Summary tasks are always fixed-duration types because a
always fixed-duration summary tasks start and finish dates are determined by its
tasks subtasks.

Use indenting to If you want to change the hierarchical structure of a task or

outline, not task types subtask as part of an outline structure for your project, you need to
indent or outdent the task rather than change the task type or add
a deadline date.

Dont confuse task If you want to impose restrictions on the way Project calculates the
constraints, like ASAP, start and finish dates of tasks, you need to set a task constraint,
with task types rather than the task type.

1.5 How does effort-driven scheduling affect the schedule?

For all tasks, after you assign a resource, the task is scheduled according to this formula
(assuming tasks are the default fixed-units task type):

Duration = Work / Units

For any task, you can choose which piece of the equation Project calculates by setting the
task type. When you assign or remove people from a task, Project lengthens or shortens the
duration of the task based on the number of resources that are assigned to it, but Project
does not change the total work for the task. This is called effort-driven scheduling. This
setting is usually turned off. To turn it on, click File, click Options, click Schedule, then
select the New tasks are effort-driven check box.

Although effort-driven scheduling can work in most scenarios, you may want to change this
behavior to more accurately reflect what happens on a particular task when resources are
added or removed. For example, you may want to see the total work increase as you add
more people to a particular task.
1. Right-click a task, click Task Information , and then click the Advanced tab.

2. Uncheck the Effort driven check box.

NOTE: You cannot remove effort-driven scheduling from fixed work tasks. Fixed work tasks
do not have flexible work values, and are therefore always effort-driven.

When you work with effort-driven scheduling, keep the following in mind:

Tips and Gotchas Explanation

Effort-driven does not The effort-driven calculations apply only after the first resources
apply to the first are initially assigned to the task. After the first resources are
resource assigned assigned, the work value doesn't change as new resources are
assigned to or removed from the same task.

Be aware of Fixed-unit If the assigned task type is Fixed Units, assigning additional
tasks resources shortens the duration of the task.

Be aware of Fixed- If the assigned task type is Fixed Duration, assigning additional
duration tasks resources decreases the individual unit values for resources.

Be aware of Fixed-unit If the assigned task type is Fixed Work, assigning additional
tasks resources shortens the duration of the task.

Some tasks can be set Summary tasks and inserted projects cannot be set to Effort
to effort-driven driven.

1.6 How do manual and automatic scheduling affect the schedule?

Knowing the differences between manually scheduled tasks and automatically scheduled
tasks is key to understanding how Project schedules your project.

Generally, manually scheduled tasks put you in control of the schedule. When you add a
task to your schedule, it stays put. However, this isnt always the best way to design a
schedule, especially as projects get more complicated, where you might want to use
automatically-scheduled tasks in order to take advantage of Projects powerful scheduling
engine.

Take a look at the picture below. It shows the two different types of tasks, the first two
manually scheduled, and the last two automatic.
 Note that for the manually scheduled tasks, the duration is a text value as well as a number.
Since the duration can be a text value, a start date hasn't been set automatically by Project,
and the Gantt bar is only partially displayed to reflect the uncertainty of the task schedule at
this point.

For the automatically-scheduled task, the duration is a number value with a time unit
appended, such as 12h for twelve hours duration. By definition, automatically-scheduled
tasks with valid durations, start dates, and finish datesand therefore, barsare
automatically drawn by Project.

Now, it gets a little tricky sometimes with the information you provide for manually
scheduled tasks. All that is needed for Project to draw bars on a manually scheduled task
are three time values: duration, start date, and finish date. If you set two of these values for
a manually scheduled task, the third value will be calculated by Project automatically, and
the task will remain manually-scheduled. So look out for this kind of unexpected behavior
from Project.

NOTE: Tasks are manually scheduled by default. Project managers who are accustomed to
automatic scheduling with past versions of Project can turn the manual scheduling feature
off for specific tasks or for the entire project. Some projects, especially complicated ones,
may require Project's powerful scheduling engine to take care of scheduling for you. To
change all tasks to be automatically scheduled, click New Tasks: Automatically
Schedule at the bottom of the Project application window.

Manually scheduled tasks

You can place a manually scheduled task anywhere in your schedule, and Project won't
move it. This new feature gives you greater flexibility and control over planning and
managing the schedule.

Why would you care? Well, at times project schedules are often very informal. They begin as
simple lists of dates from e-mails, meeting with stakeholders, or a hallway conversation.
Project managers very often do not have complete information on work items. For example,
they may only be aware of when a task needs to be started, but not its duration until they
have an estimate from their team members. Also, they may know how long a task will take,
but they do not know it can be started until they have approval from the resource manager.

Here are some things to keep in mind with manually scheduled tasks.

You'll never be left in the dark. Manually scheduled tasks have their own
indicators and task bars to help you distinguish them from the "classic" automatically
scheduled tasks.

Anything goes. When a task is in manually scheduled mode, the Start, Finish, and
Duration columns can be blank or include text values in addition to recognizable dates.
 Switching scheduling modes You can change a task back and forth from manually
scheduled to automatically scheduled. Be careful, though. When you change a task from
manually scheduled to automatically scheduled, Project is going to have to make some
decisions. If a task's duration was "A fortnight", Project usually sets an estimated duration of
"1 day?" if the task is set to automatically scheduled. After all, you cant expect project to
know that a fortnight is two weeks long.

Control slippage If a manually scheduled task has to be delayed due to a slippage,

its successor tasks will not be automatically pushed out. Project managers can decide to
keep the original dates if their resources are able to proceed as planned, or delay the
successor tasks if there are hard dependencies.

Effort-driven impacts Manually scheduled tasks cannot be set to effort-driven .

The duration of a manually scheduled task will not change as more resources are assigned
to it, or removed from it. Learn more about later in this article.

The following table shows how Project attributes are defined and used for scheduling
manually and automatically scheduled tasks.

item Manually Scheduled Automatically Scheduled

Duration Can be number, date, or text Only numbers representing time length
information, such as "14d" or and units can be used, such as "14d" or
"fortnight". Not used by Project to "2 months".
help schedule the project if value
is not in a recognizable format for
duration.

Work Only numbers representing time Only numbers representing time length
length and units can be used, and units can be used, such as "14d" or
such as "14d" or "2 months". "2 months".

Resources Can be assigned to tasks. Can be assigned to tasks. Used by

Resource calendars arent used Project to Help determine best
by Project to help schedule tasks. schedule. Will change the duration of
tasks if tasks are set to effort-driven,
unlike manually scheduled tasks.

Start date Can be a number, date or text
information, such as "Jan 30" or
"Sometime soon." Not used by
Project to Help schedule the
project if value is not in a
recognizable format for time.
Only date information can be used.
However, you can use values today
and tomorrow, which Project reserves
for automatically scheduled tasks.

Finish date Can be a date or text Only date information can be used.
information, such as "Jan 30" or However, you can use values today
"Sometime soon." Not used by and tomorrow, which Project reserves
 item Manually Scheduled Automatically Scheduled

Project to Help schedule the for automatically scheduled tasks.

project.

Constraints Ignored by Project. Used by Project to Help determine best

schedule.

Dependencies Can be used, but won't change Can be used, and will change
(links) the scheduling of the task. scheduling of the task.
However, task links will
reschedule a task when first
applied.

Project and Ignored by Project. Used by Project to Help determine best

resource schedule.
calendars

Automatically scheduled tasks

Automatically scheduled tasks are the classic way Project schedules your tasks. Automatic
scheduling provides a highly structured, systematic means of managing project schedules.
Based on users input, such as task duration, planned work, number of resources, and
constraint dates, Project calculates the earliest and latest dates for tasks for the optimal
schedule.

Project schedules a project from the information that you enter about the following:

The overall project.

The individual work items (called tasks) required to complete the project.

If necessary, the resources needed to complete those tasks.

If anything about your project changes after you create your schedule, you can update the
tasks or resources and Project adjusts the schedule for you.

For each task, you might enter one or all of the following:

Durations

Task dependencies

Constraints
 Using this information, Project calculates the start date and finish date for each task.

You can enter resources in your project and then assign them to tasks to indicate which
resource is responsible for completing each assignment. Not only does this help you plan
project staffing, it can also help you to calculate the number of machines needed or the
quantity of material to be consumed. If you enter resources, task schedules are further
refined according to the following resource information:

Work

Units

Working times and non-working times entered in calendars

Other elements, such as lead time and lag time for links, task types, resource availability,
and the driving resource, can affect scheduling, so understanding the effects of these
elements can help you to maintain and adjust your schedule as needed.

NOTE: Project calculates the duration of automatically scheduled tasks based on the
definitions of the duration units (Click File, click Options, then click Schedule). Just like a
normal monthly calendar, the year begins in January and each week begins on Sunday or
Monday. By default, when Project calculates duration units, one day equals 8 hours, one
week equals 40 hours, and one month equals 20 working days. If you enter start and finish
dates for tasks and don't enter start and finish times, Project uses 8:00 A.M. as the default
start time and 5:00 P.M. as the default end time.

Changing task scheduling modes

You can change a task's scheduling back and forth from automatic to manual (click File,
click Options, then click Schedule). When you change task modes, keep the following in
mind.

A task that is changed to automatic scheduling will have duration and dates set to
Project's default settings. For example, Project will change a manually scheduled task with a
duration of "A couple weeks" to the default of "1 day?" A task with a manually entered start
date of "tomorrow," will have the start changed to the project start date when it is changed
to an automatically scheduled task.

A task that is changed to manually scheduled will retain its duration and dates.
However, after the task is set to manually scheduled, the duration and dates can be any
number, text, or date value.

1.7 How does float (or slack) affect the schedule?

Float (also known as slack) helps you find those tasks that can budge without changing the
end date of your project. You may want to view tasks that currently can slip without
affecting the critical path (total slack) or those tasks that can slip before affecting the task
that they are connected to (free slack).

Here are two ways to view float in your schedule.

 While in the Gantt chart, click Format, then select the Slack check box. Float
appears as a thin line attached to the end or beginning of Gantt bars.

Use the Detail Gantt view. Click View, click Other Views, click More Views,
click Detail Gantt, and then click Apply.
Now, back in the Gantt chart, click Tables, then click Schedule.

Here a couple things to keep in mind about float.

Tips and Gotchas Explanation

Watch out for If a task that is constrained to a date has a predecessor that finishes too
inflexible late for the successor to begin on the date specified in the constraint,
constraints negative slack can occur. Negative slack will even further constrain the
end date of your project.

Deadline dates Deadline dates can affect the total slack on tasks. If you enter a deadline
changes total date before the end of the task's total slack, total slack will be
slack recalculated by using the deadline date rather than the task's late finish
date. The task becomes critical if the total slack reaches zero.

1.8 How do deadline dates affect the schedule?

Deadline dates don't usually affect task scheduling. They are used to indicate a target date
you don't want to miss, without requiring you to set a task constraint that could affect
scheduling if predecessor tasks change. A task with a deadline is scheduled just like any
other task, but when a task finishes after its deadline, Project displays a task indicator
notifying you that the task missed its deadline.

To review or change a task deadline, right-click on the task, click Task Information, then
click the Advanced tab. Use the Deadline box.

Deadline dates can affect the total slack on tasks. If you enter a deadline date before the
end of the task's total slack, total slack will be recalculated by using the deadline date
rather than the task's late finish date. The task becomes critical if the total slack reaches
zero.

You can set deadlines for summary tasks as well as individual tasks. If the summary task's
deadline conflicts with any of the subtasks, the deadline indicator signifies a missed
deadline among the subtasks.

But deadline dates can affect how tasks are scheduled if you set a deadline date on a task
with an As Late As Possible (ALAP) constraint. The task is scheduled to finish on the deadline
date, though the task could still finish after its deadline if its predecessors slipped.
 1.9 How do calendars affect the schedule?

Calendars determine the standard working time and non-working time, such as weekends
and holidays, for the project.

NOTE: The dates of manually scheduled tasks (if entered) will not change based upon
changes to the project or resource calendars.

Project calendars are used to determine the resource availability, how resources that are
assigned to tasks are scheduled, and how the tasks themselves are scheduled. Project and
task calendars are used in scheduling the tasks, and if resources are assigned to tasks,
resource calendars are used as well.

Calendars override each others settings in the following ways.

1. When you create a task, the project calendar schedules the task.

2. When you add a resource to a task, the resource calendar controls the scheduling of
the task.

3. When you add a task calendar to a task and set the calendar setting to Scheduling
ignores resource calendars in the Task Information box, the task calendar controls the
scheduling and will ignore the schedule of any resources assigned to the task.

To work with calendars, click Project, then click Change Working Time.

Calendar Description
type

Base These are the foundations for the other types of calendars. You can also choose
calendars a base calendar to be the project calendar, and you can apply a base calendar
to tasks as a task calendar or as the default hours for a resource calendar. You
can customize your own base calendar by using any of the base calendars
provided.

Project provides three base calendars:

The Standard calendar The Standard calendar is the default calendar for
the project, and is the basis for resource calendars. This calendar reflects a
traditional work schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., with
an hour off for break.

24-Hours calendar The 24-Hours calendar reflects a schedule with no

nonworking time at all. The 24-Hours calendar can be used when resources and
tasks are scheduled for different shifts around the clock, or when equipment
resources work on tasks continuously.

Night Shift calendars The Night Shift calendar reflects a graveyard shift
schedule of Monday night through Saturday morning, 11:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M.,
with an hour off for break.
Calendar Description
type

Project These set the standard working and non-working times for the project as a
calendars whole. If resource calendars or task calendars are not used, tasks are
scheduled during the working time on the project calendar by default.

Resource These are usually based on the Project calendar at the time of resource
calendars creation. You can change working time or nonworking time for specific
resources or a set of resources, ensuring that resources are scheduled only
when they are available for work. If you have changed working or nonworking
time on a resource calendar and the resource is assigned to a task, the task is
scheduled during the working time on the resource calendar. This may also
affect the finish date of the task.

Resources can either inherit the nonworking time from the base calendar, or
override this time with nonworking time settings on the resource calendar

Task These can be used to define working times for tasks outside the working times
calendars in the project calendar. Task calendars are created like other calendars. When a
task calendar is assigned to a task and the resource assigned to the task has
different working times in its resource calendar, the task is scheduled for the
overlapping working time of the two calendars. But you can set a task option to
ignore resource calendars and schedule the task through the resource's non-
working time.

If no task calendar is specified for a task, the Project calendar will be used to
schedule the task.

1.10 How do resource assignments drive the schedule?

If you don't assign resources to tasks in your project, Project calculates the schedule using
durations, task dependencies, constraints, and project and task calendar information. If you
do assign resources, the tasks are also scheduled according to resources' calendars and
assignment units, providing for more accurate scheduling.

NOTE: Manually scheduled tasks are not affected by resource calendars. When a resource
is assigned to a manually scheduled task, the scheduling of the task will not change.

An assignment is the association of a specific task with a specific resource that is

responsible for completing the task. More than one resource can be assigned to a task. Work
resources, material resources, and cost resources can be assigned to tasks. Unlike work
resources, assigning material resources or cost resources to a task does not affect task
scheduling.

For example, in your project you have a task named Develop specifications. You also have
an engineering resource, Sean. If you assign Sean to the Develop specifications task, the
scheduling of this task depends on Sean's resource calendar and assignment units, in
addition to task information such as duration, task dependencies, constraints, and
calendars.

In addition to scheduling according to task information, after you assign resources to the
tasks in your project, Project has additional resource and assignment information to use in
calculating schedule information, including:

Resource explanation
attribute or
setting

Work The amount of work or overtime work the resource is assigned to do, and
how that work is distributed over time. Work distribution over time can
also be affected by work contours.

Assignment The number of assignment units for the resource, that is, part-time, full-
units time, or multiple, on the task.

Task type The task type, which affects how a schedule changes if you revise the
existing assignment. The three task types are fixed unit, fixed duration,
and fixed work.

Effort-driven Whether the task is effort-driven. If a task is effort-driven, as resources

are added or removed on the assignment, the work remains constant for
the task and is redistributed among the resources. For fixed-unit tasks,
for example, one result is that if more resources are assigned, a shorter
duration is required to complete the task. See above in this article to
learn more about the effort-driven setting.

Calendars Resource calendars. Project schedules the assigned resources based on

the working and nonworking times indicated on their resource calendars.

Work Work contours allow you to fine-tune when resources are working on
contours tasks, such as during a ramp-up phase.
In the Task Usage view, right-click the name of the resource assigned to
a task, then select a pre-defined work pattern in the Work contour list.
After selecting the pattern, you can manually tweak the hours in the
time-phased portion of the usage view.

To assign resources to tasks, click the Resource tab, and then click Assign Resources .
 2 Set the start date or finish date for your project
Applies To: Project Professional 2013 Project Standard 2007 Project Standard 2010 More...

By default, the start date for all new projects is the current date. Of course, you can change
this to a different start time. You can also set the project to be scheduled from a finish date.

TIP: Project management Schedule your project from a start time if you can. Even if
you know the date by which a project must be complete, scheduling from a start date gives
you the maximum amount of flexibility.

2016, 2013, 20102007

These instructions are specific to Microsoft Project 2016, 2013, and 2010.

2.1 Schedule your project start date or finish date

1. Click Project > Project Information.

2. In the Schedule from list, pick Project Start Date or Project Finish Date.

3. In the Start date or Finish date box, enter the date that you want to schedule
from.

Tip Explanation

Choose only one A project can only be scheduled from the start date or from the finish
scheduling method date at any one time. It cannot be scheduled from both dates
simultaneously.

Move the start time You can change the project start date or finish date whenever you want
of a project to, even after you build the project plan. Click the Project > Move
Project.

When you move a project, you can decide whether you want Project to
also move dates on actual work performed. To have more control over
how actual and uncompleted parts of tasks move, use the Project
Update feature first before moving. Click Project > Update Project,
then select the Reschedule uncompleted work to start after option.
Now, set a time in the future after which uncompleted work can be
scheduled; actual dates on tasks will not move. Once youve done that,
you can use the Move Project feature.

Advantages of You want to identify the date when a project must start in order to finish
scheduling from a on a specific required date. It is often still a good idea to switch back to
finish date scheduling from the start date when work on the project begins.

You are not sure when your project will begin.

Tip Explanation

Your project management methodology requires you to schedule from a

finish date.

What happens When you enter new tasks, Project automatically assigns the As Late As
when Project Possible (ALAP) constraint to those tasks. You should set other
schedules from a constraints only if they are necessary.
finish date?
If you drag a Gantt bar to change the finish date of a task, Project
automatically assigns a Finish No Later Than (FNLT) constraint.

If you use automatic leveling to reduce resource overallocations in your

project, Project automatically adds a negative number for the leveling
delay for the sake of balancing resource availability. Because the project
is scheduled from the finish date, negative leveling delays add time
after a task, rather than before a task.

If you change a project that was previously scheduled from a start date
so that it is now scheduled from a finish date, Project automatically
removes all leveling delays and leveling splits from tasks and
assignments.

Look out for date If the finish date doesn't change after you change the start date, then
constraints one or more tasks may have a date constraint applied. Review the
constraints in your plan to make sure that they are all necessary and
appropriate. To view a task's constraints, right-click on the task,
click Information, and then click the Advanced tab.

Look out for actual If the start date doesn't change after you change the finish date, one or
progress reported more tasks may either have actual progress reported or have a date
on tasks constraint applied. Review the constraints in your plan to make sure that
they are all necessary and appropriate. To view a task's constraints,
right-click on the task, click Information, and then click
the Advanced tab.

3 Top-down planning
Applies To: Project Professional 2013 Project Standard 2013

The top-down method of scheduling project work reverses the normal way of planning: You
identify the major phases first, and then break the phases down into individual tasks. In
Project, you use summary tasks and subtasks for phases and individual tasks.

NOTE: In Project 2013, when summary tasks are manually scheduled, they do not
automatically roll up durations from their subtasks.
 In this article
Step 1: Create a phase
Step 2: Add tasks to the phase
Step 3: Adjust the top-down schedule
Top-down planning tips

3.1 Step 1: Create a phase

The summary task includes an estimate for how long the phase will last. You dont need to
know the details of the subtasks at this point.

1. Click View > Gantt Chart.

2. Add a new task. This will be the summary task for this phase.

3. Do one of the following:

o Type a task duration in the Duration field.

o Enter a start or finish date if you don't know exactly how long the phase will
last.

NOTE: You need Project 2010 or later to add duration, start, and finish times to summary
tasks.
3.2 Step 2: Add tasks to the phase
1. Add tasks below the summary task you created.

2. Select all the tasks under the summary task.

3. Click Task > Indent to indent them.

When you create a top-down summary task, the subtasks are not summed up in the
summary task. The Gantt bar for the summary task is divided, with the lower bar
representing the total duration of the subtasks.
3.3 Step 3: Adjust the top-down schedule
Drag and drop subtasks (changing their duration) until they meet the original schedule or
budget of the phase.

Dont forget that changing the duration can also affect the cost and quality of the project.
See The project triangle for more information.

3.4 Top-down planning tips

Goal How to get there

Schedule by finish or start Set either a finish date or a start date for the summary task,
date but not both. Project lines up the subtasks with the summary
task finish or start date.

Move a subtask that has A red bar beneath the summary task bar lets you know that a
wandered beyond the subtask is outside the start or finish date of the summary task.
summary task Drag the task back under the umbrella of the summary task to
fix the problem.

Adjust the summary task If tasks are extended beyond the original budget of the
summary task, drag the right edge of summary bar.

Increase the budget If you're using the summary task to set a simple budget for a
phase, you can use the mouse to move the start date or
duration.

Other scheduling problem Project puts a red underline under all scheduling problems.
Hover over any underlined task to learn more about the
scheduling problem.

Adjust the color of the bars On the Gantt Chart, click Format, and then pick a style from
the Gantt Chart Style group.