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Creating Task With Predecessors

Microsoft Project is a desktop application that allows users to build and track project schedules. It offers four core features - creating tasks, assigning resources, tracking project performance, and creating reports. A key feature is constraint-based scheduling, which allows tasks to be linked together using predecessors and successors. This automatically calculates task start and finish dates as the project changes over time. The document provides instructions on setting up a new blank project in Microsoft Project, including enabling the project summary task and saving the project file. It then demonstrates adding sample tasks, estimating their durations, and linking the tasks together using predecessors.

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Prasad Rajashekar
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49 views

Creating Task With Predecessors

Microsoft Project is a desktop application that allows users to build and track project schedules. It offers four core features - creating tasks, assigning resources, tracking project performance, and creating reports. A key feature is constraint-based scheduling, which allows tasks to be linked together using predecessors and successors. This automatically calculates task start and finish dates as the project changes over time. The document provides instructions on setting up a new blank project in Microsoft Project, including enabling the project summary task and saving the project file. It then demonstrates adding sample tasks, estimating their durations, and linking the tasks together using predecessors.

Uploaded by

Prasad Rajashekar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is Microsoft Project?

Microsoft Project is a desktop application you install on your computer. With


Microsoft Project, you can build and track project schedules. As you can
imagine, there are essential features for the beginner and more advanced
features for broad and complex projects. Microsoft Project offers four core
features as shown in the following figure.

Core Microsoft Project features

 Create tasks that represent the steps to complete the project.


 Assign resources such as the people, materials, or equipment needed to
deliver the project.
 Track project performance by comparing the project’s current state of
completion to the original baseline plan.
 Create reports to visualize the project’s progress and share them with your
project team, stakeholders, and sponsors.
For this tutorial, I am going to show you how to create tasks and link them
together using constraint-based scheduling.
Constraint-based scheduling
You could probably use a spreadsheet to list out a bunch of tasks and enter
some dates. However, if you change the date of one task and want that to
roll down and adjust the dates of other tasks, you are getting into some
complicated math and scripting. Microsoft Project helps you automatically
calculate the start and finish dates of tasks by using constraints
called predecessors  and successors, as shown in the following figure.

By constraining tasks with a predecessor/successor relationship, the tasks automatically


calculate.

As you can see in that previous figure, task #1 (research models online) starts
before task #2 (test drive cars at various dealers). You represent this by typing the
number 1 in line 2's predecessor column. The graphical chart on the right is called
a Gantt chart. The Gantt chart shows how Microsoft Project is automatically
calculating when one task should start and the other should finish.
This task-linking feature alone is what makes Microsoft Project so compelling to
project managers.

Activity: Run and configure Microsoft


Project for the first time
In this activity, you will configure settings based on my recommendations. Given
that this tutorial is just to get you started, I am not going to explain each one of
these settings, but rest assured these are generically the best practices that most
project managers follow.
1. Run Microsoft Project and open a blank  project.
2. Click the File  tab and then select the Options menu item.
3. The project options dialog appears as shown in the figure below.
 Select the Schedule item.
 Locate the scheduling options for this project section and then select
the All New Projects  item from the pick list.
 New tasks created: Auto Scheduled.
 Auto scheduled tasks scheduled on: Project Start Date.
 Duration is entered in: Days.
 Work is entered in: Hours.
 Default task type: Fixed Duration.
 New tasks are effort driven: deselect.
 Autolink inserted or moved tasks: deselect.
 Keep task on nearest working day when changing to Automatically
Scheduled mode:  deselect.
 All other checkboxes in the scheduling options section: select.
 Click the OK  button.
The project options dialog with best practice scheduling options.

Activity: Enable the project summary task


A common mistake people make in Microsoft Project is to create a task with the
project name at the very top of their project plan. Microsoft Project will do this
for you automatically by displaying the project summary task.
Since the project summary task is not a default option, you need to enable it.
Follow these steps to display the project summary task at the top of your project:
1. Click the File  tab and then select the Options menu item.
2. The project options dialog appears as shown in the following figure.
3. Select the Advanced  item.
 Locate the Display options for this project section and select All New
projects from the pick list.
 Select the Show project summary task.
 Click the OK  button.

The project options dialog with the show project summary task option selected.

From now on, when you create a project, the project summary task will
display (task zero).
Activity: Verify you are ready to create a
project
At this point, you should be looking at an empty project plan. Follow these steps
to make sure Microsoft Project is ready, so you can create a project:
1. The blank project should be open as shown in the following figure (the
project name might be different for you).
 Click the Task tab and then click the Gantt chart icon.
 Verify you can view the project summary task.
 Verify all new tasks are auto scheduled by viewing the status bar at the
bottom-left side of the application window.

A new blank project with all the verification steps.

Activity: Save your project


Before you start typing tasks, save your project:
1. Click the File  tab, select the Save As item, and save the file to a location of
your choosing.
2. Name the file My New House.
Activity: Add some tasks
Using Microsoft Project is very similar to using Microsoft Excel. Click in the
first task name cell and start typing.
1. Add the tasks in the following figure:
The list of tasks to add to your project.

Your project should look similar the following figure:

The new project containing all the tasks.

Activity: Estimate task durations


After you define the tasks in your project, you will estimate the durations. You can
estimate durations in seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months, quarters, and
years. I recommend you always use days. This way, it is easy for anyone to scan
the project without mistaking a 2m (months) for 2d (days).
1. Locate the duration  field and type the durations as shown in the following
figures.
 Note: You do not have to type out the duration completely. You can just
type 30, 20, 10, etc. and Microsoft Project will automatically add the days text.
If there is a problem, type 30d, 20d, 10d, etc.
The durations to enter for each task.

Now your project plan should look something like the figure below:
Your project plan after entering durations.

Activity: Link your tasks with predecessors


At this point, your project only shows a duration of 38 days. That is because all
the tasks start on the same date, so Microsoft Project is calculating the longest
task (38 days). Follow the steps below to link all the tasks together and allow
Microsoft Project to figure out the start and end date for each task:
1. Locate the Predecessors column and enter the numbers shown in the
figures below.
 Note: You can link one task to multiple tasks by separating each number
with a comma.

Link all the tasks so Microsoft Project can calculate the start and finish date for your project .
As you type predecessors, Microsoft Project automatically fills in
the successor  column. If you want to see the successors column, follow these
steps:
1. Right-click the heading of the start column.
2. A menu appears. Select Insert Column.
3. A list of available fields appears. Type the word Successor and then press
the Enter  key on your keyboard.
Your final project should look like the figure below:

The final project with predecessors.

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