MOUNT ROYAL UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING

Microsoft Project Lab 3

Purpose
The tasks of a project need to be performed in a certain order. In the previous lab, all the tasks are
scheduled at the start of the project, which is unrealistic. The purpose of this exercise is to learn how to
link tasks and subtasks, how to schedule tasks on certain days and how to schedule recurring tasks.

Method
We will continue with the project you worked with in the last lab exercise. Attached is a set of activities
that must be undertaken in order to complete the Systems Analysis phase of your project. Note, it is
recommended that you save your work often. For this exercise, open the file you used in Lab 2 and
save as “SA Project – Lab 3”.

1. Tasks within the project often have relationships among them. Such relationships allow us to
schedule the tasks in a proper order. If a task must be completed before another one is started, the
first task is called a predecessor. The second task is called the successor. There are 4 types of
relationships:
a. Finish to Start (FS) – finish date of predecessor determines start date of successor.
b. Start to Start (SS) – the start date of the predecessor determines start date of successor.
c. Finish to Finish (FF) – the finish date of the predecessor determines finish date of successor.
d. Start to Finish (SF) – the start date of the predecessor determines finish date of successor

2. Note: when linking tasks, MS Project uses both “Manually Scheduled Linkages” and “Auto Selected
Linkages”. The column “Task Mode” informs you which type was used for a particular activity. A
“thumbtack” icon states that the task is manually scheduled. This means that the link will be
connected between two tasks but they can be manually scheduled as to the start or end dates. This
allows the project manager flexibility to control task scheduling. The mode can be changed by
simply clicking on the icon and then the drop down menu and choosing the mode that you want.

3. Launch MS Project if necessary and open the project that you worked with in Lab 2.

4. Note that the activity Project Planning comes after the completion of the activity Project Start-up.
Thus, in the attached sheet under Predecessor/Relationship, it is shown as 1.1 (FS), which means
that the predecessor is Phase 1, Activity 1 and that the relationship is Finish to Start. To create this
link in MS Project, highlight the task Project Start-up and task Project Planning, click on the Link
 MOUNT ROYAL UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
COMP4543

Button on the Task tool bar (the one that looks like a chain link). Note that the first task that you
choose is the predecessor and the second one is the successor. So, it is important to properly
highlight the tasks in their proper order. Notice the changes in the Gantt Chart as well as the
Predecessor column.

5. Link the Project Charter milestone to reflect the information on the attached sheet.

6. The next relationship to work with is the start to start (SS) relationship between the Project Charter
and the Interview activities. To do this, highlight the task Project Charter (which is a milestone) and
the task Phase 2 – Data Gathering. However, the tasks are non- adjacent to each other. To link the
non-adjacent tasks, highlight the tasks by holding the <ctrl> key and choosing the tasks. Link the
two as before. This will create an FS link.

To change this link to an SS link, double click on the relationship line and choose Start to Start from
the drop down menu for Type on the dialog box that appears. You can also change the lag to 1 day.
Notice the changes on the Gantt Chart.

7. You can link two or more tasks at once, like the activities for the Interview Users. To do this,
highlight Interview User 1 tasks on the Gantt Chart, click on the Link Button on the Task tool bar.
Notice the changes that happen. Is this correct given the information in the attached sheet? What
do you notice? Do the same for the other Interview User sections.

8. All the interview user activities will start only after the interview planning. Create the necessary
links from the Interview Planning to each Interview User. (That is, the predecessor of each
Interview User is Interview Planning as shown in the attached sheet.) Is this what you get? Check
your chart if you get the proper predecessor. If not, you may need to redo the links properly.

9. In order to optimize the schedule, the interview questions for each use should be developed at the
same time. To do this, create a SS link among the three Develop Interview Questions tasks.

10. You will notice in the attached sheet that the actual interview dates have been identified. You will
need to schedule this so that the project plan reflects it. For User 1, the interview date is Feb 22.
For the task Perform Actual Interview and Gather Forms on the Gantt Chart, change the task mode
to manually scheduled and then click on start date and the drop down calendar and choose Feb 22.
Change the start date for the other two activities to reflect the schedule.
 MOUNT ROYAL UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
COMP4543

11. You will notice that there is a time gap between the end of the Develop Interview Questions to the
start of the Perform Actual Interview. This is just means that there is a lot of time to do the first
activity as long as the interview questions are completed before the actual interview starts. This is
often called a slack time.

12. Finally, to deal with the recurring weekly meetings. First, delete the task Weekly Meeting by right
clicking on the numbered box beside the Weekly Meeting task and choosing Delete Task. Then,
highlight the same row. On the Insert section of the Task tool bar, click on Task then Recurring
Task. Fill in the necessary information in the dialog box. Accept the “end by date” for now. This
can always be changed. Change the duration from 1 day to 2 hours.

Note that one of the meeting days will occur on a holiday, Feb 20 but the meeting is scheduled on
that day. Also note that the Weekly Meeting tasks are manually scheduled so change this to Auto
Schedule and see what happens. You will notice that the second Weekly Meeting is now scheduled
the day later. You can always change this if you do not agree.

13. Finally, you can enter task notes which provide further explanations to the task while keeping the
task name short. For example, you may want to create a note for the Interview Planning task. To
do this, right click on Interview Planning, then on Notes. On the ensuing form, enter “Will include
identifying and scheduling the users to be interviewed.” Note that there is a “post-it” icon beside
this task. Double click on the task to show the task notes that you have created.

14. Save your work and submit in D2L.