How do I move an entire group of tasks   

Hello

I am using Project 2007 to help manage Hospital Construction for a 
contractor.  What I am trying to do is move the start date of a group of 
tasks, either earlier or later, based on changing conditions.  If one trade 
(i.e. plumbing) needs to adjust their schedule, the timing of the group of 
tasks needs to stay the same (or relatively so), but the tasks do not all 
occur immediately following one another, this allows time for other trades to 
perform their work.

So if I have 13 tasks spread over 150 days with several 10-20 day time gaps 
and I need to move the start date earlier, I have to adjust each one 
individually.  I have tried hard and soft constraints, but cannot get that 
time gap to remain fixed.

With thousands of tasks and years on the schedule, this can get a little 
tedious.  I have looked some macros that may help this, but haven't found 
anything to fit the bill.

I welcome any advice, and thank you in advance for your help

date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:01:02 -0700   author:   Dana Scott Dana

Re: How do I move an entire group of tasks   

In article ,
 Dana Scott <Dana Scott@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> Hello
> 
> I am using Project 2007 to help manage Hospital Construction for a 
> contractor.  What I am trying to do is move the start date of a group of 
> tasks, either earlier or later, based on changing conditions.  If one trade 
> (i.e. plumbing) needs to adjust their schedule, the timing of the group of 
> tasks needs to stay the same (or relatively so), but the tasks do not all 
> occur immediately following one another, this allows time for other trades to 
> perform their work.
> 
> So if I have 13 tasks spread over 150 days with several 10-20 day time gaps 
> and I need to move the start date earlier, I have to adjust each one 
> individually.  I have tried hard and soft constraints, but cannot get that 
> time gap to remain fixed.
> 
> With thousands of tasks and years on the schedule, this can get a little 
> tedious.  I have looked some macros that may help this, but haven't found 
> anything to fit the bill.
> 
> I welcome any advice, and thank you in advance for your help

Dana,
If you wanted to move the whole schedule earlier or later, the Adjust 
Dates utility would do exactly that, but it will not move a select group 
of tasks.

It sounds like your plan doesn't have much of a linked structure, that 
is, tasks are more-or-less scheduled independently. A much better way to 
set up the plan is to have a fully linked dynamic schedule. Use lag in 
task predecessors where necessary to put known delay between tasks. 
Avoid the use of constraints since they defeat the ability of Project to 
automatically adjust the schedule as reality unfolds during plan 
execution.

Yes you could change you plan with a macro similar to what the Adjust 
Dates utility does but instead, I suggest you revise your plan to link 
the schedule. Then all you will need to do is to adjust the link to the 
first of the 13 tasks that you need to move earlier or later. Not only 
will it be easier to make adjustments but you will also have a dynamic 
plan that better emulates the real world.

Probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but taking the time now to 
address a not-so-well conceived plan is much better than struggling with 
a poorly structured plan throughout the whole period of execution.

John
Project MVP

date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:18:38 -0700   author:   John

Re: How do I move an entire group of tasks   

Thanks John

I inherited this headache, I mean schedule, from another person when i was 
promoted, and I have been using the lag feature to do just what you suggested 
as changes have become necessary.  If nothing else, this new project is 
teaching me how NOT to build a schedule

Once a lag is defined, can it be modified by changing the start date of a 
following task, or only through the "Task Information" window?

Thank you very much for your time and advice.

Dana
> 
> Dana,
> If you wanted to move the whole schedule earlier or later, the Adjust 
> Dates utility would do exactly that, but it will not move a select group 
> of tasks.
> 
> It sounds like your plan doesn't have much of a linked structure, that 
> is, tasks are more-or-less scheduled independently. A much better way to 
> set up the plan is to have a fully linked dynamic schedule. Use lag in 
> task predecessors where necessary to put known delay between tasks. 
> Avoid the use of constraints since they defeat the ability of Project to 
> automatically adjust the schedule as reality unfolds during plan 
> execution.
> 
> Yes you could change you plan with a macro similar to what the Adjust 
> Dates utility does but instead, I suggest you revise your plan to link 
> the schedule. Then all you will need to do is to adjust the link to the 
> first of the 13 tasks that you need to move earlier or later. Not only 
> will it be easier to make adjustments but you will also have a dynamic 
> plan that better emulates the real world.
> 
> Probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but taking the time now to 
> address a not-so-well conceived plan is much better than struggling with 
> a poorly structured plan throughout the whole period of execution.
> 
> John
> Project MVP
>

date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:31:00 -0700   author:   Dana Scott

Re: How do I move an entire group of tasks   

John

I was also wondering if a pattern of links could be copied.

As we move through the hospital floor by floor, the pattern of work is 
repeated.  Is there a way to duplicate the timing of the links, but with new 
tasks? (Something similar to copy and paste in Excel where it understands you 
want to change referenced cell values when you paste the formula in an 
adjacent cell)

Thank you

"John" wrote:

> In article ,
>  Dana Scott <Dana Scott@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> 
> > Hello
> > 
> > I am using Project 2007 to help manage Hospital Construction for a 
> > contractor.  What I am trying to do is move the start date of a group of 
> > tasks, either earlier or later, based on changing conditions.  If one trade 
> > (i.e. plumbing) needs to adjust their schedule, the timing of the group of 
> > tasks needs to stay the same (or relatively so), but the tasks do not all 
> > occur immediately following one another, this allows time for other trades to 
> > perform their work.
> > 
> > So if I have 13 tasks spread over 150 days with several 10-20 day time gaps 
> > and I need to move the start date earlier, I have to adjust each one 
> > individually.  I have tried hard and soft constraints, but cannot get that 
> > time gap to remain fixed.
> > 
> > With thousands of tasks and years on the schedule, this can get a little 
> > tedious.  I have looked some macros that may help this, but haven't found 
> > anything to fit the bill.
> > 
> > I welcome any advice, and thank you in advance for your help
> 
> Dana,
> If you wanted to move the whole schedule earlier or later, the Adjust 
> Dates utility would do exactly that, but it will not move a select group 
> of tasks.
> 
> It sounds like your plan doesn't have much of a linked structure, that 
> is, tasks are more-or-less scheduled independently. A much better way to 
> set up the plan is to have a fully linked dynamic schedule. Use lag in 
> task predecessors where necessary to put known delay between tasks. 
> Avoid the use of constraints since they defeat the ability of Project to 
> automatically adjust the schedule as reality unfolds during plan 
> execution.
> 
> Yes you could change you plan with a macro similar to what the Adjust 
> Dates utility does but instead, I suggest you revise your plan to link 
> the schedule. Then all you will need to do is to adjust the link to the 
> first of the 13 tasks that you need to move earlier or later. Not only 
> will it be easier to make adjustments but you will also have a dynamic 
> plan that better emulates the real world.
> 
> Probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but taking the time now to 
> address a not-so-well conceived plan is much better than struggling with 
> a poorly structured plan throughout the whole period of execution.
> 
> John
> Project MVP
>

date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:44:01 -0700   author:   Dana Scott

Re: How do I move an entire group of tasks   

In article ,
 Dana Scott  wrote:

> Thanks John
> 
> I inherited this headache, I mean schedule, from another person when i was 
> promoted, and I have been using the lag feature to do just what you suggested 
> as changes have become necessary.  If nothing else, this new project is 
> teaching me how NOT to build a schedule
> 
> Once a lag is defined, can it be modified by changing the start date of a 
> following task, or only through the "Task Information" window?
> 
> Thank you very much for your time and advice.
> 
> Dana
Dana,
You're welcom. We run into a fair number of unfortunate souls who 
inherit schedules from other people. Project is not a very user friendly 
application to begin with and picking up an existing schedule plan that 
was generated by another user makes it twice as challenging. I feel for 
you.

When working with Project the user should never, (with a few rare 
exceptions), enter start or finish dates directly. It sets a constraint 
and defeats the dynamic scheduling engine in Project. The best way to 
adjust the schedule is to adjust task duration, review and re-organize 
task links (i.e. make sure the original logic network is still valid), 
or directly modify the lag value, as in your case. This can be done in a 
couple of ways but the easiest is probably directly in the Predecessor 
field.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP
> > 
> > Dana,
> > If you wanted to move the whole schedule earlier or later, the Adjust 
> > Dates utility would do exactly that, but it will not move a select group 
> > of tasks.
> > 
> > It sounds like your plan doesn't have much of a linked structure, that 
> > is, tasks are more-or-less scheduled independently. A much better way to 
> > set up the plan is to have a fully linked dynamic schedule. Use lag in 
> > task predecessors where necessary to put known delay between tasks. 
> > Avoid the use of constraints since they defeat the ability of Project to 
> > automatically adjust the schedule as reality unfolds during plan 
> > execution.
> > 
> > Yes you could change you plan with a macro similar to what the Adjust 
> > Dates utility does but instead, I suggest you revise your plan to link 
> > the schedule. Then all you will need to do is to adjust the link to the 
> > first of the 13 tasks that you need to move earlier or later. Not only 
> > will it be easier to make adjustments but you will also have a dynamic 
> > plan that better emulates the real world.
> > 
> > Probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but taking the time now to 
> > address a not-so-well conceived plan is much better than struggling with 
> > a poorly structured plan throughout the whole period of execution.
> > 
> > John
> > Project MVP
> >

date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:36:33 -0700   author:   John

Re: How do I move an entire group of tasks   

In article ,
 Dana Scott  wrote:

> John
> 
> I was also wondering if a pattern of links could be copied.
> 
> As we move through the hospital floor by floor, the pattern of work is 
> repeated.  Is there a way to duplicate the timing of the links, but with new 
> tasks? (Something similar to copy and paste in Excel where it understands you 
> want to change referenced cell values when you paste the formula in an 
> adjacent cell)
> 
> Thank you

Dana,
It looks like you posted this in a separate new post and fellow MVP, 
Jan, answered it.

One caution about using a direct copy and paste. No two (or group) of 
tasks in any given schedule are identical. If they were, they would be 
the exact same task. For example, in your case, similar tasks are 
repeated but each group is unique to a floor in the building. Therefore, 
the task description (task Name field) should reflect that distinction. 
It makes the plan much cleared and easier to track.

John
Project MVP
> 
> "John" wrote:
> 
> > In article ,
> >  Dana Scott <Dana Scott@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> > 
> > > Hello
> > > 
> > > I am using Project 2007 to help manage Hospital Construction for a 
> > > contractor.  What I am trying to do is move the start date of a group of 
> > > tasks, either earlier or later, based on changing conditions.  If one 
> > > trade 
> > > (i.e. plumbing) needs to adjust their schedule, the timing of the group 
> > > of 
> > > tasks needs to stay the same (or relatively so), but the tasks do not all 
> > > occur immediately following one another, this allows time for other 
> > > trades to 
> > > perform their work.
> > > 
> > > So if I have 13 tasks spread over 150 days with several 10-20 day time 
> > > gaps 
> > > and I need to move the start date earlier, I have to adjust each one 
> > > individually.  I have tried hard and soft constraints, but cannot get 
> > > that 
> > > time gap to remain fixed.
> > > 
> > > With thousands of tasks and years on the schedule, this can get a little 
> > > tedious.  I have looked some macros that may help this, but haven't found 
> > > anything to fit the bill.
> > > 
> > > I welcome any advice, and thank you in advance for your help
> > 
> > Dana,
> > If you wanted to move the whole schedule earlier or later, the Adjust 
> > Dates utility would do exactly that, but it will not move a select group 
> > of tasks.
> > 
> > It sounds like your plan doesn't have much of a linked structure, that 
> > is, tasks are more-or-less scheduled independently. A much better way to 
> > set up the plan is to have a fully linked dynamic schedule. Use lag in 
> > task predecessors where necessary to put known delay between tasks. 
> > Avoid the use of constraints since they defeat the ability of Project to 
> > automatically adjust the schedule as reality unfolds during plan 
> > execution.
> > 
> > Yes you could change you plan with a macro similar to what the Adjust 
> > Dates utility does but instead, I suggest you revise your plan to link 
> > the schedule. Then all you will need to do is to adjust the link to the 
> > first of the 13 tasks that you need to move earlier or later. Not only 
> > will it be easier to make adjustments but you will also have a dynamic 
> > plan that better emulates the real world.
> > 
> > Probably not the answer you wanted to hear, but taking the time now to 
> > address a not-so-well conceived plan is much better than struggling with 
> > a poorly structured plan throughout the whole period of execution.
> > 
> > John
> > Project MVP
> >

date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:41:22 -0700   author:   John