Show All

Hide All

Symptoms

You linked your tasks (task: An activity that has a beginning and an end. Project plans are made up of tasks.), but now the successor (successor: A task that cannot start or finish until another task starts or finishes.) task doesn't move.

Cause

There may be several causes:

• If a task has any actuals (actual: Information that shows what has actually occurred. For example, the actual start date for a task is the day that the task actually started.) applied, such as an actual start date (start date: The date when a task is scheduled to begin. This date is based on the duration, calendars, and constraints of predecessor and successor tasks. A task's start date is also based on its own calendars and constraints.) or a percentage of work completed, the task can't be rescheduled any earlier than the date when the task actually began. If no progress is entered and the task has an inflexible constraint (constraint: A restriction set on the start or finish date of a task. You can specify that a task must start on or finish no later than a particular date. Constraints can be flexible [not tied to a specific date] or inflexible [tied to a specific date].), the constraint can take precedence over task dependencies (task dependencies: A relationship between two linked tasks; linked by a dependency between their finish and start dates. There are four kinds of task dependencies: Finish-to-start [FS], Start-to-start [SS], Finish-to-finish [FF], and Start-to-finish [SF].).

  For example, if a task has a Start No Earlier Than (SNET) constraint set to July 1, the task is tied to that date and won't be rescheduled to an earlier date, even if its predecessor (predecessor: A task that must start or finish before another task can start or finish.) finishes on June 28 and the successor task could start earlier than July 1.

• In Project, if you create a task by dragging the pointer on the chart portion of a Gantt Chart view (Gantt Chart view: A predefined view that displays project tasks on the left side of the view, and graphical bars corresponding to the task's durations on the right side of the view.), a Start No Earlier Than (SNET) constraint is set on the task for projects that are scheduled from the start date. For projects that are scheduled from a finish date (finish date: The date that a task is scheduled to be completed. This date is based on the task's start date, duration, calendars, predecessor dates, task dependencies, and constraints.), a Finish No Later Than (FNLT) constraint is set on the task.
• If the successor task is completed, it will not move to reflect the link.
• If you set Calculation mode for your project to Manual, the successor task will not move.

Resolution

• To reset the task constraint to be more flexible, click the task, click Task Information , and then click the Advanced tab. In the Constraint type list, click As Soon As Possible. Project then schedules the task's start date according to the task dependency.
• To make task dependencies override inflexible constraints for all tasks, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Schedule tab. In the Scheduling options section, clear the Tasks will always honor their constraint dates check box.
• To set calculations to automatic, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Calculation tab. In the Calculation options for Microsoft Office Project section, next to Calculation mode, click Manual.