Modify a task schedule  One way to get back on schedule is to change specific settings on tasks that affect their length and their relationships to other tasks. For example, changing a task that starts after another task to starting at the same time can help bring in the finish date.

Click all of the following that apply:

• Change a task duration to get your project back on track. If it's possible, the simplest way to fix your schedule is to shorten a task duration, especially for those tasks that are on the critical path (critical path: The series of tasks that must be completed on schedule for a project to finish on schedule. Each task on the critical path is a critical task.).
• Review and change a task link to ensure that two tasks are logically related to each other. For example, if two tasks in your project can start at the same time but are linked so that one follows the other, changing the link could help shorten the project.
• Delay or overlap tasks by setting lead or lag time in order to help keep your project on schedule. For example, you can overlap tasks that occur on the critical path or delay a noncritical task so that a resource can work on another, more critical task.
• Review and set a start date or finish date (constraint) for a task to remove an unwanted time limitation on the task. An inflexible constraint (inflexible constraint: A constraint that is inflexible because it ties a task to a date. The inflexible constraints are Must Finish On and Must Start On.) placed on a task, especially if the task falls on the critical path, can limit the ability of Microsoft Office Project 2007 to reschedule tasks. If a task doesn't need to start or end on a specific date, change the constraint to As Soon As Possible.
• Modify the project calendar to change when and how long resources work on tasks and potentially shorten the overall duration of the project.
• Modify the resource calendar to change when and how long resources work and potentially shorten the overall duration of the tasks the resources work on.
• Create a calendar for a task to manage that task's duration. A task calendar applied to a task can lengthen a duration if schedule times conflict with the calendar applied to the assigned resource.
• Update an interim plan so you can compare it to your schedule as the project progresses. You can save up to 10 interim plans so that you can view a set of start and finish dates saved at various stages of your project.

 Modify a resource schedule  After you make changes to your plan, changing how you assign resources to critical tasks (critical task: A task that must be completed on schedule for the project to finish on time. If a critical task is delayed, the project completion date might also be delayed. A series of critical tasks makes up a project's critical path.) can also significantly improve the schedule.

Do all of the following that apply:

• Assign a resource to the team. Assigning more resources to tasks on the critical path can help decrease the durations of tasks and shorten the length of the project. A resource can be a single person, such as Ben Smith, or it can be a group, such as Architects. It can be a piece of equipment such as a crane or a computer. Or it can be material consumed in the course of accomplishing the task.
• Replace a resource assignment if it will help tasks to finish earlier. You might want to replace a resource to resolve overallocations (overallocation: The result of assigning more tasks to a resource than the resource can accomplish in the working time available.), reduce costs, increase efficiency, or increase quality.
• Set working times, vacations, and holidays for your project to decrease the duration of a task. This works because, by default, Project 2007 uses effort-driven scheduling (effort-driven scheduling: The default method of scheduling in Project; the duration of a task shortens or lengthens as resources are added or removed from a task, while the amount of effort necessary to complete a task remains unchanged.), which means that as work hours are added to a task, the duration of that task decreases.
• Update an interim plan so you can compare it to your schedule as the project progresses. You can save up to 10 interim plans so that you can view a set of start and finish dates saved at various stages of your project.
• Improve resource performance by providing resources with training and better tools to do their jobs, by applying management skills to resource issues, and so on. Improving performance is sometimes the only solution if additional people are not available to help.

   More . . .

  An often overlooked means of keeping your schedule (schedule: The timing and sequence of tasks within a project. A schedule consists mainly of tasks, task dependencies, durations, constraints, and time-oriented project information.) on track is to improve resource (resources: The people, equipment, and material that are used to complete tasks in a project.) performance. Working with resources to improve performance is a complex topic, but you may be able to improve resource performance as part of project management by using the following suggestions:

  • Increase technical skills  Increasing technical skills includes additional training for current tasks (task: An activity that has a beginning and an end. Project plans are made up of tasks.) and for other tasks the resource might be doing in the near future, such as training for new technologies as they become available.
  • Give resources better tools to do their jobs  Resources sometimes perform below their abilities because they don't have the best tools for their jobs. These tools could be anything from better, more efficient lathes for metal working to faster Internet (Internet: A worldwide network of thousands of smaller computer networks and millions of commercial, educational, government, and personal computers. Also known as the World Wide Web [WWW].) connections for searching the World Wide Web (WWW: A subset of the Internet that uses a graphical user interface as opposed to a text-based user interface. The pages or Web sites that display are formatted using by HTML. Web browsers make it possible for users to view Web sites.).
  • Improve employee relationship skills  This strategy includes improving an employee's sense of teamwork or helping the employee understand how his or her efforts fit into the big picture. You can improve employees' communication skills by making sure they are trained in the efficient use of the company's communication technologies.
  • Improve the manager's management skills  Managers who have had training or coaching in management skills can maximize a project team's efforts. Well-trained managers ensure that everyone is appropriately challenged and motivated, that resources have the tools they need to do their jobs, and that they have access to expertise and reference materials that might help them.

 Evaluate the results of changing the schedule  After you make changes to your plan, make sure you haven't affected the scheduling of other projects with dependencies in your project.

Click all of the following that apply:

• See what's driving the project finish date to see how the changes you made to optimize for the finish date affected the critical path. This can help you see whether you actually achieved your goal of meeting your targeted finish date.
• View project date information to view date information for your project or for projects that have been published to Microsoft Office Project Server 2007.
• Review resource workloads to see whether any assigned resources are now overloaded or underutilized as a result of you optimizing the project plan to meet the finish date.

 Communicate assignment changes to resources  After you make changes to your project, you may need to communicate these changes to others, such as stakeholders and team members.

• Publish the latest plan and team assignments if you are using Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007 to communicate project information.
• Add a note about schedule changes to log information about changes you made to meet the finish date. Such notes can be helpful when you are tracking actual progress, closing the project, or collecting data for the next project.