Goal: Optimize the project plan to meet the finish date

Click all of the following that apply:

• Create a task calendar if the task calendars (task calendar: The base calendar that you can apply to individual tasks to control their scheduling, usually independent of the project calendar or any assigned resources' calendars. By default, all tasks use the project calendar.) that are applied to the critical path tasks are unnecessarily delaying the finish date. Modifying or removing a task calendar may have the least effect of any changes to the three types of calendars (task, resource, and project) in Microsoft Office Project 2007.
• Modify a resource calendar if the resources (resources: The people, equipment, and material that are used to complete tasks in a project.) are actually working more than their calendar reflects. For example, if the resource calendar (resource calendar: A calendar that specifies working and nonworking time for an individual resource. A resource calendar differs from a base calendar, which specifies working and nonworking time for more than one resource.) for a resource that is assigned to critical path tasks indicates a four-day workweek, but the resource actually works five days, you will probably meet the finish date.
• Modify the project calendar if the project is being worked on for more hours or days than your project calendar reflects. For example, if the project calendar (project calendar: The base calendar used by a project.) indicates that weekends are nonworking time (nonworking time: Hours or days designated in a resource or project calendar when Project should not schedule tasks because work is not done. Nonworking time can include lunch breaks, weekends, and holidays, for example.), but you actually are running weekend shifts, changing the project calendar will probably meet your finish date.

You might need to reduce the scope (scope: The combination of all project goals and tasks, and the work required to accomplish them.) to meet the finish date or the budget (budget: The estimated cost of a project that you establish in Project with your baseline plan.). Or, after building your project plan, you might have more time or money than expected. In either case, you can change the scope of the project. You can choose between changing the deliverables (deliverable: A tangible and measurable result, outcome, or item that must be produced to complete a project or part of a project. Typically, the project team and project stakeholders agree on project deliverables before the project begins.) of the product or changing the scope of the project.

For example, you decide to remove a market research task from a project, and you also reduce the duration of product testing in order to meet the finish date or budget. In this case, the end product and deliverables don't change. However, you changed the method for providing this end product by reducing the scope of the project.

Do all of the following that apply:

• Change a duration to meet the finish date by reducing the amount of time planned for critical path tasks. Be sure that the reduced duration still reflects a minimum reality. Also be sure to adjust the corresponding amount of work that is assigned to the resources.
• Remove a task to meet the finish date. Removing tasks can decrease the quality of the overall project implementation. Tasks that must be done should still be reflected in the plan, and only those tasks that are considered optional should be removed.
• Replace a resource assignment to meet the finish date. You can replace a slower resource with a faster one, such as a person with more experience, equipment with higher capacity, or material with a quicker setting time.

Click all of the following that apply:

• Show the critical path to keep an eye on the critical path and meet the finish date.
• Change when a task becomes critical if you want to change the definition of a critical task to mean, for example, a task with one or two days of slack. By default, Project 2007 considers a task to be critical if it has zero days of slack.
• Change the start date or finish date for a task if inflexible date constraints (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].) (such as Must Start On or Must Finish On) were set on tasks. When you make task constraints in the critical path more flexible, Project 2007 can calculate the schedule with fewer restrictions, and you might be able to meet the finish date.
• Change a duration for a task on the critical path to meet the project finish date.
• Split a task if the single task comprises multiple elements that can be worked on simultaneously by different resources. If you break a critical path task into these different elements with different assignments, you might be able to meet the finish date.
• Change a task link to review the relationships (or dependencies) among tasks in the critical path and to see whether there are any incorrect or unnecessary links that you can change.
• Set overlap or delay for tasks to adjust the lead and lag time between linked tasks. Adding lead time (lead time: An overlap between tasks that have a dependency. For example, if a task can start when its predecessor is half-finished, you can specify a finish-to-start dependency with a lead time of 50 percent for its successor [has a negative lag value].) between linked tasks can help to meet the finish date. Adding lag time (lag time: A delay between tasks that have a dependency. For example, if you need a two-day delay between the finish of one task and the start of another, you can establish a finish-to-start dependency and specify a two-day lag time [has a positive value].) where necessary can make the schedule more realistic.

Click all of the following that apply:

• Assign an additional resource to decrease the duration of a task on the critical path. Assigning more resources to decrease a task duration works as long as the task is effort-driven (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.) and not fixed-duration (fixed-duration scheduling: A scheduling method in which the duration for a task remains the same regardless of the number of resources assigned to the task.).

Adding more resources to tasks is called "crashing" or "compressing" the project. Taken to an extreme, crashing can be a risky way to complete a project because of the extra costs and inefficiencies that can result. If you add too many tasks, the length of the project can increase rather than decrease because of the extra complexity.

• Replace a resource assignment to help meet the finish date if the resource (person, equipment, or material) can work faster or more efficiently or can be assigned more units (units: The quantity of a resource assigned to a task. The maximum units is the maximum number of units available for the resource. For example, if you have three plumbers, the maximum units is 300 percent or three plumbers working full-time.) for tasks on the critical path.
• Adjust the time a work resource spends on a task by changing the resource's assignment units (assignment units: The percentage of a work resource's time, or units, that the resource is assigned to a task.) on a critical task or by having the resource start on the assignment at an earlier date.

After you build your plan and Project 2007 calculates the 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.) and cost (cost: The total scheduled cost for a task, resource, or assignment, or for an entire project. This is sometimes referred to as the current cost. In Project, baseline costs are usually referred to as "budget.") for the project, you might have more time or an increased budget (budget: The estimated cost of a project that you establish in Project with your baseline plan.). You can choose to end the project ahead of schedule or under budget. Or you can increase the scope (scope: The combination of all project goals and tasks, and the work required to accomplish them.) and add quality (quality: The degree of excellence, or the desired standards, in a product, process, or project.) to the project deliverables.

• Check with the customers     If appropriate, check with the customers or stakeholders (stakeholders: Individuals and organizations that are actively involved in the project or whose interests may be affected by the project.) to see how they prefer to use the time or budget. They might prefer to leave the plan as is and have the project come in ahead of schedule or under budget.
• Check your contract     See whether there are contractual incentives (or in some cases, even penalties) for coming in ahead of schedule or under budget. The type of contract you have (fixed price, cost reimbursable, or unit price) can help you determine how you can take advantage of available time or budget.
• Add scope     If you have extra time or budget available, you can add tasks (task: An activity that has a beginning and an end. Project plans are made up of tasks.) or phases (phase: A group of related tasks that completes a major step in a project.) that you wanted to implement but thought you wouldn't have enough time or money for. You can increase the duration (duration: The total span of active working time that is required to complete a task. This is generally the amount of working time from the start to finish of a task, as defined by the project and resource calendar.) on existing tasks, so that resources (resources: The people, equipment, and material that are used to complete tasks in a project.) have more time to complete them. Be aware that adding scope is likely to add both time and cost to your plan. Changing the scope and deliverables (deliverable: A tangible and measurable result, outcome, or item that must be produced to complete a project or part of a project. Typically, the project team and project stakeholders agree on project deliverables before the project begins.) may have contractual implications, so be sure to check the contract and obtain client approval when necessary.
• Raise the standard of quality     You can use surplus time or budget to add tasks or phases that add or check for quality. You can increase the duration on existing tasks, so that the resources have more time to do higher-quality work. Another way to raise the quality is to add more highly skilled staff, more efficient equipment, or higher-grade materials. These types of resources can be more expensive, but they can also be a good use of surplus budget.