Goal: Schedule project tasks - Project - Microsoft Office Online

Warning: You are viewing this page with an unsupported Web browser. This Web site works best with Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later, Firefox 1.5, or Netscape Navigator 8.0 or later. Learn more about supported browsers.

Email this link

Printer-Friendly Version Bookmark and Share

Goal: Schedule project tasks

Applies to
Microsoft Office Project 2003 Microsoft Office Project Server 2003 Microsoft Project 2000 and 2002

After you have a list of tasks for your project and estimates for how long it will take to complete them, you can 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.) the tasks. Depending on how you schedule the tasks, Project can predict finish dates for the tasks and the project as you enter information about how the project is progressing. You can use this information to determine whether your project schedule is at risk.

Tip This article is part of a series of articles that describe a broad set of project management activities. We call these activities "goals" because they are organized around the project management life cycle: Build a plan, track and manage a project, and close a project. The project life cycle is outlined in The Project Map, where you can find a link to an article about each project management goal. Most of the articles include links to supporting information or procedures that you perform in Project or Project Server. These "goal" articles were designed to help you not only use Project but also better understand project management.

Previous goal Next goal

See all goals on the Project Map

Section of a structure under construction

number 1 Get ready to sequence your project tasks At this point, you should have entered some tasks that must be completed in order to complete your project. Each task should be associated with a duration, which indicates how long the task will take to complete.

More . . .

Because you haven’t yet scheduled the tasks, they all start on the same date, which is the project’s start date.

Task scheduling is easier if you list your tasks in the approximate order that you expect work to be done on them. You may have to enter some tasks out of sequence, but be sure to list together the tasks that will be done in the same time frame.

There are two key ways to sequence tasks:

Use a dependency to indicate that work on a task cannot begin or end until work on another task begins or ends. For example, you use a dependency if painting can’t start until preparation work is finished.
Use a constraint to indicate that work on a task must begin or end in relation to a specific date. For example, you use a constraint if a task must end by June 30, because the subject matter expert will be unavailable after that time.

Number 2 Sequence the tasks in a project You can link tasks according to their 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].) on one another. Specifying the sequence for your tasks includes showing which tasks overlap or have a delay between them.

Click all of the following that apply:

Create a dependency between tasks in a project to link dependent tasks and tell Project how they are dependent. Tasks often happen in a linear sequence: For example, you first prepare the walls, then paint them, and then hang pictures. However, there are exceptions in any project. In the same example, as one person prepares the walls for painting, someone else can buy the pictures that you intend to hang.
Set lead or lag time between tasks to show a delay between tasks. If a task link alone is not enough to accurately show the relationship between tasks, you can set 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].).

Number 3 Create a milestone to represent an external dependency When you want to track an event but you can't link to it because the event doesn't appear in any project, you can create a milestone to represent the event. For example, you may not be able to begin a certain task until another company completes a software program that you need to use. You can create a milestone in your project that represents the completion of that program and reminds you to track its progress.

Create a milestone to represent an external dependency

Number 4 Create a deadline for a task To be notified when a task is finished after a particular date, you can create a deadline. Creating a deadline does not restrict Project from freely adjusting the schedule when you update information, just as it does when you enter 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.).

Set a deadline date for a task

Number 5 Tie a task or phase to a specific date When you absolutely must start or finish a task on a particular date, tie a task or phase to a specific date. That date can represent an event, such as a seminar or class.

Tie a task or phase to a specific date

Number 6 Add supporting information about a task Add more information about a task in the form of notes, documents, and links to Web pages.

Click all of the following that apply:

Add a note to tasks, resources, or assignments if you have only a small amount of information that you want to include directly in your project file. You can also add a file from another program to a note.
View and upload documents if you want to link supporting documents by using Project Server.
Insert a hyperlink to include a link to a Web page.

Get Office 2007