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I made programme and added the mandatory finish to last activity. Each activity in the programme link to each other
I updated the programme with BL finish showing 31st Aug13 and Finish column showing 10th Jan'14. Still I unable to get the total float on project summary first row, Why? Total float value showing is zero.
According to BL finish date and finish date, it must need to show negative float of say 4 months 10days.
Can anyone answer?
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Russell,
That is what F9 does. -It re-calculates the dates and floats etc based on whatever changes you have made to the durations and relationships, etc. This is how the software is meant to work, so it is not a problem.
You should not be adjusting your activities to change your float -your activities should represent the "truth" as to how long each activity will take, and what relationships it has with other activities. float will then be calculated when you hit F9.
That said, if you have activities with over 100 days of total float, it suggests that you may not have all the relationships entered correctly. -Check the successors for each such activity (and the successors of the successors, and so on). At the very least, each activity should have a minimum of one predecessor and one successor, except for the very first and very last activities in the project. In general, most relationships should be finish to start type with zero lag.
I disagree with your client's requirement about no float above 15 days -It is an absurd rule which demonstrates they do not understand planning. If you feel comfortable doing so I would challenge the client to justify this requirement, as if taken literally it is banning you from planning to perform work as early as you might want to, and for no good reason. However if you must comply and after checking your relationships you still have activities with too much float, then you can do this:
1) For each activity with too much float, add a constraint of the type "finish on or before", and make the constraint date = early finish + 15 days
2) Make sure you note either in description, activity code, notes, or somewhere else what you are doing and why, because this will artificially force the total float to reduce to 15d, and as such could have adverse effects on your programme. You will need to regularly check to see what impact it is having on the rest of your schedule as you progress through the project. It may also become an important issue if there are any EOT claims or LD penalities in the future.
Hi Gary,
I'm new to the software to be honest. After putting all the schedules and relationships then i adjust some of the activities to reduce total float then i clicked F9 and scheduled my project. Then all of a sudden, some of the activities recalculated and adjusted dates on their own. How can i solve this problem?
Also, our client is requiring us of up to 15 days maximum total float per activity. Some activities are appearing total float of hundred days and more. Hope you could help me on this
Thanks so much in advance
Russell
Gary,
Thanks a lot for your valuable comments
Kunal,
Float columns on summary bars often throw up strange values. It can be influenced by:
-"Compute total float as" selection in scheduling options
-Differing activity calendars within the summarised section
-Default calendar settings
-Probably some other stuff I have forgotten
Have you tried putting your mandatory constraint on the project, rather than the last activity? (EPS > Projects >"Dates" section of "Project Details"). This bypasses a lot of the above issues.
Another option (so long as your BL finish date matches your mandatory constraint) is to use the "Variance -BL Project Finish Date" column instead of total float when looking at the overall project summary bar
Cheers,
G
Email: PPadmin@planningplanet.com
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