Subproject and Master project deadline problem. (with MS Project 2013)

[Bob Hillier]

I’ve simplified my real problem to the following structure. Two files: Master Project and a Subproject. The Master Project includes the Subproject.

Master Project is
Task 1
Task 2 (predecessor = task 1)
Task 3 (predecessor = Subproject task 1)
Milestone with deadline

Subproject 1
Subproject task 1

The Master Project milestone has a deadline.
The Subproject task 1 is linked to a task in the Master project (Task 3 (predecessor = Subproject task 1)).

Task 2 and Task 3 Finish dates are past the Milestone deadline date.

If I link Task 2 to the Milestone then everything behaves as expected. The Milestone is shown exceeding the deadline and we get the correct indication in the Indicator column.

However, if I link Task 3 to the Milestone then a problem occurs.

If I link the Task3 to the milestone then I get the “un-helpful” dialog
“This action will cause a scheduling conflict. Task 2 of ‘Subproject 1’ has a task
constraint or is linked to a task that cannot move, and as a result the constraint
or the link cannot be set”
If I Continue. Allow the scheduling conflict. then the deadline exceeded indicator is displayed. All else works fine with the schedule until the project re-calculates. Every time the schedule recalculates, I get the unhelpful dialog again (multiple times in my real project).

It seems that any back path that includes a subproject creates a warning. If the back path does not include a subproject then there is no warning.

Is this a bug?

[Larry Christofaro]

Bob, I was able to reproduce the behavior you documented. Looks like a bug to me, but possibly with the deadline…not the sub-project. If I remove the deadline from the milestone, the links behave as expected. Give that a try and let me know what you get.

[Bob Hillier]

Thanks Larry, If the deadline is removed then there is no warning dialog.
I have removed all the deadlines in my schedule. 🙁
Maybe I can assign the deadline to a Date field and use a formula to display an indicator if the deadline is missed. Hmmm…. how can I see or set what is in the indicator field from a formula (or from VBA). Hmmmm….

[Larry Christofaro]

Bob, yes you can use one of the date fields instead of the deadline. You could test the dates and then use a graphical indicator to display an image. You could even set yellow for a warning and red when it is delayed. It’s still a bug, but the workaround might work well depending on your needs. Good luck…

[Bob Hillier]

Thanks Larry
The workaround works!
I appreciate your confirmation that, indeed, my scenario is a bug.

[Author]

Posts