“Move Incomplete Parts to Status Date” adds time constraint – sometimes

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    • #418332
      dan schaeffer
      Participant

      When I us the “Move Incomplete Parts to Status Date” command it sometimes does it by adding a time constraint and sometimes not. Does anyone know the rules governing this?

    • #418334
      Larry Christofaro
      Participant

      Dan, Project sets a SNET constraint when the entire task moves to a new date. Project sets the Resume date for tasks that have already started. Hope that helps…

    • #418335
      dan schaeffer
      Participant

      Thanks Larry! That’s a strong clue. I’d swear that unstarted tasks were getting rescheduled with the Resume date but I’ll verify that. So it’s not possible to manually set the resume date for unstarted tasks?

    • #418337
      dan schaeffer
      Participant

      You’re right. I guess I was hallucinating. I guess I’ll set a SNET constraint.

    • #418339
      Tom Boyle
      Guest

      Larry/Dan,

      Although you seem to have resolved the original concern, it’s important to note that you are talking about two completely different, though overlapping, status updating algorithms.

      1. The subject of the original question – “Move Incomplete Parts to Status Date” – is a checkbox in the advanced calculation options with a default value of unchecked/false. This box (and the three other related boxes) affect the program’s immediate response to a user entry of partial progress on a task – i.e. a non-zero actual duration, remaining duration, or %complete. If this particular box is checked AND several other key conditions are met, then the start of the remaining duration (i.e. the Resume date) of the specific task will be automatically delayed to the Status Date. (The Resume date may be further delayed by logic restraints and other factors.) The other checkboxes are used to automatically manipulate the Actual Start, Actual Finish, and Stop dates around the Status Date (here be dragons.)

      “Move Incomplete Parts to Status Date” will never impose a SNET constraint.

      2. The Update Project action – “Reschedule uncompleted work to start after…” – is the one that automatically imposes either a SNET constraint or Resume date delay in the way that Larry describes. The date in this dialog is nominally independent from the Status Date (that is, the user can enter any date into the form, even if the Status Date is initially entered by the program.) Otherwise, the application of Resume dates is similar to the first option, though of course here it is done in bulk rather than one-at-a-time. Good luck, tom

    • #418341
      dan schaeffer
      Participant

      Interesting…

      Tom,

      >>“Move Incomplete Parts to Status Date” – is a checkbox in the advanced calculation options with a default value of unchecked/false.

      I don’t see that in my MS Project Pro 2016 instance. It has checkboxes like “Move end of completed parts after status date back to status date” and “Move start of remaining parts before status date forward to status date.” None of my calculation options are checked.

      >>“Move Incomplete Parts to Status Date” will never impose a SNET constraint.

      Mine certainly does. I think the dragons got me.

      Thanks,
      Dan

    • #418342
      Larry Christofaro
      Participant

      Tom, you’re correct, I misread the question. Nice catch…

    • #418343
      dan schaeffer
      Participant

      Wait…what?

      I’m not seeing that.

    • #418344
      Larry Christofaro
      Participant

      Dan, if you are using Update Project and selecting the option to “Reschedule uncompleted work to start after:”, then you and I are on the same page. Your question could have meant either one of the two Project features that Tom described. I assumed you were talking about the Update Project feature.

    • #418345
      dan schaeffer
      Participant

      Larry,

      I added the command ‘Move Incomplete Parts to Status Date’ to my Quick Access Toolbar (QAT). Tom says it’s equivalent to a Advanced calculation option checkbox that I don’t seem to have. Tom also says it should never impose a SNET constraint, yet it does.

      Thoughts?
      Dan

    • #418346
      Larry Christofaro
      Participant

      Interesting, and you are correct. I can’t speak for Tom but that action forces the function of the checkboxes he was referencing, which normally is automatic only when you make a change to a task (and wouldn’t create a constraint). I’ve never used that command on the quick action toolbar and it functions different than the options it tries to replicate.

      It’s all getting quite complicated with all the different ways you can have Project help you align task status. Maybe the question you need to ask yourself is what do you want to do and when do you want to do it? You can try asking here but chances are this is more than can be resolved in a forum. Best bet might be for you to dig into all these functions and see what one works best for what you want. Articles and webinars on these topics can provide a lot of help. Sorry for all the confusion…

    • #418347
      dan schaeffer
      Participant

      Larry,

      Yes, maybe I’m trying too hard to circumvent using time constraints.

      What I’m trying to do is schedule a task in the far future without a dependency chain or a constraint because 1) I can’t put together a full dependency chain yet but I’m sure it’ll happen sometime in November and 2) I stridently dislike time constraints. I thought I might be able to set a future start date without using either of those.

      Any suggestions?
      Dan

    • #418350
      Larry Christofaro
      Participant

      Ah…what’s the saying, using a sledgehammer to pound a nail? Project will by nature place a task as early as possible unless you place it somewhere else, and if you do that it uses a constraint. You could:
      * Set them as a manually scheduled task until you know more
      * Place them under a summary task that has a constraint (they would all have to be together)
      * Hide the Gantt bar (if it’s the Gantt chart that is you primary concern). The option is a column and on the General tab of the task information.
      * Still use a constraint until the task is setup properly
      I’m sure there are other options depending on your priority, and Tom may have other thoughts. Good luck…

    • #418353
      Tom Boyle
      Guest

      Dan,

      Mea culpa! Tom was wrong (still learning). Like Larry, I’ve never used the little module — “Move Task Forward – Incomplete Parts to Status Date” (a choice under the Move button on the Task ribbon). My focus on the similarly-named advanced options checkbox – though without referencing its correct name, “Move start of remaining parts before status date forward to status date” – was incorrect.

      As Larry suggests, this “Move Task Forward” module is kind of a cross between the other two – a little closer to the Update Project action – but with some unique behavior. Like Update Project, it imposes a SNET constraint on a selected task with a scheduled start date before the Status Date but WITHOUT an actual start, and it delays the Resume date of an otherwise similar task WITH an actual start. Unlike Update Project, its imposition of the SNET will automatically over-write any other constraints on the selected task. (Note that neither of these work properly with resource leveling, so you’d need to clear any leveling before implementing the moves.)

      To the actual issue of your schedule…. Larry’s outlined a few options that while perhaps useful for most users simply don’t work in a world that frowns on manually-scheduled tasks, external date constraints, and (worse) constraints on summary tasks. One of my rules is never use a date constraint in place of missing scope, which itself doesn’t have to be fully detailed to be present in the schedule. I’d ask myself why “I’m sure it’ll happen sometime in November,” then include a crude task that answers the question. You can flesh out the details of that task later. Good luck, tom

    • #418357
      dan schaeffer
      Participant

      Sorry Tom! My 7:11 message came out more critically sounding than intended. I too aspire to your rule of never using a date constraint in lieu of missing scope so I rather like your suggestion of the crude task and will give it a shot. I do, as a rule, tend toward obsessive rigidity so I need reality checks like Larry has outlined. -Dan

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