Hi there.


I have a situation where I have a plan template that gets customised for a project, but is obviously still a (good) estimate. A particular set of steps are:
1) Place order (2 days - Internal)
2) Manufacture (13 days - External service provider)
3) Receive (Milestone - Internal).

This gives a total 15 days (3 of 5 day working weeks).

(1) is done on time, and (2) starts on time. We are very fortunate and the ext.SP expects the work to be finished in 10 days. The milestone (3) will then obviously move up 3 days.

My question is as follows: Is there a way where I would change the milestone (3) and have the manufacture duration (2) automatically adjusted.





Thank you.
Etienne

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No, what you want Microsoft Project to do is not possible. You should set the Actual Duration of the Manufacture task to 10 days and then the software will automatically adjust the schedule of the Receive milestone. Hope this helps.

Hi DH.


Thank you for your reply.

I had tried a number of different ways and eventually ended up doing that. It is a pity. I don't know their exact Mnf timing, so the 13/10 days is just a (reasonable) all encompassing estimate. So may plan, and my assessment of their capacity and assessment, is based on this.

Oh well.
Thank you very much for your support.
Etienne.

No, it is definitely NOT a pity. What you are expecting is not how Microsoft Project works, nor should we expect it to work the way you want.

After planning your project, you need to save a Baseline for the project, which will capture the initial planned schedule of the project. As you begin entering progress in your project during the Execution stage of the project, you will be able to analyze variance between the current schedule and the original planned scheduled. In your case, the original planned Duration of the Manufacture task was 13 days, but the current Duration would only be 10 days. That would generate -3 days of Duration Variance, which is a very GOOD thing, as it shows that the task finished 3 days EARLIER than planned. Performing variance analysis in Microsoft Project is how you learn and grow as a project manager who uses this tool to manage your projects.