Projects: Managing Schedules
Enhance time management and planning skills with our expert guides on managing project schedules. Learn to create realistic timelines, track progress, and ensure timely project delivery with MPUG.
Create a Custom Schedule Status Field in Microsoft Project
Overview Have you ever tried to use the default task Status field in Microsoft Project? This field uses the Status date that you set in your project (or the Current date if you have not set a Status d...
Display Actual Duration in Calendar Days and Not in Working Days
Background Information Last month there was a fascinating “brain teaser” question posted in the Project and Planner User Group on LinkedIn. The user wanted to know if there was a way to display the Ac...
The Quadruple Constraints of Project Management
Most courses and books on project management discuss the “Triple Constraints” in terms of a three-legged stool (see Figure 1 below). The first leg represents Scope Management, the second, Time Managem...
Physical Volumes for MS Project Tasks
Many projects require task scheduling in terms of physical volumes (i.e. material resources in MS Project like ten meters, five tons, twenty items, etc.). Unfortunately, Microsoft Project does not hav...
Substituting a Resource in the Middle of a Task
Background There was a really interesting scheduling question posted recently in the Tech Community user forum on Microsoft Project. Although I was not the one who answered the question, I thought it ...
Using a Finish By Field Instead of Deadline Dates in Microsoft Project
Background Information In my third and previous article in this series, I demonstrated how the use of Deadline dates can negatively impact the Total Slack calculations for tasks in your Microsoft Proj...
How Do Deadline Dates Impact Critical Path Calculations in Microsoft Project?
Background Information The other day I had an interesting conversation with a colleague about the impact of Deadline dates on Critical Path calculations. He told me that several of his clients are hes...
How Much Time Do I Have Before My Task is Late in Microsoft Project?
Background Information In my first MPUG post about the Deadline dates feature in Microsoft Project, I documented how to set a Deadline date on a task to specify the “target” date for when that task ne...
Entering Actuals During the Tracking Cycle
In my recent Tracking Starts with a Status Date article, a four-step tracking cycle was defined. It includes setting the status date, entering actuals, rescheduling incomplete work, and resource level...