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I would like to receive feedback from the experts in regards the following question:
Is it proper to put mandatory finish constraint on the end of contract date (Milestone)?
In my view, the date will not change if you put a constraint on it unless the date go past the data date.
Thanks
Edwin
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Many project managers and directors in my company like to see the negative float and the contract end date for reference. I create two finish milestones, one called "forecast finish" and the other "contract finish". The "contract finish" is constrained as mandatory finish on the date stated in the contract. The "forecast" milestone is not constrained, but has a FS relationship with the "contract" milestone. This way you get the true forecast of the CPM plus the negative float when the forecast is beyond the contractual completion date.
Thanks Simon, Rafael and Gary for your feedback. It's an affirmation that we are on the same page.
Regards
Edwin
Edwin,
I would avoid the use of a constraint altogether for your finish milestone as the schedule is there to provide a forecast of likely project completion. Adding a constraint will not allow the reported end date to reflect the current forecast. If the end date is constrained with a hard (finish on / mandatory finish), any reported date will reflect the contractual date however, negative float will wrap around this forecast date and will provide an over run duration.
Another way of showing both the current forecast of course is to base line the project with the contractual dates. Allowing free movement of the schedule will provide the current forecast and including a 'variance against project baseline' column in your report will show the build up of negative float.
I would limit the use of hard constraints for life critical events such as power circuit outages, line posessions or degassing station / oil line shut down. I tend to only use soft constraints (start / finish on or after, start / finish on or before, as late as possible) sparingly in my schedules and only where it is difficult to hold the activity in place with existing retaining logic. Finish on or before could be used to highlight a the finish date of a future event and will allow the activity to move and will only become critical when the constrained date is breeched.
Hope this helps.
Simon
Be careful about mandatory constraints, they are not the same as a finish no latter than constraint.
http://www.warnercon.com/articles/Article%207%20-%20Use%20of%20Milestones%20and%20Constraints.pdf
The mandatory constraint date does not show the effect of late or early completing activities. A normal constraint date would show negative float (behind schedule) if it was late to complete when its predecessor and successor activities had completed, whereas, a mandatory constraint would instead freeze the associated activities from being completed.
I try to avoid any constraint but our contracts frequently require them, even when over 99% of our contracts do not recognize the negative float criticality.
http://www.arcadis-us-pmcm.com/assets/files/PinnacleOne_Criticality_What...
Most schedulers prefer to avoid negative float but Owners on this side of the Atlantic have a urge for displaying negative float. I just toggle them off for my analysis and back on for my reports, the concept creates me some difficulty with the report narrative but at times we have no other option than to deal with the negative float thing, especially difficult when all our jobs are resource leveled and this concept lose all its meaning with regard to resource leveled float.
Some contracts / clients will insist on it, some dissalow them.
other than that, I think it comes down to two fairly basic questions:
1) Do you want your project completion milestone to show you the date the projecy will complete, or the date the project should complete by?
2) Do you want your critical path / Total float to highlight all activities which are delaying project completion, or all activities which must be accelerated to comply with the contractual date?
I prefer the first answer in both cases, so don't use finish constraints.
PS: Another issue is if you have a resource-loaded programme that you use to forecast resource utilisation and / or project cashflow / invoicing, then you need make sure you don't have any hammocks, level of effort, etc type activities loaded with resources and linked to a constrained completion date. This will give you the wrong data if the project starts to slip.
Email: PPadmin@planningplanet.com
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