Let’s Challenge SPIDER

Anoon,



You are correct +/- 0.000000%



Maybe because of inefficient software that cannot do good resource leveling and do not show resource critical path some schedulers avoid it at all while others make use of "soft relationships". Soft relationships is what my clients use, I resource load the schedules on my own to double check but although the results are viable they are inefficient.



The true practical value of resource leveling is starting to show up with Spider Project and I would like all software to be as good, this software is raising the bar without you having to learn new science, it does the math for you.



Project Management is like playing music for dancers, if the music is slow the dancers will move slowly, if fast the dancers will go fast, if slow, fast, slow, fast ... dancers will fall. A good Project Manager makes sure the tempo of his job start fast and keeps it this way. This is impossible to do with inefficient resource allocation, with many ups and downs, with available resources being used inefficiently or unused, your labor perception on urgency goes down.



Best regards,

Rafael

George,

Might be of your interest;

CANDIDATE RULES FOR MINIMIZING THE PROJECT DURATION

http://dde.teilar.gr/attachments/581/trautmann%5B2010a%5D.pdf

Unfortunately Spider is not included and the resource leveling capabilities under these sample jobs cannot test how these algoritms perform under other real life modeling needs like variable partial assignments or other type of links. I understand only FS no lag relationship is used on these samples jobs, not even different calendars with different non-work days are considered. 

Real life is quite complicated.

As you can see in this report, bad performance by P6 is not as bad among the even worst performance of the others. I agree with the conclusion, among the tested software, none is good.

Vladimir,

Just in case you did not noticed, George said, "I must correct the optimum makespan for LA29. The optimum makespan is not known yet. Only the best known solution found so far is available, and it is 1130, if it is not an error."

I understand for different schedules the "best" algorithm might differ, precisely this is what I like about Spider, it provides several options that allow for prioritization and others that look for optimal. Because my jobs are usually on the range of 500 to 700 activities and US$20,000,000.00 not big jobs but very frequent in our construction market, I would say computing time in these jobs should not be much of an issue, not even on a laptop.

If there are other algorithms that should be added because they are better under certain circumstances, why not adding these options. I have no problem with having many algorithm options, prioritization is what confuses me.

I would welcome a table, to select several algorithms and prioritization options of their own, and the computer, while I am having a coffee, will run them all and output on the table the durations obtained under each option. Maybe even some suggested prioritization order can be displayed in parenthesis as an assistance for us to select these. If I can checkmark on the table the algorithms to be run then I can un-mark some and continue with only a few until I decide not to go further, but I will have a summary of my options and their results. Of course the idea about the table can be further developed, a table similar to other tables in Spider, where even directly parameters can be changed directly, where line would be loaded or recalled from the resource leveling dialog box, even un-statusing and sequential runs can be scheduled, and so on ..., just a practical table, nothing really new.

Best regards,

Rafael

Hi Rafael,



Sorry, I just want to lay down some facts as regards to your statements (if I maybe allowed?):



"Planning without considering resources is not good Project Management; it is hard for me to believe how some (isn’t this ALL?) self proclaimed planners schedule their jobs without consideration for resources. I even have a few (again, ALL?) clients who do their initial “planning” without considering resources just to find out latter that their jobs are driven by availability of resources and then improvise"

Carlos,



Spider Project uses the concept of Monitoring Tables, because I am new at Spider Project and at the same time earning my food I have not explored this functionality yet. Vladimir can expand on this. Seems like you design and generate the monitoring document then you distribute it, maybe your managers might not need any special software to enter the data, in this case it is free.



From Spider Help.



Monitoring



Add Activities – invokes Include in monitoring dialog box to choose the monitoring Period and activities to be added to the Monitoring table.



Transfer into Project – brings activity monitoring data into the project.



Distribute Monitoring Data – distributes the monitoring data to managers assigned to phases by creating a separate document. Code of the created document coincides with the code of manager to whom the present document is distributed. A file with the document is kept in a folder or on an FTP-server (depending on the way of communication chosen in the User properties dialog box). The path to folder or FTP-server name set for the assigned manager, is displayed in the Users table.



Consolidate Monitoring Data – collects documents with monitoring data from phase managers. During monitoring data assembling from a folder or from FTP-server, the users specified in the table, get all (earlier not collected) last versions of the saved document from the moment of the previous consolidation. If there are monitoring documents of several projects in the specified site, the relation of each document to the certain project automatically is traced by the program.



Best regards,

Rafael

Raphael,



Regarding your statement about activity duration being unpredictable. Yes this is true but we still plan, better to have some course than none.



If you start from an efficient plan and one of your critical activities is delayed, your efficient plan will be delayed, on the other hand if you start with an inefficient plan and one of your critical activities is delayed your inefficient plan will also be delayed. Better a shorter and efficient plan delayed than a longer and inefficient plan delayed.



Another thing with resource leveling is that if your software does not gives you resource critical path you will get the wrong float, you will not know which activities are resource critical, you will be in limbo and at times will concentrate your resources on non resource critical activities.



The following simple plan shows four logic unrelated activities that if not because of limited resources could be scheduled all in parallel. Because Spider Project gives you resource critical float you can see which one is critical and how much true float has before its resources delay other activities. Other software such as Primavera P3, P6 and SureTrak will even show very long float for activities that are resource critical when in reality if you delay the activity a single day the job is delayed because of resource availability.



Planning without considering resources is not good Project Management; it is hard for me to believe how some self proclaimed planners schedule their jobs without consideration for resources. I even have a few clients who do their initial “planning” without considering resources just to find out latter that their jobs are driven by availability of resources and then improvise, forget about inefficient resource leveling they will do less than inefficient.







Best regards,

Rafael

This may sound out of place at this stage of the discussion, but what is Spider’s solution for collaborative work? P6 has something called timesheets but it seems you should buy an additional license for each timesheet and it requires some specialized work to properly configure.



I’m thinking in some feature allowing a manager to capture effort for a given period and actual production for that same period.



By the way, i forgot to say Hi.



Hi! =D

Vladimir,



Does Spider use as script language Visual Basic? I don’t do scripting using script language; I limit my scripts by recording steps like in Microsoft macros. Can this be done in Spider?



Because Primavera SureTrak is what we still use can I export P3 files from SureTrak and run my resource leveling in Spider? I suppose my layouts will not transfer but maybe WBS codes will keep order? Spider resource handling is so superior eventually my clients will notice. With the competitive price on Spider Light this can be the jump start.



Can Spider Light handle SureTrak? What is the limit on WBS in Spider Light? I am not interested on the Trends Functionality and would even like it out of my way; trends are too much for how we handle our jobs we try to keep it simple, to keep focus.



The other day Raf Dua told me, no single software fit’s all size of jobs, he is right, you also are right by providing true scalability.



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,



Does Spider Project warns you about out-of-sequence progerss, is it on a schedule report?



What options for out-of-sequence progress you have. I got progress override and retained logic in SureTrak, none is a solution to the issue but the software gives you a warning and a report, then proceed the scheduling with either option as per your selection.



How does "Ignore preceding activity links if activity in progress " works, how about when unchecked? And what when no splits are allowed and you still got out-of-sequence progress?



Best regards,

Rafael

Click on lower bar left triangle to see video, you can also select the full screen option on the same bar, icon to the right.

Vladimir,

I like the idea of “Previous Version Support” to save time. I must remember it and use it in my software one day. I am a software developer of production scheduling systems with a similar optimization algorithm like Spider. My production scheduling system uses discrete event simulation for modeling and an iterative heuristic for optimization. I use a different name for iterative heuristics - metaheuristics.

How long did Spider calculate LA29?

You said: “I expected that the demand for good scheduling engine in manufacturing is much more urgent.” Well, I thought the opposite is true. As I know, manufacturing people want, in average, any fast schedule with no worry about the quality of the schedules.

As for your: “Genetic and similar algorithms are too slow for using in large project models but could be used in production scheduling where the number of activities is measured in hundreds, not thousands like in projects.” I thought that Spider is in the group of genetic and similar algorithms – iterative heuristics, metaheuristics. Why should other iterative heuristics be too slow for using in large project models? They can decrease the number of iterations too, like Spider. Even my iterative heuristic can do it and can be very fast with good schedules. Am I missing something?

I would say that an average production facility does not have thousands of activities; however, an average semiconductor wafer fabrication facility has hundreds of machines, thousands of orders/batches and thousands of activities all the time. But such facility is an extreme, very large and very complex. I worked for Japanese Sharp corporation developing scheduling software for their wafer fabrication facility in Japan. I used a parallel computer for faster scheduling.

Vladimir, there are more difficult benchmark problems than LA29. Other researchers are claiming that the most difficult benchmarks are ABZ7, ABZ8, and ABZ9. From my own testing, I must agree. In fact, I hate them because I tried very hard, and still I cannot get better results. You just want to improve your ugly schedules a bit, just a bit, but no mercy. Very, very frustrating.  Try those suckers, but I warn you do not get discouraged by the schedules.

Next time, let’s try some very easy problems like LA8-LA15.

Regards,

George

Rafael



Where is the Resource Histogram?



The screen shots are a bit small, so I hope I can copy all the data correctly.



Can’t do anything till tomorrow



Keep at it



Raf

Raphael,



I did took notice on Micro Planner Site how much they care about good resource leveling and also about keeping perspective.Yes with too much detail you lose it.



Here we say. Goes to the sea and cannot see water.



The following can give you all the data, it is a 10 activities scheduloe, dont waste time with WBS, I did it to learn Spider Project.











Remember you can run your own sensitivity analysis to see how resource allocation varies with your assumptions. In spanglish "what-if".



My regards to Lagrange multipliers.



Rafael

Rafael



Send me the data and I will put it through Micro Planner.

Mind you , you could do it too



Back last century, I gave up using Monte Carlo because as a technique it usually gives me the answer I was looking for.



Unless PR is different from the rest of the world, I think all the work you have been doing in proving Mathmatically a theorectical best solution in Resourcing is, with all due respect, a waste of time.

In fifty years I have never met (but then I have been everywhere at once) anybody who could accurately forecast the exact duration and absolute number of manhours required to execute a task.



My statistics over the years show that in my neck of the woods at least most Construction jobs performance is between 55 an 70% using EVPM as a measuring tool.



This project I am currently on is working at 80% because of the way we are driving the subbies, but so far at least fifty % of the sub contractors duration have been wrong, 9 out of 10 major subcontractors, so far after one year into our four project haven’t been able to man up their tasks over 60%.



I spent many years as a Operational Research scientist whilst developing ICT 1900 Series PERT and we did all this work using Linear Programming techniques, because as Vladimir says it takes a huge amount of time to do the calculations you need for an optimum answer, and one man/woman doesn’t perform or turn up when scheduled , and you are back to square one.



It is a great intellectual exercise to do what you are doing Rafael,( I did my major educational accomplishments over thirty years ago in this same area.



But I have a project to run as close as I can humanly get to do what my Management and the Client want and need with the resources and money which arrive each day.



We use RFI cards to keep tabs on the trades to try and ensure that they work on the task allocated, but I know that the foreman will also manipulate my schedule to suit his purpose too.



The very best I have ever done on any project is to get 87% of my resources working and delivering work to the coal face. All done on Micro Planner Multi Sub Project Resource Scheduling.



Generally runs about four or five minutes for 10,000 tasks with in excess of 55 resource categories, plus all the EVPM computations as well and that was a Pentium IV



The sad thing Rafael, is that today nobody cares whether Product A is better than Product B, because if they did then these post would not be necessary.



Now I have to go back to work and alllocate where the time I have taken to respond to this post is to be accounted for.



See what I mean



:-)



Raf

From my posting 138



-"I am still figuring out in the 10 activities sample job you gave me what combination of prioritization can give me the same results as Spider Project. I also have to model the same again using Spider Project but not using your electronic file but my own without using driving resources. I suspect I will get the same results and Spider will again emerge as the winner, don’t take me wrong, just want to make sure as it seems too good to be true."



I modeled the sample schedule with my own file in Spider Project and got the same results.



CONFIRMED: SPIDER PROJECT IS BETTER THAN PRIMAVERA SURETRAK AT RESOURCE LEVELING. THIS IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.



Anyone willing to take Spider Challenge at resource leveling?

Vladimir,



The mathematical modeling of statistics in Spider Project is not a true Monte Carlo Simulation; it seems is neither the traditionally wrong PERT statistics, is another algorithm. Seems like the curve fitting of three job durations, one pessimistic, one most probable and one optimistic but not limited to a single critical path as original PERT was. The user assign a probability of occurrence for each and then you get X an Y values of three points in your curve. The computations are different to traditional PERT and also different to Monte Carlo Simulation. Monte Carlo Simulation is based on running the probable duration combinations hundreds or thousands of times. I have my reserves about the validity of the method without questioning the assessment of probabilities which can also be questioned for Monte Carlo. I have not seen the total job duration vs. probability curve distribution but I assume is somewhere available.



Pertmaster from the deterministic schedule can determine the distribution for your activities from a selection of distribution curves; this is very convenient when modeling thousands of activities. Spider Project implementation of probabilities to the schedule is short from what Permaster offer.



About the implementation of buffers I don’t see what is known as buffers in other software, I don’t want a substitute procedure that targets merely for early completion without the trick of a buffer activity that after float in a particular chain is consumed the reserve buffer is also consumed before the chain becomes critical, of course the buffer on the critical path might start very early to be consumed.



When I said I want to be able to model and update different schedules on parallel I meant same actual start for started but not finished activities, same actual start and finish for activities started and finished but different scenarios for the relationships, remaining duration, cost and resource loading. This is not what I am getting. I have no need for what I am getting with Spider Project in this regard.



The value of resource critical path and resource leveling algorithms is without any doubt a very relevant functionality, the most relevant, I find Spider Project stands above the competition. I am still figuring out in the 10 activities sample job you gave me what combination of prioritization can give me the same results as Spider Project. I also have to model the same again using Spider Project but not using your electronic file but my own without using driving resources. I suspect I will get the same results and Spider will again emerge as the winner, don’t take me wrong, just want to make sure as it seems too good to be true.



In my opinion, unless I get a surprise from other vendor, Spider Project is superior to what I have seen. Superior resource constraining and resource critical path keep it on top. Also don’t overlook the Resource Gantt, is great, better than a report.



I would take out some of the functionalities 98% of us do not need in order to provide with a leaner machine. I would take out cost leveling and earned value and substitute statistical functionalities with Buffers as a special type of visible activity.



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,



How do you manage buffers within Spider Project?



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,



"some other features like showing material consumption not only in columns but also in the rows like assignments"



I always dreamed about this, you already know:



I WANT TO KNOW ON THE SPOT WHAT IS DRIVING MY SCHEDULE.



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,



When I mention the idea of switching off and on sets of functions for ease of use I do not mean I will never use them. The use will depend on the particular job and purpose of the schedule. In my particular case I do not need the network functionality but would like everything else. After you give a boy a candy you are not going to take it away.



It is not the same a schedule for construction purposes where I would go into more activity details and resource loading than if a schedule to analyze a job for a Real Estate Development firm, here I would not get into resource loading and would use less activity detail but would use cash flow and financial investment ratios.



Best regards,

Rafael

Scarlet,



A few days ago you mentioned how overwhelming can Spider Project be with so much functionality. I believe for the majority of jobs I do you are right, just for a very few I would need all Sipder Project functionality. To make easier to navigate in Spider Project when you do not need so much horsepower Vladimir said “We plan to create a version where our users may decide which functions to hide. It will make Spider interface adjustable”. I just hope this becomes a reality soon as it will only switch on the turbo when in need of 1,ooo horse-power, and then the NOS when in need of 3,000 horse power.



About Pacquiau–Cotto fight you know very well how good Pacquiau is, while Cotto is not the same after his fight with Margarito. Can you raise the stakes up a little; say 100 to 0 instead of 50 to 0 so I can start consider the bet?



Vladimir,



Can the hide functionality be applied to related sets not on an item per item, as to make it easy to toggle on and off?



Best regards,

Rafael

Actually what I’m trying to say



The goal of a basketball team is to win



The goal of a project is to win



But of course they have different parameters.



On the other hand, basketball team got: team manager, coach, and staffs



while projects got project manager or project directors, construction managers and staffs.



Basically, the staffs prepared relevant and pertinent information for the managers to acts to achieve the goal.



So, I think planners are also involve in statistics.



If you can share how Spider help the planners by maybe providing customize reports that captures important parameters in view of the tremendous information generated from planning software.



Also, what important parameters are usually track. I think this is now becomming basic, but, somehow, it is not happening in our projects.



Thank you,

Scarlett

Hi Vladimir,



I’m in the middle of 2 billion ++ US dollars project and I’m frustrated since, somehow i feel, our planning group are not fairly treated.



In this state a lot of wandering of the mind will happen.



so I just thinking if project team can be run like basketball team or whatever sports.



Basically, I’m looking at the aspect of planners being the statistician.



For example in baseketball, it is the most popular sports in our country, the opposing team or most of the times the media presents statistics: numbers of rebounds, turnovers, fastbreaks, etc. etc.



From the statistics, it is very easy to have a clear understanding of the winning team even though the games still in progress.



Question: have it occur to you?



Because now I’m preparing statistics like for example: actual periodic accomplishment, number of rejections, accidents (safety issues), etc.



from this actual statistics, it may help in evaluating future performance and how to acts on critical issues.



Is Spider very specific on what to look at from the myriads or tons of garbage data.



Thank you,

Scarlett

Hi Rafael,



I’m glad to be honored a genius from someone like you, the most genius of all.



I do not know how to paste movies in PP or any brilliantly colored charts, etc.



So in reality, you are now the most genius here in PP.



By the way, I just find it strange that in previous threads, you almost wanted to beat Vladimir and ask the help of Mike.



Now it seems you and Vladimir are BFF.



Strange isn’t it.



Since Mike locked the previous thread, we can continue the Pacquiao vs Cotto here. What do you think? It is still 50 USD to 0.



Thank you,

Scarlett

Vladimir, yesterday we had a public demonstration due to government payroll reduction. We have our share on this recession as everyone else.



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,

About your “I am curious about the results produced for the same schedules by production scheduling programs.” As far as I know, the quality of production schedules is similar like in project scheduling because of similar algorithms (heuristic rules) dominate the field.

About your “Comparing Spider schedules with optimal we can find the ways for further improvements.” Spider’s optimization algorithm “is rather complex iterative heuristics”, you said. Iterative heuristics, such as tabu search, genetic algorithm, ant colony optimization, or bee colony optimization, have several parameters to tune the algorithm. The number of iteration can be one such parameter. The higher the number of iteration the shorter the schedule; however, at the expense of calculation time.

In Spider, this parameter might be set too low in order to produce schedules fast at the expense of the quality of the schedules. This might be even necessary for very large schedules. For smaller schedules, however, we (user or Spider) could set the parameter higher to get much better schedules yielding big project savings. Dynamic tuning the parameters of Spider’s optimization algorithm: What do you think about this simple Spider’s improvement? If it is possible to dynamically tune Spider then I have some more ideas for improvements.

Sorry guys,

I must correct the optimum makespan for LA29. The optimum makespan is not known yet. Only the best known solution found so far is available, and it is 1130, if it is not an error. I have some papers reporting 1130 (like http://docsdrive.com/pdfs/ansinet/itj/2007/222-226.pdf, Table 1 and Table 2, column Optimum, or www.soc.napier.ac.uk/~benp/dream/dreampaper13.pdf , Table 1, column Optimum), some 1132, 1134, and some 1137. As far as FT06 and FT10, the optimum makespans are 55 and 930, respectively. Amen.

Regards,

George

Vladimir,



Do the different versions share the same database structure. So that whatever I create in one version the other will be able to see, but only the fields avilable and operate within available functionalities while keeping untouched the other fields.



That is, full upward compatibility but limited downward visibility.



I kind of like Spider Project Desktop (one user version)

as it seems the best fit for my needs. And the price 1,000E is very competitive.



Best regards,

Rafael

Vladimir,



If as a Contractor I am running a TIA for an EOT claim I can run the analysis using resource constraining as no job is done without resources. Therefore the software that yields the worst result, the most impact, will be at my advantage?



I might use Spider Project to run my job and use Primavera SureTrak or P3 for my EOT’s to my advantage.



I will start from a not so good schedule before impact and will end up with an impacted schedule also not so good, but the difference, the impact will also be augmented by the substandard Primavera algorithm.



Perhaps we should ban Spider Project from impact analysis while at the same time ban Primavera to control your job.



Please don’t tell the Owners that requiring substandard software will work against them.



Best regards,

Rafael

Raf and Vladimir



Gantt chart alone cannot be considered the input screen, it is aided by the activity details screen, but as end users I and all Contractors I know always end up using the Gantt chart as our main screen. And yes we know it is an output, an output we like to see as soon as data is entered, we do not want to be changing screens continuously. To me each complements the other and none is the substitute of the other, to trace logic and debug your model there is nothing like the PERT chart and the activity details screen. Both of your software have both, a few do not have the PERT/PDM diagram, those without the PERT/PDM diagram got to be ruled out (Asta la vista baby).



Total float shall refer to all constraints as Spider Project does but this is not in conflict with Micro Planner definition as long as it considers all constraints, I believe it does. Resource constrained Total Float shall have the same definition.



There is software that does their resource leveling under either of two options; resource leveling can extend the project duration or it cannot. Therefore we have two needed algorithms that should be compared; both shall look for the best possible outcome under both circumstances. As you know I learned other software is weak at their algorithms, I say so because through an example it was shown to me, it was not B.S.-ing, my software vendor (not difficult to guess) did not told me how bad they are at this.



Under both options then I believe the calculated activity total float shall be different as we are looking for a solution that satisfy different requirements. If we want to compare total float values between both conditions then we shall use another metric, keeping consistency in the definition of total float, but this is just semantics.



In very few occasions, as I was mostly using soft dependencies, I performed my resource leveling using the option of resource leveling cannot extend project duration under different project duration scenarios for contract duration, when late you got to get some compromises. I did not know I was using the wrong software, software with very weak algorithms.



Scarlet,



I don’t believe I will be using all functionalities of Spider Project, only those relevant for the job in question. There will always be people or specifiers that will ask for the use of all functionalities, they are in error, use them as needed. We don’t cost load our CPM schedules but some might have real need for the functionality and even for the extension on Present Value, relevant in countries where inflation is high, or when your job duration spans several years.



Maybe the software should let you toggle off and on with ease the menu options for those less used functionalities as to make it simple to navigate, you got a point. Whenever I see Scarlet on PP I jump to read your occurrences, to see who got the water splash, there is unique humor and some genius in your posting.



Best regards,

Rafael

I can not believe what I’m reading here.



Rafael Davila is a convert of Spidey.



Raffy did you acquire the power of Spider.



meaning you find it like jumping and swaying from one functionalities to another.



Oh men, strange planet.



On the other hand, is there some sort of moro moro here meaning some script being played.



In fairness to Vladimir, I do believe what he is saying. Only I don’t have time to really get involve with spidey. Maybe when the time comes that I will work in Russia.



Thank you.

Scarlett

Vladimir



Download a copy of Micro Planner from our UK web page

www.microplanning.co.uk



RE my comment re using the float is that once you have had the program allocate the resource on the Resource Start Date and Finish on the Resource Finish Date, if you unilaterally decide to not perform the task at those dates because there is Remaining Total Float ( a name which has been in use since 1963, when we invented it at ICT/ICL, so it is not surprising you may not have heard of it) You will now cause a problem with the resources, because they were allocated, lets say between day 6 until day 9 on task 2, all the remaining resource at the those times has been allocated to the other tasks which occur at that same time.

So two things may occur, you now waste the resource because you do not execute the allocated task and you could have done some other task which could have been allocated, but because it is lower down the scheduling queue it was delayed because it had Total Float.



If you say well you do not mind delaying an already Resource Scheduled Task, then wehy run Resource Scheduling.



Micro Planner allows the user to schedule resources in such a way that the Deadline (ie the Critical Path is maintained as no task is ever delayed once it has run out of Total Float, so the task MUST be scheduled even if it causes an overload.

The alternative is your project is in the middle of Russia somewhere, where there is not sufficient resources avcailable to waste, so you are Resource Limited. Thus if a task does not get scheduled because there is no more resource, and it is critical, it will be delayed.



TRhe whole point of resource scheduling is to ensure you can performed all or nearly all the work required using a specific number or variable number of resources. So we get either overloads which means you know exactly how much more resource your require, or because you are stuck in the middle of Russia for example, how long the project will be delayed because of the shortage of one or more trades.



It was very popular several years ago to have multi skilled tradesmen. now in X-Pert we can use group resources which can be allocated and any one who is free at the time can be allocated.



Unfortunately or Hooray, MSP is absolutley hopeless at Resource Scheduling and consultants make a very good living fiddling and manipulating the data to try and force a result



Total Float is defined as the amount of time you can delay a task without delaying the project thats all.



Use of constraints causes all sorts of other mathmatical problems in MSP.



Primavera 3 and 6 are not exactly the worlds best at Resourcing either especially when SS and FF get used between tasks, but then thats another story



When you download Micro Planner remember our paradigm is to create all our data in a critical path, we do not use a Gantt as input because a Gantt is output and was defined so back in 1964, and the reasons haven’t changed, just an increase in bad software :-)



Oops nearly forgot there is a Quikstart pdf manual built in to the downlaod which will get you going, enjoy



Raf

Rafael



Here I am in the middle of the biggest downpour I have seen in years, totally flooded out and a hole in my Wellies, and up you pop with a very sensible (albeit humourous ) post.



I needed that laugh



It is great pity that after all the care you went to lay the post out, it is not how it appears on my screen at anyrate. In fact ot looks quite odd.



Maybe we had better put another request for an improvement to the website



I hope you are going to find some time to get back into Micro Planner, even if it is to keep you sane



Regards



Raf

Rafael,

For minimum makespans of the benchmarks, see, for example,

http://www2.research.att.com/~mgcr/doc/hgajss.pdf, Table 3, column BKS (3rd) or

http://faculty.bus.olemiss.edu/crego/papers/FF-JSSP.pdf, Table 1, column BKS (best known solution) and Table 2, column Opt.

I like your humor: “PS 54% off by P6 out of the box is not bad, I had worst expectations.” And people pay for it? Can you imagine their project savings if Spider was used? Is P6 an average software or there are some much worse? I think that is why we need comparisons, Olympic Games. We could have a simple-and-small-size set of PM problems, more-complex-and-average-size set of PM problems, and very-complex-and-big-size set of PM problems. And some medals for all competitors. No, I am not Spider’s salesman.

I got your FT10 file, thanks. And where is your youtube video of bikinis on the beach? I cannot find it in your post.

Regards,

George

Probably Planning Planet should consider realignment on the Discussion Categories. I would suggest the following:



ADVANCED SCHEDULING: With resource critical path and good resource leveling algorithms.

A)Spider Project

B)Micro Planner



MEDIOCRE SCHEDULING: Without resource critical path and without good resource leveling algorithms where some users feel the need to use soft dependencies to overcome this limitation.

A)Primavera P3

B)Primavera Suretrak

C)Asta Power Project

D)Open Plan



QUASI SCHEDULING: Bar Charting, Location and others.

A)Microsoft Project

B)Teamplan

C)Tilos



BUG SOFTWARE

A)Primavera P6, P7, P8 ….. P41 service pack 368

B)Pac Man

Vladimir



You say in your help file on Spider



"Resource critical path can be calculated only

by Spider Project software. Other PM

software packages will show wrong activity

floats if resource leveling is used"



I must say that I have to totally disagree with you, Micro Planner X-Pert for Windows has no problems in providing a Resourced Critical Path.



In fact we can provide a Critical Path which has been scheduled by either the limit of Time or the Limit of Resource



The Total Float once Resource Scheduling has taken place I call Remaining Float as if it has not been used up in the Resource scheduling process, YOU Cannot use the float, because the task has been scheduled to occur at the time (dates) that the algorithm has calculated.



Once a task has been allocated the resource it requires and it has had to say wait one time period to get it, the Total Float has now been decremented by One Unit, so Total Float now goes up the scheduling queue by One unit, because now unless the activity continues to get schedule it is now working it’s way to criticality .



In Micro Planner X-Pert we schedule by Decision Tables which have been used constantly for over forty five years, because they were originally written for the first ICT/ICL PERT software packages.



A single simple Decision Table may at the worst have to go through 108 decisions to actually schedule the activity or not at this time period.



If there has been no delay in allocating the resource then the Total Float has not been impacted, if there has been a delay, then TF is now less one period



Raf

Vladimir,



Yes I got it about filtering driving activities and exporting to another job, and then you will miss all relationships to the other chains.



I am asking for functionality above filtering for predecessors and I am aware that filtering for predecessors is already per-se very powerful and not available in any other software at the GANTT Chart. Suretrak can trace logic in the PERT Diagram but navigation is not as easy. No software I know can trace resource drivers. It would be fantastic if these dynamic links do show in the GANTT and PERT views, let say in green dotted lines. By extending the filter to all drivers, instead of predecessors only, you will be in so much control Spider Project would be many years ahead of all software.



Cost and Materials driving constraints might be included also; sorry but here we say no-one ever died by asking. For date constraints an asterisk is enough. I want to know on the spot whatever is driving my activities.



Well Vladimir I just got an estimating job so this will keep me busy for a few days. Thanks a lot for your guidance and patience.



SPIDER PROJECT IS SUPER



Best regards,

Rafael