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Schedule Sequence Editor
Once you have your tasks with roles and responsibilities assigned, it's time to sequence your schedule.
WBS Sequence
On the left, you'll see your tasks in order as they were entered in the Work Breakdown Structure editor, with block titles separating each block's activities. To begin sequencing, select a task in the left pane and click the right Move button to transfer it to the right pane, your sequenced schedule. You can also search for tasks by WBS number in the search box above the WBS Sequence pane.Schedule Sequence
On the right, you'll see your sequenced tasks and the addition of a new column for sequence number. By default, when you select an item from the left and move it to the sequenced task list, the new task falls as the next item immediately following the currently selected item on the right. You can also search for tasks by sequence number in the search box above the Schedule Sequence pane.Blocks = Milestones
As soon as you sequence the last task in a given block, the block is automatically moved next and promoted to milestone. The milestone will appear on your schedule as a diamond and the finish date will be determined by the finish date of the last task to be completed in that block.
Your tasks are now sequenced in roughly the order the work will be done. It’s time to attach more detailed scheduling data to your schedule. From left to right across the editor you'll select the task to schedule, enter date information, choose dependencies and critical impacts, and add assumptions.
Schedule
In the schedule pane, you'll see your sequenced tasks with blocks grayed out. Here, select the task you'd like to schedule and begin selecting appropriate dates for Planned Start, Planned Finish, Potential Early Start, Slip, and Actual Finish. If you can't see enough of the task in the small pane, just hover your cursor over the task and wait a second for the full text to pop up. You don't need to complete all of these fields on your first pass through the schedule.
Though the block level items, Milestones, are displayed on the schedule here, you won't be able to do anything with them. Milestones capture their schedule data from that of the tasks beneath them. A milestone is scheduled as a diamond on the same finish date as that block's last finished task.
Constraints
After you've entered the preliminary schedule data for the selected task, you can then assign dependencies on the Constraints side of the editor.
As you schedule, you'll notice that the Activity to View pane under Constraints on the right has been populating with tasks that have already been sequenced above your currently selected task.
For example, in the image above notice task sequence number 5 selected in the left pane, "Create Budget for..." has a planned start of August 1, and a planned finish of August 3. In the Activity to View pane on the right, the tasks sequenced before task 5 are now visible.
These are tasks that may need to be completed prior to starting task 5, also known as task 5's Predecessors. In the example above, task sequence number 1, "Create Budget for Phones" has been selected and added to the Dependencies pane on the far right indicating that task 5 cannot begin until task 1 is complete.
On your printed Schedule, you'll see a single arrow drawn down from the end of task 1 to the beginning of task 5 indicating this dependent relationship.
Note: Tasks can have more than one dependency, and will have multiple arrows highlighting those relationships drawn on the Schedule.
Critical Impact
A Critical Impact task is a task that, if slipped, may jeopardize the overall project timeline. If you check this box while scheduling a task, an up arrow will be drawn from the end of the task all the way to the project timeline. If you check the Critical Impact box while scheduling a subtask, an up arrow will be drawn from the end of the subtask to the task timeline. The same logic holds true for work packages.
Assumptions
Any assumption in the text box will be displayed in the Assumptions column on your schedule. Use assumptions to track key information that may affect work on the task.
The Schedule Layout Editor lets you control the display of your schedule on screen and on paper.
Select Level of Activity to Display (and Print)
- All Activities
This option displays all project activities.
- Activities to Sub-Tasks
This option allows you to collapse the work package detail for a cleaner schedule view.
- Activities to Tasks
This option allows you to collapse all sub-task activity.
- Milestones Only This option allows you to collapse all project activity to the milestone level, a useful view for management or steering committee presentation.
Columns to Display
- Assumptions
Displays all assumptions identified on the schedule
- Responsible Initials
Displays the initials of the (responsible) Circle-dot person for each task
- Potential Early Start Date
Displays Potential Early Start column on the schedule
- Planned Start Date
Displays Planned Start column on the schedule
- Planned Finish Date
Displays Planned Finish column on the schedule
- Slip Date
Displays Planned Slip column on the schedule
- Actual Finish Date
Displays Actual Finish column on the schedule
- Dependency
Displays Dependency column on the schedule
- Sequence Number
Displays schedule sequence number column on the schedule
- Calendar
Displays Calendar portion of the scheduleDate Display Options
Allows you to change the scale of the date display on the header of the calendar portion of the schedule. The Begin Week On option will activate if you choose to view your schedule by Year/Month/Week. This will let you set your schedule to run Monday through Sunday or Friday through Thursday. If most of your tasks start and end on Monday or Friday, a schedule starting on either of those days will make for a more organized view.
Shade Weekends and Holidays
Choose to shade all weekends on your schedule, or add your own custom date ranges. Make sure to capture key trade events or organizational obligations that may affect the work on your project.
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