PRJ: Recurring Task Rescheduled If Summary Task Has Predecessor (113817)

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Project, if a summary recurring task has a predecessor, and you change the Start date of the predecessor to a later date, the first occurrence of the recurring task is scheduled for a different day than the one originally scheduled. If the predecessor task slips far enough in the future, eventually all occurrences of the recurring task will be scheduled to a different date and all occurrences will be on the same date.

For example, if you insert a weekly recurring task that occurs every Tuesday, and you link the summary recurring task to a predecessor task with a duration of one day that starts on a Monday, if you then move the predecessor task to Wednesday, the first occurrence of the weekly recurring task is scheduled for Thursday instead of the next Tuesday.

CAUSE

Each occurrence of a recurring task gets scheduled with a Start No Earlier Than constraint. There are, however, no task dependencies between each occurrence to force each occurrence to always maintain a set amount of lag from its preceding occurrence. Therefore, as dates push later, the slack time between each occurrence is reduced until all occurrences begin on the same date.

WORKAROUND

To move a summary recurring task and all the recurring task occurrences as a group, do the following:

Microsoft Project 98/2000

Select the summary recurring task.
From the Project menu, choose Recurring Task Information.
Under Length, in the From box, enter the new start date for the recurring task. Choose OK.