PRJ2000: Unexpected Behavior When You Level a Task with Deadline Date (245956)

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Project, when you level resources in a project, tasks with a deadline date may level differently than expected. For example, you may see the following behavior:

Example 1: A task may be leveled beyond the task's deadline date.

Example 2: A task with a deadline date may be leveled to a later date than tasks with higher task ID numbers.

CAUSE

Cause for Example 1

This behavior may occur when a task meets the following conditions:

The task has a deadline date.
The task has no successors.
The task does not have a fixed date constraint.

Cause for Example 2

This behavior may occur when a task meets the following conditions:

The task has a deadline date.
The task has no successors.
The task does not have a fixed date constraint.
The task has a higher total slack value than other tasks that have higher task ID numbers.

WORKAROUND

To prevent a task from being rescheduled by resource leveling, use one of the following methods.

Method 1

To prevent a task from being leveled past a specified date, set a Finish No Later Than (FNLT) constraint on the task that is equal to the deadline date that you want. To do this, follow these steps:

Select the task.
On the Project menu, click Task Information, and then click the Advanced tab.
In the Constraint type box, select Finish No Later Than.
In the Constraint Date box, select or type the date by which the task must be completed.
Repeat these steps for all tasks that you do not want to level past their deadlines.
When you level your project, in the Resource Leveling dialog box, select for Leveling order either Standard or Priority, Standard.

Method 2

To prevent a task from being leveled, increase the task's priority. To do this, follow these steps:

Select the task.
On the Project menu, click Task Information, and then click the General tab.
In the Priority box, type 1000. Click OK.
Repeat these steps for all tasks that you do not want to level.
When you level your project, in the Resource Leveling dialog box, select for Leveling order either Standard or Priority, Standard.

When you level your project, a task with a priority of 1000 will not be leveled.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Project 2000, a deadline date is a target date that indicates when you want a task to be completed. Unlike setting a date constraint, setting a deadline does not affect scheduling and is not directly taken into account when you level resources.

In addition, under the conditions described under "Cause for Example 2", a task with a deadline date later than its scheduled finish date may have a higher total slack value. When there are no other constraining factors that affect the calculation of slack, total slack is increased by the difference between the scheduled finish and a deadline date that is later than the scheduled finish.