Microsoft Project Deadlines and Constraints

Deadlines and Constraints

Deadlines allow you to display a point on the Gantt Chart. If you go past a deadline, a warning symbol is displayed in the indicators column. Whereas if you went past a constraint a warning dialog box would appear in the middle of the screen

Setting a Deadline

A Deadline can be set in the advanced tab of Task information.

The different types of constraints

Constraint/Description
As Soon As Possible (ASAP) Starts the task as soon as possible based on other constraints and relationships	Use for most tasks when building a schedule from the project start date. Do not enter a date to use this constraint
As Late As Possible (ALAP) Starts the task as late as possible based on other constraints and relationships	Use for most tasks when building a schedule from the project finish date. Do not enter a date to use this constraint
Finish No Earlier Than (FNET) Finishes the task on or after the date you enter	Use when a task cannot finish before a specific date. When you enter a task finish date, Microsoft Project automatically assigns this constraint.
Start No Earlier Than (SNET) Starts the task on or after the date you enter	Use when a task cannot start before a specific date. When you enter a task start date, Microsoft Project automatically assigns this constraint.
Finish No Later Than (FNLT) Finishes the task on or before the date you enter	Use when a task must finish by a specific date.
Start No Later Than (SNLT) Starts the task on or before the date you enter	Use when a task must start by a specific date.
Must Finish On (MFO) Finishes the task on a specific date	Use when a task must finish on a specific date.
Must Start On (MSO) Starts the task on a specific date	Use when a task must start on a specific date.

Setting a constraint

 A constraint can be set on the advanced tab of the task information by

1.     Selecting the type of constraint required.

2.     Entering the date of the constraint.

 If a constraint that could cause problems is selected then a warning is given when the constraint is set.

It is important when the planning wizard pops up that the options are read. If OK or Cancel is selected without changing the options , then no constraint is set.

If the original constraint is required then the third option – Continue. A finish no Later constraint will be set needs to be set.

If you do not need to see this message again, there is an option “Don’t tell me about this again”

If the durations of the tasks change and it would impact on the constraint set, a warning message appears.

The message can be continued, but then time will need to be saved in the duration of other tasks for the constraint to be met. Otherwise the constraint will need to be changed.

There is an option of “Don’t tell me about this again”, it is not a good idea to turn this message off.