Microsoft Project - Tasks - 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 constraint 

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.