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Project Start Date

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Gerry CullenMember for 17 years 11 months
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I have inported tasks from an excel spreadsheet to microsoft project. This has set the project start date. I have tasks that are before the date I began to build up the programme. I have added all links to the programme. When I am trying to reset the start date to the actual beginning of the first task it drags all the items linked with it. Can anyone tell how to change the start date but leave all other areas unchanged, e.g. durations, links etc.

In other words I just want to remove the enbedded start date which is when I first started to produce the programme?
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  1. 0
    Stephen Cummings ·
    #1
    Gerry , the following should help

    using the top toolbar
    project
    project information
    select your project start date
    ok

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  2. 0
    Gerry Cullen ·
    #2
    I did try this but because the tasks after the start date are linked when I amended the start date as you suggested all the follow-up tasks also moved.
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  3. 0
    Mark Chapman ·
    #3
    I don’t think I understand but how about temporarily removing the link?
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  4. 0
    Gerry Cullen ·
    #4
    Is there a way of removing the links and puting them back quickly. The only way I know to put them back is one at a time?
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  5. 0
    Mark Chapman ·
    #5
    You don’t need to remove all the links but just the key link.
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  6. 0
    Darren Kosa ·
    #6
    Gerry,

    I’m a little confused.

    The start date signifies the start of the project. The rest of the schedule should be driven by a precedence network. Most, if not all of the activities will have a finish-start relationship, i.e. the next task in the chain will start after the preceding task is complete.

    When the first task in your schedule is complete what happens? Does everyone just down tools and hang around or is there something else that happens in the meantime?

    If in the unlikely event that nothing else is going to happen, why do you have to start the project on that date?

    I can think of a couple of quick workarounds that might help you out, however, from a planning perspective I wouldn’t particularly recommend either of them. It’s just manipulating the scheduling software to show a contrived view of the project.

    Option 1
    Add soft constraint dates on all the ensuing tasks so they start on the correct dates.

    Option 2
    Add a lags on all the ensuing tasks so they start on the correct dates.

    Regards,

    Darren
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