Trace Driving Predecessor Logic

Tom,

Thanks for pointing out the issues with non-FS relationships.

I'll add an addendum to the blog post advising readers of the issues you've highlighted.

=jerome

I do not use MSP but the capacity to calculate resource leveled critical path makes BPC Logic Filter a must have for any MS Project scheduler.

http://www.boyleprojectconsulting.com/TomsBlog/2016/03/31/the-resource-critical-path-logic-analysis-of-resource-leveled-schedules-ms-project-part-2/

Hi - this is my first post on this forum but, I will be totally honest up front, I have posted this question on another forum recently.

I know that MS Project has the facility to highlight the Gantt bars that are the Driving dependenceis and driven successors of a particular task. I find this very useful. However, when these dependencies or successors are distributed throughout the plan, it can sometimes be difficult to see all the connections.

I also realise that there are some macros that can extract the predecessors / successors ID numbers and I have looked with interest at Tom Boyle's Logic Filter.

However, is there an easy way to set up a particular view (that could sit below the Gantt view, for example) such that when a certain task is highlighted in the Gantt view, then the view below shows only the relevant driving dependencies and driven successors for the selected task? I would find this very useful for quickly identifying key impacts on a particular task.

I hope this is clear.

Jerome,

You've posted up a good introduction to the Predecessors function of the Task Inspector tool.  The same information is used to make the "DrivingPredecessors" bar styles in MSP 2013+.  While these are the closest that native MSP comes to the "driving" relationship indicator of OPV, I've found them unreliable whenever non-FS relationships are involved.  {See Problems with Driving Logic in Task Inspector and Task Paths (Microsoft Project 2010-2016)}. They definitely don't work for external relationships and resource-leveling drivers.

Those who are serious about logic tracing in MSP have to use 3rd-party Add-Ins.  The Task Logic Inspector in BPC Logic Filter gets much closer to what I'm accustomed to seeing in P6.

Hi Pete,

Welcome to Planning Planet!  Just out of curiosity, where is the other forum you posted this question?  (I don’t remember seeing it though I’ve been fairly active around the usual MSP forums lately.)  Here was a similar question posted last month on technet:  https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/projectserver/en-US/096a0730-26c2-4c4a-b5f7-e5e7deb5af86/how-to-create-a-custom-view-to-inspect-a-task-activity-predecessor-successors?forum=projectprofessional2010general

There’s not much I can add to the Task Logic Inspector article that I linked in my earlier response on this thread.

If you have read that and are still looking for “an easy way to set up a particular view…that…shows only the relevant driving dependencies and driven successors for the selected task,” I’m afraid the answer is probably not.  You can make a request for such a feature in the User Voice channel for MS Office.

Good luck, tom

Thanks for all the comments and links.

Tom - I posted the same question on eng-tips.com. I have tried to insert a link in this reply (and a screenshot of the message) but for some reason I'm not able to do so.

Pete, thanks for the reference to eng-tips.  (https://www.eng-tips.com/threadminder.cfm?pid=776).  Not much traffic over there....