PRJ: How Resource Assignment Delay Affects Task Start, Finish

MORE INFORMATION

In the following two scenarios, the following assumptions are made:

• A task with a 1-day (1d) duration is assigned one resource.
• The resource assignment delay is a 2-day (2d) duration.
• The project is scheduled from the project start date.

Scenario 1. Task Start Date Moved Back

When the task is constrained to finish on or near a particular date and time, the task start date will be moved back two days, but the finish date will remain unchanged. Actual work will appear in this two-day period. This behavior also occurs when the following constraints are set:

Scenario 2. Task Finish Date Moved Forward

The task will start as scheduled, but the finish date will move ahead by two working days. Even though the task start date remains the same, no actual work will be done until the delay period has passed. This behavior also occurs when the following constraints are set: NOTE: Depending on resource assignments on a given task, adding a resource assignment delay to a task may not affect the task start or finish dates.

Steps to Create Resource Assignment Delay

1. In a task view, such as Gantt Chart View, select the task to be modified. Assign a resource to the task if one is not already assigned to it.
2. On the Window menu, click Split.
3. Click anywhere in the lower pane.
4. On the Format menu, point to Details, and then click Resource Schedule.
5. Click anywhere in the lower pane.
   
   Notice that there are two delay fields--Delay and Leveling Delay.
6. Enter the necessary delay amount in the Delay field, and click OK.

Using either of the scenarios described earlier, the task start or finish dates could be affected by the amount of delay entered for the assignment.