Fixed dates

Hi John

Thank you for your question.

You can fix an activity to a date by using a milestone (created by setting a task duration to zero) and then giving this task a constraint to position it on the date in question. Milestones are often used to show the end of a project or a significant date.

As for working backwards from the end date it is possible (but may not give you helpful results). To change the default behaviour of Project so it schedules from the end of the plan rather than the start try this: go to Project > Project Information and set to Schedule From Project Finish Date

This setting affects tasks you create from this point forward.
Unfortunately it causes problems because this setting also changes the default behaviour of your tasks. Instead of everything starting As Soon As Possible your tasks start As Late As Possible.

Building a plan this way will calculate the very last moment your project should start in order to meet the end date you set. In other words it's a "Just In Time" project.

For this to work in real life all your estimates must be perfect and everyone must deliver their part of the project perfectly in line with the schedule you create. This can be tricky to achieve.

As an alternative you could stick with the default settings. Rather than work backwards, build the plan forwards as normal (so the software gives you the most compact version of your plan) then use Adjust Dates (found by going to View > Toolbars > Analysis and clicking on Adjust Dates) to change when the plan starts so the finish aligns with your preferred end date.

The advantage of this approach is that if your plan starts to delay instead of the software telling you that you should have started earlier than you did (impossible to do) it tells you when you are likely to finish if you carry on as you are currently working.

This then lets you work out the degree to which your plan is drifting so you can rectify it before the due date you have agreed.

Do let me know if you have any questions.

I suggest trying both options by making two projects - one scheduled from the start (default) the other scheduled from the end. Put the same three or four tasks in and see what happens as you adjust durations and record actual progress.


Kind regards,
Andrew