Recalculating Task Dates with Replan

Replanning linked dependencies is a critical aspect of effective project management. It ensures that any changes in task dates are accurately reflected across all dependent tasks, maintaining the integrity of the project schedule.

Replanning is crucial for:

• Maintaining Schedule Integrity: Ensuring that any changes to task dates are properly reflected across all dependent tasks.
• Reapplying Dependency Lags: Adjusting the schedule to accommodate the predefined time lags between tasks, maintaining logical sequences.
• Mitigating Risks: Preventing scheduling conflicts and ensuring that the project remains on track despite delays or changes.

After updating schedule task's dates, select the Replan option to re-apply the dependency lags and maintain the schedule sequence. This will automatically adjust the dates of all successor tasks according to the new predecessor dates. The replan function recalculates the start and end dates of dependent tasks, ensuring that the project timeline remains consistent and logical.

Note: Tasks that do not have successors or predecessors will not be affected by replanning the project.

Example

Consider a project with the task "Foundation Work" as the predecessor for "Building Construction" (the successor). Initially, the predecessor "Foundation Work" is scheduled to finish on September 10, and the successor "Building Construction" is set to start on September 11.

Delay in Predecessor: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the "Foundation Work" task is delayed and now ends on September 15.

Use Replan: After updating the end date of the predecessor to September 15, use the replan function. The replan function will adjust the start date of the successor "Building Construction" task to start immediately after the predecessor finishes, which would be September 16. This adjustment will respect the project's weekend rules, ensuring that tasks are only scheduled on working days.

Reapplying Dependency Lags

When using the replan function, the system recalculates the start and end dates of dependent tasks, ensuring that the project timeline remains consistent and logical. The replan function re-applies the dependency lags based on the updated dates:

• Finish-to-Start Dependencies: The Start Date of the successor is calculated by adding the number of days lag to the End Date of the predecessor.
  
  
• Start-to-Start Dependencies: The Start Date of the successor is calculated by adding the number of days lag to the Start Date of the predecessor.
  
  
• Finish-to-Finish Dependencies: The End Date of the successor is calculated by adding the number of days lag to the End Date of the predecessor.
  
  
• Start-to-Finish Dependencies: The End Date of the successor is calculated by adding the number of days lag to the Start Date of the predecessor.

Rules for Weekends

When replanning, it's important to consider whether the schedule plan is configured to include or exclude weekends. The rules for including or excluding weekends affect how task dependencies are adjusted:

• Schedule plan is set to Include Weekends:

  • Lag Time Includes Weekends: When creating task dependencies, the lag includes weekend days. For example, a predecessor task ending on a Friday with a successor linked with a Finish-to-Start dependency and a lag of 0 will have the successor scheduled for Saturday.
    
    
  • Replanning Affects Weekends: Replanning your project schedule will move all successors of schedule items that have been modified to later/earlier dates, potentially scheduling tasks on weekends.
    
    

• Schedule plan is set to Exclude Weekends:

  • Lag Time Excludes Weekends: When creating task dependencies, the lag excludes weekends. For example, a predecessor task ending on a Friday with a successor linked with a Finish-to-Start dependency and a lag of 0 will have the successor scheduled for the following Monday.
    
    
  • Replanning Avoids Weekends:Replanning your project schedule will move all successors of schedule items that have been modified to later/earlier dates, ensuring they do not fall on weekends. 
    • If replan makes the successor task's start falls on a weekend, the start date will instead be set to the following Monday and the end date recalculated accordingly.
    • If replan makes the successor task's end falls on a weekend, the end date will be set to the following Monday.

Best Practices

To ensure effective replanning, follow these best practices:

• Baseline the Schedule: Before using the Replan function, baseline the schedule. This allows you to compare the new dates against the original plan, providing a clear view of any deviations and helping to maintain better control over the project timeline. For more information on baselining your project schedule, refer to this baseline article.
  
  
• Regular Updates: Regularly update task dependencies and use the replan function to maintain a realistic and current project schedule. This ensures that all team members are working with the most accurate information, facilitating better coordination, resource management, and timely project completion.
  
  
• Review and Adjust: Continuously review and adjust the schedule as the project progresses to account for any changes or delays, ensuring the project remains on track.

By regularly updating task dependencies and using the replan function, project managers can maintain a realistic and current project schedule. This ensures that all team members are working with the most accurate information, facilitating better coordination, resource management, and timely project completion.