Predecessor problem

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: Finish to Start dependency.

longbordr

I am having the same issue. Within the same project, some activities start the day after the predecessor finishes (normal and appropriate) but other activities are starting on the same day the predecessor finishes, which is a mess. I have all settings correct - 5 day workweek, 8 hour days, and no activities with hours as a duration. . This is a very large schedule and it's very confusing. Need to fix but can't figure out how. Help.

Genevieve P.

Hi @longbordr

It sounds like some of your tasks finish at the start of the end date, and some tasks finish at the end of the end date.

You can check this by adding a helper Text column next to your Finish Date column, then use the formula:

=[Finish Date]@row

This should show you the hidden associated time with that end date. If tasks end at the start of the day, the next task can/will start on the same day. What time they end usually depends on predecessors and duration.

Cheers,
Genevieve

longbordr

Thank you Genevieve. I have a feeling this is the issue. I tried as you suggested but am getting this as a response in the new Text column: "#UNPARSEABLE". Doing something wrong. Any thoughts? I think you're on the right track and I'm doing something wrong

Genevieve P.

Hi @longbordr

My formula is an example - you'll need to swap out the [column name] for your column 🙂

So:

=Finish@row

or

=[End Date]@row

Or whatever your column is called!

longbordr

Still struggling. User error no doubt, but it's so critical that I'm hoping I can pester you until I get past this. So my column for the calculated end date is called "Finish". and I've inserted a text column to the right of the "Finish" column. So if I wanted to see the hidden time for an activity in row 814 for example, what exactly should I type? I keep getting the "UNPARESEABLE" or 'INVALED COLUMN VALUE" error. I've been working with Smartsheet for years on hundreds of schedules, but have never encountered this issue until now and you're leading me to higher ground.

Jay

Genevieve P.

Hi @longbordr

My apologies! You'll also need to add in +"" to convert the date into text

Instead of typing in the column name, the easier way to do it is to add = then click on the cell in the same row. This will auto-populate the column name so it's accurate.

Then you can turn this cell into a column formula by right-clicking on it.

Cheers,
Genevieve

longbordr

This is amazing. Finally I can see what's going on. Hope I can help someone at some point as much as you've helped me. It's interesting because I can see where I have activities starting at 8 am and ending at 4:59 pm, which is fine - until I encounter a succeeding activity that has a SS relationship to a milestone activity with a duration of 0. That tie triggers a start time that is the exact same as the finish time of its predecessor, which is 4:59 pm, which is exactly the issue that I couldn't see but that was creating the dilemma. I suspect the best way to resolve is not to use milestone activities with a duration of zero, or probably better, not to have succeeding activities with a SS tie to that milestone. Going to play with it, but thanks for solving one of the great mysteries of life for me.

Genevieve P.

Hi @longbordr

I'm so glad you got this working, and that this insight helped! Thanks for sharing your screen capture.