Due Date vs Traditional Start-End Dates in Gantt charts

Bill Peck

I've used the Gantt chart functionality to good effect, although it seems to be a little too "smart" when you set up dependencies, durations, predecessors, etc. What happens is the dates get too rigid and "calculated", imo.

 

So I'm doing a basic list of tasks for a 3-person team. Most of the tasks are not linked by a functional predecessor, but by priority. Say I have a list of 10 tasks, priority 1-10. One or more might have a hard due date. So if  I put in a hard due date and duration, that will tell me when I must start.

 

This is basic PM stuff, but gets tricky when actually plugging into a system. 

 

I guess I'll start by using Start and End Dates and Duration, the classic Gantt data points. In this manner, the calendar view will work.

 

The reason I'm posting this is in my first go-round, which was an actual project (as opposed to team tasks for ongoing work), I kept seeing dates switch around when I really want to fix things sometimes, like the actual Due Date.

 

thoughts ?

Charles DESCOTES

Hi Bill,

Not quite sure I understood your point but keep in mind that SmSh allows you to disconnect the standard Start-Duration-Finish triade so you can reconstruct them by formulas, which are pretty close to Excel's enabling you to set up the conditions that might fix up your needs.

Eventually, your Start/Finish dates will show up in the Gantt chart as usual.

 

More info on cell calculations at https://help.smartsheet.com/topics/formulas-and-functions

Bill Peck

Oh, I thought my question was crystal clear . . . .

 

but you pretty much answered my question, that being, to disconnect the standard Start-Duration-Finish triad, so I'll poke around and learn that

 

Thanks for the reply and the link !

Bill Peck

I guess we don't official close these out ?

Shaine Greenwood

Hi Bill—

 

Community threads can't be closed or marked as answered but that's definitely a feature I'm pushing for us to get added to the Community.

Bill Peck

Shaine,

 

Thank you, and agree ! It's nice to put closure to threads.

 

<over and out>

 

Charles DESCOTES

To unlock dependencies, go in the Gantt set up and untick "Dependencies Enabled".

 

It is not so cumbersome to fill in boxes of the Finish column with =[Start]n+[Duration]n, because you can copy and paste + there is the automatic filling device on, repeating formulas in new rows.

You can also customize it for reverse planning. i.e. connect your Finish Date to Predecessors and calculate the Start date (equivalent to SF-connection).

 

However, the Start formula can be trickier since it must connect to the related PredecessorS, with MIN() or MAX() formulas.

And all combinations to connect to the Starting or Finishing points of upstream Activities.

★★ But it is probably there that you want to add some IF() to combine with your Priority ranking.

 

Bill Peck

Charles,

 

fantastic, just what I was looking for, thanks !