Tracking External Delays

Question

I have a task that started on time, but we were delayed for several hours because of the customer. This delay may cause a late finish for this task in the project. What is the best way to capture this? Create  a new Delay task and add the hours of delay to each resource? Would I need to re-baseline? If so, do I re-=baseline the entire project or just an interim baseline?

Answer 1

Michael --

I forgot to mention that you should add a Note to the task, documenting the slippage caused by the client's delay.  When the client starts yelling at you about project slippage, you can then show them the task note.  Seriously, it is amazing how a client calms down when they realize that THEY are the source of the project slippage!  :)  Hope this additional information helps.

Answer 2

Michael,

Of course, it matters. Of the various options, one of them will be the most appropriate, and the others may be slightly sort of appropriate or could just be mistakes. In your second paragraph you are confusing duration with work. Let's say the 100 hours of work was one full time person assigned for a duration of 100 hours. That's 12.5 8 hour days, or 2.5 weeks, on the standard calendar.

After you logged say the first Monday - Friday that was 5 days of duration and 40 hours of work.

Then the task was interrupted by something the client did which took 20 hours of duration.

Split your task into two tasks, A1 and A2, the first one with duration 40 hours and work of 40 hours, and mark it complete.

The second task is 60 hours of duration and 60 hours of work.

Make a task for whatever the client did. Call it B, 20 hours duration, zero work.

The your A1 is predecessor of B, and B is predecessor of A2.

Simple. The overall duration of the three tasks is 120 hours, but the sum of the durations and work of your tasks has not changed.

Any help.

Answer 3

I don't know why you bother to call it a "delay task". It is just a new task which was whatever the client did that prevented one of your tasks from starting as baselined/scheduled. The client stuff had a certain duration and is a FS0 predecessor of your task which got delayed.

Answer 4

Michael --

How are you entering progress in this project?  Percent complete?  Actual Duration?  Actual Start date and Actual Finish date?  A combination of these methods?  How?

If you are entering Actual Duration, for example, all you need to do is to extend the Actual Duration of the task by the amount of the delay.  For example, suppose that the planned Duration of the task was 2 days and that you saved a Baseline for your project so that the Baseline Duration is also 2 days.  And suppose that the client delayed the completion of the task by 1 full day.  Enter an Actual Duration of 3 days.  This means that the Duration of the task is now 3 days.  Because the Baseline Duration is 2 days, the delay is causing 1 day of Duration Variance at least 1 day of Finish Variance as well.  You can see the Finish Variance in the task Variance table.  You can insert the Duration Variance column in any task table and study the values.

Rebaseline the project?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!  You need to be able to show the client that they delay has caused slippage in the project.  You should only UPDATE the Baseline after a Change Control process adds new tasks to the project, or another situation in which your organization gives you permission to update the Baseline or to rebaseline the entire project.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Hi Michael_Project,

You can add the lag time in Predecessors to show the lag time of the first task before the second task starts.

For your reference: Add lead or lag time to a task

 

Best Regards,

Cliff