After you create the WBS tree, you can assign planned start and
finish dates, and durations to the elements in the tree. You can enter values
for any two of the fields - start date, finish date, and duration - and the
third field is calculated and displayed.
To perform this task, you must have the required
security permission. For more information about security permissions, see User security settings.
When you create the project WBS, each element inherits the default
start date from the parent project. If the project start date is today or
a future date, the default start date of the element is the project start
date. If the project start date is already past, the default start date is
the current date. The default finish date is one day after the start date,
and the default duration is one day.
- Ensure the WBS Schedule Gantt viewlet is in your view. In the WBS
tree, expand the project to view the WBS elements.
- From the WBS tree, click the element to assign dates and duration
to.
- To enter the start date, double-click the Start Date field, and enter
the date or select it from the calendar.
- To enter the finish date, double-click the Finish Date field, and
enter the date or select it from the calendar.
Note: When you enter the start
date and finish date, the Duration is calculated based on the available working
days between those dates in the project calendar, and displayed.
- To enter the duration, double-click the Duration field, and enter
the duration in number of days.
Note: When you modify the duration to effect
an increase in the calculated duration, the Finish date is extended to meet
the increased duration. When you modify the duration to effect a decrease
in the calculated duration, the Finish date is brought forward to meet the
decreased duration.
Note: When you assign dates and duration to the project elements, if
the element dates and durations exceed the specified project dates and duration,
the project dates and duration are extended to meet those of the WBS structure.
For more information on the project schedule calculation, see Schedule calculation.
- Click Save.
You can now apply constraints to task dates, and create dependencies
between project tasks.