Examples: Resolving dependencies

See the examples to understand how dependencies are resolved.
Consider a project with a future start date with two tasks: "Create test plan" and "Verify test plan." Both tasks have scheduled start and finish dates, and a Finish-to-Start dependency. When you resolve the dependency, the "Create test plan" task is moved to its earliest start date. The "Verify test plan" task is moved to start after the "Create test plan" activity is complete.

Example 1: Resolving dependencies

The dependent tasks have overlapping schedule dates. The "Create test plan" task has a slack or scheduling flexibility of one day, with relation to the project start date. Both tasks have the default constraint, As soon as possible. See Table 1 for the original schedule and the changes to the schedule when the project dependencies are resolved.

Table 1.
Elements Before resolving dependency After resolving dependency
  Start date Finish date Duration Start date Finish date Duration
Project - Test plan June 1 June 5 5 days June 1 June 5 5 days
Task - Create test plan (predecessor) June 2 June 4 3 days June 1 June 3 3 days
Task - Verify test plan (successor) June 3 June 4 2 days June 4 June 5 2 days
As a result of resolving dependencies:
  • The "Create test plan" task is scheduled to start on its earliest start date June 1, instead of June 2.
  • The "Verify test plan" task is scheduled to start on June 4, after the scheduled completion of the "Create test plan" task.

Add a new task to the project with a start date that is earlier than the project start date. The project start date changes to accommodate the new task. See Table 2 for the differences in schedule before and after you resolve the dependencies.

Table 2.
Elements Before resolving dependency After resolving dependency
  Start date Finish date Duration Start date Finish date Duration
Project - Test planning May 31 June 5 6 days May 31 June 4 5 days
Task - Create test plan (predecessor) June 1 June 3 3 days May 31 June 2 3 days
Task - Verify test plan (successor) June 4 June 5 2 days June 3 June 4 2 days
Task - New May 31 June 3 4 days May 31 June 3 4 days

Example 2: Resolving dependencies on tasks with "Finish no later than" constraints

If a dependent task has a "Finish no later than" constraint, resolving dependencies might cause the constraint to break. See the scenario in Table 3.

Table 3.
Elements Before resolving dependency
  Start date Finish date Duration Constraint
Project - test plan June 1 June 5 5 days  
Task - Create test plan (predecessor) June 1 June 3 3 days As soon as possible
Task - Verify test plan (successor) June 2 June 3 2 days Finish no later than - June 3
The task "Verify test plan" has a "Finish no later than" constraint date of June 3. After the dependency is resolved, the "Verify test plan" task must start on June 4 and end on June 5, which violates the constraint date. An error is displayed, and you must modify the constraint to resolve the dependency.

Example 3: Effect of resolving dependencies on tasks with no dependency

If tasks do not have dependencies, then resolving dependencies has no impact on the schedule of those tasks. In Table 4, see the schedules for "Other task 1" and "Other task 2" are unchanged before and after resolving dependencies.

Table 4.
Elements Before resolving dependency After resolving dependency
  Start date Finish date Duration Start date Finish date Duration
Project - Test plan June 1 June 5 5 days June 1 June 5 5 days
Task - Create test plan (predecessor) June 2 June 4 3 days June 1 June 3 3 days
Task - Verify test plan (successor) June 3 June 4 2 days June 4 June 5 2 days
Other task 1 (no dependency) June 2 June 4 3 days June 2 June 4 3 days
Other task 2 (no dependency) June 3 June 5 3 days June 3 June 5 3 days

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