Activities

An activity is the basic unit of a schedule. It is defined as a specific thing which must be accomplished in order to complete a project deliverable. Within a project, activities are organized within WBS elements, as shown in the screenshot. An activity has a number of fundamental properties:

• Duration: The length of time the activity will last. In certain cases, this may be zero.

• Start Date: The time calculated for the activity to begin.

• Finish Date: The time calculated for the activity to be completed.

• Relationships: Activities must relate to one another in some logical way. If an activity does not relate to any others, then you must question whether it is an actual activity for the project. Only by logically connecting activities can you truly schedule a project. The logic is used to calculate dates, otherwise the default dates will be shown as they relate to the Data—more on this later.