Chapter 7. Scheduling and Constraints

P6 is not just a way to enter sets of tasks into a pretty chart. Behind P6 is the scheduling engine and a set of algorithms which use a combination of project data and application settings to generate a schedule. The scheduling algorithms used are based on the Critical Path Method (CPM), a well-established technique for project scheduling that has a depth and history well beyond the scope of this book. CPM scheduling, simply put, is a method designed to answer two questions:

• When is the soonest I can deliver results based on my current estimates?

• On which items should I focus in order to deliver on a desired date?

In this chapter, we will cover:

• Scheduling activities

• Understanding scheduling algorithms

• Settings at the user level

• Settings at the project level

• Settings at the global level

• Settings at the activity level