Playbook | Criticality Across Projects

Now, you have the option to drive slack calculations across projects.

  1. Previously, slack was not calculated across projects.
  2. Now, you can choose whether or not to calculate slack across projects.
  3. Option: Drive Start Only = Drive the successor's start date but not the predecessor's slack.
    Oct 2024 - Criticality across projects - 1 - Options
    1. In this example, the start date of the successor [EB Backpanel Schematic] is driven by the predecessor's [Design Review] end date, however, its slack is not determined by the successor and, hence, is unknown.
    2. Instead, the slack would be determined using a Major Milestone in the predecessor's project.
  4. Option: Drive Start and Slack = Drive the successor's start date and the predecessor's slack.
    Oct 2024 - Criticality across projects - 2 - Drive Slack
    1. In this example, the start date of the successor [EB Backpanel Schematic] is driven by the predecessor's [Design Review] end date, and the successor determines the predecessor's slack, hence, it is zero (0) (Critical Path).
  5. Drive Start Only is the default, however the option can be changed via the Links page in Task Properties.
  6. When creating a new Cross-Project Link, a warning appears with a helper to convert it to Drive Start and Slack.
    Oct 2024 - Criticality across projects - 3 - New Cross-Project Link
  7. When moving tasks to another project, their criticality might change because the tasks’ original project will not drive the slack by default.
  8. The Warnings List can be used to find tasks with Cross-Project Links.
    Oct 2024 - Criticality across projects - 4- Warnings List cross-project options
  9. Driving slack calculations across projects may adversely impact performance. If so, consider using the Update Slack option in Other to control to disable them from automatically updating every time a change is made.
    Oct 2024 - Criticality across projects - 5 - Update Slack Control
  10. Need a hand? Contact a Customer Success Engineer today!