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I finally figured out how to create a schedule that you can build in reverse so you know when you need to start!
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Step 1: Change new tasks to Auto Scheduled
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Step 2: Show the constraint column in the table view part (this is so you have quick access to the type of constraint on each task)
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Step 3: Create a milestone task with a “Must finish on” constraint set to the date you want the project to end.
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Step 4: Build the project in reverse, adding tasks above the final milestone and adding dependencies as you normally would. (make sure you have a proper chain from the last task to the first task) Make sure that all the tasks you are adding have the “As late as possible” constraint.
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Now, if all your tasks are set to “as late as possible” and you have a milestone that “must finish on” a set date, you can adjust the duration of any task and it will move all of the earlier tasks backwards!
Note: this post was originally published back on 2014-07-23 but it has been one of my most popular posts based upon my google analytics so on 2018-09-17 I updated this post with images to help make it more clear.
Say thanks in the comments if this helped you!
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