Activity Relationships (tppss2510m000)
Use this session to define and maintain activity relationships. The activities must be sequenced accurately to provide realistic schedules.
You can use the option to validate the activity relationships data to ensure accuracy by checking on the logical relationships of the data and reporting a loop where relevant.
An activity relationship is a logical relationship indicating that a certain activity (successor) cannot start or end until another activity (predecessor) starts or ends. The predecessor or successor activity can also be a milestone activity.
One cannot link the same predecessor task twice to same successor task and one cannot link the same predecessor task to the same successor task.
You cannot create, edit or delete a relationship for projects with Finished, Closed, Archived status.
Field Information
- Project
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The code that identifies the project.
- Description
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The description or name of the code.
- Project Status
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The status of the project.
- Plan
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The code that identifies the plan.
- Description
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The description or name of the code.
- Sequence Number
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The sequence number is generated based on the first free number to create a unique relationship by making use of the activity relationship Series set in the Project Planning Parameters (tppss0100s000) session.
- Predecessor Activity
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The activity which initiates the relationship.
- Description
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The description or name of the code.
- Successor Activity
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The activity linked to the predecessor activity. The activity cannot start or end until the predecessor activity starts or ends based on the value of the Relationship Type field.
- Relationship Type
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Select the relationship type to define the dependencies between the predecessor and successor activities.
Following are the possible values:
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Finish-to-Start
The initiation of the task of the successor depends upon the completion of the task of the predecessor. -
Finish-to-Finish
The completion of the task of the successor depends upon the completion of the task of the predecessor. -
Start-to-Start
The initiation of the task of the successor depends upon the initiation of the task of the predecessor. -
Start-to-Finish
The completion of the task of the successor depends upon the initiation of the task of the predecessor.
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- Lead/Lag
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Lead time is the overlap between activities with a dependency. You specify the lead time as a negative value.
For example, if another activity can start when the predecessor activity which requires 10 days, is half completed, you can specify a finish-to-start dependency with a lead time of -5 days for the activity or successor task.
Lag time is a delay between activities with a dependency. You specify the lag time as a positive value.
For example, if you require a two-day delay between the finish of one activity and the start of another, you can establish a finish-to-start dependency and specify the lag time as two days.
- Lead/Lag Unit
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The unit of time.
- Lead/Lag Percentage
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The relative relationship expressed as a percentage of the duration of the preceding activity. The lead/lag time and percentage cannot be specified simultaneously.
- Activity Type
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The type of the activity, that initiates the activity relationship.
Allowed values
- WBS Element
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A type of activity usually used to break down the project scope into smaller pieces. You can define work for a work-break-down structure element. You can aggregate the costs from control accounts or work packages. You cannot book costs on this activity type.
- Control Account
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The only type of activity that can be linked to an organization breakdown structure. At this level functional responsibility for work and costs can be assigned. You can detail control accounts using work packages.
- Planning Package
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Planning packages are identified during planning to time phase major activities within a control account. You cannot have a bottom-up budget or book costs on this activity type.
- Work Package
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A type of activity. You can detail short-span jobs in work packages and use it for the execution of a project.
- Milestone
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An activity of zero duration that usually represents a significant event in the project. In many cases the completion of a phase or a major deliverable. Milestones can be used for the moment of invoicing and the calculation of earned value.
- Successor Activity Type
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The type of the activity, that is linked to the predecessor activity.
Allowed values
- WBS Element
-
A type of activity usually used to break down the project scope into smaller pieces. You can define work for a work-break-down structure element. You can aggregate the costs from control accounts or work packages. You cannot book costs on this activity type.
- Control Account
-
The only type of activity that can be linked to an organization breakdown structure. At this level functional responsibility for work and costs can be assigned. You can detail control accounts using work packages.
- Planning Package
-
Planning packages are identified during planning to time phase major activities within a control account. You cannot have a bottom-up budget or book costs on this activity type.
- Work Package
-
A type of activity. You can detail short-span jobs in work packages and use it for the execution of a project.
- Milestone
-
An activity of zero duration that usually represents a significant event in the project. In many cases the completion of a phase or a major deliverable. Milestones can be used for the moment of invoicing and the calculation of earned value.
Note: You cannot initiate or complete the task of a successor activity until the task of the predecessor activity is initiated or completed. - Cost Type
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Select the cost type associated with the activity for which the budget is maintained.
- Predecessor Budget Line Number
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The budget line generated for the selected cost type.
- Successor Cost Type
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Select the cost type associated with the activity for which the budget is maintained.
- Successor Budget Line Number
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The budget line generated for the selected cost type.