LESSON 3-9: Advanced Scheduling 

This lesson describes:
•    how to use Scheduling Settings 
•    how to Schedule out-of-sequence activities: Retained Logic; Progress Override; Actual Dates
•    the Critical Path
•    how to schedule the project using Total Float to determine the critical path
•    how to calculate Multiple Float Paths
•    how to calculate Multiple Float Paths using Free Float

[MUSIC PLAYING]

1. Schedule Setting.
Use Scheduling settings in Primavera Cloud to control what type of data is produced during the scheduling process, and how it is calculated. A key setting is found here. Choose to use Retained Logic, Progress Override, or Actual Dates to schedule out-of-sequence activities.

2. Scheduling out-of-sequence Activities. 
For example, two activities are linked together with a finish-to-start relationship. Work begins on the successor activity before the predecessor is complete. The activities are now out of sequence.
Select the method for scheduling the remaining work for the successor activity. 

3. Retained Logic.
With the default setting of Retained Logic, the relationship is enforced as best as possible. The remaining duration of the successor is scheduled after the predecessors finish.

4. Progress Override.
Use Progress Override to ignore the relationship. The successor's remaining work is scheduled immediately, without waiting for the predecessor activity to finish. 

5. Actual Dates.
The third option, Actual Dates, behaves similar to Retained Logic. The difference is that the actual start of the predecessor is used as its late start. This may result in negative float, indicating the predecessor is preventing the successor work from proceeding.
Let's see how this looks in the software. Here is an activity scheduled out of sequence, using the Retained Logic setting. Notice the remaining duration is scheduled after the predecessor finish. Also note the predecessor shows zero Total Float.

If we change the scheduling options to use Progress Override and Reschedule, now the successor remaining duration is scheduled immediately after the Data Date. Reschedule again with the Actual Dates option. The successor is moved back again, and now the predecessor shows negative float. Use other scheduling options to learn more about which activities in the schedule are most important.

6. Critical Path.
The Critical Path is typically calculated by identifying activities with zero or negative total float, indicating that they cannot be delayed without delaying the project. An alternative method is to use the Longest path. Here, the scheduler begins with the last activity in the schedule, and then identifies the activity or activities with driving relationships to that activity.
The scheduler continues working backwards, identifying the activities that are driving the longest path to complete the project, and marking them as critical. This can provide a useful perspective on which activities are most critical. For example, an activity uses a seven-day calendar, and is scheduled to finish on a Friday. Its successor activity uses a five-day calendar, and starts the following Monday. The activity has two days of float. However, if this is a driving relationship that determines the project finish, the Longest path method will still mark the activity as critical.

7. Total Float.
In the software, we see a project scheduled with Total Float used to determine the critical path. Looking at the same project rescheduled with the longest path method, there are a few differences in the critical path.

8.Multiple Float Paths.
For more details on the critical activities in the project, calculate Multiple Float Paths. This option identifies not only the critical path, but also subcritical paths composed of activities that could become critical with delays or other changes to the schedule. Multiple float paths are generated by identifying the critical path, and then removing its activities from the schedule calculations. The next critical path is identified and removed, and the process continues until the requested number of paths are identified.

9. Free Float.
Calculate multiple float paths using Free Float, which works similarly to the longest path method, or use total float. Analyze the entire project, or calculate paths leading to a single activity. For example, an important milestone. So, like the number of paths, you want to calculate. After scheduling, add columns to view an activity's float path and order in the path. Filter sorts and group by these fields to analyze the different paths. For example, group activities by float path and then view each path on the Gantt chart.