Linking activities in a project's master plan

Usually, activities in a project have to take place in a particular order. For example, you cannot build a wall until you have dug the foundations. You specify the order in which activities take place by creating links between the activities. The activity at the start of the link is the predecessor, and the activity at the end of the link is the successor. In the example above, Dig Foundations would be the predecessor task, and Build Wall would be the successor task.

You can create the following types of link between activities:

Link type Appearance
Finish-to-Start A link from the finish of one task to the start of another
Start-to-Finish A link from the start of one task to the finish of another
Start-to-Start A link from the start of one task to the start of another
Finish-to-Finish A link from the finish of one task to the finish of another

To create and edit links in a project's master plan, you must view the master plan. To do this:

  1. Click Projects in the left pane. The Projects page appears.
  2. Click a project in the list. The Project Details page appears.
  3. Click Master Plan at the top of the page. The Project Master Plan page appears.

To create a link between two activities:

  1. On the Project Master Plan page, position the mouse pointer over the activity at which you want the link to start - the predecessor. A circle appears on each side of the activity:

    An activity with the mouse pointer hovering over it, with a circle on either side
  2. You click and drag these circles to create links between activities:
    • Click and drag the circle to the right of the activity to create Finish-to-Start or Finish-to-Finish links.
    • Click and drag the circle to the left of the activity to create Start-to-Start or Start-to-Finish links.
  3. Holding down the left mouse button, click and drag one of the circles to the activity at which you want to the link to finish - the successor. A popup appears over the bar chart to help you position the link, and as the mouse pointer nears the successor activity, a circle appears on each side of the successor:

    A link nearing the successor task, with a popup guiding you
  4. Position the mouse pointer over the circle at which you want the link to finish, then release the mouse button:
    • Release the mouse button with the mouse pointer positioned over the circle to the left of the activity to create Finish-to-Start or Start-to-Start links.
    • Release the mouse button with the mouse pointer positioned over the circle to the right of the activity to create Finish-to-Finish or Start-to-Finish links.
    A link appears between the two activities in the bar chart:

    A link between two activities

To edit a link between two activities:

  1. On the Project Master Plan page, click A pencil button in either the predecessor or the successor activity's row in the spreadsheet. The Edit Activity dialog appears, with the Predecessor Links and Successor Links groups displaying details of any links between the activity you are editing and other activities.
  2. Identify the link you want to edit, then click A pencil button in the Actions column. The Activity and Link Type fields for the link become editable.
    • To change the activity at the other end of the link, click the Activity dropdown and select a different activity.
    • To change the type of link - for example, from Start-to-Start to Finish-to-Start - click the Link Type dropdown and select a different link type.
  3. Click a red tick to accept your changes, or click a red cross to cancel your changes.
  4. Click Save. Your changes are saved and you are returned to the Project Master Plan page.

To delete a link between two activities:

  1. On the Project Master Plan page, click A pencil button in either the predecessor or the successor activity's row in the spreadsheet. The Edit Activity dialog appears, with the Predecessor Links and Successor Links groups displaying details of any links between the activity you are editing and other activities.
  2. Identify the link you want to edit, then click A dustbin button in the Actions column. Details of the link are crossed out, showing that it is to be deleted:

    Details of a link crossed out
  3. Click Save. Your changes are saved and you are returned to the Project Master Plan page.

Related Topics:

Viewing and editing a project's master plan

Creating activities in a project's master plan

Editing activities in a project's master plan

Exporting data from Asta Connect