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jdineley's avatar
jdineley
Copper Contributor
Sep 13, 2024

Export .mpp to .xml, modify and re-import

I have a web app that imports a ms project .xml. Users of the web app can then change the following properties: Notes, Physical Percent Complete and Finish Date. The project .xml can then be exported...
John-project's avatar
John-project
Silver Contributor
Sep 13, 2024

jdineley 

Here is what is happening. When tasks are scheduled normally (i.e. linked logic network with each task having at least one predecessor and successor), all dates are "as-soon-as-possible". The plan is dynamic. If you manually enter a start or finish date, a constraint is set. In you case by entering a new finish date a "finish-no-earlier-than" constraint is set. Since the duration is unchanged and the start date is dynamic, (i.e. "as-soon-as-possible"), the start date will move to whatever is dictated by the new finish date and the duration.

 

So, why are you updating by entering a new finish date? What is the end goal?

 

John

jdineley's avatar
jdineley
Copper Contributor
Sep 13, 2024
Thanks for the reply. My ambition is to allow users, who manage their assigned tasks, the ability to adjust the finish date of their task(s) as they see it at particular instances during the project lifecycle. The project manager captures the project state at those instances and brings that into the .mpp to see the full picture of the project at that time. I guess what I care about is to change only the Finish Dates of tasks and then let ms Project re-establish a new predecessor/successor timeframe based on a ‘only start when predecessor has finished’ basis. In this way the Start Date of tasks that have dependencies will be dynamic. In the end I only care about what date project members think their tasks will be finished by, and then everything else falls into line from that. If a task is isolated and has no dependencies, then the original start date should stand and therefore the duration would change. Think of it like this, if the project is released in state ‘A’, but after 3 months in state ‘B’, project members reevaluate when their current tasks are actually likely to end those tasks should not have their Start Date changed, only the Finish Date.. since the start date already happened so shouldn’t change after the fact. Tasks up stream of the time this re-baseline is happening would be pushed left or right but not compressed or expanded. What I’m finding is that lots of things move around that shouldn’t… user A says task 1 that is currently being worked on will now finish 1 week later, this should only push the start of the successor out by one week, but what I see is the start of task A change which is incorrect. My web app is a communication tool for members of a project. As well as communication it also allows members to update the PM about the likely finish date of in-work tasks. The app is currently in development, so I’m trying to establish the best way to work with ms Project.
  • John-project's avatar
    John-project
    Silver Contributor
    Sep 13, 2024
    jdineley,
    Okay, thanks for that expanded explanation. You gave us a new very important piece of information. Here is how it boils out.
    1. If the task is a future task (i.e. hasn't started) and you want the start date to stay but the finish date is pushed our (or pulled in), the the parameter to change is the duration.
    2. If the task has started but is delayed or moving faster than expected such that the finish date is moved out or pulled in, the start date is "nailed down" by entering a date into the Actual Start field. Then you can either enter the new expected finish date or change the duration to achieve the desired finish date. I strongly recommend the latter, as manually changing the finish date will set a constraint and that limits Project's flexibility to dynamically schedule the plan. Entering a new duration will not set a constraint but will move the finish date.

    Just for reference, do you set a baseline for your plan? If not, you definitely should as that gives a reference point by which to measure plan progress against the original plan.

    John
    • jdineley's avatar
      jdineley
      Copper Contributor
      Sep 14, 2024

      John-project 

      Thanks again for your response. My main problem is I’m a newby to ms Project so it’s a steep learning curve. Ultimately I want to create a successful marketing campaign for my self developed application (link below in its current release state - the learn section on the app is pre ms Project integration, where the app is used stand alone, pretty successfully - but will be better with ms Project there to coordinate the full protect timeline architecture etc..) so that experienced ms Project users can immediately see the benefit of incorporating my application into the overall run of the project.

      My application doesn’t auto sync with ms Project, but instead relies on importing/exporting .xml’s to manually synchronise. Importing the xml from ms Project to my online app initially creates all the tasks and assigns them to specific users defined in resources in ms Project. The project is then ‘in work’ on the online application, edits only being made there. Edits are exclusive to Notes, Physical Percent Complete and Finish Date (perhaps this should be Actual Finish Date). The original xml is then exported with the changes incorporated, the project is then ‘not in work’ and can be imported into ms Project. At this stage a competent ms Project user (PM) would know how to structure it best. They can make sensible changes that maintain certain properties as set in stone but change others that are flexible at that time. After this re-baselining process the PM exports a new xml to reimport into the online application, with all the updates being implemented.

      So it is currently my job to demonstrate this with a simple project of say 4 tasks and 4 users. But this is easier said than done for me at the moment with my limited experience with ms Project. Plus the fact that I’m using .xml edits to drive this.. the key stumbling block is setting up the ms Project file correctly to adopt the work flow that I have described.

      I probably need to look at some learning materials.

      Thanks,
      James

      https://projects-app-front-end.onrender.com/login

      • John-project's avatar
        John-project
        Silver Contributor
        Sep 14, 2024
        James,
        It sounds like you are basically attempting to do something Microsoft already offers, that is, Project Online with PWA.

        And you are correct in that Project has a steep learning curve, particularly for new users who may have limited knowledge of Project management principles.

        John

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