Float available on Task(s)

[andrew]

Hi,

I notice there is one piece that would be a floating feature available for a Task.

I know we have the lag available for dependency, but this is a fix variable between tasks that are dependent on one another from what I have seen.

This is a critical feature for variance in the schedule. It's also available in MS Project and P6, would be a very strong feature in Byrntum Gantt Chart as well.

Description below

Float (Slack) – there are a few types :
- Total Float = amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project end date or an intermediary milestone.
- Free Float = amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of its successor(s).
- Project Float = amount of time a project can be delayed without delaying the externally imposed project completion date required by the customer or previously committed by the PM.

Float is a discretionary measure of a schedule's flexibility or slack. While managers are most often concerned with overall network float variance along the critical path (Total Float), the float time for a single activity (Free Float) is also helpful in managing day to day operations. For example, if an activity has ten days of free float, management may decide to assign its intended resource to another task. Free Float is the maximum number of hours or days an activity can be delayed without also delaying the early start dates of any immediate successor activities. Total Float is the total maximum number of hours or days an activity can be delayed without also delaying the project finish date or another scheduling constraint. Total Float is calculated using the critical path method to determine the variance between early finish and late finish dates.

More description (Example on page as well)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Float_(project_management)

In project management, float or slack is the amount of time that a task in a project network can be delayed without causing a delay to:

subsequent tasks ("free float")
project completion date ("total float")
An activity on critical path has "zero free float", but an activity that has zero free float might not be on the critical path. Total float is associated with the path. If a project network chart/diagram has 4 non-critical paths then that project would have 4 total float values. The total float of a path is the combined free float values of all activities in a path.

The total float represents the schedule flexibility and can also be measured by subtracting early dates from late dates of path completion.[1] Float is core to critical path method.


Thanks,
Andrew

[mats]

Very good suggestion, shouldn't be too hard to solve. Though we can't promise anything before 3.0, too many other things in the pipeline at the moment.

[andrew]

Excellent, that's great to hear.

[andrew]

Hi,

I wanted to update this feature request as the details from my original post are quite bland.

I've been doing the research to understand how Float is calculated and Critical Path Analysis, which has made this not as trivial to the definition above.

Specifically for Float is calculated by
- Forwards pass to get Early Start/End dates
- Backwards pass to get Late Start/End dates

- Then the knowledge of the dependency lag between two tasks affects the float previously calculated.

This can also supply the critical path which is the longest duration of a set of tasks where the total float between each pair of tasks is 0. As well can show multiple critical paths.

You may wish to implement this as it is a critical feature for a Project Scheduler as well enhances your Project greatly in the field. I am currently starting to look at implementing this since it has become a very important feature request.

For reference here are 2 links I used for reference and understanding.
MS Project float
https://blog.simplilearn.com/technology- ... ft-project

Critical path and slack calculations
https://www.projectlearning.net/pdf/X2_1.pdf

Regards,
Andrew H