Adding Constraints to Your Project Schedule

Constraints can be used to create a link between a project task and a particular date. Sometimes you may want to prevent rescheduling a task away from a key date. For example, imagine you are managing the implementation of a program that must be completed by a particular date. In this instance, you might set a "Finish no later than" constraint for the Go Live date.

Assuming the "Go Live" date has other tasks linked to it, if any of those tasks' dates or duration were to change which will push out the Go Live date, then Inspire Planner will warn you. 

Please note that Constraints supersede Predecessors (dependencies). Suppose you have Task A and Task B that have a Finish-to-Finish predecessor. If Task B has a constraint of "Finish no later than" Dec 1, 2020, then if you try to adjust Task A to have a finish date of Dec 5, 2020, it will not adjust Task B's finish date to Dec 5, 2020 because it violates the constraint even though they have a Finish-to-Finish dependency. 

You can then choose to do the following:

• Cancel the change and do nothing  - Inspire Planner will revert the changes you made to any tasks that is violating the constraint.
   
• Continue. Remove the <constraint type>  - Inspire Planner will remove the constraint and constraint date that your change is violating and will allow you to proceed with your changes.
   
• Move the task to start/finish on <constraint date> - Inspire Planner will keep the constraint and constraint date but will adjust the Task Start/Finish Date to the latest date it can be moved to without violating the constraint date.
  
  For example, imagine you need to start a task no later than October 15, 2020. In this instance, you would set a "Start no later than" constraint and set the Constraint Date to 10/15/2020. If you try to change the start date of the task to October 20, 2020, Inspire Planner will display a warning and it will give you the option to "Move the task to start on 10/15/2020". If you choose this option, it will adjust the task start date to 10/15/2020 which is your constraint date. 
  
  
  PLEASE NOTE: If you select "Don't ask again", Inspire Planner will remember your choice and will automatically apply the same choice every time you violate a constraint within the same project.

Constraint Types

There are six (6) constraint types available for you to choose from:

Finish no earlier than

The task can finish on or later than the specified Constraint Date but not earlier.

Finish no later than

The task can finish on or earlier than the specific Constraint Date but not later.

Must finish on

The task must finish on the specific Constraint Date.

Must start on

The task must start on the specific Constraint Date.

Start no earlier than

The task can start on or later than the specified Constraint Date but not earlier.

Start no later than

The task can start on or earlier than the specific Constraint Date but not later.

Adding Constraint & Constraint Date Columns on Project UI

By Default, the Constraint and Constraint Date columns are hidden from the Project UI. To add them to the Project UI, simply hover over any column heading and click on the dropdown arrow.


 

Go to Columns and scroll through the list of available fields. Place a checkmark beside Constraint and Constraint Date.

If you cannot see Constraint and/or Constraint Date in the list of available fields, you may need to set the field-level security. Please visit Set Field-Level Security for Constraint & Constraint Date.