Resource Dates

Each resource assigned to an activity can have different start and finish dates. When you first assign a resource to an activity, the assignment has the same remaining early start and remaining early finish dates as the activity. However the resource dates can be changed either manually in P6 EPPM or automatically when you schedule, level, or apply actuals to the project.

There are several circumstances under which assignment dates can be different from the dates of the activity to which it belongs.

If a resource is not needed from the very beginning of the activity that assignment can be assigned lag. The start date for an assignment with lag is the start date of the activity plus the duration of the lag.
Likewise, if a resource is not needed until the end of the activity, the duration of the assignment can be less than the duration of the activity. In these cases the assignment's finish date is calculated as the start date of the assignment plus the duration.
It is also possible for an assignment to finish after the finish date of the activity. The finish date for an activity determines when successor activities can start, however a resource might still have further work to complete which need not delay the schedule.

There is also a situation where the dates of an activity can be determined by the dates of the resource (as well as the rest of the schedule). If the Drive Activity Dates option is selected for an assignment, when the dates for the assignment are recalculated the dates of the activity to which the assignment belongs are also changed. If more than one assignment to an activity has the Drive Activity Dates option selected, the dates for the activity are determined according to all the driving resource assignments as well as the logic of the schedule.

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