In most cases, activities in a project are related to each other and the relationships between them drive the schedule for the project. As a control account manager, you understand the order in which activities need to be completed. For example, you know that after developing the code, a unit test needs to be created. You need to be able to see both the predecessors and successors for an activity to make sure the relationships are correct. In addition, you can create new relationships between activities by adding predecessors and successors to activities within the selected project and control account on the change request form.
There are four types of activity relationships:
Finish-to-start — This is the most common type of relationship. In a finish-to-start relationship, the second activity can't begin until the first activity finishes.
Start-to-start — Start-to-start relationships are used when the second activity in the relationship can't begin until after the first activity in the relationship begins. Start-to-start doesn't require that both activities start at the same time. It requires that the first activity has begun in order for the second activity to begin.
Finish-to-finish — If one of your activities can't finish until another one finishes, you can use a finish-to-finish relationship. Finish-to-finish doesn't require that both activities be completed simultaneously. It requires that the first activity be finished in order for the second activity to finish. The second activity can finish any time after the first activity finishes.
Start-to-finish — When you use start-to-finish, you are saying that the second activity in the relationship can't finish until the first activity starts. However, the second activity can finish any time after the first activity starts.
Add a relationship to an activity
Delay the start of an activity
Add a predecessor or successor relationship to define when an activity occurs