MSProject: why does "levelling" not work the way I think it should? 1

[bpsmicro]

I'm a total newbie when it comes to MSProject. I'm just trying to set up a *very* simple task plan for three resources. I'll explain the problem in the simplest test case:

I make two tasks (say "Task A" and "Task B"). For each, I set a duration of 5 days, and for both I set the resource to "John". There's no specific precedence for now, just that both need to be completed. There's *nothing* else set (brand new MSProject 2007 install). The end date isn't important (more a case of, "Here are all the tasks, durations & resources, how long will the project take to complete?").
So the GANT shows both Task A and Task B starting on the same date. Of course, "John" is immediately overallocated, since he can't possibly do two 5-day tasks in the *same* 5-day block of time.
I've played with every combination and permutation of settings in "Level Resources", to no avail. I can't make Project comprehend that one person can't do two tasks simultaneously.
Of course, if I make Task A a precedence of Task B, then they'll line up properly, but I don't really want to have to go through and set "fake" precedents just to avoid overallocation.
What blindly obvious thing am I missing to persuade Project that time is indeed linear and one person can't be in two places at once?

Brad.

 

[PDQBach]

View Gantt
Display the column "Constraint Type". It should be showing ASAP for both tasks.

Tools | Level Resources...
Manual should have a radio button ON
Look for allocations on a "Day by day" basis
Click "Level Now"

 

[bpsmicro]

Thanks, they are all indeed set to ASAP.
As I read through various tutorial pages for Project (I'm a humble software architect, with no PM training), everything I see always sets predecessors for every task, and without it, the leveling is just a little wacky. In some places it just works, and in other places it just doesn't.
My most recent attempt pushed out the end date by shifting a bunch of tasks (without predecessors) to the end, but left huge gaps earlier on where the resource (me, in this case) had *zero* loading. As nice as that may be, I don't think my boss will appreciate me sitting on my ass for days or weeks on end, and then being "late" for the overall project. I'm sure I'll figure that out though.
I'm probably doing it backwards. I know the tasks, and I know *who* the person to do the task will be, and I know how long it should take that person to do the task, but the actual *order* that some tasks get done really isn't important (like, our guys have enough brains to prioritize for themselves). That's why I resist predecessors except where they're obviously needed.

I do better writing code.

Brad.

 

[PDQBach]

Levelling always moves stuff out, it never pulls stuff in.

In your original example you mentioned two tasks and then you started discussing your full schedule. It's easiest for people here to help you if you stick to a small subset that demonstrates the problem -- this is especially true with Project which has *substantial* behind-the-scenes processing. Compared to Project, Word is a simple text editor with a few formatting options.

 

[bpsmicro]

You're right. In my original example, absolutely nothing I did would cause the two tasks to appear after one another unless I set a predecessor. It's almost as though it ignored the resource allocations.

I think though, my problem stems from the order in which I created the project. I tried again from scratch, and this time it *does* work the way I'd expect. So somewhere, originally, I did/set something to confuse things.

So I'm going to restart my original project again from scratch, and see if I can spot where I went awry. I'll figure it out.