To build a dynamic calendar plan that will change when the deadlines for individual tasks change, you need to use task dependencies.

According to the PMBOK, dependencies can be mandatory, discretionary, and external. Mandatory dependencies are dictated by the nature of the work. For example, you can’t build the walls of a house until the foundation is laid, or you can’t start editing text that hasn’t been written yet. Discretionary dependencies are established by the project manager based on considerations of convenience of management, specifics of a particular project. External dependencies are dependencies between projects, where the start of a task in one project depends on the completion of a task in another.

Unfortunately, MS Project does not have the ability to distinguish between mandatory and discretionary dependencies. If the project manager needs such a distinction, different formatting should be applied or task notes or a custom column should be used to store information about the type of dependency.

To set a dependency between two tasks, you need to understand which task in the pair will be the main, determining one, and which will be the dependent one. The main task is called the predecessor, the dependent one is the successor. MS Project supports 4 types of dependencies:

• Finish-to-Start (FS) If there is such a dependency between tasks No. 1 and 2, it means that task 2 (successor) cannot start earlier than task 1 (predecessor) ends.

This is the most common type of dependency, so it is applied by default when you decide to link tasks. Until task 1 is completed, task 2 cannot start.

• Start-to-Start (SS) If there is such a dependency between tasks No. 1 and 2, it means that task 2 (successor) cannot start earlier than task 1 (predecessor) starts.

This type of dependency is used to speed up work. Essentially, it’s parallelizing tasks. But until task 1 starts, task 2 cannot start. For example, written texts (task 1) should be edited (task 2). In principle, these tasks can be performed in parallel, but until the author writes some text, there will be nothing to edit.

• Finish-to-Finish (FF) If there is such a dependency between tasks No. 1 and 2, it means that task 2 cannot finish earlier than task 1 ends.

This type is also used to speed up work by parallelizing tasks. Until task 1 (predecessor) is completed, task 2 cannot be completed. For example, until the construction of the house (task 1) is completed, the removal of garbage (task 2) cannot be completed.

• Start-to-Finish (SF) If there is such a dependency between tasks No. 1 and 2, it means that task 2 cannot finish earlier than task 1 starts.

This is an exotic type of dependency, used rarely, in cases where the determining role in the dependency is played not by the task that ends, but by the one that starts. To better understand, I’ll illustrate with an example. The first task is to prepare students for the exam, the second is the exam itself. In principle, first students prepare, then the exam comes. But if you put a Finish-to-Start dependency between these two tasks, it turns out that until the students finish preparing, the exam cannot start. You understand that in this case we risk never starting the exam. We swap the tasks and apply the Start-to-Finish type of dependency to them. Now until the exam (task 1) starts, the students must prepare (task 2).

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