MS Project 2010 - How to import tasks with dependencies

Question

I'd like to use MS Project to analyse aircraft maintenance work force requirements for the next 18-24 months. The maintenance is a combination of repetitive and one-off servicings. I have task requirements for each servicing in Access, along with dependencies. Planners manage which servicings are performed during which maintenance events.

Given a high level schedule for maintenance events, I'd like to import the servicings and sub-tasks attached to each maintenance event, including task dependencies. Conceptually I can see where most of the data goes, and that I will have to be careful with task identification, but what I can't see is where the task dependency type (SF/FS/FF/SS) and lag are in the import/export maps? Is it possible to import these parameters?

Answer 1

The task dependency type and lag are all contained in the "Predecessors" and "Successors" columns. Importing data in one of those two is sufficient.

The data in the column is written like this:[TaskId][DependencyType][Lag] with a separator between each dependency. FS is the default type and need not be specified, all other dependency types are listed as SF, FF, SS.

For example if Task C has a Finish-Start predecessor Task A (with id 1), and a Start-Start predecessor Task B (with id 2), this would be written '1,2SS'

If there is a lag, it is added like this '1+5Days,2SS+10Days' (This is an example and will vary depending on the local language settings of MS Project).