Admin Guide - Gantt LWC - Scheduling Direction

The Gantt Lightning Web Component (LWC) supports both forward and backward scheduling. 

Forward Scheduled Project

In a forward scheduled project (default scheduling direction), tasks are scheduled as soon as possible (ASAP) from the project start date. The project start determines when the project will end.

All tasks without predecessors will have a task start date that defaults to the project start date and the project end (finish date) is the latest task finish date. 

This is ideal for projects where the project finish date is not a hard date. 

Backward Scheduled Project

In a backward scheduled project, tasks are scheduled as late as possible (ALAP) from the project end date. Tasks are scheduled according to when the project needs to finish. The project finish date determines when the project should start.

All tasks without predecessors will have a task finish date that defaults to the project end date and the project start date is the earliest task start date. Based on the task duration and/or dependencies, the task start date will adjust according to the task finish date.

This is ideal for projects where there is a pre-determined project finish date. For example, you may be planning an event where the event date is already pre-determined and cannot be moved. The activities leading up to the event are scheduled according to when the event is set to occur.

This help article outlines the necessary configurations needed to enable the Scheduling Direction feature in the Gantt LWC.

Please note the following:

• You must be a Salesforce System Administrator to complete the steps below as it requires access to Salesforce Setup.
   
• Scheduling Direction is only supported in Gantt LWC and is not available in Gantt Visualforce.

Grant Access to Project Fields

Access to the fields that are used by this feature is already included in the following Inspire Planner Permission sets:

• Inspire Planner Standard User - v1.12 Permissions
• Inspire Planner Standard User - Agile Project Management

If you have custom permission sets, you will need to grant access to fields on the Project object that are used by the Scheduling Direction feature.

1. In Setup, enter "Permission Set" in the Quick Find box and click on Permission Sets.
   
   
    
2. Click on your custom permission set. The image below is just an example.
   
   
    
3. Go to Object Settings.
   
   
    
4. Go to Projects.
   
   
    
5. Click on Edit.
   
   
    
6. Enable Read and Edit access to the following fields:
   
   Project Constraint Violation
   Scheduling Direction
   sysProjectStart
   sysProjectEnd
   
   Click on Save when finished.
   
   

Add Fields to Page Layout

You will need to add Project Constraint Violation, Scheduling Direction, sysProjectStart, and sysProjectEnd to your project page layout for waterfall projects.

1. In Setup, go to Object Manager.
   
   
    
2. Enter "Project" in the Quick Find box and click on Projects.
   
   
    
3. Go to Page Layouts. Click on the page layout you are using for waterfall projects. The image below is just an example.
   
   
    
4. From the list of Fields, drag the following fields to your desired area on the page:
   
   Project Constraint Violation
   Scheduling Direction
   sysProjectStart
   sysProjectEnd
   
   Click on Save when finished.
   
   
    
5. If you are using record types in Project object, you will need to repeat the steps above for all page layouts for waterfall projects.

Add Fields to Project Lightning Record Page

If you are using Dynamic Forms on your Project Lightning record page, you will need to edit it and add Project Constraint Violation, Scheduling Direction, sysProjectStart, and sysProjectEnd.
 

1. In Setup, go to Object Manager.
   
   
    
2. Enter "Project" in the Quick Find box and click on Projects.
   
   
    
3. Go to Lightning Record Pages. Click on the Lightning record page you are using for projects. The image below is just an example.
   
   
    
4. Click on Edit.
   
   Please Note:
   If you are using the out-of-the-box Project Lightning record page that came with Inspire Planner, you will not be able to edit it as it is part of a managed package. You will need to clone it first and then edit the clone.
   
   
    
5. Click on the Details Tab.
   
   
    
6. Next, click on Fields in the panel on the left.
   
   
    
7. From the list of fields, drag Scheduling Direction to your desired area on the page.
   
   You will also need to drag Project Constraint Violation, sysProjectStart and sysProjectEnd to your desired area on the page.
   
   
    
8. Click on Save to save your changes. If you have not yet activated the Lightning record page, you will also need to activate it.