## Check the Project Finish Date

The project finish date calculated by Microsoft Project will give you a good sense of whether you can achieve your project goals on time. If you create a schedule that ends on or before the required finish date, you’re likely to achieve your goals on time. But if your schedule ends after the required finish date, you may need to shorten or remove some tasks or pare down your goals.

Of course, the project finish date in your schedule, like a person’s body temperature, is only one indicator of your schedule’s overall "health." While it can alert you to problems, it can’t identify specific causes. You’ll have to determine the reasons yourself. Look for too many tasks, inappropriate links between tasks, too few or too many resources assigned to a task, or unnecessary constraints. But just as a normal body temperature can sometimes mask underlying problems, an on-time project finish date might hide problems as well. Checking your project finish date should be but one action in your strategy to evaluate and streamline your project plan.

©1996-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.