Mind Map Topic Relationships Inside of ConceptDraw PROJECT

In the January 29, 2009 post on this blog which can be viewed at http://mapthink.blogspot.com/2009/01/building-relationships-between-mind-map.html, I described how one could build different types of project management relationships between two different topics in a mind map. In today’s post I am going to show you how those relations that are visually represented in a map, are depicted in a Gantt chart.

Start to Start
The first of these is a start to start relationship in a Gantt chart. Both tasks need to start on the same day, but their ending dates depend on the size of the task and the level of resources assigned. Here both tasks start on March 27th with one of the tasks scheduled to take one day for completion and the other taking three days for completion. You will notice that Task Two occupies 5 days because the 28th and 29th are weekend days and with the current project settings there is no work scheduled for the weekend.

Notice the relationship arrow between the two tasks signifies that they both start at the same time. The task relationship can be unlinked or changed by highlighting the two tasks in ConceptDraw PROJECT and doing a right click to view the “Tasks Link” option.

Finish to Finish
The second of these topic relationships are the finish to finish relationship in a Gantt chart. Both tasks need to finish on the same day, but their start dates depend on the size of the task and the level of resources assigned. Here both tasks end on March 27th with one of the tasks scheduled to take one day for completion and the other taking three days for completion. You will notice that Task Two occupies 3 days in this example, because Task Two does not cross a weekend. Notice the relationship arrow between the two tasks signifies that both tasks end on the same day.

Finish to Start

The third example is a finish to start relationship in a Gantt chart. One task starts, when it is completed the next task starts. Task One occurs on a Friday and is only one day long, Task Two starts on the next Monday (no work is scheduled in this view for weekends). Notice the relationship arrow between the two tasks signifies that when the first task is completed the second task starts.

Start to Finish

The forth and last example is a start to finish relationship in a Gantt chart. One task finishes, when it is completed the next task starts. Notice the relationship arrow between the two tasks signifies start to finish relationship.

Now if only it was that easy for people to establish a great relationship! Next post will be on using ConceptDraw MINDMAP for presentations.