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P6 Schedule Analytics

DCMA 14-point assessment

5. Hard constraints

Incomplete activities with a constraint that fixes or caps a date.

Default threshold
No more than 5% of incomplete activities
On the demo programme
Pass1.66% (6 of 362)

Definition

A hard constraint overrides logic: it fixes a date, or caps one, instead of letting the network drive it. By default the app uses the DCMA list: Mandatory Start and Finish, Start On and Finish On, and Start On or Before and Finish On or Before.

How the app counts it

  • Measured on incomplete activities.
  • An administrator can narrow the list to Mandatory Start and Mandatory Finish only, the two P6 types that override logic outright.
  • Other constraints are counted and reported but don't fail the check.

Thresholds, the counting basis and whether the check counts towards the score can all be changed. See settings.

Why it matters

Hard constraints can conceal negative float and stop a delay from showing where it lands. Tribunals and reviewers treat them as a red flag unless each one is a contract date.

How to fix it in P6

  1. Keep a constraint only on a milestone that represents a contract date, such as a Key Date or Completion.
  2. Replace the others with the logic that really drives the date, or relax them to their soft equivalent (Start On or After, Finish On or After).
  3. In P6 the constraint is on Activity Details, Status. Repair XER can remove hard constraints or relax them to soft ones.

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