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P6 Schedule Analytics

DCMA 14-point assessment

2. Leads

Relationships into incomplete work with a negative lag.

Default threshold
None
On the demo programme
Fail3 of 638 relationships into incomplete work

Definition

A lead is a negative lag: the successor may start before its predecessor finishes. It compresses the path without showing the overlap as work anyone can status.

How the app counts it

  • Counted on relationships whose successor is still incomplete, since a link into finished work no longer drives anything.
  • Any negative lag fails the check at the default threshold of zero.

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

Why it matters

Leads hide overlap that can't be progressed or challenged, and are commonly used to pull a finish date forward on paper. Reviewers look for them first.

How to fix it in P6

  1. Split the predecessor at the point where the successor can really start, and link finish-to-start from the first part.
  2. Or replace the lead with a start-to-start link and a positive lag that states the overlap honestly.
  3. Repair XER can set negative lags to zero, to a positive value, or to a value you type.

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