Why one task comes before another

Summary: LYNX-X orders the work of released projects by CCPM priority, a number it calculates for every task from how its chain is doing. Add the CCPM Priority column to Active tasks to see it.

Applies to

Definition

CCPM priority is the number LYNX-X gives every task of a released project to say how urgently it needs attention. Nobody types it in: LYNX-X calculates it from two things together, how far the task's chain has progressed and how much of the chain's buffer has been used.

The higher the number, the more urgent the task. The coloured stripe at the left of each task shows the same thing at a glance: red, orange or green.

The number measures how far the task's chain is from the line where the red zone begins on the fever chart. In the red zone the number is positive. In the orange and green zones it is negative, and the further below the line, the lower the number. So most tasks show a negative number: that is the normal state, not a fault.

A task takes its priority from the chain it is on, so one project can have tasks at several priorities: a task on a chain in trouble ranks high, while a task of the same project on a healthy chain waits.

A task whose chain has not used any buffer yet has nothing to measure. All these tasks show the same number, and each comes after the tasks of its group that have used buffer.

Active tasks recalculates the priorities at once. My activities keeps them the same through the day, so your list does not move while you work from it. It takes the new priorities when you select Refresh, or at the daily synchronisation.

Purpose

You do not have to decide the order of the work yourself. LYNX-X puts first the task whose chain is most at risk, so the team works on what protects the deadlines. When you wonder why a task is at the top of a list, its CCPM priority is the answer.

Example: three projects in one list

1. In the top bar, select Portfolio, then Active tasks.
2. In Status, select All to see every task.
3. Right-click a column header, for example Task type, and select Add column after....
4. Type priority in the search box, tick CCPM Priority and Business priority, and select OK.

The two columns appear after Task type. To remove one later, right-click its header and select Hide column.

The list puts the Started tasks first, then the tasks that are Ready to start, then the tasks still waiting for an earlier task (RTS: No). See Working from My activities for how to work through those groups.

Read the two columns side by side:

• Build Prototype of T01 is at the top: it is started, and its chain is in the red.
• Design Stream 1 of D02 (Business priority 3) comes before Sourcing Materials of D01 (Business priority 2): its CCPM priority is higher.
• T01's Handover and Installation are on an orange chain. They come before D01's waiting tasks. Further down the list, other T01 tasks on a green chain come after them.

What decides the order is the state of each task's chain, not the project's ranking.

Key concepts

• CCPM priority: calculated by LYNX-X for every task of a released project. It decides the order of the work.
• Business priority: a property of the project, set in its properties. LYNX-X takes it into account, through the Scenario wizard, when it organises how the work of your projects is staggered. It does not decide the order of the tasks in Active tasks.
• Task Priority: the Priority field on a task's General tab in the project. CCPM priority rules over it: leave it as it is and let LYNX-X order the work.

Related articles

• Working from My activities
• Who sees and updates a task
• Releasing a project

Revision history