Date Types

There are a number of different types of date that may be found in quality contexts:

Start date: The date an activity is due to start.
Early start date: The earliest date an activity can start. This is the same as the latest early finish of preceding tasks.
Early finish date: The earliest date an activity can finish. This is the early start plus the task duration.
Late start date: The latest date an activity can start without affecting the critical path. This is the same as the latest finish of preceding tasks.
Late finish date: The latest date an activity can finish without affecting the critical path. This is the late start plus the duration of the task.
Due date: The date by which a delivery is due.
Ship date: The date a product is due to ship.
Back date: A date calculated back from a ship date.
Crash date: The last date an activity can be completed before causing significant problems (when the work 'crashes and burns').

Note that 'date' here implies date and time. For short activities this could be just minutes and seconds.

See also: