Earliest of multiple tasks successor

Question
The question below is from Dan who has the following scenario:
I have three programming tasks with three successor testing tasks as described below:
P1 > T1
P2 > T2
P3 > T3
I want to have one task to define the test environment that starts 14 days before THE FIRST programming task is completed.

Project Options You Want to Know About

When I teach a Microsoft Project or Project Server class, it’s often the Project Options that gather audience interest early on.  Most of the Options below relate to simple user interface conveniences, but they can really improve usability to otherwise generic out-of-the-box configurations.

Please note this article focuses on Microsoft Project 2010 and will provide Microsoft Project 2010 solutions, but most of them are also available in Microsoft Project 2007.  Options unique to 2010 will be noted.

My first tip is for setting default options:  Close all open projects including Project 1 before going into the Options menu. 

Making the Project 2010 Ribbon Work For You

If you have made the move to Microsoft Project 2010, congratulations! In my opinion, the 2010 version of Project is truly the biggest change since the initial Windows product back in the early 1990s.

For long-time Project users, the first step into the 2010 version is mastering the new ribbon user interface. That can be a huge adjustment, but the key to making life easy and saving keystrokes is embedded in this ribbon and in the Quick Access toolbar.

MPUG Community Leader Awards winner for 2nd time

For the second Microsoft Project Conference in a row, Larry Christofaro has won a Community Leader award for his contributions to Microsoft Project Server.  This award focused on his dedication to helping other users through presentations and his contributions to the MPUG discussion forums.  Click below to see the complete list of winners:

Microsoft Community Leader Awards

Managing Schedule Contingency

Overview

At many of the training sessions I’ve taught, I’ve received a lot of questions about how to handle contingency. This is a great topic to share. Let’s start with a short explanation of the different types of contingency. Sources may differ but they tend to define two general types of contingency:

• Contingency Reserve: The cost or timeline that is allocated above the estimate to reduce the risk of potential overruns.
• Management Reserve: The cost or timeline that is allocated above the agreed upon project cost (including reserve) to account for situations that cannot be predicted.