Buffer

In project management, there is the concept of buffer times. According to Wikipedia the buffer time or slack is a time margin for the execution of an activity, so-called time reserves. This latitude can be used by shifting the activity and/or by extending (stretching) its duration. In addition, a buffer can be specified in Merlin Project for the dependencies. The resulting times are stored in the following attributes:

• Expected end buffer time: Contains the duration between early and latest end.
• Expected start buffer time: Contains the duration between early and latest start.
• Expected free buffer time: Contains the duration by which an operation can be delayed without the start of subsequent operations being delayed. If an operation has no successors, it is equal to the total float.
• Expected total buffer time: Contains the smallest value of the expected start buffer time and the expected end buffer time. It describes the duration of work by which a process can be delayed without delaying the end of the project.