2nd day of UBC Award of Achievement: Project Management with Microsoft Project

Six Fridays: Sept. 24 - October 29, 2010

2. Managing Projects and Resources
Friday- Oct 1, 2010

To successfully complete projects you must mobilize the project team, assign work and follow up its timely completion.

Assigning resources resources helps prepare budgets which rollup from assignments based on resource rates times effort hours in each assignment. You can analyze and balance workload amongst multiple resources. As well you can produce individual to do lists which help your team members stay organized and on schedule.

Initially you may not know who will be on your project team so you identify generic resource roles and skill levels required on your project. Assigning resources to the tasks in your plan allows you to analyze workload by resource type and to plan your team size. When you identify specific resources to fill the roles you replace the generic resources in your plan with the specific resources increasing the workload and decreasing the generic resource workload. You can define shifts and vacations for each resource with their own calendars. Microsoft Project uses the resource calendars to schedule work assignments.

Participants will learn how to:

1. Identify resource skills and generic types needed on the project.
2. Standardizing resource definitions with a central resource pool.
3. Define resources and their work calendars.
4. Assign tasks to resources.
5. Generate resource-based schedules.
6. Print individual to-do lists to help your resources stay organized and on schedule. for each resource,
7. Calculate task costs and develop project budgets, 
8. Analyze team workloads.
9. Distribute workload evenly between team members.
10. Improve performance with clear roles and responsibilities.
11. Keep team members focused on completing tasks on time.
12. Track completion of tasks by team members.

Avoid the frustrations of updating resource assignments. Participants will discover how to tell Microsoft Project how you want your assignments recalculated when you change either Duration, Work or Units Assigned.

Analyze resource workloads across multiple projects with Resource Graph in Microsoft Project.

Click to register for this course

2. Managing Projects and Resources agenda
Friday, Oct 1, 2010 -  9:00am to 4:00pm

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Questions and Answers

1.How can I replace one generic resource with multiple specific resources, and spread the work evenly over all of the specific resources? (Scott)

Resources are separated by commas in the resource names columns so you could do an edit replace "generic resource" with "specific1,specific2" in a task table with the Resource Names column. If you had partial units then the edit replace may look like this

Replace "generic resource[50%]" with "specific1[25%],specific2[50%]".

2. How can I group/combine material resources? For example, can I have a resource “cycle wheel”, which is used in other resources (e.g. “bicycle” and “unicycle”), allowing me to assign bicycle or unicycle so that Project calculates the aggregate cost? (Scott)

You could achieve one-level grouping with the resource group code.

For multi-level grouping use a custom resource outline code.

3. How can I connect the cost of a cost resource to the cost of another resource (e.g. the cost of one resource reflected as a percentage of the cost of another)? (Scott)

I have not found how to do this in project.

How do you capture progress using resource schedule? (Tara)

You record progress using the % complete that can be viewed in the task table or the task form. Some project managers prefer to keep tasks small and only to enter 100% when the task is complete.

What is Leveling Delay? (Tara)

You can spread out the workload for an overloaded resource using 'resource leveling'. Project delays task assignments until the resource is available. The delay is recorded in the 'leveling delay' field that you see in the task 'Resource Schedule' detail.

Projects don’t always follow the path you’ve mapped for them, what do you do when tasks aren’t following the schedule? (Tara)

Record what actually happened in your plan then you have a historical record the next time you run a similar project. So if a task is delayed record the actual start date in the task. Record when the task is finished using the actual finish date. Note Microsoft Project assumes the task is 100% complete when you record the actual finish date.

Some of my resources involve whole departments including 15 or more people. Instead of replacing the resources within that department with 15 or more specific resources is there a way to specify that resource includes a certain amount of specific resources? For example, my fabricate IG units task includes about 30 people within the resources attached to that task. Each one at about $25-30/hr. Or, does this defeat the whole purpose of specific and generic resources? (Byron)

Until you know which specific resource will do the job, keep the generic resoucre. Then when you know which specific resource will do or has done the job then replace the generic resource with the specific resource.

Should I attach resources to milestones with a zero duration?  (Byron)

You can but no resource work or costs can be associated with a zero duration milestone task because it has no duration. However you can flag other no zero duration tasks as being milestones (using the milestone flag) and these can have resource assigned.

Do I assign calendars to tasks and the resources or, just link a calendar to the project and then attach a calendar to the resources only?  (Byron)

You would only assign a calendar to a task when it does follow your main project calendar. For example you may wish to schedule an office move fo the weekend when no one else is working. You would create a 'weekend' calendar for the office move.

Bonus Question: Why did I lose all of my notes on all of my tasks? Does it have anything to do with adding sub tasks and resources?  (Byron)

Deleting data does not remove an audit trail. But if you wan't to delete all the task notes, click on the task notes column name and press delete. If you want to hide a column without losing the data, use Edit -> hide column

How are Cost Resources linked to tasks? (Carmen)

You enter cost resources into the task form with the resource cost detail format. Set units = 0 and click OK. Then you enter the cost of the cost resource for that task assignment. A cost resource may be assigned to multiple tasks.

When a specific resource leaves and another joins the project in the same capacity, how is an end/date start date applied to each affected specific resource?  (Carmen)

Replace the specific resource 1 with the specific resource 2 in remaining tasks. Microsoft Project will not make the substitution for actual work so the Resource 1 will still appear where work has already been completed. If resource 2 arrival is delayed then you will have to manually tie the tasks to the arrival of resource 2.

3. For salaried resources (as opposed to contractors) how are their total labour costs added? E.g. to include benefits, paid vacation etc.  (Carmen)

You need to include their loaded costs to get a realistic picture. If your organization does not want to account for these costs (as they are already paid) then set internal cost rates to zero.

Would you use Project as a decision tool to help determine the best company to perform a specific task? For example, if one company is less expensive but their availability may not be the best and another company is more expensive, but will fit into your plan better. Is there a better decision tool? (Pam) 

Pam, I would use a decision matrix with the alternatives across the top (company A, company B, etc) and the decision criteria (expense, availability, reputation, etc) down the side.

1. Next to one of my resources for a while I had this warning “This resource should be leveled based on a Day to Day setting”, what does this mean? Now the warning is gone, but I’m not sure what I did. (Karen)

Microsoft Project is just warning you that the latest assignment has overloaded the resource by recommending the action you should take. You may wish to undo the assignment and give it to another person.

2. How would I go about formatting all the bars in the Gantt chart? I can figure out how to do them individually, but not all.  (Karen)

Double click on a blank space in the Gantt chart you wish to format. Follow details on page 123 and 124 in the first book.

3. On task item 5.2 and 5.5, the event will take longer then the actual working time. An analogy would be grouting your bathtub, it may take 4 hours to do, but 72 hours to set. How do you show this time terms of resource working time, versus actual duration?  (Karen)

I would split the task into two pieces. The first would be Grouting with a duration of 4h. The second task would be 'grouting sets' with a duration of 72eh where eh stands for elapsed hours.

How do I get MS Project to take into account that I don’t have unlimited resources. Not everything can be started at the same time, and I don’t want to create dependencies that don’t really exist. (Mike)

The alternatives (Leveling with task priorities may be much worse) Be flexible to apply a feature in a wide variety of applications.

How do I control the scheduling based on resources. In other words, I have specialized people that can only work on certain parts of the project. Where do I enter the qualifications required for a task? (Mike)

You can enter generic resource types for resources. You can enter multiple skill types in multi-valued outline codes (outline custom field 20 and above).

It seems it would be easier to rename the resources in the resource view rather then in the task view, however, this option is greyed out in the resources view. For example, If I want to rename the generic resouce 'plumber' to specific resouce 'John Doe', I have to go to each task & make the change individually. Is there a easier (and quicker) way to rename the resources?

1. The easiest and quickest way to change 1 resource to another in multiple assignments is to select the tasks where you want the change to take place and then use the Tools -> Assign Resources -> Replace button that we discussed in class. This replaces the resource in all the selected tasks.

2. You can change the resource name in the resource sheet but then you are changing the name for all assignments in the project. This was the way that we used to change the generic resource name to a specific resource name. By making the change once in the resource sheet you change all the assignments in the project. However you lose the old (generic) resource name. And you must be disconnected from the resource pool when you do this otherwise the name change will become effective across all projects connected to the resource pool. Also you cannot already have the resource name defined in your project.

How can I set up a recurring task in project? Like a team meeting that happens every Wednesday for 45 minutes starting now and finishes in 3 months.

You can setup recurring tasks using Insert -> recurring task. The associated dialog box is shown on p.148 in your workbook. You can specify frequency, day of the week, start time and duration. You can also select a special calendar.

One of the questions # 9 for our assignment mentions to replace 3 key generic resources with specific resources....for my project (Printer Replacement) how would I go about doing this? Ex. One of my key generic resources is ordering of printers line 2. If I was to replace this with a specific resource such as my name being the project Manager as the resource how would this affect the project?

Generic resources are resources types or roles that you will require to complete the project. Use generic resources early in the planning process when you don't know who will be working on the project. Also project templates also use generic resource types because they don't know who is working in your organization. Use the generic estimate of the workload for each resource type to decide how many of each resource type you will staff the project. Your team size determines how long the project will take.

However generic resources cannot do work. If you only have one project manager in the organization then everyone knows who the project manager is. But most organizations have multiple individuals who can fill each role. By assigning tasks to real specific individuals we assign responsibility for the task to those resources.

Replacing a generic resource with a specific resource impacts your plan because the workload of the specific resource increases. If you increase the workload beyond some point, the real resource will not be able to complete all the tasks assigned to them in the time period that you expected. If these tasks are on the critical path the project completion date is delayed. This also allows you to analyze workload for each specific resources to balance the workload between team members.

The tasks still assigned to a generic resource cannot be started as planned. We may be short of the necessary resources. As we replace generic resources with specific resources, the workload of the generic resource decreases.

When you are changing from Generic Resources to Specific Resources in the Assign Resources box (the double head) is there an easier way to change everything. For example is there a way to "change all" when you alter a generic to a specific the first time?

The replacement takes place in all of the tasks that you select. To do a 'replace all' across the entire project, expand all subtasks and then select all of the tasks by clicking on the task name column header. Now you can replace one resource with another resource for all tasks.

Once project resources have been entered, can their unique Resource ID be changed?

No, Project needs the unique id to establish relationships between things like Resources, Tasks and Assignments  similar to auto numbers in database software.

I wondered if it is possible to use MS Project to produce a budget and costs for a project by having a resource pool set up with each of the individuals hourly rates - but not use the fixed duration, fixed work, fixed units, and effort driven fields (to simplify the process). In this scenario all resource calculations would be in hours (not days) with no overtime, and there is no concern of the amount of hours over an elapsed period of time or peoples vacation schedules etc.
eg. the project would take 40 development hours (40h x $100) = 80 Business Analyst hours (80h x $150) = ......and so on.

Yes you can use Project to create high-level budgets. For example, I use Microsoft Project to bid on Proposals. By creating a plan, I get a schedule, an initial allocation of resources and a budget by Project Phase. You just have to make sure that project recalculates resource assignments correctly when you make any adjustments. Then the tips that I gave you about using task form with the Resource detail format and the task type apply.

If I want to have a "fixed duration" for all my tasks, how do I set that up only once?

There are several ways to do this. 

1. You can setup the default for your project using Tools -> Options -> Schedule -> Default Task Type = (select the task type you want).

2. To setup a global default for all your projects, click on [set as default] button on this screen.

3. To do bulk changes to an existing project, insert the TYPE column in any task table. You can then change one task using the drop down list in the TYPE column. Then select the tasks that you want to make the change by shifting clicking to select a block of tasks or control-clicking to select non consecutive tasks. Then copy the changes tasks using Edit-> Down.

In the Gantt View: After I change my "task number" to "outline number", the predecessor column still refers to the "task number" value. Is there a way to change the predecessor column format to the same format used in the "outline id" column? OR is it easier to insert a column and have both "task number" and "outline id" column?

I add columns 'predecessors', 'task id' and 'successors' after the task name column in a separate view I call Precedence Analysis. As well I try to sequence my tasks so that no successors precede the predecessors in a listing so the tasks flow in a time sequence down the page. This makes it easier for people to read my gantt charts.

When assigning resources is there any way to copy a long list assigned resources in one task?

Yes, you can copy down assignment list in two ways using the resource names and resource initials columns.

1. Select the resource names or resource initials cell that you want to copy down.
2. Select non-consecutive cells that you want to copy the assignments to with Ctrl-Click on the cells.
3. Use Edit-> fill down to copy the values from the source cell to the target cells.
4. Copy the value in a source cell consecutive cells, by dragging the lower right-hand corner of the source cell value up or down to the target cells much like you would in Excel. by dragging

Question: Reviewing people’s workload is useful but I’m still trying to figure out the best way to schedule resources for individuals who are assigned multiple tasks. Resource leveling is o.k. but doesn’t necessary produce what I’m looking for.

We tend to throw resources at task assignments without any planning without considering overload. Try the following approaches:

1. Know what the priority of the tasks so you assign people to the highest priority concurrent tasks.
2. Thinking about the sequence of tasks that people will perform and setup task dependencies to relect this sequence.
3. Schedule in units of 50%, 100%, etc. so that people can focus on 1 or 2 tasks at a time.
4. Don't over assign people in the first place. Open a second window on workload analysis so you can check a resources workload quickly.
6. Some of the criteria that go into a resource allocation decision include:
   • What knowledge and skills are required to do the task?
   • Who is the best person to do the task?
   • Who is available to do the task? Often we must compromise because key people are involved in other tasks.

I have some milestones that don’t have any time allocated to but in resource usage it shows that they have unassigned resources, I assume this is okay?

Remove milestones from the 'Unassigned tasks list' by assigning the milestones to the project manager so they show up in his task list. Milestones are important dates so having them appear in the project manager's task list keeps the PM focused on the milestones. Since milestones have zero duration they incur zero work.

How do I get Microsoft Project to schedule tasks when I want? How do I stop Microsoft Project rescheduling tasks from dates that I don't want changed?

Challenge: You can become frustrated with Microsoft Project when it reschedule task dates to different dates than you want. Some tasks must start on certain dates regardless of what the Critical path schedule says. Avoid entering the 'Start' date. Microsoft Project sets a Date Constraint to 'SNET'. But is still may schedule the task later than this based on the Critical Path Schedule 'Early Start' date.

Solution:

1. Insert the 'Actual Start' date as a column in your table.
2. Enter the 'Actual Start' date for the task. Use this for upcoming tasks you want to schedule on specific dates within the next few weeks.

When you enter the 'Actual Start' date,

1. Microsoft Project assumes that an actual start date is more accurate than any date it can calculate using an algorithm so it stops scheduling this task.
2. The 'Start' is set equals to the 'actual start' date.
3. Entering the 'Actual Start' date overrides any precedences you have.
4. Scheduling error message are suppressed.

The impact of this approach is that the tasks with fixed start dates now become 'In progress' tasks and show up in any reports with 'In Progress' filter.

Warning: Do not use the 'Actual Finish' date in the same manner. When you enter the 'Actual Finish' date, Microsoft project assumes the task is 100% complete. This updates the work complete to 100% as well. It drops the task from the 'Incomplete status'. Remember your plan is an approximation of reality.

How can I force work to be scheduled on Saturdays?

Microsoft Project uses calendars to determine when it can schedule task assignments. Projects, resources and tasks can have their own calendars. Microsoft Project normally uses the project calendar for scheduling tasks and resource calendars for scheduling resources work.

1. You can create new calendars with Tools -> Change Working Time -> New.
2. You can share calendars between projects using Tools -> Organizer -> Calendars.
3. Set with Project -> Project information -> Project Calendar =
4. Set the resource calendars in the Resource Sheet
5. Add non-working days to Resource calendars in the Resource Information dialog box by double-clicking on the desired resource in Resource sheet or Resource detail format in a task form.
6. Project 2002 and later supports calendars for specific tasks. Double-Click on a task in a table or form to activate the 'Task information' dialog box then assign a task calendar with 'Task Information' -> Advance Options tab.

Was is Microsoft Project scheduling my tasks later than I expect?

Challenge: Can you review task 37 Implement Software on the Gantt Chart, I want it to start on Saturday and take 4 hours. I have task 39 Client Implementation Testing which will take 2 hours and I would like it to start after task 37 but also on the Saturday. Can you please advise why I can’t get task 39 to start on Saturday, it keeps defaulting to the Monday? What if both tasks take 4 hours (total 8 hours) but I have defined a working day 7.5 hours,

Solution: For tasks may be started later in the day than you expect. For example a 1 day task may start at 1pm so that it does not finish until the next day. Check the starting times of your tasks. You can set 'individual date formats for each table. Reveal the times by adding a date format with the time to a table. To set the date format for a specific table use View -> table -> more tables. Select your table with the start dates and press edit. In the date format choose a version of the date that includes the time, for example 'Jan. 03, 10:30am'.

Task 37 starts at 10:30am on Saturday.

In the Resource Usage view it indicates “This resource should level based on a day by day setting”.

Challenge: I have set up Assignment Units as 100% for tasks that are only a couple hours because I know they will not take much longer. For other tasks that are days and weeks I have used Assignment Units of 60% because I know there is overhead and I can not work on the project the whole day.

1. When project will not schedule task check the calendar and check the staring time of your tasks.

What does changing Level Calculations from manual to Automatic do?

When you set 'Level Calculations' to automatic Microsoft Project will schedule new tasks based on when the resources are next available. It will not overload any of your resources.

Updated: July 28, 2010.

email Brian Mullen with your questions