Assigning Resources to Tasks

Assigning Resources to Tasks

As discussed in the previous section, the initial assignment schedule is influenced by task settings such as Task Type and Effort Driven, as well as by the choice of assignment units and work. As shown in Chapter 9, you can then customize the initial assignment by delaying its start, splitting the work, assigning overtime, choosing a work contour, and so forth. You can use a variety of views and dialog boxes to assign resources to tasks. They are listed here, with those that give you the most control over the assignment details listed last:

• You can use the Task table in either the Gantt Chart view or the Task Sheet view to enter assignments in the Resource Names column, but the syntax is strict, and you can specify only the assignment units, not the assignment work.

• You can display the Task Information dialog box in any task view, and you can assign resources on its Resources tab. However, you don't have as much control when you assign multiple resources to a task as you do when you use a combination view with a task view in the top pane and the Task Form view (or Task Details Form view) in the bottom view. That combination is described shortly.

• Using the Assign Resources dialog box is the easiest and quickest way to assign resources. You can display this pop-up dialog box in any task view, and it stays on top of the workspace as you select different tasks.

  The Assign Resources dialog box offers powerful features that aid in choosing the resource that is appropriate for an assignment. You can filter the list of resource names to find qualified resources, and you can view a graph of resource availability.

  However, if a task is effort driven (which is the default), the Assign Resources dialog box doesn't let you enter work and have Project calculate units; and in any case, you can't enter both work and units.

  Furthermore, unless you use the default assignment units for each resource, you can't assign multiple resources to a task all at once as you can with the combination views described later.

• The Task Form view is the most versatile single view for assigning resources, especially when it appears in the bottom pane of a task view such as the Gantt Chart view (which is a combination called the Task Entry view), the Task Usage view, or the Network Diagram view. The Task Form view enables you to define the duration, task type, and effort-driven status of the task, and to define the units, work, or both units and work for the assignment. You can assign multiple resources at once, and you can also assign overtime and a delayed start for an assignment.

• You get the most control over the assignment process when you use the Task Usage view in the top pane with the Task Form view in the bottom pane. The Task Usage view replaces the taskbars of the Gantt Chart view with a grid of cells that show details about the assignment during each period in the timescale . You can edit the cells to modify scheduled work in specific time periods after making the assignment.

  In the Task Usage view you can double-click a task to access the Task Information dialog box, where you can quickly review or modify more details about the task. You can also double-click an assignment in the Task Usage view to access the Assignment Information dialog box, where you can specify work contours , select a different cost rate for the assignment, and document the assignment with notes and links to documents stored elsewhere. In the Task Form view, you can double-click a resource name to access the Resource Information dialog box to review or modify details about the resource.

  Finally, you can also display the Assign Resources dialog box on top of the combination view, to help identify the most appropriate resources for tasks.

In the following sections, we will first discuss how to use the Assign Resources dialog box for less complex assignments and to help choose which resource to assign. We will then use the Gantt Chart view with the Task Form view to see how to handle more complex assignments. Then, we will put the Task Usage view in the top pane and work on fine-tuning the timephased work schedule. Finally, we will briefly explore how to use the other views and dialog boxes mentioned previously, in case you want to use them too.

Using the Assign Resources Dialog Box

The Assign Resources dialog box is a versatile tool for choosing which resource to assign to a task and for creating the most common assignments. A task view (other than one of the task forms) must be active in order to initiate the display of the Resource Assignment dialog box. To display the dialog box, click the Assign Resources tool, choose Tools, Assign Resources, or press Alt+F10.

Figure 10.3 shows the Assign Resources dialog box over the Gantt Chart and Task Form views. This figure shows the resource list options expanded to display the options to apply filters and to add resources. Click the little plus-sign button to the left of Resource List Options to expand the dialog box.

Figure 10.3. You can use the Assign Resources dialog box to assign resources to selected tasks.

The selected task in Figure 10.3 is Test Prototype. You can see in the Assign Resources dialog box which resources are assigned to the task because they appear first in the Resource Name list and have check marks next to their names when that task is selected. The underlying view shows more detail about the assignments in the Resources area of the Task Form view in the bottom pane.

TIP

Because you might need to change the task type or effort-driven status of a task before making or changing a resource assignment, you usually want the Task Form view in the bottom pane of the underlying view. Remember to consider the settings for those parameters before making any changes in assignments.

CAUTION

The Undo command is not available for resource assignment actions you take with the Assign Resources dialog box.

The Assign Resources dialog box is the only pop-up dialog box that you can leave on the workspace while switching back and forth between the dialog box and the underlying views while selecting different tasks. When displayed, the dialog box remains accessible even if the underlying active view is not a task viewand even in different projects. However, it has reduced functionality if the active view is a form or is not a task view.

The following list and Figure 10.4 highlight the powerful features of the Assign Resources dialog box:

Figure 10.4. The Assign Resources dialog box has a number of powerful features for managing the resource list and for assigning resources to tasks.

The Assign Resources dialog box offers the following features:

• You can select a blank cell in the Resource Names list to add a resource name to the list, then type the name in the Edit bar.

• You can click the Add Resources button to look up names in a server directory or email address book and add them to the resource list.

• You can double-click a resource name to view and edit the Resource Information dialog box for that resource, no matter what underlying view is active.

• You can apply a named filter (or create one on-the-fly with the More Filters button) to identify resources with specific characteristics. For example, you can filter for material or work resources, or for resources that have a particular skill.

• You can filter the resource list to select resources that have enough working time for the task that is selected in the underlying view.

• If the underlying active view is a task view (other than one of the forms), you can use the dialog box to assign one or more resources to one or more selected task(s) at the same time.

• If the underlying active view is a task view, you can use the dialog box to remove one or more resources from one or more selected tasks.

• If the underlying active view is a task view, you can use the dialog box to replace one resource with another resource for selected tasks.

• If you have already selected a task in the active view, all the resources assigned to that task are shown at the top of the resource list. The rest of the list is automatically alphabetized.

• You can view a graph that shows the work or available work time for the selected resource.

• If you assign the resource to the selected task, you can view a graph that shows the impact that assignment has on the resource's workload, easily identifying whether the assignment leads to an overallocation for the resource.

NOTE

If you are using Microsoft Project 2003 Professional, you see an additional column titled R/D in the Assign Resources dialog box. This topic is addressed in the "Assigning Resource Units" section later in this chapter, on page 374 .

Filtering the Resource List

If you have a large number of resources, the list of resource names in the Assign Resources dialog box can be quite long. At the top of the list are the resources, if any, who are assigned to the selected task. The rest of the list is alphabetized, with resources of different types intermingled. Applying a filter can shorten the display to just the resources that meet the filter criteria.

NOTE

Note that resources that are already assigned to the selected task (those that are checked at the top of the list) are listed whether they meet the filter criteria or not.

You can apply two types of filters:

• Named resource filters You can apply any of the named resource filters, or you can create a new one on-the-fly and apply it immediately. For example, you could apply the Resources - Material filter to get a short list of just the material resources.

• The Available to Work filter You can apply the Available to Work filter that is accessible only from the Assign Resources dialog box. If it is used correctly, this filter shows you a list of the resources who have enough calendar working time to do the work required for a specific task during the time the task is currently scheduled.

These two filter types can be used alone or in combination for greater precision in finding the right resource for a task.

Using the Named Resource Filters

Several predefined resource filters come with Project 2003 and can be helpful in finding the resource you want to use:

• The Resources - Work filter shows only the work resources, thus making it easier to find them in a long resource list.

• The Resources - Material filter shows just the material resources.

• The Group filter prompts you to type a keyword that you expect to find in the Group column of the Resource sheet. It then shows only the resources that have that exact entry in the Group field. For example, if you have entered job titles in the Group column, you can use this filter to select the resources that have a job title that qualifies them to work on a particular task.

TIP

The Group filter selects only the resources whose Group field value matches exactly what you enter in response to the prompt. You might find it more useful if you change the filter test from equals to contains (or contains exactly if you put multiple comma-separated values in the field).

See "Creating Custom Filters," p. 859 , for help with customizing filters.

To make the most effective use of resource filters, you should use custom fields, in which you enter special keyword values that you can use when filtering the resource list. For example, you might use a custom text field to list resource skills. Then you would create an interactive filter that prompts you to specify the skill you want so it can display a short list of resources with that skill.

For instructions on how to use custom fields see "Customizing Fields," p. 847 .

NOTE

If some resources have multiple skills, you can use comma-separated entries in the field. The filter needs to test that the field contains or contains exactly the specified skill. Note that you must not include a space after the comma separator if you use the contains exactly test.

Another useful custom field that you could use for filtering is one that contains the city where a resource is located so that you can select resources that are near the facility where work will take place. Other examples include fields that contain department or organization codes, job codes, or cost accounting codes.

To apply a filter to the list of resource names in the Assign Resources dialog box, follow these steps:

1. 

   Display the Assign Resources dialog box by clicking the Assign Resources tool on the Standard toolbar.

2. Fill the check box under Filter By.

3. Select the filter in the list box to the right or click the More Filters button to display the More Filters dialog box, where you can create a new filter or customize an existing filter.

NOTE

If you create a new filter from the Assign Resources dialog box, be sure to click the Apply button to close the More Filters dialog box. The new filter does not appear in the Assign Resources list of filters until you close and reopen that dialog box.

To remove the filter after you finish using it, choose All Resources in the filter list.

Using the Available to Work Filter

Suppose you select a two-day task that is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday and that you want to assign a resource to do the 16 hours of work on the task. If you enable the Available to Work filter and enter 16h in the criterion box, Project displays only the resources that have at least 16 hours of working time available during the Monday and Tuesday when the task is scheduled. To select the resources that the filter will display, Project does the following calculation (see Table 10.3):

1. Project looks at each resource's calendar of working time and notes the number of hours available on that particular Monday and Tuesday. For example, say that Resource A has 8 hours available each day, as shown in the Calendar Working Time row of Table 10.3.

2. Project looks at the Resource Availability table on the General tab of the Resource Information dialog box, for the maximum units available on that Monday and Tuesday. For example, say that Resource A is a consolidated resource and that there are 200% maximum units both days, as shown on the Max Units row in Table 10.3.

3. Project multiplies each day's available hours by the number of units available. For Resource A that would be 8 times 200% for each day, or 32 hours of working time for the 2 days (see the Total Working Time row in Table 10.3).

4. Project looks at other assignments during the same period for the resources. Say that Resource A is already assigned to do 8 hours of work on another task on Monday but has no other assignments during Tuesday (see the Other Assignments row in Table 10.3).

5. Finally, Project subtracts the hours already assigned (8, in this example) from the total working time available (32, in this example) and calculates the total hours available to work. For Resource A, that is 24 hours, as shown in the last row of Table 10.3. Because in this case the filter is looking for resources with at least 16 hours available, Resource A would be one of the resources that is displayed by the filter.

Table 10.3. Calculating the Available to Work Value for Resource A

Calculation Steps	Monday	Tuesday	Total
Calendar Working Time	8h	8h	16h
Max Units	200%	200%	200%
Total Working Time	16h	16h	32h
Other Assignments	8h	0h	8h
Available to Work	8h	16h	24h

To use this filter, you need to fill the Available to Work check box and then enter the amount of work you require for the task. For the example illustrated in Table 10.3, you could enter 16h . You can enter the work by using any time units (for example, 2d would work in this case), but Project converts the entry to hours. When the filter is turned on, you can select different tasks in the underlying task view, and the list of names is adjusted for the duration of each selected task.

Graphing Resource Availability

Suppose that you want a specific resource to work on a task, but the resource doesn't have available work hours during the time the task is currently scheduled. One of the possible solutions could be to reschedule the task to a time when the resource has enough work time available. You can select the resource in the Assign Resources dialog box and click the Graphs button to display timeline graphs and accompanying data tables that show information about the selected resource's availability and currently assigned work. You can choose among three graphs:

• The Remaining Availability graph You can choose the Remaining Availability graph to see the remaining available working time along a timeline (see Figure 10.5). You can zoom in or out on the timeline to view the data by hours, days, weeks, months, and so forth. If you have selected multiple resources, the data for each is color coded, and check boxes in the graph legend let you temporarily remove and restore individual resources in the display.

  Figure 10.5. The Remaining Availability graph shows the number of hours available for assignments.

  

• The Work graph The Work graph looks similar to the Remaining Availability graph, but it shows already assigned work. You can zoom the time line, and multiple resources are color coded and can be removed and restored from the graph.

• The Assignment Work graph You can choose the Assignment Work graph (see Figure 10.6) to see both the work already assigned and the total availability. If you select a task in the underlying view to which the resource is assigned, this graph also distinguishes the work assignment on the selected task from assigned work on all other tasks. For example, if you select a task and assign the resource to it, this graph shows you the total available work for the resource, the amount of work assigned to the selected task, and the total work assigned to other tasks. You can easily see if the total of all the assignments exceeds the availability for the resource. If it does, you know you have overallocated the resource.

  Figure 10.6. The Assignment Work graph shows the total working time available and assigned work.

  

To view a graph, follow these steps:

1. Display a task view as the active view; it cannot be one of the task forms.

2. 

   Display the Assign Resources dialog box by clicking the Assign Resources tool on the Standard toolbar.

3. Select one or more resources whose data you want included in the graph. Use Ctrl+click to add nonadjacent resources to the selection.

4. If you are going to view the Assignment Work graph and want currently assigned tasks to be included, select the tasks now. After the graph window opens, you can't change the selection. The quickest way to include all tasks assigned to the selected resource(s) is to select all tasks by using the Select All button (the blank space above the ID column).

5. Click the Graphs button to display the Microsoft Graph window.

6. Choose the graph type in the Select Graph box.

7. If you selected multiple resources, remove and restore individual resources by using the check boxes next to their names in the legend.

8. Use the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons to compress or expand the time line.

9. When you are finished, click the Close button.

NOTE

You can't modify the formatting of the graph. Your only controls are those listed here.

Assigning Resource Units

The preceding sections show how to use the Assign Resources dialog box to select a resource for an assignment. You can also use this dialog box to create assignments.

To add a resource assignment to a selected task or group of tasks, follow these steps:

1. Select the task or tasks to which you want the resource assigned.

2. 

   Display the Assign Resources dialog box by clicking the Assign Resources tool on the Standard toolbar.

3. Select the resource name from the Resource Name list or type the name for a new resource.

4. If the resource is a work resource, the default for the Units field is 100% (or the max units for the resource, if that is less than 100%). If you want to assign a different number of units, select the Units cell to the right of the resource name and enter the new value.

   If the resource is a material resource, enter the number of units to be consumed by the task in the Units cell. If you enter just a numeral, Project schedules that total number of units to be consumed by the task, no matter what the task duration. If you enter a number with a time period appended (for example, 2/d ), Project schedules that number to be consumed per time period for the duration of the task.

   TIP

   For work resources, the units should be no greater than the maximum units available for the resource at the time the task is scheduled. If you do not know the maximum units available, double-click the resource name to see the Resource Information dialog box. The Resource Availability table in that dialog box shows the maximum units for different time periods.

5. Click the Assign button or press Enter to assign the resource and unit information to the selected tasks.

6. If you are using Project Professional, select either Request or Demand in the R/D field. A requested resource is equivalent to a soft-booked resource that will eventually work on something else. A demanded resource will not be automatically replaced by the Resource Substitution Wizard. Note that this field, if left blank, will consider the assignment as a request only. This field is useless if Project Professional is used without Project Server or if the Resource Substitution Wizard is not to be used.

7. If you are adding more resources to the same tasks, select the next resource name to be assigned, type the number of units in the Units field, and select Assign to assign this resource to the selected tasks.

When you use the Assign Resources dialog box to change resource assignments, Project displays a SmartTag to let you choose how it should calculate changes in the schedule (see Figure 10.7). The SmartTag feature compensates for the limited control you have over the variables when you modify an assignment in the Assign Resources dialog box. For example, if you change the units assigned, Project immediately changes the task duration (unless it's a fixed-duration task). But you can use the SmartTag to have Project put duration back where it was and change the work instead.

Figure 10.7. SmartTags present options for how schedule changes will be calculated.

As soon as you change the assignment, a small green triangle appears in the top-left corner of the task name cell. If you select the cell or merely move the mouse over the cell, an Action button appears, and you can click it to display the calculation options. SmartTags stay visible only as long as you can undo an action.

For example, if you change the units for an assignment, the SmartTag lets you choose to have either work or duration change as a result. If you assign an additional resource to a task or remove an existing resource, the SmartTag lets you choose to change duration (keeping work and units unchanged), change work (keeping duration and units constant), or change units (keeping work and duration constant).

NOTE

SmartTags are triggered by assignment changes that are made in the Assign Resources dialog box and in cells in tables. They are not triggered when you make changes by using the Task Form view or the Task Information dialog box, because in those venues , you can control all the scheduling variables before you click OK.

Scheduling Resources for a Specific Amount of Work

For work resources, you can also use the Assign Resources dialog box to calculate the number of units needed to complete a specified amount of work within the task's current duration. Normally, you enter a simple percentage in the Units column of the Assign Resources dialog box. If you enter a work amount in the Units column (a number followed by a time unit, such as 40h for 40 hours), Project calculates the number of units of that resource that are needed to do that much work within the current duration for the task. This procedure does not work if the task is effort driven and this is the initial assignment of the resource to the task. You can use the technique to recalculate an existing working resource assignment, even if the task is effort driven.

To assign resources by using a work amount, follow these steps:

1. Select the task or tasks to which you want the resource assigned.

2. 

   Display the Assign Resources dialog box by clicking the Assign Resources tool on the Standard toolbar.

3. Select the resource name from the Name list.

4. Select the Units field and type the work amount followed by the unit it's measured in: m (min), h ( hour ), d (day), w (week), or mo (month).

5. Select a different cell, click the Assign button, or press Enter to have Project calculate the units and assign the resource to the selected tasks.

Adding Resources by Using Drag-and-Drop

With the Assign Resources dialog box, you can create an assignment by dragging a resource name to a task. An advantage to using this drag-and-drop assignment method is that you do not have to preselect the task for which a resource should be assigned. However, Project automatically assigns the default units (usually 100%).

To assign resources to a task by using the drag-and-drop method, perform the following steps:

1. 

   Display the Assign Resources dialog box by clicking the Assign Resources tool on the Standard toolbar.

2. Select the resource by clicking the Name field.

3. Position the mouse pointer over the gray button just to the left of the resource name. The Assign Resources graphic appears below the mouse pointer. You can see the pointer and graphic in Figure 10.8, where Jenny Benson is being assigned to a task.

   Figure 10.8. When you point to the gray button beside a selected resource, the mouse pointer appears as a selection arrow that carries a resource.

   

4. Hold down the mouse button (a plus sign appears next to the pointer graphic) and drag the mouse pointer to the task for which the resource should be assigned.

5. When the task is highlighted, release the mouse button to assign the resource.

TIP

To assign multiple resources to a task by using the drag-and-drop feature, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting the resource names in the Assign Resources dialog box. When you click on one of the gray buttons and drag the mouse pointer to the task, all selected resources are assigned at once.

Removing Resource Assignments from One or More Tasks

To remove a resource assignment from one or more selected tasks, follow these steps:

1. Select the task (or tasks) in the view that has resource assignments you want to remove.

2. 

   Display the Assign Resources dialog box by clicking the Assign Resources tool on the Standard toolbar.

3. Select the resource you want to remove from the assignment by clicking the row for the resource. Use Ctrl+click to select multiple resources for removal.

   NOTE

   Resources assigned to the selected task are identified by check marks to the left of the resource name. If a check mark is gray instead of black, your task selection in the view includes some tasks that have that resource assigned and some that do not.

4. Choose the Remove button. The resources that are selected in the Assign Resources dialog box are removed from any assignments they might have with the tasks that are selected in the underlying view.

Modifying an Assignment

You can use the Assign Resources dialog box to replace one resource with another, to change the assigned units for a resource, or to change the amount of work assigned to a resource. Each assignment should be modified individually, and different techniques can be used, depending on what you want to modify.

To replace an assigned resource with another resource name, follow these steps:

1. Select the task. You can select multiple tasks by using the Ctrl key if you want to make an identical assignment change in all of them. In Figure 10.9, the Prototype Design task is selected, and Mary Logan will replace Bill Kirk in the resource assignments.

   Figure 10.9. The Replace Resource dialog box provides a list of replacement resources to choose from.

   

2. 

   Display the Assign Resources dialog box by clicking the Assign Resources tool on the Standard toolbar.

3. Select the resource name to be replaced.

4. Click the Replace button. Project displays the Replace Resource dialog box over the Assign Resources dialog box. In Figure 10.9, the Replace Resource dialog box has been moved so that you can see both dialog boxes.

5. Select the new resource name.

6. Select the Units field for the selected resource and a new value if you don't want to use the same units value.

7. Click OK or press Enter.

NOTE

If you have filtered the list of resource names, the list in the Replace Resource dialog box is filtered also.

To replace the number of units in a resource assignment, you simply edit the entry in the Units field. You select a different cell or press Enter to complete the change. You can then use the SmartTag to override Project's default calculation.

To replace the amount of work assigned to a resource, select the cell for the units and type a work amount (a number followed by a time unit abbreviation). Project divides the task duration by the work amount you entered and assigns the resulting units. You can use the SmartTag to override Project's default calculation.

Assigning Resources with the Task Entry View

The Task Entry view, with the Gantt Chart view in the top pane and the Task Form view in the bottom pane, is one of the best combination views for assigning resources. You have access to the important fields that govern the task, and the form can display resource assignment details in a table at the bottom of the form. The most commonly displayed details are ID resource, name, units, and work for each assigned resource, but you can also display the overtime work fields and the scheduled delay fields for fine-tuning individual assignments. This is a convenient place for assigning resources because it enables you to enter resource units, work, or both for each resource assignment.

TIP

If you use the Task Form view to create and modify assignments, you might still want to use the Assign Resources dialog box to filter the resource list to help determine the best resource to assign.

The Task Entry view is the view you get when you display the Gantt Chart view and use the Window, Split command. The Task Form view is displayed in the bottom pane, with one of eight possible sets of details. You can right-click over the form and select the details you want to use (see Figure 10.10). For assigning resources, you should use either the default details, Resources and Predecessors, or you should use Resource Work.

Figure 10.10. The Details menu for the Task Form view shows the current display with a check mark and enables you to select a new display.

Entering the Assignment Values

To assign resources by using the Task Form view, follow these steps:

1. Select the task in the top pane.

2. Check the Task Type field to be sure that it is set appropriately to manage the calculations for the assignments you are about to enter. For instance, if you are adding work resources and you want to be sure the duration doesn't change, make the task a fixed-duration task for this assignment and then return it to its prior setting after completing the assignment.

3. If you are adding new work resource names to (or deleting existing resource names from) an existing list of resource name assignments, check the Effort Driven field for its appropriateness. If the changes you are about to enter change the total work associated with the task, clear the Effort Driven check box. However, if the changes simply redistribute the existing total work among the resources assigned to the task, you should leave the field checked.

4. Select the Resource Name field and identify the resource by selecting the resource name from the drop-down list. You can also type the name, but if you misspell it, Project might create a new resource for the misspelled name.

5. If you leave the Units field blank, Project assigns the default (the lesser of 100% or Max Units for the resource). If you want to specify the units for the assignment, select the Units field and enter the units you want to assign, as follows :

   • For work resources, type a units value as a percentage (for example, 200% ) unless you have chosen to use a decimal format for units (for example, 2 ).

   • For material resources that have a fixed consumption rate, type a decimal number that represents the total units to be consumed by the task. For example, if 20 gallons of fuel are to be assigned, enter 20 . Project replaces this entry with 20 plus the material label.

   • For material resources that have a variable consumption rate, type the number of units as a decimal, followed by a slash and a time unit, to indicate a rate of consumption. For example, to assign 20 gallons of fuel per week, enter 20/wk . Project replaces this entry with 20 gal/wk.

6. If you leave the Work field blank, Project calculates the work based on the task duration and the assigned (or default) units. If you want to specify the amount of work for the assignment, select the Work field and type the work amount. For work resources, work must be entered with a number plus the unit of measure: m (min), h (hour), d (day), w (week), or mo (month). For material resources, enter a decimal value, and Project uses this value as the fixed consumption rate for the task.

   

   PMI recommends that no activity be estimated to take more than 80 hours of effort and no fewer than 8. This is for purposes of managing the activity. With 80 hours, a 10% slippage (that is, 8 hours) would typically require overtime to make up. This is why most project status meetings should occur on a weekly or biweekly basis. For activities that take less than 8 hours, most project managers would not be interested in micromanaging the work.

   
   

   NOTE

   Recall that if you enter both units and work when you assign the first resource, Project recalculates the duration. However, with fixed-duration tasks, Project keeps the duration and work and recalculates units.

7. If you are assigning multiple resources, you can enter additional resources in the next rows of the Resource Name column before you click the OK button. For instance, Figure 10.11 shows the resources to be assigned to the Prototype Design task.

   Figure 10.11. Initially entering all the resources that are to be assigned to a task at once makes the calculations easier to manage.

   

8. After all resource assignments are made for the task, click the OK button, and Project calculates the fields that were left blank.

When you click OK, Project calculates the values for the fields that you did not fill in, in accordance with the principles discussed in Chapter 9 (see Figure 10.12).

Figure 10.12. Project calculates all the initial assignments at once, filling in the fields you don't supply.

Adding Delay to an Assignment in Fixed-Start-Date Projects

When you assign a resource to a task in a project that has a fixed start date, Project schedules the work to start when the task starts. Sometimes, however, one or more of the resources assigned to a task might be allowed to delay starting until after the task is partly completed by other resources.

NOTE

This discussion is presented in terms of forward - scheduled projectsprojects with fixed start dates. The case of the project with a fixed finish date is explained later in the section "Adding Delay in Fixed Finish Date Projects."

For example, if you assign a marketing manager, an engineer, and a draftsman to draw up a preliminary design for a product, the draftsman's work on the task doesn't really start until some design details have already been proposed. To accurately schedule the draftsman's work, Project needs to delay the start of the draftsman's scheduled work to some time after the task starts.

Microsoft Project provides an Assignment Delay field, which you can use to force a delay in the scheduled work for a resource beyond the start of the task. If you want to enter a value in the Delay field on the Task Form, you need to display the resource schedule details, where the Delay field is available for editing.

NOTE

You can get to the Delay field by replacing the Task Form view with the Resource Form view and displaying the schedule details (which is just like the resource schedule details on the Task Form view).

You can also enter delays on the Task Usage and Resource Usage views. The Task Usage view is discussed in the section "Assigning Resources with the Task Usage View" later in this chapter. The Resource Usage view is explored in greater detail in Chapter 11, "Resolving Resource Assignment Problems."

Figure 10.13 shows the Task Form view with the resource schedule details displayed. The Prototype Design task is selected, and the assigned resources are listed in the assignment details. The Draftsmen resource is scheduled to work only 16 hours, which is much less than the hours for the other work resources.

Figure 10.13. You can use the resource schedule details to delay the start of an assignment either by adding a delay or by entering the date when the assignment should start.

You can also see in Figure 10.13 that Project has scheduled all resources except the draftsman to start at the start of the task, which is 8/13/03, and to finish on 9/30/03. (Because of the task split, the difference between the start and finish dates is more than the task duration.) In reality, the draftsman is expected to execute his assignment in the last 2 days of the task (9/29/03 and 9/30/03), after the other resources have completed most of their work.

You can create a delay in the Task Form view by entering the amount of the delay in the Delay field or by entering the start date for the assignment. Because of the task split, it is easier to create this particular delay by entering the start date for the draftsmen assignment (9/29/03) than to try to calculate the amount of the delay.

In Figure 10.13, the date 9/29/03 was entered in the Assignment Start field for the Draftsmen resource, and Project has calculated the delay to be 33d and the assignment finish to be 09/30/03. Note that all resources finish their assignments on the same date (which is also the finish of the task). Of course, if the delay causes the draftsman's assignment to finish after all the other assignments are finished, it also delays the finish of the task and increases the task's duration.

To enter a delay in an assignment, follow these steps:

1. Display the Task Form view or Task Details Form view in the bottom pane of a task view.

2. Activate the form in the bottom pane and display the schedule details by right-clicking and choosing Resource Schedule.

3. Select the task for the assignment in the top pane.

4. Select the cell in the Delay field for the resource name you want to delay, and then enter a delay value. Use a number followed by the measurement units for the delay (minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months).

   Alternatively, you can enter a delayed start date for the assignment in the Start field, and then Project calculates the amount of the delay.

5. Click the OK button to complete the entry.

CAUTION

As noted earlier in the chapter, you can create a delay either by entering the Delay value or by entering a new date in the Start field. You should not, however, attempt to enter a delayed date in the Finish date column because Project doesn't treat that as a delaying tactic. Instead, Project treats it as extending the assignment, and it recalculates the Work value of the assignment.

If the Draftsmen resource doesn't start work until 9/29/03, then the material resource Drafting Paper is not needed until that date also. Delaying a material resource can be done effectively only in the Task Usage or Resource Usage views because of the way Project schedules material resources. The units of a material resource are distributed evenly over the task duration. In this case, the 1 roll of paper would be distributed over the 25 days of the task duration, with .04 roll scheduled each day. If you were to delay that assignment, the scheduled use of paper would be pushed out past the current finish date for the task. We will come back to this problem in the section "Assigning Resources with the Task Usage View," later in this chapter.

To remove a delay for an assignment, you enter in the Delay field and click the OK button. Project reschedules the assignment at the start of the task.

If you have delayed an assignment in a fixed-duration task, even though the assignment appears to be shorter than the task duration, Project increases the task duration! See "Scheduling Short Assignments in Fixed-Duration Tasks" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter.

Adding Delay in Fixed-Finish-Date Projects

As noted earlier, the discussion in the previous section is based on a project with a fixed start date, and the delay is used to offset the start of an assignment from the start of the task. If a project has a fixed finish date, Project schedules the finish dates for tasks first and then works backward to calculate the start date. Thus, in fixed-finish-date projects, Microsoft Project already delays tasks and assignments to As Late As Possible. So, in a case such as the draftsman who should start later than the others, Project automatically does that.

Suppose, however, that you have a task for which one resource has a small amount of work that needs to be done toward the beginning of the task and other resources who continue on the task after that one is finished. In a project with a fixed finish date, Project would schedule that one resource's work at the end of the task. You need to force Project to schedule an early finish for that one resource. Thus, the concept of the delayed start becomes an early finish. Instead of adding the value in the Assignment Delay field to the task start to calculate the assignment start, in fixed-finish-date projects, the Assignment Delay value is subtracted from the task finish to calculate an early assignment finish. That in turn leads to an earlier start for the assignment.

For fixed-finish-date projects, the Assignment Delay field accepts only negative numbers , and the delay amount is subtracted from the task finish date, to calculate an early finish for the assignment; then the start is calculated. You can also enter an earlier date in the Finish date field, and Project calculates the negative delay and new start date for you. If you enter a new date in the Start Date column, Project recalculates the Work value of the assignment instead of calculating a delay. As before, to remove a delay, you set the entry in the Assignment Delay field to .

Assigning Overtime Work

Recall that Project schedules work during the working times that are defined in the resource calendar (or in the task calendar, if one is assigned and you have elected to ignore the resource calendars). Work that is scheduled during calendar working times is called regular work in Microsoft Project. If you want a resource to complete more work than can be done in regular time for a given period, you can assign part of the work as overtime . Project reduces the amount of the assignment's work that is scheduled during the regular hours, but the total work, regular plus overtime, remains the same.

Note that when you enter overtime work hours, you do not designate the exact days and hours when the overtime work takes place; you just tell Project that a certain number of hours on the task are overtime hours. Project schedules the overtime work by spreading it out evenly over the duration of the assignment. Later, when you enter actual work completed, you can specify exactly how many hours of overtime were completed in any given time period.

The cost of the overtime hours is calculated by using the overtime rate that you defined in the Resource Information dialog box for the period in which the work took place.

Another way to schedule more work during a specific time period is to change the resource calendar and increase the working time hours for that time period. You can edit the resource calendar and change nonworking days or hours into working times. Be aware, however, that Microsoft Project charges the standard rate for work scheduled during the regular working time hours. If the overtime rate for the resource is not zero, changing nonworking days or hours into working times is not a good solution because the cost is misrepresented. However, if you don't pay for overtime, editing the calendar is satisfactory. Indeed, editing the calendar gives you the ability to state explicitly when the extra work time takes place. The drawback in this situation is that if you are to reassign the resource to different tasks, or if the task gets rescheduled to a different date range, you no longer need the extra working time. Project uses the time for other assignments unless you remember to remove the extra working time from the calendar.

You can view scheduled overtime in the Task Usage and Resource Usage views, but you cannot enter overtime in those views unless you add a column to the table for the Overtime Work field. The Overtime Work field appears in three views for you to view and edit:

• The Task Form view, with the resource work details table displayed at the bottom of the form

• The Task Details Form view, with the resource work details table displayed at the bottom of the form

• The Resource Form view, with the work details table displayed at the bottom of the form

NOTE

If you assign all the work to be done in overtime, Project reduces the duration of the task to zero and automatically flags the task as a milestone. You can remove the Milestone flag by opening the Task Information dialog box and clearing the Mark Task as Milestone check box on the Advanced tab. The milestone symbol no longer appears in the Gantt Chart view for the task, although its duration is still zero.

To enter overtime in the Task Form view, follow these steps:

1. Choose a task view such as the Gantt Chart view from the View menu for the top pane.

2. Select the task for which you want to schedule overtime.

3. Display the Task Form view in the bottom pane by choosing Window, Split.

4. Press F6 to activate the Task Form view in the bottom pane.

5. In the bottom pane, right-click the form and select Resource Work from the shortcut menu, to display the Resource Work fields in the entry table (see Figure 10.14).

   Figure 10.14. You can enter overtime hours and reduce task duration with the Task Form view.

   

6. Select the Ovt. Work field and enter the amount of work that you are scheduling in overtime. Enter a number followed by a time unit abbreviation (m, h, d, w, or mo), and then press Enter. (Do not reduce the entry in the Work field. That field's entry must show the total amount of work to be done, including both the regular work and the overtime work.)

7. Click OK to complete the overtime assignment.

NOTE

If you want to eliminate overtime, you must enter in the Overtime field. You cannot leave the field empty because this field must contain a value.

In Figure 10.14, overtime has been entered for Linda Elliot's assignment to the Create Advertising Plan task. The total workload for this assignment is 120 hours, which was originally scheduled to take 3 weeks, but after recording 40 hours of overtime, the regular hours are only 80 and the task duration is reduced to 2 weeks. Usually, overtime is scheduled for just this reasonto reduce the calendar time required to complete a task.

Assigning Resources with the Task Usage View

Everything you accomplished in the previous section with the Gantt Chart view in the top pane can also be done with the Task Usage view in the top pane. In fact, you can do much more:

• You can display the Assignment Information dialog box, where you can apply work contours and different Cost Rate tables to an assignment and where you can write documentary notes about the assignment.

• You can view the timephased work schedule. The timephased view shows work broken down into specific time periods.

• You can display a number of timephased work and cost measures.

• You can edit many of the timephased values directly in the grid cells. For example, you can reapportion work among the time periods or create and fine-tune splits or delays in an individual assignment.

Figure 10.15 shows the Task Usage view in the top pane and the Task Form view in the bottom pane.

Figure 10.15. The Task Usage view provides timephased detail about individual task assignments for viewing and editing.

To display the Task Usage view, click the icon for the view on the View bar or choose View, Task Usage.

The table area of the Task Usage view displays all the tasks in the project, using (by default) the Usage table. Indented under each task are rows for that task's assignments. You can hide or show the assignments by using the outline icon to the left of the task name. The Work field for the task is the sum of the Work field values for the assigned resources.

The right side of the view is a timescale grid of cells that show timephased assignment details. In Figure 10.15, the work details are displayed in the grid. This is the default assignment detail, but you can display other details if desired. However, for creating and editing assignments, the Work detail is the most important. The value in the Work field for each resource in the table on the left is the sum of the timephased values displayed in the cells on that row in the timescale.

For detailed instructions on changing the details displayed in a usage view, see "Changing the Timephased Details," p. 412 .

Figure 10.15 shows the delay in the Draftsmen resource's assignment: The timephased work values are all zero until the last two days of the task duration. You can also see that the Drafting Paper material resource usage has been delayed to the date when the Draftsmen resource starts. The following section explains how this was done.

Modifying Work Schedules with the Task Usage View

As mentioned previously, you can use the Task Usage view to customize the amount of work scheduled for each time period and to split and delay task assignments.

To change the amount of work scheduled for any given time period in the Task Usage view, simply select the timephased cell, type a new value, and either press Enter or select another cell. When you type a value for a work resource, Project assumes that the unit is hours unless you provide a different measurement unit.

NOTE

If you type a value with a time unit that is not hours, Project converts the value to hours in the display. For example, if the timescale unit is days (that is, each cell is one day) and you type 1 week , Project displays 40h (40 hours) in that cell. If the assignment units is 100%, this is too many hours for that one day. This example also serves to warn you that you should not enter a work value that represents more hours than are available for that time period.

You can use several techniques for editing the cells in the timephased grid:

• If you select a cell or group of consecutive cells in a row, you can use Ctrl+C to copy those values or Ctrl+X to cut those values from the grid. You can then select a cell at a new location and use Ctrl+V to paste the values into the cell at that location. If you chose to cut cells, the cells then display 0h.

• If you select a cell or group of consecutive cells in a row, you can drag the border around the selection to a new location and drop the cells into that new location. The original location cells display 0h.

• If you select a cell or group of consecutive cells in a row, you can drag a copy to a new location by holding down the Ctrl key as you drag the selection border to the new location. The caution about dropping cells on nonworking days applies here also.

• The bottom-right corner of the cell selection border displays a small black square, which is called the fill handle . You can drag this handle to bordering cells in the same row to copy the value in the selection into those cells.

• If you select a cell or group of consecutive cells in a row, you can press the Insert key to insert nonworking time ( 0h ) in place of the selection, pushing the selected values to the right. Thus, you effectively introduce a split.

• If you select a cell or group of consecutive cells in a row, you can press the Delete key to remove that work from the assignment. After clearing the cells you had selected, Project shifts to the left any cells on the right that contain work, to fill in the space you deleted.

For example, if you want to increase the work and duration of an assignment, you can select the last cell in the assignment and drag its fill handle to the right to fill as many additional work periods as you choose. Also, if you want to introduce a split in an assignment, you select the cells where the split is to occur and press the Insert key. To remove the split, you can select the cells that display 0h and press the Delete key.

If you modify a timephased cell on the task Work row, the new value is apportioned among all the work resource assignments that had work scheduled for that time period. The relative proportions of the total work for each resource are kept the same. If you modified a timephased cell on an assignment row, the new values change the sum in the row for the task.

When you complete a cell modification, Project immediately recalculates the task and assignments as follows:

• If you modified a cell on the task row, the changes are applied to all assignments that were scheduled during that time period.

• If you modified a cell on a row for a work resource, Project updates the summary value for that time period on the task row.

• The Work column entries for assignments in the table on the left are updated. These are the totals for all time periods for each assignment.

• The Work column entry for the task in the table on the left is updated. This is the total for all assignments for all time periods.

• The duration for the task is updated. If you have not changed the number of time periods in which work is scheduled, there is no change in the duration.

CAUTION

Be very careful when using these editing techniques when you have a project with a fixed finish date. The results are not the same as for a fixed-start-date project and therefore are likely to cause you to lose a lot of time trying to correct the changes.

To introduce a split in a task or in an individual assignment using the Task Usage view, follow these steps:

1. Display the Task Usage view in the top pane. You can type changes into timephased cells in the bottom pane, but you can't use drag-and-drop techniques in that pane.

2. Select the cell or cells that currently have work in them where you want to insert the split. If you select cells on the task row, the split is applied to all the resource assignments for the task. If you select cells on an assignment row, only that assignment is affected.

3. Press the Insert key. Project shifts the work values to the right, leaving the selected cells with no scheduled work during that period.

To delay an assignment, you could select the cell for the beginning of the assignment and press the Insert key repeatedly until the work is moved to the date when you want the work to start. Alternatively, you could select all the work cells for the assignment and drag the selection to the period where you want the work to be scheduled.

In Figure 10.15, the usage of the material resource Drafting Paper is shown to be delayed until 9/29/03. Originally, Project had distributed the 1 roll of paper evenly over the 25 days of the task duration (0.04 rolls per day). To create a delayed usage as in Figure 10.15, you would have to delete all the fractional units and type in the new usage, as shown in the figure. The quick way to remove all the fractional units is to type in the Work column on the left. Then select the timephased cell for the date where you want to schedule the usage (9/29/03) and type in the value.

TIP

Drag-and-drop can be difficult to use if the destination is offscreen , because when you drag past the last visible cells, the screen scrolls quite rapidly . In those instances, it is easier to cut the selection, scroll to the destination, and paste.

Using the Assignment Information Dialog Box

You can display the Assignment Information dialog box by selecting an assignment row in either the Task Usage view or the Resource Usage view and then clicking the Assignment Information tool (or by double-clicking the assignment row). You can also display the dialog box by choosing Project, Assignment Information.

Figure 10.16 shows the Assignment Information dialog box for the draftsmen's delayed assignment from the previous example. As you can see, the dialog box provides several fields that you have already worked with on forms and tables, including Assignment Work, Assignment Units, and Start and Finish. The Cost field is a read-only total cost for the assignment. You can also change the name of the assigned resource here, but there is no drop-down list to choose the resource, so you must know how to spell the nameor you might end up creating a new resource out of a typographical error.

Figure 10.16. You can use the Assignment Information dialog box to enter assignment notes, to choose the Cost Rate table for the assignment, or to apply predefined work contours.

There are three fields in the Assignment Information dialog box that you won't find on any other standard view or dialog box in Project:

• The Work Contour field, on the General tab, enables you to choose from a set of predefined work contours. A contour is a planned pattern of scheduled work that is spread over the duration of an assignment. For example, the Front Loaded contour schedules a lot of work per day at the start of the assignment, and the daily work tapers off toward the end of the assignment.

  The default contour is Flat, which means the resource is scheduled to work the same number of hours each day, as called for by the assigned units and the hours available on the resource calendar. Thus, the workload is the same every day unless the calendar has varying amounts of working time. If you have edited the assignment or applied one of the other contours, you can return the assignment to the standard schedule by applying the Flat contour.

  The only other way to access and select the predefined contours is to display the Work Contour field as a column in the table in the Task Usage view or Resource Usage view.

• The Cost Rate Table field on the General tab enables you to select one of the five different Cost Rate tables as the standard and overtime rates for the assignment. The default assignment is Table A. The Cost Rate Table field can also be displayed as a column in the table.

• The Notes field on the Notes tab enables you to record notes about an assignment. For instance, you should record why you have delayed an assignment or chose a different Cost Rate table. You could also embed links to other documents such as job specifications, cost worksheets, or Web sites.

The Tracking tab has fields you can use to monitor work progress and record when work starts, how much work has been done so far and when work is completed. See Chapter 14, "Tracking Work on a Project," for information about using those fields.

Selecting a Predefined Contour

By default, the work that Project schedules for an assignment is evenly distributed across the available time periods of the assignment (that is, the Flat contour). As you have already seen, you can edit the assignments in individual time periods to customize the schedule. You can also choose one of eight predefined contour patterns for Project to apply to an individual assignment.

For a more extensive discussion of the use of predefined contours, see "Contouring Resource Usage," p. 348 .

For example, if a resource schedule needs to show lots of hours up front, with a tapering off toward the end, you can assign the Front Loaded contour to the assignment, and Project changes the work in the individual periods to reflect that pattern.

To select a contour for an assignment, follow these steps:

1. Select the assignment in the Task Usage view or the Resource Usage view.

2. Display the Assignment Information dialog box by clicking the Assignment Information tool or by double-clicking the assignment row.

3. On the General tab, use the drop-down list in the Work Contour field to select one of the predefined contours.

4. Click OK to have Project calculate the new assignment pattern.

Selecting a Cost Rate Table for an Assignment

One of the important features in Project is the ability to define a graduated scale of standard and overtime cost rates for a resource so that work on assignments can be charged at different rates for different types of work. For example, a consulting firm might assign a seasoned consultant to highly technical cases at higher rates than it would use for other more mundane tasks.

The only way to change the Cost Rate table for an assignment is to display the assignment by using either the Task Usage view or the Resource Usage view. The most convenient method in those views is to use the Assignment Information dialog box (but you can also display the Cost Rate Table field in the table on the left of the view). Choose one of the lettered cost tables in the drop-down list in the Cost Rate Table field to assign that cost table's standard, overtime, and per-use rates to the assignment. If there are dated changes in the rates, Project applies the rates that are defined in the table for the dates in which the task is scheduled.

NOTE

You can edit the Cost Rate tables only in the Resource Information dialog box. First, display a view with fields for resources, and then either double-click a resource name or click the Information tool on the standard toolbar to display the Resource Information dialog box. Click the Costs tab to display the five Cost Rate tables, A through E.

Creating Assignment Notes

You use the Notes tab of the Resource Information dialog box to document an assignment. You can type and format the note text just as you do the text of task notes and resource notes. You can insert documents into the note or insert links to documents that are stored outside the Project file. You can also insert hyperlinks to Web sites.

To learn more about using the Notes field, see "Attaching Notes to Tasks," p. 142 .

Assigning Resources with the Task Information Dialog Box

You can use the Resources tab on the Task Information dialog box to add, change, or delete the resource assignment information for a selected task. As with the Assign Resources dialog box, you can use the Units field of the Task Information dialog box to enter either units or work; you are prevented from creating a new assignment on an effort-driven task by defining the work. If you enter work (by using a numeral followed by a time unit), Project calculates the units that would produce that much work, given the task's duration.

To change assignments by using the Task Information dialog box, follow these steps:

1. Select the task for which you want to add or change a resource assignment.

2. 

   Display the Task Information dialog box by clicking the Task Information tool on the Standard toolbar. You can also access the Task Information dialog box by selecting the task, clicking the secondary mouse button, and choosing Task Information from the pop-up shortcut menu. Still another method is to use the shortcut key Shift+F2. The fields in the dialog box show the current data for the task (see Figure 10.17).

   Figure 10.17. The Task Information dialog box contains a Resources tab that you can use to assign or edit resource assignments.

   

3. Select the Advanced tab and review the selections for the Task Type and Effort Driven fields. Be sure these are appropriate for the change you intend to implement.

4. Select the Resources tab to assign or view the resource information for the selected task.

5. In the Resource Name box, edit an existing entry or choose a blank row to add a new resource. To add or change the resource, select a resource from the drop-down list in the field.

6. Type the unit assignment for the resource in the Units field. If you leave the Units field blank, Project supplies the default value (the lesser of 100% or the Max Units value for the resource).

   You can modify an existing assignment by entering a work amount followed by a time unit in the Units field. If you enter a work amount, Project adjusts the assigned units, not the duration of the task.

7. To add additional resources to the selected task, click the next Resource Name field and repeat the preceding steps.

8. After you complete all resource assignments for the task, click OK.

If you use the Ctrl key to select more than one task before opening the Task Information dialog box, Project displays the Multiple Task Information dialog box so that any resource you select is automatically assigned to all selected tasks. The resource assignment entries you make in the Multiple Task Information dialog box are added to existing resource assignments for the selected tasks.

NOTE

You cannot change existing resource assignments for multiple tasks by using the Multiple Task Information dialog box.

Assigning Resources with the Task Table

You can use the Resource Name field on the Task table to assign resources to a task. However, entering the resource assignment data in the Resource Name field requires a text entry that has very specific syntax, and you will not likely assign resources here often. The entry must have the following syntax:

  ResourceName1  [  Units  ],  ResourceName2  [  Units  ],  ResourceName3  [  Units  ] ... 

When entering data using this format, note that the Units value follows immediately after the resource name, without an intervening space, and it is placed in square brackets. Units values of 100% do not need to be included. Notice, too, that multiple resource assignments are separated by commas. For example, the Resource Name field entry for the Prototype Design task might be

 Bill Kirk,Scott Adams[50%],Draftsmen,Drafting Paper[1 Rolls] 

Figure 10.18 shows this assignment. Because of the width of the Resource Names column, other columns and the Gantt Chart view are hidden in the figure.

Figure 10.18. You can use the Resource Names field to review or enter resource assignments.

TIP

If you want to import a list of tasks with resource assignments, you must have used the Resource Name field format in the source data to identify the resource assignments. For information about importing data, see Chapter 17, "Exporting and Importing Data with Other File Formats."

To assign resources to tasks in the Resource Names field, follow these steps:

1. View a Task table like the one in the Gantt Chart view.

2. If the Resource Names column is not displayed (after you scroll through the columns), choose View, Table and apply any table that includes a Resource Name column, such as the Entry table.

3. Select the Resource Names column of the Task table for the task to which you want to assign resources.

4. Enter the resource name. You can select the name from the drop-down resource list, which appears in the cell when the Resource Names column is active.

5. If the number of units is something other than 100%, type the units, enclosed in square brackets, immediately after the name in the edit bar.

6. If you want to assign more resources to the same task, use the list separator (which is a comma in North America) to separate the resources, and then repeat steps 4 and 5 until all resources are complete.

7. Press Enter or select any other cell to complete the resource assignment.