Using Project Center Build Team

Project Web Access 2003 now has a new feature that allows you to attach resources to specific project schedules. You can use this convenient Project Center Build Team feature to add or remove resources from a project. This function works in a similar way to the Microsoft Project 2003 Professional menu Tools, Build Team from Enterprise.

The Project Center Build Team function attaches resources to a project but does not generally assign those resources to individual working tasks . See "Enterprise Resource Management," p. 1069 for more details on using the Microsoft Project 2003 Professional functions to assign resources to tasks.

The following subjects are discussed within this section:

• Build Team from list This set of functions allows you to manipulate the resources for the selected project.

• Filter Enterprise Resources This is a special filtering mechanism that allows you search for those resources that match your filter criteria.

• Change Booking Type You can establish whether a resource is attached to the project as either Committed or Proposed.

• Availability You can examine resource availability to see if the resources you need actually have time to work on the project.

Build Team from List

When you open the Project Center Build Team function, you are presented with a screen with the following two list columns , as shown in Figure 26.5:

• Filtered Enterprise Resources This shows the resources from the Enterprise Global Resource Pool. You can select one or more resources from this list.

• Resource in the Project This shows those resources that are attached to the selected project. These resources become available for task-level assignments.

Figure 26.5. Use the Project Center Build Team function to see resources from the Enterprise Global Resource Pool and the selected project.

Add, Remove, Replace, Match Resources

You can manipulate which resources are attached to the project by using the following function buttons :

• Add When you select one or more resources from the Filtered Enterprise Resources list, you can use the Add button to attach the Resources to the Project. The selected resources are then available for individual task assignments.

• Remove If you select one or more resources from the Resources in the Project list, then you can use the Remove button to extract those resources from the project schedule. If those resources were assigned to project tasks, then they are completely removed from those working tasks.

• Replace This function allows you to substitute an individual item selected in the Resources in the Project list with the resource selected from the Filtered Enterprise Resources list. The substitute resource is automatically assigned to any working tasks for the resource being replaced .

• Match When you select an item from the Resources in the Project list, then click the Match button, the system automatically creates a filter and applies that filter to search the Enterprise Global Resource Pool. The resources matching the filter criteria are displayed within the Filtered Enterprise Resources list.

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Use the Replace function to substitute actual resources from the Enterprise Global Resource Pool for Generic resources that were assigned to working tasks within the schedule.

CAUTION

If you attempt to remove or replace a resource that has previously reported Actual Work, the system will warn you that the resource cannot be removed from the project tasks. You must use Microsoft Project 2003 Professional manual resource manipulation techniques to substitute resources with reported Actual Work.

For details on how to change resource assignments, see "Assigning Resources to Tasks," p. 365 .

Filtering Enterprise Resources

When you select the Project Center Build Team function, you are presented with a screen allowing you to manipulate the resources for a given project. You can use the Filter Enterprise Resources function to search for resource matching your criteria.

For example, let's say you are a project manager who needs to find a resource who resides in the Central Iowa district of your company. You can use the Filter Enterprise Resources function, indicated by a small + sign, to enter search criteria to find a resource within the Enterprise Global Resource Pool. Refer to Figure 26.6.

Figure 26.6. You can filter resources within the Project Center Build Team function.

The following steps illustrate the use of this feature:

1. You first click the + sign to open the Filter Enterprise Resources control table.

2. Select the Enterprise Outline code field and pick the RBS (Resource Breakdown Structure) item from the list.

3. Then select the USA.Central.Iowa from the Value drop-down list.

4. When you click the Apply Filter button the system automatically searches the Enterprise Global Resource Pool for resources that match your criteria. The results of that search are displayed within the Filtered Enterprise Resources list on the left side of the window.

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You can create complex filter criteria by adding more rows to the filter. You can also use the Match button to see different types of filter criteria the system automatically generates. You should experiment with this feature to understand how you can quickly search the entire Enterprise Global Resource Pool for resources you need.

Change Booking Type

Microsoft Project 2003 Professional introduces a new feature that allows you to change the general booking condition of project resources. The following descriptions summarize this new feature:

• Committed This default resource condition indicates that the individual resource is confirmed as a working resource for the selected project. Committed resources receive Task timesheet notices and can submit timesheet updates to the project manager.

• Proposed This resource condition indicates that the selected resource is tentatively scheduled to work on project tasks. Proposed resources do not receive Task timesheet notices so they cannot submit actual work to the project manager.

The primary benefit of this Proposed "soft booking" type is to allow project managers to simulate the resource loading and cost impacts of selecting specific resources as part of the project team.

For example, say you are a project manager who is negotiating with resource managers to use certain resources for your project. You can use the Proposed condition for the resources to simulate the effects on your project and the workload on those resources. You then use the simulated "soft booking" analysis as a basis during your negotiations with appropriate staff managers. Once the resources are confirmed to work on the project, you can change the resource booking condition to Committed. This action enables Task timesheet assignments and updates.

CAUTION

The booking condition for each resource is established for the entire project, not just for selected tasks. You cannot have a mix of Committed and Proposed conditions for a resource on different tasks within a specific project.

Viewing Resource Availability

The Project Center Build Team function also provides a quick link to view resource availability. You can select one or more resources from the Filtered Enterprise Resources and Resource in the Project. You can then click the Availability button to see a projection of time the resources can work.

For example, let's say you are a project manager who is trying to find appropriate resources to work on tasks within a project. You can use the Availability button within the Project Center Build Team function to get an overview of each resource workload. When you click the Availability button, a new window is displayed, allowing you to analyze each selected resource. You can examine overall availability and workload, in addition to viewing the daily details for each resource.