Actul Work / Work - changes duration

[verossa]

Hi

I've noted that if I go back to a task and try to change the hours MS
Project provides a warning "The resource is assigned outside the original
dates for task 1 ... blah blah in project. The duration of the
fixed-duration task will change to accommodate the resource assigned."

In my project MS Project assigns resource automatically. Therefore, if a
fixed-duration task for a period of 1 day requires 16 hours MS Project will
assign 2.0 / 200%.

However, if I try to change the number of hours or if the actual working
time is greater, MS Project plays with the duration rather than the resource
allocation.

I'm sure this is a standard issue, and I should like (Steve suggests in my
previous post) know more about the resource on the project... But given the
task is fixed-duration, I would have assumed the resource allocation would
increase accordingly to ensure the completion date is not compromised.

I'm doing something wrong (again)?

TIA to all who replay - Vers

 

[verossa]

Think I have resolved the issue... I over compensate the resource work and
MS Project then brings it down to the required %. It doesn't seem to do
this in the opposite direction - i.e. if the resource is 300% and needs to
be automatically adjusted to 450% it remains on 300% and this throws out the
duration of the task.

If anyone else has any ideas I'd be interested because my method seems half
baked.

TIA - Vers

 

[Steve House]

The behavior is different if you're editing the scheduled work or
posting in actual work. With a fixed duration task, when you edit the
scheduled Work required Project will indeed adjust the allocation
accordingly. If you have a 5 day duration task with the resource is
assigned 100%, that means the task is taking 40 man-hours. If you
adjust the schedule to indicate it's now 50 hours, the effort will be
adjusted to 125%. But if the resource reports that they worked 50
man-hours on a task scheduled for 40, that means they worked the full 40
originally required, found they weren't done, and worked another 10.
That extra time has to be put somewhere and if the resource is already
working his full work day, the only way more time can happen is if more
time is added to the duration at the end. The assumption is you in your
role as the manager in charge of the resources when they're working on
your project assigned the resource to work at some percentage and that's
what they did. You requested the custodial department to assign 2
custodians, 200%, and that's what they did, you got two guys.
Unfortunately you underestimated the work required and so you couldn't
send them back the their department at the end of the week and had to
hold them over into the following week. The duration changes instead of
the allocation because you can't somehow materialize a third person when
you realized you were running over. Because Project has no way of
knowing what really took place at the job site, if anything else other
than that default assumption is actually the case, you have to take over
and adjust it manually.