Administrative Projects - Max resources

[Robin Roe]

Hi

Just wondering if anyone can recommend the max number of resources that
should be assigned on an administrative project? We have 300 resources but
these are split into departments with no more than 50 in any one dept. I was
going to use one project file for each dept. There will be 10 tasks in each.
Does this sound OK?

Reading previous comments on this site, I am also not going to use the
actual administrative project option but just use a standard project. Is this
the way to go? I can't see any advantage using the Administrative Project.

Thanks for your help

 

[Reid McTaggart]

There's no practical limit on the number of resources on a Project. However,
the number on a single task does seem to have some limits. Field reports
from my colleagues suggest that 50 or so is a safe limit.

Without more information on what you're trying to accomplish, I cannot
answer your question about whether Admin or regular projects are best for
your needs.

One very general statement would be that Admin projects can be useful if you
want to capture Actual work, but you don't want a PM to plan the work in
advance.

 

[Robin Roe]

Thanks Reid

I just want a mechanism that will record all non project time. I don't need
other projects to automatically rescedule tasks. Just need the time to show
up in reports and also to show the PM any resource over allocations.

Thanks

 

[Reid McTaggart]

Admin projects are good for recording actual non-project time. BUT, I am
concerned about your remark regarding analyzing overallocations.
oPresumably, you'd be concerned about future overallocations. To look
forward requires that someone plan future work, including non-project working
time. This can be done with Admin projects, but it is each resource's
responsibility to schedule their future NPWT. They do this in their Task
area by clicking the link to "Notify my manager of time I will not be
available for project work."

It is best to think through, and experiment with, solution alternatives
before choosing how to proceed. A Microsoft Certified Partner can be a
valuable asset in working through your options and their implications.

 

[Reid McTaggart]

ome organizations overcome the obstacles I mentioned in my previous post by
estimating the percentage of each resource's time that he will be spending on
NPWT, and then adjusting accordingly his Max Units in the Enterprise Resource
Pool.

 

[Robin Roe]

Thanks again Reid,

We want resources to enter future NPWT (such as annual leave) so that
Project managers can see future overallocations and ammend their plan
accordingly. We also need to record the future NPWT type, is it training,
annual leave etc. Is there a difference between using an administrative
project and a normal project for this purpose?

We are also looking at possibly allocating a percentage of a resources time
over to NPWT as you mentioned.

 

[Reid McTaggart]

It seems to me that your requirements are exactly what Administrative
projects were designed for.