Apply multiple skills to enterprise resource in MSP 2003?

[joeM]

How do I apply multiple skills to an enterprise resource in Project Server
2003? My realization (based on hitting my head on the wall for several hours
and combing through endless posts) was that that Project Server 2002 was a
bit restrictive when it came to assigning multiple skills to an enterprise
resource. The Project Server 2003 marketing collateral strongly suggested
that multiple skills could now be assigned. I was guessing this would occur
via some multi-select option but that seems to be not true. What am I
missing?

Here's some history...
Under 2002, I had created a custom enterprise resource outline field (named
"Skill 1"). This field contained all conceivable skills that existed within
our organization. I also created additional outline fields (i.e. Skill 2,
Skill 3, Skill 4) that were slaved off of Skill 1. I did this thinking I
would assign up to four skills to each enterprise resource (i.e. ASP, C++,
VB, Java) and then use the substitution wizard to find the ideal candidate
who posessed one or more of these skills. That simply didn't work (well) in
2002. Thanks in advance for any help!

Joe Messina
MedPlus, Inc/A Quest Diagnostic Company
4690 Parkway Drive
Mason, OH 45040
web: www.medplus.com
email: (e-mail address removed)
voice: 513.229.5500 x1275

 

[Dale Howard]

Joe --

Creating a multi-value enterprise resource outline code field can be done by
completing the following steps:

1. Log into Project Server through Microsoft Project 2003 with
administrator permissions
2. Click Tools - Enterprise Options - Open Enterprise Global
3. Click Tools - Customize - Enterprise Fields
4. Select the Custom Outline Codes tab and select Resource as the Outline
Code type
5. Select one of the Enterprise Resource Outline Code20-29 fields (these
fields are reserved for use as multi-value fields)
6. Rename the selected field, then set the Code Mask and Lookup Table
values according to your needs
7. Click OK, then save and close the Enterprise Global
8. Close Microsoft Project and then log back into Project Server 2003 again
with administrator permissions

Once you have set up a multi-value field in the Enterprise Global, the next
steps involve populating the values in the Enterprise Resource Pool. You
can do this by completing the following steps:

1. Click Tools - Enterprise Options - Open Enterprise Resource Pool
2. Select as many resources as you wish, then click the Open/Add button
3. Right-click on any column header and select Insert Column from the
shortcut menu

When you examine the list of available fields, you will see TWO instances of
your new custom field: one with the original name of the field, and the
other which has "-MV (Enterprise Resource Multi-ValueXX)" added to its name.

4. Select the Multi-Value instance of your custom field and click OK

When you click the drop-down list button in this field for the first
resource, you will see checkboxes to the left of your outline code values.

5. Select one or more outline code values from the list and then press
Enter

That's how to do it. Hope this helps.

 

[Sibi]

Hi Howard

That was great piece of info. Was searching all places for the same.
thanks. I have one more question to add. Once i have the mulivalued
field setup for skills in resouce table how is it possible for me to
assign resources to task (in task view) based on the newly created
custom field skills? It would be of great help if i can get the Skils
column to be displayed in the task assignment view so that i can
choose a free person with a specific skill.

thanks in advance
sibi

 

[Dale Howard]

Sibi --

To use your new multi-value Skills field for assigning resources to tasks,
you have several options:

1. While you are building your project team in the Build Team dialog box
(Tools - Build Team from Enterprise), you can select a Generic resource
which contains the skills that you want on the team, and click the Add
button to add the Generic resource to your team. Then you can click the
Match button to find resources that have the same skills as the Generic
resource. Then, use the Available to Work option, specify the number of
available hours and a date range, then click the Apply Filter button. The
dialog will show you resources with the right skills who have the
availability to perform work on your tasks. Select the resource you want
from the list of displayed resources and click the Add button.

2. Once you have built a project team with skilled resources, some of whom
will actually work on the project and others whom you "hold in reserve" in
case you need them, then you can apply filtering in the Assign Resources
dialog box. Select the task for which you want to assign resources, and
then click the Assign Resources button. In the dialog, expand the Resource
list options section by clicking the plus sign button (+). As with the
Build Team dialog, you can apply an Available to Work filter here, which
will show you which resources are available to work during the duration of
the selected task. Once you apply the Available to Work filter, click on
the resources you are considering and then click the Graphs button. The
Graphs dialog box will offer you a select of three types of graphs which you
can use to determine who is working on what and when and how much they are
working. It is very useful in avoiding overallocations in your project.

Option #1 assumes that you have specified that the new Skills field as a
field used for matching Generic resources. Doing so is what allows the
Match button to work correctly for you. Hope this helps.