Editing the Working Time

[Mike]

As I progress through a project, is it a good idea to update a resource's
working time calendar if the scheduled working time of the resource is not
actually executed?

I've scheduled a resource to work on a project 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
However, the resource may not actually work those hours due to sickness,
other priorities, etc. When the project isn't worked by the resource, should
I modify their calendar to reflect actual hours worked?

Is seems like a lot of extra work to keep up with each resource's working
time calendar, but what other way can I see the effect of a resource's
unplanned time off since it affects the project schedule? (No other resource
is available to make up for the lost time.)

 

[JulieS]

Hi Mike,

My thoughts are to enter the *planned* non-working time when you know
about it. As far as when the resource actually worked on the task, I
would reflect that through Actual Work in either the Task Usage or
Resource Usage view.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project

 

[JulieS]

Hi Mike,

If all you record is actual work when tracking, Project assumes that the
actual work is being performed precisely as planned.

For example:
Task A: 10 day duration starting with a single resource assigned at
100%. Task start date is 9 Oct 2006 at 08:00, with a finish date of 20
Oct 2006 at 17:00. Work is 8 hours per day for 10 days with a total work
of 80 hours.

You record 10 hours of Actual Work in the Actual work field. Project
assumes the resource worked 8 on Monday 9 Oct and 2 hours of work on
Tuesday 10 Oct. No change in finish date, still 20 Oct at 17:00. The
task is 13% complete (duration) with 1.25 days of actual duration and
8.75 days in remaining duration. The % work complete is 13% with 10
hours actual work and 70 hours in remaining work.

Another task - same set up. In the Task or Resource Usage view you
record 10 hours of actual work on Monday 9 Oct. Because you have
recorded 10 hours in a single day, Project adjusts the finish date of
the task to 20 Oct at 15:00. The two additional hours recorded on
Monday drops the scheduled work on the last day of the task (20 Oct) to
6 hours. The task % complete is 10% - 1 day actual Duration - 8.75 days
remaining duration. However, the % work complete is 13%.

Recording actual work on a daily basis also allows you to record if a
resource did not work on a particular day due to sickness or other
priorities. Any scheduled work not completed as scheduled will
automatically change the scheduled finish.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project

Thanks for your reply, Julie.

I agree with your thoughts on when to edit the calendar. However,
I've
never used the Resource Usage or Task Usage views to record actual
work.

I have added and use Actual Work in the Gantt Chart view, but I
suspect the
information is not used in the same way because I don't see the Finish
dates
shift accordingly.

Would you mind explaining? Thank you.

 

[Mike]

Thank you, Julie!

That explanation explained a lot and answered my question.

 

[JulieS]

You're most welcome Mike and thanks for the feedback.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project