Generic resources

[mwoplock]

I am using Project Standard 2007 edition.

I need to run multiple projects and plan on using resource pooling. I would
also like to setup generic resources so I can assign the real resources as
they are identified.

However, I can't find the place to mark the resources as generic. I have
gone to the properties window under the general tab, but I don't see it.
Although none of the documentation mentions it, I believe that the feature is
only available in the enterprise version. I can't imagine a logical reason
for that, and I hope it isn't true

But, if it is not available in standard, any suggestions on how to
accomplish the same goal? Once again an assumption on my part, but I would
think generic resources behave differently than real resources during
resource leveling, especially across projects.

Any thoughts would be appreciated

 

[Rod Gill]

Generic resources are a feature of Project Server and so are not available
in Project Standard. You will need to name new resources Analyst (or what
ever role) and maybe use the Group field for Roles as well so named
resources and "generic" resource workloads can be combined.

--

Rod Gill
Project MVP

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[Dale Howard [MVP]]

mwoplock --

Generic resources are not available in Project Standard 2007, and are only
available in Project Professional 2007 (the enterprise version, as you
state). To use "generic-like" resources, simply type the name of the
resources using placeholder terminology, such as the role or skill of the
resource. For example, SQL DBA would describe a human resource that
possesses SQL Server database analyst skills. Also, you should set the Max.
Units value for the generic-like resource as 100% multiplied by the number
of humans who have the skill represented by the generic-like resource. For
example, if you have 6 SQL Server DBA's in your organization, enter 600% in
the Max. Units column for the SQL DBA resource. This will eliminate any
leveling problems, since you will only see an overallocated SQL DBA resource
is you attempt to assign more than 6 SQL DBA's to tasks that occur
simultaneously during any time period.

Beyond this, you should also set up a custom Resource field with a Lookup
Table that describes a primary skill for each generic-like resource and each
human resource. You will need to select a value in that field for every
human and generic-like resource. You can use that field for filtering or
grouping to identify human resources with the correct skills that match your
generic-like resources. Hope this helps.

 

[JulieS]

Hello mwoplock,

You don't state specifically what it is you need from a "generic"
resource. I assume you just want to be able to assign tasks to a
resource and then replace that resource with another once you
determine a specific resource. This can be done without the use the
of Project Server (enterprise). The check box for Generic resources
is only available in Project Professional and only applies to using
Server.

Can you be more specific about what you need to be able to do with
your "generic" resources?


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

Julie
Project MVP

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