how do i do task,same resource, part with units X, part units Y

[Ayelet]

I will be very happy to get an answer,
I have 1 resources which works every week on a different sum of tasks, for
example this week, he is working on 2 tasks 50% units each task, next week he
will keep working on this 2 task but will work parallel on 2 more new tasks
which means each task will get 25%, how can i set different units for the
same task, same resource but different weeks?
Thanks a lot Ayelet

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

In the Resource Usage view (or in the task usage view) you can contour the
resource usage.
However, Project will not do this sortof calculation for you (resource
leveling will instead shift the tasks with the lower priority but not change
the units)
HTH

 

[Ayelet]

Hi Jan,

I want to understand better how to do it,
in the task view, what should i do? assign each day how many hours the
resource will work on a task? I want to enter the units of resource on task
in specific week (different units for each week), how do i do it? Ho do i
contour resource usage?
will it ruin every resource leveling?

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

First, allow me to say there is no such thing as "the task view". There are
many, many task views; some (like the Gantt Chart, the tracking Gantt, the
Calendar view) do not allow entering or reading timescaled data; others,
like the Task Usage View, do.

To do what you want, open teh task usage view and through Format, Timescale,
set the minor scale to weeks, then you can enter for each task/resource
combination the planned work for each week. If you really insist on using
percentages, Through Foprmat, Detail Style, lmook for the Percent allocation
line ad click Show.

Will it ruin leveling? Probably. All your calculations are void once one of
the tasks get shifted.
Sorry, but logically it's either/or. Either you try to level resources after
tedious manual work and entering those percentages or you use a software to
calculate a feasible plan for you - which is what leveling does. Combining
the two mostly leads to unsatisfactory results (in this case especilly
because leveling never adapts units - it merely shoifts tasks keeping the
assigned units as such).
HTH

 

[Ayelet]

Hi Jan,

Thanks for your help, the Percent allocation is what i was looking for, it
is prefered by me other than manually add the hours because i have resources
with calendar rate different than 100% so if working with Percent allocation
i dont have to calculate the hours. but somehow, i cant change the Percent
allocation, what i do is: add new task (including remaining work hours),
assign a resource and in the Task Usage View, add the Percent allocation
field and try to change but i this field is unwritable, how do i change it,
so i can set bu my self what is the Percent allocation for each week each task

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Ayelet,

I have to humbly admit I had never tried to use the percent allocation field
(my strong belief is that in Project noone schould EVER enter a percentage)
and yes, sorry to have given false hope, the timescaled data on percent
allocation are read only.
You will have to live with entering work hours (which you can immediately
verify in the percent allocation field)

Hoep this helps,

 

[Ayelet]

Hi Jan,
Can you please suggest me different way of doing it (same resource same task
every week different units)? what about work contour? can you please explain
me what does the work contour do? what does it mean if i change the work
contour to front loaded, how will the units change? how will the duration of
the task will change

Thanks alot, Ayelet

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Ayelet,

What I suggest you to do IS contouring the work (manually)

The available contours distribute the work following a predefined formula
but that will absolutely not take into account load on other tasks. The only
function in Project that will take into account work on different tasks is
as I said earlier, resource leveling - which does not redistriby-ute work
within the task but rather shifts tasks to make the overallocations
disappear.

This being said, for as much as I used the available contours, I remember
they use the units entered for the maximum within the task, thus for a fixed
unit task duration will be stretched.
Why don't you try one?

HTH

 

[Ayelet]

Hi Jan,

What you suggest is to enter for each task, for each week (or day) how many
hours am i going to work on every task (through the task usage view), right?
is this what you meant "contouring manually"? please explain it again if i
understood you wrongly.
if i understood you right, what happen if i dont finish the planned work on
time? do i have to calculate again how many hours will i spend for each task
each week? (maybe now i will want to work on more tasks parallel than was
planned).

Thanks Ayelet

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

You did understand me rightly, yes
Well you insist on calculating things manually so indeed when things change
you will have to redo it; that is why I do not like the way you propose to
work.

IMHO you will make best usage of the tool if you assign all resources yto
all tasks at 100% then let resource leveling shift tasks to make the plan
feasible; whn things change you can use the functions reschedule work then
level again.

HTH

 

[Ayelet]

Hi ,

We use the way you suggested (with 100% and resource leveling) to all our
plans but the situation for the new plans is different, because we have
resources who work on more than 1 task parallel (together in the same week)
and we want to see in the plans the updated and real forecast finish for each
task alone and for all the tasks together, if we put 100% to all, we can see
when will all the tasks finish but we can not look at each task seperatelly
to see when it suppose to be finished. (we also want to show the users on
which tasks they suppose to work every week).
Do you have any idea how to do it not manually?

Thanks AYelet

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

I hesitate to say yes, there is a way... because it is so weird
For each resource that will be split into slices, create a calendar per
slice.
Suppose the resource is Jan then create f.i. threee resources

Early_Jan with working times 8-11
Lunching_Jan working 11-12 and 13-14
Late_Jan working 14_17

Then you can assign one of these 100% to each task and have the effect of
Jan working on 3 tasks, and leveling will work.

I know of nothing better, sorry.
HTH