Resource Pooling

[Shawn Bundegaard]

My name is Shawn. I am trying to do some resource pooling with multiple
projects. I am using project 2002 standard. The help files indicate how to
create a resource pool and I have done that. I have also attached the
appropriate projects to that pool. The problem I am having is determining
how to split my resources time between projects easily. Each one of my
resources can work a standard 8 hr day but they need to be able to split
thier time between projects. For example: Proj1 - 20%, Proj2 - 50%, Proj3 -
30%. This seems like it would be a pretty standard thing to do. The only
thing I can come up with is to modify the project calendar to a 4 or 3 hour
work day. That works but when I am using resouce pooling it modifys all
project calendars to a 4 or 3 hour work day. The main idea here is to get
report that shows hours worked per week per resource across all projects.
That way we can make sure we are not overallocating our resources. Not to
mention that the scheduling of future projects can take the current
scheduling of resouces into consideration when being scheduled. What am I
missing?

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Shawn,

The problem is that this method of resource scheduling, which is done
frequently in a manual world, is not how Project proposes to solve
overallocation problems.

There is a solution, and you are very close to it, but I wouldn't want to
manage a team like that.
I'll come back to that a little later.

How Project does it and how I try to do it is to assign resources to tasks @
100% (indeed, when they are on a task, the most efficient way to work is to
finish it). This causes overallocation which in turn is solved by Project
through Resource Leveling, which will postpone less urgent or less
prioritary tasks.
This really shows Project Management philosophy: it is all about tasks being
done, the most urgent ones first, and whether the result is that a resource
works 40% on a project or happens to be 100% on it this week because there
was an urgency, cannnot be an objective in its own right.

UNLESS of course the resource is contratually booked for different
customers. Then indeed you make a calendar by project, and when connecting
each project to the pool, make sure you select "Sharer Takes Precedence" in
order to avoid the Pool's calecdar to override the sharer file's.

But it keeps shocking me that because of an absolute belief in percentages,
someone would do a less urgent task on a project instead of something very
important on an other one.

HTH

 

[geoff.pratt]

Shawn,
Another way to approach the problem is to schedule the
tasks and vary the work type.
If they have support tasks over a period as well as
project work, then set the support tasks to Fixed
Duration. Then asign them to those tasks at a %.
For the project tasks, schedule them in a duration
context, but when the quote is accepted (schedule can be
baselined) control them as a Fixed Work task.
Check your resource pool integrity and utlisation in the
Resource Usage view, and insert a column for Project so
you can see their overall allocation across the
tasks/projects assigned, and alter assignments as required
where overallocation occurs. Most importantly, involve
them in the process, issue copies of the res usage view.
Make it real life, and in most cases they will prioritise
effectively themselves; with the schedule effectively
reflecting the result.
I am using this approach effectively with Projct 2002 Std
accross a repool with master schedules.
Rgds............Geoff