Resources Available Less than 100%

[Andrea the Frustrated PM]

I have to schedule resources that are only available to work on a project for
say 80% of their time. If I change the units to 80 for the resource and
assign them to a 2 week project, shouldn't it lengthen the time it takes to
complete the project basecd on the fact that he will not be working full
days? All my resources are less than 100% and i am struggling to make this
work. Any suggestions???

 

[Abid Syed Ali]

Hello Andrea,

Yes, if your resources are available for 80% of time and estimate for a task
is is 5 days (i.e. work of a task) then it will be completed in 6.25 days
(i.e. duration of that task).

I think that either you need to put more resources, or make them available
for 100%.

Regards,

Abid

"Andrea the Frustrated PM" <Andrea the Frustrated
(e-mail address removed)> wrote in message
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[Mike Glen]

Hi Andrea,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

Project uses the formula Duration x Resource Units = Work. In your case,
the Work is being reduced rather than the Duration lengthening. You
probably have Fixed Duration set as a Task Type. I explain all in my series
on Microsoft Project in the TechTrax ezine, particularly #11 on Task Types,
at this site: http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc or this:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23
(Perhaps you'd care to rate the article before leaving the site,
Thanks.)

FAQs, companion products and other useful Project information can be seen at
this web address: <http://www.mvps.org/project/>

Hope this helps - please let us know how you get on

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP


"Andrea the Frustrated PM" <Andrea the Frustrated
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[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Andrea,
Here is the answer to your question as I understood it:

When you change the Max Units on resource level nothing automatically
changes for the tasks already "resourced"
They are still resourced at 100% so duration will not changed.
Select aal tasks, then show the assign Resources window; select the resource
and click replace.
Replace by the same resource at 80% units.
Then duration will change.
HTH

--
Jan De Messemaeker
Microsoft Project MVP
http://users.online.be/prom-ade
"Andrea the Frustrated PM" <Andrea the Frustrated
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[Steve House]

Not true. Project assumes that whatever the resource assignment is that
you input - 100%, 75%, 22.37%, whatever - as the INITIAL resource
assignment was what you had in mind using when you came up with the
duration estimate in the first place and it will not revise the
duration. If the task is 5 days duration and you assign the resource at
100%, it will be 5 days after the assignment, But if instead you assign
the resource at 50% it will ALSO be 5 days after the assignment. It's
only if you INITIALLY assign him at 100% and then EDIT to reduce the
assignment to 50% that it will extend the duration to 10 days,

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Steve and all,

Attention here.
If you use the Split Window (the task form) to initially assign a resoruce,
and you enter both Units and Work there, duration IS recalculated.
Same if you enter a value in the work column before assigning the resoruce
The "fixed duration at first assignment" rule only holds when you haven't
entered, or do not enter, Work.
Hope this helps.

 

[Steve House]

Quite true, and in fact this is exactly what I recomend in all but the
simplest resource assignments.