Resources NOT Fully Loaded

[JP]

I have a project with a group of 40 software development tasks that are
essentially independent of each other (no predecessors/successors within
these 40 tasks). From a conceptual point of view, they group into four
categories (e.g., reference screen maintenance, customer input screens).
Different tasks are different lengths and run from 2-10 days each, depending
on the task. Each one is expected to be done by a developer assigned 100%
to that task. We work an 8 hour day (40 hours per week).

I have a pool of 4 developers, so I set up one resource called "developers"
with a max of 400% utilization. On each task, I assign the resource
"developers" with a utilization of 100%.

If I just tell Project to schedule this out as 40 separate tasks, it is not
keeping my four developers fully occupied. On any given day, they're
putting 16 or 24 hours total -- except at one point where it assigns the
pool to be working a total of 40 hours per day (and shows the developer
resource in red as overcommitted).

HOWEVER, if I group them by their conceptual categories (with indents), and
then set each logical category as a predecessor to the next one, I then get
my developers all scheduled to be working (i.e., 32 hours a day resource
usage).

There are other resources assigned to these tasks, but as far as I can tell,
none of these resources would individually be working more than 6.4
hours/day when the developers are all working full blast, so it would appear
to me that these additional resources are not constraining the solution in
some way. As far as I know, I do not have any constrained dates in the
project. There are a number of other tasks (e.g., application design tasks,
database build tasks, data conversion tasks) that are either predecessors to
the entire group of 40 or successors to the entire group of 40. Within the
project plan as a whole, a couple of individual tasks have a "start as late
as possible" constraint, but these are things that are not on the critical
path like "install testing hardware" and "install production environment" --
and none of these "start as late as possible" tasks are members of the group
of 40.

Anybody have any thoughts as to why it won't come out with a fully occupied
developer resource? And also why it gives me overcommitment when I tell it
to resource level?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jim Aksel]

My Humble Opinion ---

If you have 40 independent tasks, then every task should start on the
project start date (with the exception of the ALAP task). If you have
independent tasks, you do not have a critical path. You can't have a
critical path without task linking.

Have you keyed any dates at all? If you did, that creates constraints and
will drive you resource loading/leveling. Keying dates into project is
typically a no no.

Clear all the leveling (if you have any). Tools/Resource Leveling.... Clear.

Try removing all your constraints so everyone lines up on the project start
date. Establish you links (predecessor/successor). Assign your resources.
You should have an overload at this point.

Then, Tools/Level Resources....

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi JP,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

Also, you can check on constraints by opening View/Table: Entry/More
Tables.../ and select Constraint Dates. Make sure they're all As Soon As
Possible. which is the default no constraints setting.

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

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

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP
See http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc for Project Tutorials

 

[JP]

Thanks for your reply.

These 40 tasks are a group of tasks in the middle of my project. While they
are each independent of any of the other of the 40, they all depend on a
task just before and there is a task (system testing) that depends on all of
them being completed.

Since I have a resource constraint (only 4 developers), I was expecting
Project to come up with a most efficient way of sequencing the tasks (which
are of different lengths) so as to complete all of them in the minimum
amount of time. Instead, it seems to arbitrarily just give people a week
off at a time.

I have checked to make sure that I have no date constraints and that all
tasks are "Start as early as possible".

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi JP,

Unfortunately, Project is not an optimization program. Levelling just
delays tasks until a resource becomes available. If you want more detail,
you might like to have a look at my series on Microsoft Project in the
TechTrax ezine, particularly #19 on levelling, 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

 

[JP]

Mike,

Your articles are great!!!

Unfortunately, I thought that Project would do more optimization than it
does. Oh well.

Question on the resource leveling though:

I have four developers as one resource called "Developers" with a max
allocation of 400%.

In Phase 2, I want 50% of the time of one of my developers soaked up on a
task called Phase 1 Post Go-Live Support. This task is expected to run for
60 days and I want fixed duration. The other 350% of developer time is free
for assignment to other tasks.

My other task in Phase 2 is called "Develop Scheduling Screen". I've put
down that it's a 90 day task (duration) with 400% of my developers working
on it.

As it stands now, Project is scheduling "Develop Scheduling Screen" to start
after "Phase 1 Post Go-Live Support" ends, and I understand that it's doing
that because I told it that I need 400% on the "Develop Scheduling Screen"
task and there's only 350% available until "Phase 1 Post Go-Live Support"
ends.

Is there a way to specify things so that Project simply extends the duration
of "Develop Scheduling Screen" so as to get the same amount of work, but
recognizes that one of the developers is working only part-time on the
project? This is not a matter of adding resources to a task, so I'm not
sure if fixed duration/units/work or effort driven scheduling will make a
difference here.

Thanks. And thanks for those great articles.

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi JP,

Thanks for your kind remarks, I hope you find the articles useful in the
future.

If you assign developers at 400%, Project will wait until all 4 developers
are available, unless you select "Levelling can adjust individual
assignments on a task" in the Levelling dialog. You can also force which is
levelled first by giving tasks a priority in the Task Information dialog,
and then selecting Priority,Standard in the levelling dialog.


Mike Glen
Project MVP