help with setting resources (equipment)
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Hello Everone
What seems to be overlooked here is that when there are more than one resource allocated to an activity and resource modelling is being used then one resource has to be set as the "Driving" resource for the modelling software to work properly.
When this is done then the non driving resource shadows the duration of the driving.
Best regards
Mike Testro.
PS I dont like microsoft project very much - its a lightweight piece of kit.
When it comes to task types, theres absolutely no reason to have a chart or "cheat sheet" to anticipate what MS Project will do when duration, work or resources are changed.
First of all, there is absolutely no difference between a fixed work task, a fixed duration task or a fixed units task. They are all the same and they all behave in the same predictable fashion.
Work = Units * Duration
Its that simple.
If you put 3 resource Units on a task for 4 days Duration then the Work is obviously 3 * 4 or 12 work days.
If you changed the resource Units on the task to 7 then the Work is obviously 7 * 4 or 28 Work days
If you changed the Duration to 5 days then the Work is obviously 3 * 5 or 15 work days.
So ... why have different task types? Suppose you changed the Work to 30. What is Project going to do? It could be 6*5 or 3*10 or 2*15 or, even, 30*1. (Side note: what Project does is actually quite repeatable -- thats why some people waste their time building these little cheat sheets: they dont have to remember the answers, they just look up the routine.)
Heres the real approach:
Back to the original example:
Work = Units * Duration
12WD = 3U * 4D
Set the task to Fixed Work. That holds "12WD" fixed.
If you change Units then Duration can be calculated.
If you cand Duration then Units can be calculated.
Set the task to Fixed Units. That holds "3U" fixed.
If you change Work then Duration can be calculated.
If you cand Duration then Work can be calculated.
Set the task to Fixed Duration ... oh, heck, you can figure that one out on your own.
So ... forget cheat sheets, forget memorizing. All you need to know is that when you set the task to Fixed Work, Fixed Units or Fixed Duration you are holding one element of the equation constant. When you change the second element of the equation the third element is easy to calculate. Hmm, perhaps you do have to memorize one thing:
Work = Units * Duration
Its only rocket science when you work for NASA.
ok darren, thanks again for troubling yourself in helping me.
right now i am busy but i will try your method in the weekend and will get back to you
regards
Red,
What I think has happened is that is that the Task Type for your activities are either set to Fixed Work or Fixed Duration / Effort Driven. As a quick fix try the following.
Tools > Options > Schedule Tab
Change the Default task type to Fixed Units
Un-check the New tasks are effort driven box
Click ’Set as Default’
Click ’OK’
Now before trying this bit, you may have to remove all your resource from their allocated tasks and change the task durations so they fit in with your expected dates.
Insert > Column
Select Type as the Field name
Click ’OK’
Insert > Column
Select Effort Driven as the Field name
Click ’OK’
In the Type column change all the cells to Fixed Duration (some of the summary ones you might not be able to change, but you only really need to change the cells that affect activities anyway.)
In the Effort Driven column change all the cells to No (you might not be able to change the summary cells, the same criteria as the Type column applies.)
As long as the durations are correct, you can now add as many resources to your tasks as you like and the durations will not change.
Task types are fundamental to how MS Project works, so you really do need to understand this equation if you want to use it properly.
Work = Duration x Units
Work is the resource effort normally in hours or days
Duration is the length of the activity
Units are the assignment /availability shown as a percentage or decimal
By fixing one of the parameter values, the other two can vary.
If you PM me your e-mail address, I can send you a table that I use which also has a little explanation about Work / Units Duration, or you can use Microsoft Project Help (F1) and search ‘About task types’. This may help you in the short term, but if you want to use MS Project without getting frustrated with the tool, you will probably have to buy a text book to help make life easier.
Regards,
Darren
yes, i understand
but as i modify my resource assignation, the duration of the task is affected, and that shouldnt happen.
if i assign both a human and a computer to a task, the duration split in half; if i remove a computer (or a human), times double and thats not what i intend.
maybe i need to asign resources first and then input durations....
Red,
You resource the separate activities in the same way as you would if you had humans working on them. If I can simplify – which probably means it will get complicated :)
On your project you have two people, lets call them Bill and Ted. You also have two computers. If you name the computers, Computer A and Computer B, these will now be your other resources ready to be scheduled.
As an example, you have to complete three tasks over the course of two days... if you create a simple project schedule in the MS Project Gantt View you would have something like this:
Task 1 - Data Entry
Task 2 – Data Processing
Task 3 – Review Data Reports
Task 1 - Duration 1d and has a FS relationship with Task 2
Task 2 - Duration 0.5d and has a FS relationship with Task3
Task 3 - Duration 0.5d
Task 1 - Starts Wed 16/04/08 08:00 and Finishes Wed 16/04/08 17:00
Task 2 - Starts Thu 17/04/08 08:00 and Finishes Thu 17/04/08 12:00
Task 3 - Starts Thu 17/04/08 13:00 and Finishes Thu 17/04/08 17:00
In the Resource Sheet view, create four resources Bill, Ted, Computer A and Computer B. You then need to decide what resources are going to be assigned to which task and you might end up with something like:
Task 1 - Bill using Computer A, so you would add them to the Resource tab on the Summary Task Information dialog box.
Task 2 - Computer A and Computer B, add them as a resource
Task 3 - Ted and Computer B, add them as a resource
You can now use the Resource Graph view to see if there is any overallocation. In this example there isn’t any, but if Task 2 and Task 3 were to happen at the same time, Computer B would show as overallocated.
Regards,
Darren
thanks for your reply darren :),
they *are* different tasks, they deliver different things
there are tasks that involve computers that are required to be commanded by humans (for example, data entry)
there are tasks that involve computers than they can do all by themselves (for example, data processing)
i want to know if the use of computers as a resource is overallocated.
i dont understand what kind of resource you tell me to create.
Hi Red,
Ill take a quick stab at this and you can tell me if Im heading in the wrong direction.
Are the computer tasks different when operated by humans as opposed to when operating on their own?
What I mean by this is do they deliver different things? (Reports for example)
If they are different, why not create a resource called something along the lines of Computer and create some tasks that will only utilise this resource.
Assign the new resource to the newly created tasks and you should then be able to see if there is any overallocation.
The only way you will be able to see overallocation displayed graphically in MS Project is if it is a resource.
Regards,
Darren