Crosstab Report

[Mark]

Hi All

We use MS Project 2003 Standard/MS Windows 2000. We have a resource pool
setup - all projects are linked to this.

1. If I do a crosstab report or a "who does what when" report can I do this
on the resource pool or do I need to create a master file with all the
projects inserted or linked in? I am trying to get a view each 2
weeks/month/etc of what all the resources in the pool are doing.

2. In resource usage view within the pool I have added another column
"project" which shows the project name - it also shows the full path of the
project \\servername\folder\folder\projectname.mpp - any way to just show the
projectname.mpp and not full path.

Thanks
Mark

 

[Gérard Ducouret]

Hello Mark,
The "Who does what when" report can be used within any project : Resource
pool, elementary project, master project...
But if your Ressource pool doesn't have any task, the "Who does what when"
will show only one column.

Gérard Ducouret

 

[John]

Hi All

We use MS Project 2003 Standard/MS Windows 2000. We have a resource pool
setup - all projects are linked to this.

1. If I do a crosstab report or a "who does what when" report can I do this
on the resource pool or do I need to create a master file with all the
projects inserted or linked in? I am trying to get a view each 2
weeks/month/etc of what all the resources in the pool are doing.

2. In resource usage view within the pool I have added another column
"project" which shows the project name - it also shows the full path of the
project \\servername\folder\folder\projectname.mpp - any way to just show the
projectname.mpp and not full path.

Thanks
Mark

Mark,
1. Yes, you can view a crosstab report of just the resource pool file.
(I'm surprised you didn't simply try it).

2. If you are referring to the full path that shows in the Project field
for each assignment, yes but the sharer files must be open to do so and
then only the file name will show without the full path. The reason is
that the assignment information is part of the sharer file, not the
resource pool file. So even if you add a spare text field in which to
show the file name, that text field is inaccessible unless the sharer
file it belongs to is open.

This is a little "cheesy" but you can show just the file name (more of
less) if the sharer files are not open by right justifying the Project
field.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

 

[Mark]

Thanks for the replies.

I did try the crosstab report but all I got was one column next to the
resource name. I edited the report and on the definition tab I tried
different combinations of weeks, months etc and increased the number of
columsn but all I got each time was one column and the resources all had
assignments.
I think I will just the use the resource usage view within the pool and
limit the dates that printed out to get a weekly, monthly, quartely view.

Interestingly though if I choose all the resources in the resource pool,
click print and limit the dates to 07/03/05 to 21/03/05 when it prints out I
get all info up to 8/04/05. I have had different results using the same date
range but applying a filter to my resources ie a different date prints out.
Any ideas?

Thanks
Mark

 

[John]

Thanks for the replies.

I did try the crosstab report but all I got was one column next to the
resource name. I edited the report and on the definition tab I tried
different combinations of weeks, months etc and increased the number of
columsn but all I got each time was one column and the resources all had
assignments.
I think I will just the use the resource usage view within the pool and
limit the dates that printed out to get a weekly, monthly, quartely view.

Interestingly though if I choose all the resources in the resource pool,
click print and limit the dates to 07/03/05 to 21/03/05 when it prints out I
get all info up to 8/04/05. I have had different results using the same date
range but applying a filter to my resources ie a different date prints out.
Any ideas?

Thanks
Mark

Mark,
I never use the built-in reports so I had to do a little research. If
the "column" repeat value is set to too high it is indeed possible to
only get one column of weekly data. That is, the weekly cycle is set too
high for the length of the task/assignment span. If the column value is
already set to "1" and you still only get on column of weekly output,
then my guess is that the span of the task/assignment in the sharer
files is not long enough to support more than one week's worth of data.

I never print files but I when I use print date range the print preview
always give the correct range. You mention something about a filter but
it isn't clear what you you mean. Do you have any problems with the
print date range on one of the sharer files? Are you sure you print
driver is up to date?

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

 

[Mark]

Hi John

Sorry not very clear last time - on the resource pool I printed out a
particlar date range for all the resources and then using the same date range
I chose Overallocated Resources - the print out printed a different date
range! I'm pretty sure that my printer drivers are up to date but I will
research further.

Basically what I am trying to do is provide a report to management showing
how resources are allocated over different time periods - weeks, months etc.
The Resource Usage view sort of gives me what I want but is it possible to
get a view/report that shows Resource Usage say for a month AND only show the
tasks that they are working on within that month rather than all the tasks
assigned to the resource.

Hope this is a bit clearer.

Mark

 

[John]

Hi John

Sorry not very clear last time - on the resource pool I printed out a
particlar date range for all the resources and then using the same date range
I chose Overallocated Resources - the print out printed a different date
range! I'm pretty sure that my printer drivers are up to date but I will
research further.

Basically what I am trying to do is provide a report to management showing
how resources are allocated over different time periods - weeks, months etc.
The Resource Usage view sort of gives me what I want but is it possible to
get a view/report that shows Resource Usage say for a month AND only show the
tasks that they are working on within that month rather than all the tasks
assigned to the resource.

Hope this is a bit clearer.

Mark

Mark,
Personally I shy away from the built-in Reports because they are rather
limited and not very flexible. I don't know why you get a different date
range when you apply the overallocated resource filter. A test on a file
I have gave the same date range in print preview.

With regard to your overall goal, after a bit of playing, (with the
Reports feature I'm not that fond of), I was able to configure what I
think is close to what you want.
1. Start with the "who does what when" report.
2. If you want a month, set the column to have a repeat of "1" and a
label of "weeks".
3. Set the filter for "date range".
4. Hit "ok" and then "select". The interactive filter will pop up.
5. In the first filter input box enter the month start date.
6. In the second filter input box enter the month finish date. That will
give you a report that has the resource assignments (i.e. tasks) pared
down to within that range of dates.
7. Then print with a date range of month start to month end.

Personally when I need a specialized report, I go immediately to VBA. I
gather the data needed, (or in some cases generate it if it is not
available as a standard Project field), export it to Excel, and format
the report exactly as needed. The nice thing about this approach is that
it is totally flexible and the report can either be printed or sent to
someone electronically.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

 

[Mark]

Hi John

I tried your suggestion and it works really well. Thanks a lot for all your
effort on this.

Unfortunately I don't have any VBA skills and MS Project/Resource and
Project Mgmnt is just part of my duties. In fact, if I can develop (or in
this case get help developing!)some reports/views from a resource management
point of view I can get management to do this themselves.

Thanks again for your help.
Mark

 

[John]

Hi John

I tried your suggestion and it works really well. Thanks a lot for all your
effort on this.

Unfortunately I don't have any VBA skills and MS Project/Resource and
Project Mgmnt is just part of my duties. In fact, if I can develop (or in
this case get help developing!)some reports/views from a resource management
point of view I can get management to do this themselves.

Thanks again for your help.
Mark

Mark,
Great! I'm glad the customized report process worked (I was a little
surprised myself).

My forte is really custom VBA particularly for developing specialized
reports. If you are interested in some help doing so, write me direct.

John
Project MVP