Deciding when to use resource leveling in Microsoft Project

[Angir]

hi all

i am a new user for MS Projects, can any 1 of u tell me 1 thing..... is it
right to level your over allocated resources manually??

 

[Angir]

Thankx Trevor Rabey….
I am now clear with many basics of levelling with MSP, theoretically I was
clear about resource levelling and I even can level resources manually on
paper, I was just not sure about the effectiveness of the auto levelling
option of the MSP, now after your reply I have a opinion that we should level
resources manually to have a better control on the project. We actually can
develop the optimised project plan with this and also can do the risk
analysis & take preventive measures.

I would appreciate your comments on this too…

--
Regards,

Angir

Leveling delays Tasks until there is no over-allocation, if it can.

First try using Leveling without the options checked, so with no task
splitting, assignment adjustment etc.
The Leveling options are eaiser to understand and apply after first getting
on top of vanilla Leveling.

Check especially the effect of adjusting Task Priority to force leveling to
delay one Task instead of the other if the MSP solution did not match your
preferences.

Most importantly, establish what Leveling does and what it does not do.
Leveling delays Tasks to remove over-allocation, and nothing else. It
doesn't change Work or assignment units or Duration. Many people using MSP
are a bit confused about what Leveling means, what it is supposed to be for
and what it does.

MSP will only be able to find a solution for the Resource over-allocation if
one exists. If you over-allocate Resources too heavily and/or prevent Tasks
from moving by setting Date Constraints MSP will not be able to find a
Leveling solution. Also, assigning Resources to Summaries will usually
prevent a solution.

Leveling can be used in a number of ways. It can move the Tasks so that the
Resources are not over-allocated, or it can tell you how severe the
over-allocation is so that you can reconsider and re-do your Resource
assignments.

Of course, if Leveling delays Tasks which are already on the Critical Path,
the overall project duration gets longer.
Also, it is possible for Leveling to delay Tasks which are not Critical.
Leveling causes Tasks to be moved to earliest possible start dates which do
not depend on just the durations and the predecessor links, so the critical
path is lost.
This then leaves you with a need to find the longest path, which is not so
evident in MSP but which standard in P3.

The un-leveled version of the project plan is short but not feasible due to
Resource limitations, while the Leveled version is longer but at least it is
feasible.

You have to balance out these conflicting objectives.

Leveling is a powerful tool. Projects should not start if there is
unresolved Resource over-allocation.

Trevor Rabey 0407213955 61 8 92729485 PERFECT PROJECT PLANNING
www.perfectproject.com.au

 

[Steve House]

First off, make sure you're clear on the difference between "auto leveling"
and using the resource leveling process itself. When you go to the Tools,
Level Resources menu you get the Level Resources dialog box. At the very
top there's a pair of radio buttons marked "Automatic" and "Manual." The
Automatic option will set it so that if you do something that creates an
overallocation while you are assigning and editing resources, the leveling
process will immediately trigger to resolve it. I never recommend using
this because it means tasks will be flying around the timeline without
apparent rhyme or reason as you work with your resources and Project has no
way of knowing but what you might have been just about to do something else
that would have fixed the overallocation without the need to move tasks
anyway. My recomendation is to leave it on manual so you decide when it's
appropriate to use the leveling tool.

The leveling tool works just fine but it's not the end-all and be-all tool
for optimizing your resources. Use it - why reinvent the wheel? - but use
it in conjunction with manual methods as well. For instance, when I see red
in the resource list, I like to go to the start of the project and switch to
the resource usage view. There's a keyboard shortcut - [ALT][F5] - that
will jump you from overallocation to overallocation so you can see just
where and how extensive the overlaps are. An overallocation for lasting 15
minutes is usually trivial and nothing to worry about, an overallocation
that double books the resource on two different tasks covering a full day
needs attention.

HTH
--
Steve House [Project MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

Thankx Trevor Rabeyâ?¦.
I am now clear with many basics of levelling with MSP, theoretically I was
clear about resource levelling and I even can level resources manually on
paper, I was just not sure about the effectiveness of the auto levelling
option of the MSP, now after your reply I have a opinion that we should
level
resources manually to have a better control on the project. We actually
can
develop the optimised project plan with this and also can do the risk
analysis & take preventive measures.

I would appreciate your comments on this tooâ?¦