Formulaes

[Andy Hines]

I am using project to monitor a budget for the year. i am not accumulating
costs, but mearly monitoring a budget. i have a task that will run for 6
weeks. i will use three resources during that time. 2 resources will be
used for 6 weeks and their budget will be allocated 100%. 1 resource will
be used for 6 weeks, but only allocated for 80% of budget. how can i set up
a report that will capture the fact one resource will only be allocated for
80% during that period of time? I don't understand how I can use reports to
capture that piece of information? help!!!!

 

[John]

I am using project to monitor a budget for the year. i am not accumulating
costs, but mearly monitoring a budget. i have a task that will run for 6
weeks. i will use three resources during that time. 2 resources will be
used for 6 weeks and their budget will be allocated 100%. 1 resource will
be used for 6 weeks, but only allocated for 80% of budget. how can i set up
a report that will capture the fact one resource will only be allocated for
80% during that period of time? I don't understand how I can use reports to
capture that piece of information? help!!!!

Andy,
I think there is some confusion between the terms "budget", "cost" and
perhaps "resource allocation".

Budget is an amount of money set aside for a particular purpose.
Normally once the budget is set, it doesn't change unless there is a
valid reason to increase or decrease the funding. Budgets can be
determined in various ways. Some people like a bottom up approach,
others go with a top down and still others favor a negotiated
combination of the two. As it turns out there was a round of discussion
on this very subject last week in this newsgroup.

Cost is the amount of money spent, either on material or labor, to
accomplish the plan. Ideally cost should be equal to or less than the
budget. Unfortunately, it is usually the other way around causing the
Project Manager to earn his (or her) keep by re-working the plan so that
the end goal can still be reached within the available budget.

Resource allocation is normally the amount of time a labor resource is
able or allowed to work on a particular task. For example, the resource
may be allocated 100% (full time) or xx% (something less than full time).

Project does not have a "budget" field but perhaps the closest thing is
the Baseline Cost field at the Summary Task (or Project) level. Project
does have a Cost field and resources do have an "allocation field"
called the Assignment Units field. It can be seen on the Resource and
Task Usage views.

Now, with all that tutorial, what exactly are you trying to show?

John
Project MVP

 

[Andy Hines]

john: most likely i am confusing the terms a bit. i have a task that will
run 6 weeks. i have allocated 3 resources to the task. product A,B,C.
Products A and B will be used the entire 6 weeks of the project. Product C
will only be used approximately 80% of the time. I don't know when the 80%
will occur but I know it will be used only 80% of the time. so my "budget"
for this task is Product A 100%; Product B 100%, Product C 80%. So I set up
the resources as materials and put their "budget" in the cost field. Product
A's cost is $1.15. Product B's cost is $0.75; and Product C's cost is $0.50.
The "budget" report i need should give me the following totals (Product A =
100%* $1.15) + (Product B = 100% * $0.75) + (Product C = 80% * $0.50). The
report should total $1.15 + $0.75 + $0.40. I can't figure out how to get a
printed report with that information on it.

Product C costs $0.50 but we only allocate $0.40 as a cost because of the
80% use/budget factor.

Capiche?

Andy

 

[John]

john: most likely i am confusing the terms a bit. i have a task that will
run 6 weeks. i have allocated 3 resources to the task. product A,B,C.
Products A and B will be used the entire 6 weeks of the project. Product C
will only be used approximately 80% of the time. I don't know when the 80%
will occur but I know it will be used only 80% of the time. so my "budget"
for this task is Product A 100%; Product B 100%, Product C 80%. So I set up
the resources as materials and put their "budget" in the cost field. Product
A's cost is $1.15. Product B's cost is $0.75; and Product C's cost is $0.50.
The "budget" report i need should give me the following totals (Product A =
100%* $1.15) + (Product B = 100% * $0.75) + (Product C = 80% * $0.50). The
report should total $1.15 + $0.75 + $0.40. I can't figure out how to get a
printed report with that information on it.

Product C costs $0.50 but we only allocate $0.40 as a cost because of the
80% use/budget factor.

Capiche?

Andy

Andy,
Thanks for the more detailed explanation. It put your intent in
perspective. I apologize for the late response. I read your explanation
yesterday (Friday Mar 25) but didn't have time to reply.

Based on your more detailed description your resources are rate-based
material. In that case, set up your Resource Sheet as follows:
Res Name Type Std.Rate Accrue At
A Material $1.15 Prorated
B Material $0.75 Prorated
C Material $0.50 Prorated

Then on a Task view (e.g. Gantt Chart), assign the resources as follows:
Res Assignment Units
A 100%
B 100%
C 50%

In the Cost field of the Gantt Chart view you will see a total cost of
$2.30 - exactly what you want.

For a printed report, you can simply print the Gantt Chart view or use
one of the built-in cost reports found under View/Reports.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

I have to jump in and wonder why you're using defining the resources as
Material Resources? Being inanimate does not make something a material
resource - materials resources are those things like lumber and paint that
are incorporated into the task's deliverable or things like fuel and
electricity that are consumed during the course of producing the
deliverable. Things that do work and are scheduled for XX percentage of
time the task takes place but are not used up are work resources whether
they be people or objects. While John's suggestion gets you numbers that
work, in the interest of a more accurate picture of your project overall I'd
do it by setting A, B, and C as work resources with their rates whatever the
hourly cost of the resource is (I can't believe anything that is used for 6
weeks is only going to cost/be budgeted for $1.15 total), making Task X a
non-effort-driven, fixed-duration 6 week task (240 hours), and assigning
resource A and B to it 100% and resource C 80%. If the numbers you quote
are actually the hourly cost of the resource, Project would calculate the
budget to be $$A = 100%*240*$1.15, $$B=100%*240 hr*$0.75, and $$C =
80%*240*$0.50. Total Cost = $469.80

 

[John]

I have to jump in and wonder why you're using defining the resources as
Material Resources? Being inanimate does not make something a material
resource - materials resources are those things like lumber and paint that
are incorporated into the task's deliverable or things like fuel and
electricity that are consumed during the course of producing the
deliverable. Things that do work and are scheduled for XX percentage of
time the task takes place but are not used up are work resources whether
they be people or objects. While John's suggestion gets you numbers that
work, in the interest of a more accurate picture of your project overall I'd
do it by setting A, B, and C as work resources with their rates whatever the
hourly cost of the resource is (I can't believe anything that is used for 6
weeks is only going to cost/be budgeted for $1.15 total), making Task X a
non-effort-driven, fixed-duration 6 week task (240 hours), and assigning
resource A and B to it 100% and resource C 80%. If the numbers you quote
are actually the hourly cost of the resource, Project would calculate the
budget to be $$A = 100%*240*$1.15, $$B=100%*240 hr*$0.75, and $$C =
80%*240*$0.50. Total Cost = $469.80

Steve,
I'd like to hear what Andy has to say when he check back in (if he
does). However, it is precisely because of the extremely low cost rate
(i.e. $1.15) that I assumed the resources to be material and not labor.
Given that test of reasonableness, I think my suggestion is on track and
provides an "accurate picture".

John

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

I can't think of anything that could be used for a 6 week task that only
costs a total of $1.15 except maybe a pencil <grin> and why would you bother
budgeting for that unless you were working for Scrooge himself! ROFL. Even
$1.15 an hour seems way too trivial to bother with in a project budget.
--
Steve House [MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs

 

[John]

I can't think of anything that could be used for a 6 week task that only
costs a total of $1.15 except maybe a pencil <grin> and why would you bother
budgeting for that unless you were working for Scrooge himself! ROFL. Even
$1.15 an hour seems way too trivial to bother with in a project budget.

Steve,
I could come up with lots of things that are low cost. Project isn't
only used for large corporate plans. Think smaller. Maybe Ned's total
project budget is $100, then the $1.15 resource doesn't seem so
"trivial".

Always the alternate view (I guess)

John

 

[Andy Hines]

gentleman: a lively discussion for sure. let me give you more details. i
am providing budget support for chemical lawncare companies. the low numbers
of resources represnt material costs per thousand square feet of turf treated
with a specific pesticide. for example, product A is fertilizer. all
customers will be treated with this product. Cost: 0.96 per thousand square
feet. Product B is a pre-emergent crabgrass control product. All customers
will receive this product as well. Cost: 1.15 per thousand square feet.
Product C is a post emergent broadleaf weed control product (dandelion killer
for you laymen!!!!). Its cost is 0.45 per thousand square feet. HOWEVER we
anticipate only treating 80% of the customers with this product. So the
projected budgeted cost would be 80% * 0.45.

Now you have raised some interesting points here. It appears john wants me
to set up the resource and instead of making it a material, define it as work
with a stand rate cost. Then when assigning the resource I would do the
following for product C (above example). Herbicide would be defined as Work
with standard cost of 0.45. Then when the resource is assigned at the task
level, i would assign it an 80% level which would give me the calculation I
want..

Good points that I can do and things i have fiddled with already. However,
these resources reallly are materials. and part of the gantt chart i use is
to use the resource assignment to establish the RATES of each product used
per thousand square feet. For example, I have one location using a 25-3-12
fertilizer at 4.0 lbs product per thousand square feet. so in the units i
enter 4.0 and on the gantt chart i have resource names show up to the right
of the bar thus giving them a picture of the products they are to use, the
timing to use them and the rates to be used. But under this method, i can't
seem to get the calculation i need for the report. If the above fertilizer
would be used on 60% of the customers, the reports all treat it as a full
cost. (this particular product is set up with a cost per lb of product).
Perhaps i need to rethink my approach to this problem and it's possible,
project (2002) won't do what i need to do.

does that make sense? capiche????

Andy Hines

 

[John]

gentleman: a lively discussion for sure. let me give you more details. i
am providing budget support for chemical lawncare companies. the low numbers
of resources represnt material costs per thousand square feet of turf treated
with a specific pesticide. for example, product A is fertilizer. all
customers will be treated with this product. Cost: 0.96 per thousand square
feet. Product B is a pre-emergent crabgrass control product. All customers
will receive this product as well. Cost: 1.15 per thousand square feet.
Product C is a post emergent broadleaf weed control product (dandelion killer
for you laymen!!!!). Its cost is 0.45 per thousand square feet. HOWEVER we
anticipate only treating 80% of the customers with this product. So the
projected budgeted cost would be 80% * 0.45.

Now you have raised some interesting points here. It appears john wants me
to set up the resource and instead of making it a material, define it as work
with a stand rate cost. Then when assigning the resource I would do the
following for product C (above example). Herbicide would be defined as Work
with standard cost of 0.45. Then when the resource is assigned at the task
level, i would assign it an 80% level which would give me the calculation I
want..

Good points that I can do and things i have fiddled with already. However,
these resources reallly are materials. and part of the gantt chart i use is
to use the resource assignment to establish the RATES of each product used
per thousand square feet. For example, I have one location using a 25-3-12
fertilizer at 4.0 lbs product per thousand square feet. so in the units i
enter 4.0 and on the gantt chart i have resource names show up to the right
of the bar thus giving them a picture of the products they are to use, the
timing to use them and the rates to be used. But under this method, i can't
seem to get the calculation i need for the report. If the above fertilizer
would be used on 60% of the customers, the reports all treat it as a full
cost. (this particular product is set up with a cost per lb of product).
Perhaps i need to rethink my approach to this problem and it's possible,
project (2002) won't do what i need to do.

does that make sense? capiche????

Andy Hines

Andy,
Thanks for the greater detail but you misquoted me in your post. I did
not say to make the Resource Type "Work". The Resource Type is
"Material" as shown in my reply dated Mar 26. What I did not show on my
suggested Resource Sheet entry, and probably should have, is to enter a
value in the Material Label field. In your case it sounds like the
values should be, "1000 sq ft."

However, reading your post through maybe I don't really understand what
you are trying to do. I think what I am struggling with is what exactly
are you looking for in the report? It sounds like setting up the
material resources as I suggested along with an assignment rate will
give the cost, so that seems clear. And the fact that each customer may
or may not use a particular material (i.e. "...used on 60% of the
customers...") is simply a matter of including or not including a
particular material resources on the task line representing that
customer's lawn application, so that seems pretty straightforward. What
am I missing?

The version of Project you are using is irrelevant but then maybe
Project is the wrong application. Perhaps a spreadsheet would be better
suited to your needs. The only thing in what you describe where Project
is better suited than Excel is in the timing of application of material.

Not sure we're helping.

John
Project MVP

 

[Andy Hines]

john: you are helping me by forcing me to walk through the process several
times until i get this right. the spraed sheet won't work as well as project
if i can get this report right. let me rephrase my approach here:

i am using project because of the following reasons:

it allows me to schedule sequential services within a given 48 week window.

i "cost" those services based in terms of 1000 square feet as a standard

using project reports i want to print a "budget" for each service based on
projected use within the service date range (window)

i can get everything to work EXCEPT the 80% allocation in thereport. i will
have to go back and review your notes again to see how i misunderstood you.
as it is right now, i have everything working except this one element and i
am not sure where i am missing it.

can you e-mail me a project with an example of what you are talking about.
one item set up as you are asking me to do. if you can, please e-mail it to
(e-mail address removed) if possible.

it is quite possible i can't get project to do what i want. communication
.... communication ... communication!!!!!!! (I've been married 28 years and I
STILL
:i

 

[Andy Hines]

i screwed up my last post john ... i was trying to say i've been married 28
years and this communication thing is .... well TOUGH!!!! thanks for working
with me.

andy

 

[Andy Hines]

john: another quick question: why would i want to enter a value in a
material field label?

 

[John]

john: another quick question: why would i want to enter a value in a
material field label?

"Andy Hines" wrote:

Andy,
With an entry in the Material Label field the "dimension" will show up
in the Usage views when Work is displayed in the details column.

John