Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects

L

luai7

We are using Project Server 2007.

We have 7 different enterprise projects that are handled (owned) by
different project managers. These projects use a pool of shared enterprise
resources. Some of these resources are used in multiple projects.

Is there a way to level these resources accross these multiple projects?
What are the best practices for doing so?

Thanks.
 
L

luai7

Sorry

I accidentally enetered this question in the wrong section :-(

Please reply to this question in the Project Server section

Thanks.
 
G

Gérard Ducouret

Hello,

Yes, it is possible to level resources workload across multiple projects.
You just have to open the 7 enterprise projects ... and have the permissions
to do that!
Then, from any project in Project Professional:
Tools / Level Resources...
Note : you can use the Priority at project level:
Project / Project Information / Priority... the biggest number = the highest
priority.

Hope this helps,

Gérard Ducouret
 
L

luai7

Hi Gérard,

Not quite got that :)

My problem is that the resources-load for each inidividual project is OK.
However, the accumulated overall load for each resource over all projects is
high, so how will leveling a resource in one project propagate to the other
projects!! Is this possible in project server?!

What I am looking for is a general enterprise resource leveling function
that could be applied globally (i.e. accross the enterprise). Is there such a
thing?

Thanks
 
G

Gérard Ducouret

The same feature is working across all the open enterprise projects.
You just have to open all the enterprise projects... and play with their
priority level.

Gérard Ducouret
 
M

Marc Soester [MVP]

Hi Luai,

As usual Gerards post is spot on. Please note that if you level accross your
7 projects, you will move the duration of some of the current timeline. Make
sure that the Project Manager knows about this.

Leveling accross many projects works like a treat ( especially when you set
the priority on Project Level), the only "negative" part is that PM's that do
not know that their schedule has moved can become extreemly intimidated when
you dont communicate this to them ( best before hand ).
Please also note that if you want to drill down deeper into the priorty, you
can actually go down to the task level and lastly if you use Level priority
1000 the project will not level at all. So if you want to make sure that all
projects level, dont apply priority number 1000.
Hope this helps
 
A

Aaron

Gary and Gerard -- Thank you! Bravo! I just spent hours unsuccessfully
attempting to get an Enterprise Resource to level across multiple Projects. I
found nothing in Help documentation.

Then I saw your posts. I opened all the projects at the same time. Tried
again. Voilà! Well done!
 
K

Kevin Slane

I know this thread is a couple of years old, but I thought I'd throw another question into the mix. Consider this scenario, you have several projects in the server, but you have multiple Project Managers. Each PM can open his or her own projects, but not the projects of other PMs. However, the resources doing the tasks don't work for any specific PM.
First, how can you be sure PM #1 not overallocating an enterprise resource when he can't open the projects that belong to PM #2.
Second, at what point does it become impractical to open all the open projects? What if there are dozens or even hundreds?



Aaro wrote:

Gary and Gerard -- Thank you! Bravo!
08-Jan-08

Gary and Gerard -- Thank you! Bravo! I just spent hours unsuccessfully
attempting to get an Enterprise Resource to level across multiple Projects. I
found nothing in Help documentation.

Then I saw your posts. I opened all the projects at the same time. Tried
again. Voil??! Well done!

:

Previous Posts In This Thread:

Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects
We are using Project Server 2007.

We have 7 different enterprise projects that are handled (owned) by
different project managers. These projects use a pool of shared enterprise
resources. Some of these resources are used in multiple projects.

Is there a way to level these resources accross these multiple projects?
What are the best practices for doing so?

Thanks.

RE: Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects
Sorry

I accidentally enetered this question in the wrong section :-(

Please reply to this question in the Project Server section

Thanks.

:

Hello,Yes, it is possible to level resources workload across multiple projects.
Hello,

Yes, it is possible to level resources workload across multiple projects.
You just have to open the 7 enterprise projects ... and have the permissions
to do that!
Then, from any project in Project Professional:
Tools / Level Resources...
Note : you can use the Priority at project level:
Project / Project Information / Priority... the biggest number = the highest
priority.

Hope this helps,

G?rard Ducouret



"luai7" <[email protected]> a ?crit dans le message de (e-mail address removed)...

Re: Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects
Hi G??rard,

Not quite got that :)

My problem is that the resources-load for each inidividual project is OK.
However, the accumulated overall load for each resource over all projects is
high, so how will leveling a resource in one project propagate to the other
projects!! Is this possible in project server?!

What I am looking for is a general enterprise resource leveling function
that could be applied globally (i.e. accross the enterprise). Is there such a
thing?

Thanks

:

The same feature is working across all the open enterprise projects.
The same feature is working across all the open enterprise projects.
You just have to open all the enterprise projects... and play with their
priority level.

G?rard Ducouret

"luai7" <[email protected]> a ?crit dans le message de (e-mail address removed)...

Hi Luai, As usual Gerards post is spot on.
Hi Luai,

As usual Gerards post is spot on. Please note that if you level accross your
7 projects, you will move the duration of some of the current timeline. Make
sure that the Project Manager knows about this.

Leveling accross many projects works like a treat ( especially when you set
the priority on Project Level), the only "negative" part is that PM's that do
not know that their schedule has moved can become extreemly intimidated when
you dont communicate this to them ( best before hand ).
Please also note that if you want to drill down deeper into the priorty, you
can actually go down to the task level and lastly if you use Level priority
1000 the project will not level at all. So if you want to make sure that all
projects level, dont apply priority number 1000.
Hope this helps
--
Marc Soester [MVP]
State Manager: EPM
http://marcsoester.blogspot.com


:

Re: Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects
luai7:

Be very careful using the built-in leveling tool in Project. Most people
grossly overestimate its capabilities. Learn how to use it effectively on
"one" project before adding others to the mix.

--

Gary L. Chefetz, MVP
MSProjectExperts
For Project Server Consulting: http://www.msprojectexperts.com
For Project Server FAQS: http://www.projectserverexperts.com



Re: Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects
Thanks guys :)

:

I Agree with Gary on this one.. be very carefull.
I Agree with Gary on this one.. be very carefull. Doing leveling across the
whole folio is whole new ball of wax..

one method that we are trying to use is create a master prj and slurp back
all other projects as sub projects and then do auto leveling.. based on
overall business prioritization on projects.. this seems to give a bit more
meaningfull results, (esepically when one has the PMS all lined up in a room
to openely discuss).

once, leveled, only save the data into PS07 and DO NOT PUBLISH the master
project.

:

Gary and Gerard -- Thank you! Bravo!
Gary and Gerard -- Thank you! Bravo! I just spent hours unsuccessfully
attempting to get an Enterprise Resource to level across multiple Projects. I
found nothing in Help documentation.

Then I saw your posts. I opened all the projects at the same time. Tried
again. Voil??! Well done!

:


Submitted via EggHeadCafe - Software Developer Portal of Choice
Six Reasons Your Organization Should Use .NET
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorial...7-8e14b3e7f236/six-reasons-your-organiza.aspx
 
D

Dale Howard [MVP]

Kevin --

Long time no see, my friend! :) To answer your first question, during the
resource planning process (in the Build Team dialog) and the assignment
planning process (assigning resources to tasks), each PM should do the
following:

1. Navigate to the Resource Center page in PWA.
2. Select the resources he/she wants to use in the project.
3. Click the View Assignments button.

On the Resource Assignments page, the system shows shows the Availability
information and all of the project work for each selected resource in the
chart at the top of the page and in the Details grid in the bottom of the
page.

4. Click the Settings menu and click the View Options item on the menu to
open the expanded pane at the top of the page, if not already open..
5. In the expanded pane, select the date range and time periods (Units) in
which to view availability and assigned projects.
6. Select the Included Proposed Bookings option if any PMs in the
organization use Proposed resources.
7. Click the Apply button.

The system now shows the Availability information and all of the project
work for each selected resource in the chart at the top of the page and in
the Details grid in the bottom of the page. Reading the information in the
Details grid is difficult since the PM cannot do a "freeze panes" to lock
the left-hand column the way users can do in Excel. To work around this,
the PM should also complete the following steps:

8. Click the Actions menu and click the Export to Excel item on the menu.
9. When prompted, click the OK button to export the data to Excel.
10. If prompted about file types, click the Yes button to complete the
export process.

The PM can now use the "freeze panes" feature in Excel to lock the first two
columns so he/she can scroll the date columns and examine the Availability
and assignment information to look for available resources.

In regards to your second question, when you get more than a dozen or two
projects in the system, it becomes too cumbersome to level overallocations
by opening all of the projects. That's my opinion, so perhaps the others
have some ideas for you as well. Hope this helps.




in message
 
R

Rod Gill

This is where you need the role of Resource Management. Resource Managers
(RMs) interact between Project Managers (PMs) and management. They assign
resource hours per week to different PMs. The PM then makes sure their
project does not exceed that number of hours per week.

As usual, the final solution is made up of people, process and tools.

--

Rod Gill
Microsoft MVP for Project - http://www.project-systems.co.nz

Author of the only book on Project VBA, see: http://www.projectvbabook.com




in message
I know this thread is a couple of years old, but I thought I'd throw
another question into the mix. Consider this scenario, you have several
projects in the server, but you have multiple Project Managers. Each PM
can open his or her own projects, but not the projects of other PMs.
However, the resources doing the tasks don't work for any specific PM.
First, how can you be sure PM #1 not overallocating an enterprise resource
when he can't open the projects that belong to PM #2.
Second, at what point does it become impractical to open all the open
projects? What if there are dozens or even hundreds?



Aaro wrote:

Gary and Gerard -- Thank you! Bravo!
08-Jan-08

Gary and Gerard -- Thank you! Bravo! I just spent hours unsuccessfully
attempting to get an Enterprise Resource to level across multiple
Projects. I
found nothing in Help documentation.

Then I saw your posts. I opened all the projects at the same time. Tried
again. Voil??! Well done!

:

Previous Posts In This Thread:

Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects
We are using Project Server 2007.

We have 7 different enterprise projects that are handled (owned) by
different project managers. These projects use a pool of shared enterprise
resources. Some of these resources are used in multiple projects.

Is there a way to level these resources accross these multiple projects?
What are the best practices for doing so?

Thanks.

RE: Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects
Sorry

I accidentally enetered this question in the wrong section :-(

Please reply to this question in the Project Server section

Thanks.

:

Hello,Yes, it is possible to level resources workload across multiple
projects.
Hello,

Yes, it is possible to level resources workload across multiple projects.
You just have to open the 7 enterprise projects ... and have the
permissions
to do that!
Then, from any project in Project Professional:
Tools / Level Resources...
Note : you can use the Priority at project level:
Project / Project Information / Priority... the biggest number = the
highest
priority.

Hope this helps,

G?rard Ducouret



"luai7" <[email protected]> a ?crit dans le message de (e-mail address removed)...

Re: Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects
Hi G??rard,

Not quite got that :)

My problem is that the resources-load for each inidividual project is OK.
However, the accumulated overall load for each resource over all projects
is
high, so how will leveling a resource in one project propagate to the
other
projects!! Is this possible in project server?!

What I am looking for is a general enterprise resource leveling function
that could be applied globally (i.e. accross the enterprise). Is there
such a
thing?

Thanks

:

The same feature is working across all the open enterprise projects.
The same feature is working across all the open enterprise projects.
You just have to open all the enterprise projects... and play with their
priority level.

G?rard Ducouret

"luai7" <[email protected]> a ?crit dans le message de (e-mail address removed)...

Hi Luai, As usual Gerards post is spot on.
Hi Luai,

As usual Gerards post is spot on. Please note that if you level accross
your
7 projects, you will move the duration of some of the current timeline.
Make
sure that the Project Manager knows about this.

Leveling accross many projects works like a treat ( especially when you
set
the priority on Project Level), the only "negative" part is that PM's that
do
not know that their schedule has moved can become extreemly intimidated
when
you dont communicate this to them ( best before hand ).
Please also note that if you want to drill down deeper into the priorty,
you
can actually go down to the task level and lastly if you use Level
priority
1000 the project will not level at all. So if you want to make sure that
all
projects level, dont apply priority number 1000.
Hope this helps
--
Marc Soester [MVP]
State Manager: EPM
http://marcsoester.blogspot.com


:

Re: Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects
luai7:

Be very careful using the built-in leveling tool in Project. Most people
grossly overestimate its capabilities. Learn how to use it effectively on
"one" project before adding others to the mix.

--

Gary L. Chefetz, MVP
MSProjectExperts
For Project Server Consulting: http://www.msprojectexperts.com
For Project Server FAQS: http://www.projectserverexperts.com



Re: Leveling Enterprise Resources accross Multiple Projects
Thanks guys :)

:

I Agree with Gary on this one.. be very carefull.
I Agree with Gary on this one.. be very carefull. Doing leveling across
the
whole folio is whole new ball of wax..

one method that we are trying to use is create a master prj and slurp
back
all other projects as sub projects and then do auto leveling.. based on
overall business prioritization on projects.. this seems to give a bit
more
meaningfull results, (esepically when one has the PMS all lined up in a
room
to openely discuss).

once, leveled, only save the data into PS07 and DO NOT PUBLISH the master
project.

:

Gary and Gerard -- Thank you! Bravo!
Gary and Gerard -- Thank you! Bravo! I just spent hours unsuccessfully
attempting to get an Enterprise Resource to level across multiple
Projects. I
found nothing in Help documentation.

Then I saw your posts. I opened all the projects at the same time. Tried
again. Voil??! Well done!

:


Submitted via EggHeadCafe - Software Developer Portal of Choice
Six Reasons Your Organization Should Use .NET
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorial...7-8e14b3e7f236/six-reasons-your-organiza.aspx

__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus
signature database 4815 (20100128) __________

The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

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The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

http://www.eset.com
 
B

Brad

Regarding this point that all Project files with shared resources must be
opened in order to level those resources across the other projects -- is this
considered a strength or a liability of Project Server? Personally it would
seem that, since all the information regarding priority and tasks are stored
in the database, why can't a change in one file update the others without
requiring them to be open?

I realize the flip side is that you don't want to give "too much power to
the people", but I'm surprised there's not at least an option to enable this
functionality. Does anyone know if Server 2010 has any changes in this area?

Thanks!
 

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