MS Project - Overallocated Resources - Different Cost

[Pete Ploszay]

I have a consolidated resource pool of a group of 3
people. I have a task that requires 4 of these people.
So, project shows an over allocation of 1 person, which
is fine and correct. What I want to do is have a
different cost automatically for the over allocation (to
simulate hiring an external resource). So the first 3
people the cost will be $50. The over allocated resource
I would like to have at a cost of suppose $100 because
this can become an external resource.

Is there some setting somewhere that could cost over-
allocation at a different rate?

 

[Gérard Ducouret]

Hello Pete,
There is no different cost which'll automatically apply for the over
allocation. but you could setup an overallocation rate for that resource,
and ponctually apply on a task x days as Overtime Work : use the Task Form
with Format / Details / Resource Work.

Hope this helps,

Gérard Ducouret

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

There's no provision to automatically do what you ask. A couple of things
for explanation and a possible solution. "Overallocation" doesn't quite
mean what you're using it to be in that "allocation" not a direct indication
of number man-hours scheduled and an overallocation is not necessarily a
manpower shortfall. Allocations and overallocations refer to a rate
variable, namely the rate at which duration time is converted into useful
work output, not a scalar. Saying a resource is available 300% and at some
point he is allocated 400% doesn't really tell you anything that a cost
could be derived from because there's no indication of how much time the
overallocation exists for. It means that an existing resource is being
required to produce more work during some undefined time period than it is
physically capable of. One way to resolve it is to hire an external
resource, true. But another (and more common) way of resolving is to extend
the duration of the task, in the case of reducing a 400% allocation to a
300% and depending on the nature of the work itself one might extend the
duration by 33%, a 40 hour task becoming a 53 hour task for example thus
eliminating the need to hire more help. Or one might shift part of the work.
The classic case would be where Joe is booked for two full day tasks on
Monday, each required to produce 8 man-hours of work, when he only works an
8 hour shift. One of those tasks must be shifted to Tuesday because Joe
can't be in two places at once on Monday.

For a plan to be valid, all overallocations other than trivial ones
absolutely have to be resolved before the schedule is finalized, otherwise
you're virtually guaranteeing tasks will run late. Hence, by the time you
get to the point you're looking at costs, overallocations should no longer
exist in the plan and so there's no provision to assign them a unique cost
rate, in addition to the fact that a resource having a peak greater than his
allowed maximum still doesn't tell you how many hours that level is
required. What I would do in your case is create a new resource in the
resource list, named "Temp Fid Maker" or some such, and give them a rate of
$100. On the task in question, you would have two resources assigned -
"Existing Resource Team, 300%" and "Temp Fid Maker, 100%."
--
Steve House [MVP]
MS Project Trainer & Consultant
Visit http://www.mvps.org/project/faqs.htm for the FAQs