Need help with resources

[Eric]

I have a project schedule that i'm beginning to assign resources to. One of
my tasks, a meeting, requires 2 hours of effort from 9 people. Problem is,
when i enter the amount of effort it changes the duration of the task. How
can I prevent this? What i want is:

9 resources, each with 2 hours work
units 100%
Duration .25 days (i.e. a 2 hour meeting)

I've experimented with all 3 task types, and unfortunately they all seem to
change the numbers. Is there any way to overcome this?

 

[JulieS]

Hi Eric,

Double click on the task to show the Task Information dialog box. On the
Advanced tab, uncheck effort driven. Click OK.

Now as you assign additional resources, the work for each resource will be
calculated based upon the task duration * unit assignment. The duration
will stay the same, the amount of work will increase for each new resource
you assign.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie

 

[davegb]

I have a project schedule that i'm beginning to assign resources to. One of
my tasks, a meeting, requires 2 hours of effort from 9 people. Problem is,
when i enter the amount of effort it changes the duration of the task. How
can I prevent this? What i want is:

9 resources, each with 2 hours work
units 100%
Duration .25 days (i.e. a 2 hour meeting)

I've experimented with all 3 task types, and unfortunately they all seem to
change the numbers. Is there any way to overcome this?

Did you try turning off "Effort Driven"?

 

[Eric Vergne]

No dice, it doesn't help.

On a fixed duration, with or without Effort Driven checked, i have the same
problem:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it gives
me an error stating: The resource is assigned outside the originial dates for
task [Taskname]. The duration of this fixed-duration task will change to
accomodate the resource assignment.

On a fixed unit task, with or without Effort Driven checked, or on a fixed
work task i have the following:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
automatically changes the duration to .43 days and begins calculating the
work. The work calculation is correct (i.e. changing all 9 people to 2 hours
totals to 18 hours work on the task). When it does this, the change in
duration automatically pushes the task to a second day (i.e. it spans 2 days)

Maybe this is a better explanation.

Thanks for your help,


Eric

 

[JulieS]

Hi Eric,

The message of "the resource is assigned....." usually indicates that the
resource has non-working time in their calendar. Have you changed the first
resource's calendar?

Julie

No dice, it doesn't help.

On a fixed duration, with or without Effort Driven checked, i have the
same
problem:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
gives
me an error stating: The resource is assigned outside the originial dates
for
task [Taskname]. The duration of this fixed-duration task will change to
accomodate the resource assignment.

On a fixed unit task, with or without Effort Driven checked, or on a fixed
work task i have the following:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
automatically changes the duration to .43 days and begins calculating the
work. The work calculation is correct (i.e. changing all 9 people to 2
hours
totals to 18 hours work on the task). When it does this, the change in
duration automatically pushes the task to a second day (i.e. it spans 2
days)

Maybe this is a better explanation.

Thanks for your help,


Eric

Hi Eric,

Double click on the task to show the Task Information dialog box. On the
Advanced tab, uncheck effort driven. Click OK.

Now as you assign additional resources, the work for each resource will
be
calculated based upon the task duration * unit assignment. The duration
will stay the same, the amount of work will increase for each new
resource
you assign.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie

 

[Eric Vergne]

When i entered the resources, it defaulted to the Standard Calendar, which I
did not change.

I've tried the task with both no calendar and a custom calendar. The custom
calendar is a copy of the default calendar with the US Government Holidays
excluded from working time. The particular date I am working with is nowhere
close to a holiday or other non-working time.

Hi Eric,

The message of "the resource is assigned....." usually indicates that the
resource has non-working time in their calendar. Have you changed the first
resource's calendar?

Julie

No dice, it doesn't help.

On a fixed duration, with or without Effort Driven checked, i have the
same
problem:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
gives
me an error stating: The resource is assigned outside the originial dates
for
task [Taskname]. The duration of this fixed-duration task will change to
accomodate the resource assignment.

On a fixed unit task, with or without Effort Driven checked, or on a fixed
work task i have the following:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
automatically changes the duration to .43 days and begins calculating the
work. The work calculation is correct (i.e. changing all 9 people to 2
hours
totals to 18 hours work on the task). When it does this, the change in
duration automatically pushes the task to a second day (i.e. it spans 2
days)

Maybe this is a better explanation.

Thanks for your help,


Eric

Hi Eric,

Double click on the task to show the Task Information dialog box. On the
Advanced tab, uncheck effort driven. Click OK.

Now as you assign additional resources, the work for each resource will
be
calculated based upon the task duration * unit assignment. The duration
will stay the same, the amount of work will increase for each new
resource
you assign.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
I have a project schedule that i'm beginning to assign resources to. One
of
my tasks, a meeting, requires 2 hours of effort from 9 people. Problem
is,
when i enter the amount of effort it changes the duration of the task.
How
can I prevent this? What i want is:

9 resources, each with 2 hours work
units 100%
Duration .25 days (i.e. a 2 hour meeting)

I've experimented with all 3 task types, and unfortunately they all
seem
to
change the numbers. Is there any way to overcome this?

 

[JulieS]

Well, this is a mystery. If the resource's calendar hasn't been changed
with non-working time about the only other *guess* I can come up with is
Automatic leveling?
If you would like you can zip the file and send it to my email address
(assuming it is not highly confidential.) You can find my email address by
opening a post from me and clicking on my name. Just leave out the spaces
and replace the "dot" with a .

Julie

 

[JulieS]

Hi Eric,

The answers you are getting are truly odd. So, can you create a new project
file and reproduce the same error? If you add a new .2 day duration task to
the "problem file" does the problem continue? If you cannot reproduce the
error in a new file, it sounds as though the file may be corrupt. What
release and Service pack of Project are you running?

Following the steps you listed, for fixed duration tasks increasing the work
to 2 hours should increase the resource unit assignment to 125%.

For fixed units, effort driven, increasing work to 2 hours should increase
duration to .25 days. Resources should be assigned at 100% to begin with.

Julie

When i entered the resources, it defaulted to the Standard Calendar, which
I
did not change.

I've tried the task with both no calendar and a custom calendar. The
custom
calendar is a copy of the default calendar with the US Government Holidays
excluded from working time. The particular date I am working with is
nowhere
close to a holiday or other non-working time.

Hi Eric,

The message of "the resource is assigned....." usually indicates that the
resource has non-working time in their calendar. Have you changed the
first
resource's calendar?

Julie

No dice, it doesn't help.

On a fixed duration, with or without Effort Driven checked, i have the
same
problem:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as
.18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
gives
me an error stating: The resource is assigned outside the originial
dates
for
task [Taskname]. The duration of this fixed-duration task will change
to
accomodate the resource assignment.

On a fixed unit task, with or without Effort Driven checked, or on a
fixed
work task i have the following:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as
.18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
automatically changes the duration to .43 days and begins calculating
the
work. The work calculation is correct (i.e. changing all 9 people to 2
hours
totals to 18 hours work on the task). When it does this, the change in
duration automatically pushes the task to a second day (i.e. it spans 2
days)

Maybe this is a better explanation.

Thanks for your help,


Eric

:

Hi Eric,

Double click on the task to show the Task Information dialog box. On
the
Advanced tab, uncheck effort driven. Click OK.

Now as you assign additional resources, the work for each resource
will
be
calculated based upon the task duration * unit assignment. The
duration
will stay the same, the amount of work will increase for each new
resource
you assign.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
I have a project schedule that i'm beginning to assign resources to.
One
of
my tasks, a meeting, requires 2 hours of effort from 9 people.
Problem
is,
when i enter the amount of effort it changes the duration of the
task.
How
can I prevent this? What i want is:

9 resources, each with 2 hours work
units 100%
Duration .25 days (i.e. a 2 hour meeting)

I've experimented with all 3 task types, and unfortunately they all
seem
to
change the numbers. Is there any way to overcome this?

 

[davegb]

When i entered the resources, it defaulted to the Standard Calendar, which I
did not change.

I've tried the task with both no calendar and a custom calendar. The custom
calendar is a copy of the default calendar with the US Government Holidays
excluded from working time. The particular date I am working with is nowhere
close to a holiday or other non-working time.

Hi Eric,

The message of "the resource is assigned....." usually indicates that the
resource has non-working time in their calendar. Have you changed the first
resource's calendar?

Julie

No dice, it doesn't help.

On a fixed duration, with or without Effort Driven checked, i have the
same
problem:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
gives
me an error stating: The resource is assigned outside the originial dates
for
task [Taskname]. The duration of this fixed-duration task will change to
accomodate the resource assignment.

On a fixed unit task, with or without Effort Driven checked, or on a fixed
work task i have the following:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
automatically changes the duration to .43 days and begins calculating the
work. The work calculation is correct (i.e. changing all 9 people to 2
hours
totals to 18 hours work on the task). When it does this, the change in
duration automatically pushes the task to a second day (i.e. it spans 2
days)

Maybe this is a better explanation.

Thanks for your help,


Eric

:

Hi Eric,

Double click on the task to show the Task Information dialog box. On the
Advanced tab, uncheck effort driven. Click OK.

Now as you assign additional resources, the work for each resource will
be
calculated based upon the task duration * unit assignment. The duration
will stay the same, the amount of work will increase for each new
resource
you assign.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
I have a project schedule that i'm beginning to assign resources to. One
of
my tasks, a meeting, requires 2 hours of effort from 9 people. Problem
is,
when i enter the amount of effort it changes the duration of the task.
How
can I prevent this? What i want is:

9 resources, each with 2 hours work
units 100%
Duration .25 days (i.e. a 2 hour meeting)

I've experimented with all 3 task types, and unfortunately they all
seem
to
change the numbers. Is there any way to overcome this?

I just created a new task in Project. I set the duration = 2hr. I then
created 9 resources in the resource assignment box. I then assigned all
9 resources to the task. They are assigned 100% for the 2 hrs.
What did you do differently? Where did you actually do the
assignements? Did you add the resources one at a time or all at once?
Give us the details of exactly how you did it. Or just try it the exact
same way I did and see that happens.

 

[Eric Vergne]

Well, now I'm even more stumped. I can't duplicate the problem in a new file.
Like you said below, it worked perfectly in a new file. I also found that
going into the task and deleting all the resources, saving, and then adding
them back no longer produces the problem.

This is all good, because the problem seems to have vanished when i removed
the resources. Unfortunately, i'm not exactly sure which form i entered the
resources into in the first place. I don't know if I assigned them via the
wizard or directly into the task dialog box or some other way.

I'll play with it some more. If I can duplicate it then I'll let you all know.

Thanks for all your help.

Eric

When i entered the resources, it defaulted to the Standard Calendar, which I
did not change.

I've tried the task with both no calendar and a custom calendar. The custom
calendar is a copy of the default calendar with the US Government Holidays
excluded from working time. The particular date I am working with is nowhere
close to a holiday or other non-working time.

Hi Eric,

The message of "the resource is assigned....." usually indicates that the
resource has non-working time in their calendar. Have you changed the first
resource's calendar?

Julie
No dice, it doesn't help.

On a fixed duration, with or without Effort Driven checked, i have the
same
problem:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
gives
me an error stating: The resource is assigned outside the originial dates
for
task [Taskname]. The duration of this fixed-duration task will change to
accomodate the resource assignment.

On a fixed unit task, with or without Effort Driven checked, or on a fixed
work task i have the following:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
automatically changes the duration to .43 days and begins calculating the
work. The work calculation is correct (i.e. changing all 9 people to 2
hours
totals to 18 hours work on the task). When it does this, the change in
duration automatically pushes the task to a second day (i.e. it spans 2
days)

Maybe this is a better explanation.

Thanks for your help,


Eric

:

Hi Eric,

Double click on the task to show the Task Information dialog box. On the
Advanced tab, uncheck effort driven. Click OK.

Now as you assign additional resources, the work for each resource will
be
calculated based upon the task duration * unit assignment. The duration
will stay the same, the amount of work will increase for each new
resource
you assign.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
I have a project schedule that i'm beginning to assign resources to. One
of
my tasks, a meeting, requires 2 hours of effort from 9 people. Problem
is,
when i enter the amount of effort it changes the duration of the task.
How
can I prevent this? What i want is:

9 resources, each with 2 hours work
units 100%
Duration .25 days (i.e. a 2 hour meeting)

I've experimented with all 3 task types, and unfortunately they all
seem
to
change the numbers. Is there any way to overcome this?

I just created a new task in Project. I set the duration = 2hr. I then
created 9 resources in the resource assignment box. I then assigned all
9 resources to the task. They are assigned 100% for the 2 hrs.
What did you do differently? Where did you actually do the
assignements? Did you add the resources one at a time or all at once?
Give us the details of exactly how you did it. Or just try it the exact
same way I did and see that happens.

 

[JulieS]

You're welcome Eric. Do keep us posted.

Julie

 

[davegb]

Well, now I'm even more stumped. I can't duplicate the problem in a new file.
Like you said below, it worked perfectly in a new file. I also found that
going into the task and deleting all the resources, saving, and then adding
them back no longer produces the problem.

This is all good, because the problem seems to have vanished when i removed
the resources. Unfortunately, i'm not exactly sure which form i entered the
resources into in the first place. I don't know if I assigned them via the
wizard or directly into the task dialog box or some other way.

I'll play with it some more. If I can duplicate it then I'll let you all know.

Thanks for all your help.

Eric

When i entered the resources, it defaulted to the Standard Calendar, which I
did not change.

I've tried the task with both no calendar and a custom calendar. The custom
calendar is a copy of the default calendar with the US Government Holidays
excluded from working time. The particular date I am working with is nowhere
close to a holiday or other non-working time.

:

Hi Eric,

The message of "the resource is assigned....." usually indicates that the
resource has non-working time in their calendar. Have you changed the first
resource's calendar?

Julie
No dice, it doesn't help.

On a fixed duration, with or without Effort Driven checked, i have the
same
problem:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
gives
me an error stating: The resource is assigned outside the originial dates
for
task [Taskname]. The duration of this fixed-duration task will change to
accomodate the resource assignment.

On a fixed unit task, with or without Effort Driven checked, or on a fixed
work task i have the following:

With the duration set to .2, project automatically calculates work as .18
(1.6 total), Assignment Units as 11%.

It accepts me changing the units to 100% for all 9 people.

However, when I change the work to 2 hours for the first resource, it
automatically changes the duration to .43 days and begins calculating the
work. The work calculation is correct (i.e. changing all 9 people to 2
hours
totals to 18 hours work on the task). When it does this, the change in
duration automatically pushes the task to a second day (i.e. it spans 2
days)

Maybe this is a better explanation.

Thanks for your help,


Eric

:

Hi Eric,

Double click on the task to show the Task Information dialog box. On the
Advanced tab, uncheck effort driven. Click OK.

Now as you assign additional resources, the work for each resource will
be
calculated based upon the task duration * unit assignment. The duration
will stay the same, the amount of work will increase for each new
resource
you assign.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
I have a project schedule that i'm beginning to assign resources to. One
of
my tasks, a meeting, requires 2 hours of effort from 9 people. Problem
is,
when i enter the amount of effort it changes the duration of the task.
How
can I prevent this? What i want is:

9 resources, each with 2 hours work
units 100%
Duration .25 days (i.e. a 2 hour meeting)

I've experimented with all 3 task types, and unfortunately they all
seem
to
change the numbers. Is there any way to overcome this?

I just created a new task in Project. I set the duration = 2hr. I then
created 9 resources in the resource assignment box. I then assigned all
9 resources to the task. They are assigned 100% for the 2 hrs.
What did you do differently? Where did you actually do the
assignements? Did you add the resources one at a time or all at once?
Give us the details of exactly how you did it. Or just try it the exact
same way I did and see that happens.

Glad you got it worked out. As you work with Project, you'll find that
many things are order dependent. Do the same steps but in a different
order will give entirely different results. It's the nature of the
beast. And once you've assigned a resource to a task, if you change the
assignment or add more resources, you get very different results. When
I work with my clients, particularly in the area of resource
assignments, after I figure out what results they want, I create a
protocol of how to get that result. I then tell them to always follow
that exact protocol if they want that result. Avoids a lot of problems!

Hope this helps in your world.