Project resource allocation

[lyndad]

I am setting up a project designing and developing training which has to run
alongside existing training commitments for the team. I wanted to use
individual resource calendars but was advised the company doesn't like these
used in projects. It has been suggested that the training commitments are
entered as a recurring task, however they vary from week to week - one week
it can be four days split between four trainers, the next three days split
between three trainers. Can anyone advise the best way of entering the
existing commitments?

 

[JulieS]

Hello lyndad,

If the existing training varies from week to week a recurring task is
not going to work for you. Do you also want to see the existing
training as tasks in the Gantt chart? If so, you'll have to add the
existing training as tasks (most likely with constraints to get them
scheduled where they need to be.) If you wish to be able to see when
trainer 1 is allocated to training, you'll need to enter them as tasks
as well.

I suggest setting them as fixed duration, non-effort driven and sadly,
you're going to have to constrain each task.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project

 

[lyndad]

Many thanks Julie - I will try this tomorrow at work.

I don't really need to see the training as tasks, which is why I thought it
would be better to use individual resource calendars, however since I have
been asked not to use calendars I think I will have to see each task. I
would be interested to have an opinion on which would have been better
practice though.

Lynda

 

[JulieS]

Hi Lynda,

If the resource is unavailable because s/he is on another event
(training) and you don't need to track what the other event is, I'd go
for non-working time in the resource's calendar. With non-working
time, project will simply move other tasks around the non-working
time. In short, I'm with you on this one

I hope this helps. Let us know how you get along.

Julie
Project MVP

Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information
about Microsoft Project

 

[Dave]

I am setting up a project designing and developing training which has to run
alongside existing training commitments for the team. I wanted to use
individual resource calendars but was advised the company doesn't like these
used in projects. It has been suggested that the training commitments are
entered as a recurring task, however they vary from week to week - one week
it can be four days split between four trainers, the next three days split
between three trainers. Can anyone advise the best way of entering the
existing commitments?

You could use recurring tasks with a bit of work but it is a bit of a
clumsy workaround.

The problem I see with doing this is that if you make a task
representing the training and assign your team to them, then the cost
associated with that will be attributed to your design/development
project and as I understand it, the commitments are external to this
project.

If you want to go this route, make a recurring task for the appropriate
duration. Then expand it and manually adjust the start dates of each
subtask (this will set a constraint which is normally a bad idea but it
provides a solution in this case).

Then you can assign resources and manually edit the assignments.

I think my preferred approach here would be to create a separate project
containing the training commitments and then to use a resource pool so
that you can level your project around existing immovable commitments.

Alternatively can you challenge your organisation's policy on calendars
(I don't know why people are restricted from using the tool to its full
potential in some organisations).