Resource allocation no being properly updated

[Mike N.]

I'm having the following problem with 2000:

Suppose a task is assigned to three people A, B, and C and their allocations
are 10%, 20%, and 30% respectively. The calendar time for the task is 4
weeks. So A charges 0.4 weeks, B charges 0.8 weeks and C charges 1.2 weeks. I
verify these times by going to the Resource Usage page. So far so good. Next,
suppose I want to increase the amount of work done on that task by B to from
20 to 40%. I would do this by clicking on the "Assign Resources" button, and
changing B to 40%. I would then look at the task duration on the Gantt chart
- it may or may not change (not sure why it changes only sometimes). If it
did change (e.g., to 2 weeks), I would change it back to 4 weeks by simply
clicking on it and changing it back. Now if I look at the Resource Usage
page, the hours charged by B have not changed to 1.6 weeks. They remain at
0.8 weeks. I can force a correction by entering 0 hours for a duration and
then re-entering 4 weeks.

Am I doing something obviously wrong? All of the task constraints are "as
soon as possible" and the task types are "fixed units" and "effort driven" is
checked. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.

Thanx,
Mike

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi Mike,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

You might like to have a look at my series on Microsoft Project in the
TechTrax ezine, particularly #10 on multiple resource assignments, at this
site: http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc or this:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMFrame.asp?CMD=ArticleSearch&AUTH=23
(Perhaps you'd care to rate the article before leaving the site,
Thanks.)

FAQs, companion products and other useful Project information can be seen at
this web address: <http://www.mvps.org/project/>

Hope this helps - please let us know how you get on

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP

 

[Steve House]

The duration of the task is the number of working time units between when
work is first done on the task by ANY resource until the last bit of work is
done one the task, again by any of the resources. Here's an example where
work can increase without duration increasing. Joe and Bill are both
assigned to a 5 day duration task. Joe is training Bill and they work
together for Monday then Joe goes away to do other things while Bill
continues on by himself for the rest of the week. Duration = 5 days, Joe's
work = 8 man-hours, Bill's work = 40 man-hours, total work = 48 man-hours.
Now Bill has been thinking and he realizes he needs more than just one day
to feel comfortable with his skills so he asks Joe to work with him on
Tuesday as well. Now Joe's work is 16 man-hours, Bill's is still 40, total
work is 56 man-hours, but the duration is still 5 days because that's the
total time between when work is first done by someone and the last bit of
work is done (Joe and Bill working together for Mon and Tue than Bill
continuing by himself Wed, Thur and Fri - the duration is 8am Mon to 5pm
Fri).

HTH

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

To cut a very long story short, if you want to change the work done by B,
then change the work done by B, not the percentage of the time he will
spend: for most options, that will only change the time he will spend
working (duratiin of his assignment) not the amount of work:
Work=duration*units
In the task usage view you can show the work done by either resource. An
alternative preferred by some is Window, Split from the gantt Chart.

HTH

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

Following are some of the cases leveling cannot resolve

- A task has a resoruce allocated for more than its Max Units
- A task and its summary task have the same resource assigned and the sum of
the units exceeds max units
- tasks with priority 1000 overlap
- tasks with compelling (must... ) constraints overlap
- You are using the option "Level only within available slack"

There must be a few more but these must be the most frequent.

HTH

 

[Mike Glen]

You're welcome, Mike

I address levelling in #20 , at this site: http://tinyurl.com/2xbhc .
However, you used the word "balancing" of resources. Project "levels" and
this is a very simple process of delaying tasks with overallocated resources
until the resource becomes available and nothing more. It, in any sense of
the word, balances nothing.

Your error message is probably caused by a constraint that prevents the task
from being delayed. Insert a Column for the Constraint Type field and make
sure they are all As Soon As Possible, otherwise you will receive such error
messages and also reduce the flexibility of your projects.

Mike Glen
MS Project MVP