Resource allocation question: Changing percentage from month to month?

[Sergio]

I have a question about Project that I have been unable to find an
answer to (at least in my usenet search):

I want to be able to implement my resoure allocation in a project such
that if the project lasts for example 2 months, I can have resource X
working 70% of his time on that project for the first month and 45% of
his time on that project for the second month.

Thus far, I can only figure out (a) how to allocate a fixed percentage
of someone's time for the duration of the task or (b), have to specify
explicit hours through the resource usage view. For example, I'd
ideally like to create a task that goes from September 1st to October
31st and then say "from September 1st to September 30th, X is allocated
70% to this project. From October 1st to October 31st, X is allocated
45% to this project".

Forgive me if the answer was already out there and I couldn't find it,
but any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Sergio.

 

[Brian K - Project MVP]

I have a question about Project that I have been unable to find an
answer to (at least in my usenet search):

I want to be able to implement my resoure allocation in a project such
that if the project lasts for example 2 months, I can have resource X
working 70% of his time on that project for the first month and 45% of
his time on that project for the second month.

Thus far, I can only figure out (a) how to allocate a fixed percentage
of someone's time for the duration of the task or (b), have to specify
explicit hours through the resource usage view. For example, I'd
ideally like to create a task that goes from September 1st to October
31st and then say "from September 1st to September 30th, X is allocated
70% to this project. From October 1st to October 31st, X is allocated
45% to this project".

Forgive me if the answer was already out there and I couldn't find it,
but any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Sergio.

the best I can think of for this would be to go to a usage view and insert
the "Percent Allocation field" in to the timescaled area on the right.
Then zoom in so that the scale is showing months. Then adjust the work
value until the % Allocation number is right for that month.

Sorry it is not prettier than that.

 

[Shiv]

Hi Sergio,

In fact, in the work that I do, I have to do this all the time. It's a pain
but the only way that I can see.
The only other option is to put the same task on 2 lines - one for September
1st to September 30th at 70% allocation and the other from October 1st to
October 31st at 45% allocation. But this means that your task is running over
2 lines - something you may not want.

 

[Sergio]

Brian, Shiv: Thanks for your replies. I'm a bit surprised that what
seems like such an obvious thing to do with resourcing is so
convoluted! I'll keep hacking at it and let you know if I find any
alternative.

Thanks again,

Sergio.

 

[Brian K - Project MVP]

Brian, Shiv: Thanks for your replies. I'm a bit surprised that what
seems like such an obvious thing to do with resourcing is so
convoluted! I'll keep hacking at it and let you know if I find any
alternative.

Thanks again,

Sergio.

Im not sure if convoluted really applies here since it is basically
editing one number. I would like it if % Allocation was editable at the
timescaled level but that is about the only thing I can think of that
would make this easier.

How do you envision doing this that is more straight forward?

 

[Sergio]

Yes, that's exactly what I would envision: Allowing you to edit the
percentages instead of the hours. It's not that editing hours is a
difficult exercise as such, it's just that doing it on a monthly basis
becomes more painful because you need to know how many works hours each
month has, since different months have different numbers of work
hours... Like you said, if the % Allocation was editable in that view,
that would definitely suffice.

 

[Steve House [Project MVP]]

One thing to watch out for is the misconception that the resource allocation
is the percentage of a resource's time that is devoted to tasks. That's
patially true but not the whole story. If I assign someone 50% to a task
that is 8 hours in duration, that does not mean they going to spend 4 houyrs
doing it. It really means they're going to spend 8 hours getting done what
they could have done in 4 if they weren't distracted. If you want someone
to spend half a day working full-time on something, that is a 4 hour task
assigned at 100%, not a 1 day task assigned at 50%.