resource availability conflict - Project doesn't show me!!!

[Wim]

In a MS Project project, I have set up resource calendars of all team
members, with their availability. I then added a 5 days workshop as a
task ("fixed duration"), to be attended by all team members (100% of
their time). However, one member of the team is NOT available during
these days, as indicated in his resource calendar.

How does MS Project warn me that there is a conflict?

- In the Gantt chart no conflict is indicated,
- In the Resource Graph, his work load for those days is of course
zero, but without a warning in red that he actally was expected to be
there! I would have expected in this Resource Graph that his required
attendance to this workshop was indicated in red: a 100% bar in red,
being 100% required, but 0% available.

Please help.

Wim
Durban RSA
MS Project 2003 SP1
WXP

 

[Scott Wagner, PMP]

In the format menu item when viewing the resource sheet there is a Text
Styles option, drop that down and you will see an option for overallocated
resources. Edit the text style to reflect one that will catch your eye.

Hope that helps.

 

[Wim]

No, this doesn't help unfortunately. I use this handy standard
"Overallocate resource in red" option, but it doesn't apply to my
particular case of a workshop.

Please do it yourself and you will see my problem:
- in an empty/new project add 1 task "workshop" with fixed start/end
dates (=fixed duration / NOT effort-based),
- assign 1 resource to this task, and finally
- in this resource calendar block the respective workshop dates as
non-working days.

You will now see that in the resource sheet this resource gets 0 hours,
but NO WARNING AT ALL for an overallocation (because that's what it
is!) anywhere in the project, through red font, blinking, or
screaming!!! Very strange. Yes, in this easy case, it is not a problem
to check, but in a more complex project, one cannot check whether all
resources are available for such fixed duration / fixed start-end dates
tasks.... A clear warning is needed!
Please help again!
Wim

 

[Steve House [Project MVP]]

How exactly did you fix the start and end dates? The only way to actually
fix a date is to put a "Must Start On" or "Must Finish On" constraint on the
task but you can only put on one of them, not both. A MSO with a Fixed
Duration task type still doesn't lock the finish date when you give Project
an impossibility like you have. When I set up your scenario with an MSO of
today, Fixed Duration, an initial duration of 5 days, and assign my resource
to it, it gives me a finish of this coming Friday at 5pm. When I mark this
week as non-working for the resource, it changes the duration to 10 days and
sets the finish to 5pm a week from Friday, exactly what I would expect in
the real world. Using a MFO constraint instead gives just what you've
related, the task stays at 5 days running from this Mon until Friday, the
resource showing booked for 0 hours on Monday only but nothing else but this
isn't really an overallocation problem per se. Overallocations occur when a
resource is booked for more work than they can do but in this case he's
booked for zero work which can't be "more" than anything. It would be
convenient if it did red flag the resource, I agree.

 

[Wim]

Thanks for your support. I guess a smart formula would do the trick,
but that's too complex for me.
I fully agree that Project should show a red flag in this case. Is
there any way to ask Microsoft directly?
Wim

 

[Wim]

Thanks for your support. I guess a smart formula would do the trick,
but that's too complex for me.
I fully agree that Project should show a red flag in this case. Is
there any way to ask Microsoft directly?
Wim