Resource Pool Duplicate Resources

[schwartzme]

I am trying to create a resource pool from existing projects that have
assigned resources. When I combine the resources from the various schedules,
I get duplicate resources with the same name in the resource pool (not all of
the resources that are in various projects act this way). I read that
Project thinks these are separate resources, when in fact they are the same
resource. I need to be able to have one entry per resource without having to
reenter all of the information for the resources, which would be very time
consuming.

 

[JulieS]

Hello schwartzme,

You can create the resource pool from the individual project files.
The step-by-step instructions are outlined in the help topic
"Creating a resource pool for sharing resources across projects".
Pay particular attention to steps 2 and 3.

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

 

[schwartzme]

Julie,

The steps in the help topic are what I did originally, however, I have only
put two projects into my resource pool and I had 3 resources that duplicated.
The names were the exact same. Somewhere along the line Project thinks
these are two different resources even though they have the same name. Two
of the 3 were easy to fix, but the third will be a huge headache to fix.
Plus, I don't want to have to go through this with every project I add to the
pool. When I look to see what project ResourceA #1 goes to, it is one
project file and ResourceA #2 is the other project. I appreciated your help,
do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[JulieS]

Hi,

Okay, let's start back at the beginning. What release (2003 ?
2007? ) of Project are you running? What service pack(s) are
applied?

I think there may also be some misunderstanding. Once you have
created the resource pool file, you do not create resources in the
individual project files. You create the additional project files
with the tasks and dependencies, and then use the resources from the
pool file.

Once you straighten away the current problem, you shouldn't see any
more. I suggest creating the consolidated file and then in the pool
file, show the Project field in the Resource usage view. Track down
the assignments for the different "versions" of the duplicated
resource, re-assign to the correct resource and then delete the
duplicates from the pool file.

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

 

[JulieS]

Thanks for the update.

If you view the resource usage view with the Project field added,
does that make it easier to find which file(s) the two resources are
coming from?

The Resource Usage view should also make it easier for you to watch
the assignments and see if you are able to swap them.

I also suggest double checking the pool file. With the pool open,
Go to Tools > Resource sharing > Share resources. It's possible
that you may have multiple copies of the same file attached to the
pool. If so, make sure the pool is open read/write and then open
the duplicated project file. Disconnect from the pool side, save
the pool and project file. Confirm the disconnection from the
project file side. Save all files.



Julie