Resource Units do not update.....Pr2003

[JohnM]

Hello, I hope this is one of those "user error" situations. I have a
project in which I am changing units (in decimals) to more accurately reflect
resource requirements. The problem is once I update resource units via
(Gantt view Task entry), the entries do not reflect the new units, however,
the WORK Hours on the resource usage view DOES show the revised units.

Why doesn't the task information resource tab, show an updated number?


Thanks for any assistance.

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi John,

Welcome to this Microsoft Project newsgroup

If you're entering a change to the Units, then either the Work will change
or the Duration will change. As you suggest the Work is OK, then the
Duration must be changing. Could you give us an example? Have you
installed the SP3 for 2003? Have you got Calculation set to Automatic
(Tools/Options.../Calculation tab)?

You might like to have a look at my series on Microsoft Project in the
TechTrax ezine, particularly #10 on resources, 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

 

[JohnM]

Thanks Mike, I will check out the links.

Yes, I do have sp3 installed. An example would be:
I have a task with a 40 month duration with a resource usage of .30 units
of an Engineer. For the 1st Qtr of 2008, the calculated work comes to 156
hours. After further reviews, it turns out the hours are too high. I
adjusted the units from .30 to .13 which brought the hours down to 70 hours
in the first QTR.

I changed the resource units within the task entry (resource tab) of the
Gantt View. However, the updated resource unit does not show up (the prior
entry of .30 still shows) in the Gantt view. The hours (within the resource
usage view) show up correctly as 70.2 in the first qtr '08. I have
performed a re-leveling after the changes, but the prior units still show up
in the resources tab of the Task Information window.


--John.

 

[Mike Glen]

Hi John,

Sorry - I've been away/busy. I can't reproduce your problem on my PC. When
you play around with the assignment of a resource, try splitting the Gantt
view so that you can see all the parameters. One of the problems as I see
it is the use of months as a unit, as defining a month is tricky and what is
the Duration of a Quarter? Try experimenting with a more definable period
like 4 weeks or 160 hours. Try again setting up the resource at .3 and then
..13. How does that react? Have you inserted Actual hours, as this will
lock in that amount?


Mike Glen
Project MVP

 

[JulieS]

Hello John,

Is there any actual work on the task? If you have entered actuals on
the task and then changed assignment units, the assignment units showing
in the Gantt chart view is the highest assignment units and may be
showing assignment units from the actual work.

Add the Peak Units field to the Resource Usage view. That will show you
timephased assignment units and may help you track down where the high
value is coming from.

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

 

[JohnM]

Hi Mike, fully understand -- things have been pretty busy for me as well. I
guess I am pretty confused regarding what "units" relate to. I thought
"units" were FTE (at least that is what I had been using). When I change the
units from .3 to 1.3, on any given activity, it does not change the unit.
When I look at the Resource Usage report, it shows different hours, but does
not reflect an updated unit. There are no actuals as the majority of this
work will not start until 2008.

Is there a specific book or training session I can refer to that focuses on
resources/units/hours?

I really appreciate your help.

--John.

 

[JohnM]

Hello Julie, there is no actual work on the task and I'm pretty confused on
the relationship of units/hours and why it won't allow changes to units.

I responded to Mike's earlier post and am looking for any additional
reference material I can use.

I really appreciate your assistance!

-John.

 

[JulieS]

Hello John,

Sorry for the delay in replying. What you report is most certainly out
of the usual for Project. When you modify resource assignments (change
from .3 to 1.3 in your example), not only should the work per
day/week/month increase, but the assignment should show the increased
assignment unit.

If you'd care to zip the file and send it along to me by email, I'll
take a look and see if I can ferret out a possible cause. My email
address is below:

passport 6847 AT maine.rr.com

[Remove spaces and convert the AT to @]

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