Resources

[Karen]

At the company I work for, we use Project 2003. The individual who wanted
everyone to use this application does not work here anymore. No one is using
this application the proper way. I talked to my boss, so she could talk to
upper-management, about just using Excel. All we actually do with Project is
use it like a spreadsheet. We only need to know the calculated differences
of dates. We do not track cost, time, etc. My boss told me that the VP only
wants to use Project to see whether or not a person(s) is available, not
available, over allocated, etc. I told her that the way the projects are set
up, the person's availability is not a true estimate. Will someone please
give me a good argument to tell my boss regarding this?

In order to track resource availability, wouldn't we have to keep track of a
person's daily start and end time, their scheduled vacation time, the time
they spend on each task, etc. What else has to be tracked in order to know
whether or not a person is available, not available, over allocated, etc.?

Thank you

 

[John]

At the company I work for, we use Project 2003. The individual who wanted
everyone to use this application does not work here anymore. No one is using
this application the proper way. I talked to my boss, so she could talk to
upper-management, about just using Excel. All we actually do with Project is
use it like a spreadsheet. We only need to know the calculated differences
of dates. We do not track cost, time, etc. My boss told me that the VP only
wants to use Project to see whether or not a person(s) is available, not
available, over allocated, etc. I told her that the way the projects are set
up, the person's availability is not a true estimate. Will someone please
give me a good argument to tell my boss regarding this?

In order to track resource availability, wouldn't we have to keep track of a
person's daily start and end time, their scheduled vacation time, the time
they spend on each task, etc. What else has to be tracked in order to know
whether or not a person is available, not available, over allocated, etc.?

Thank you

Karen,
If the goal is to track resources and how they are assigned to
activities, then Project is a better application than Excel. And there
is nothing that says Project must also track cost - that's entirely up
to the user.

You mentioned that the way projects are set up does not give a true
estimate of a person's availability. It isn't clear whether you mean
that the problem is with the way your business is run or simply the way
your projects are planned out in Project. Of course, with any database
(Project, Excel or other), the output won't be valid if the input isn't
valid.

I would say the first step is to lay out the activities being performed
- that is, create a model of the work your company performs. You might
want to read fellow MVP, Mike Glen's, series on project lessons and
techniques. You can find Mike's link at:
http://www.mvps.org/project/links.htm

Once the activities are laid in, then the resources can be assigned.
Each resource may have his/her own work schedule (calendar). Given this
basic information, Project has several ways of showing how the work will
be performed including whether certain resources are available or
overallocated.

Hope this helps.
John
Project MVP

 

[Karen]

Thank you for your prompt response - The projects are currently set up like
spreadsheets. We really don't need to use this application and I just need a
solid argument to give to my boss. I need to know what has to be tracked in
order to give a true estimate of a person's availability. Don't you need to
know a person's work hours, vacation time, times spent on tasks, etc. What
else am I missing?
Thank you again

 

[John]

Thank you for your prompt response - The projects are currently set up like
spreadsheets. We really don't need to use this application and I just need a
solid argument to give to my boss. I need to know what has to be tracked in
order to give a true estimate of a person's availability. Don't you need to
know a person's work hours, vacation time, times spent on tasks, etc. What
else am I missing?
Thank you again

Karen,
To a certain extent Excel can be used to set up schedules but if you
need an application to track activities and resources in a time related
fashion (i.e. schedule), and do it efficiently, Project is much better
suited. It appears that your company has been using Excel for so long,
nobody has bothered to look at the benefits of using Project (except for
the guy who left the company). In my opinion it sounds like you DO NEED
to use Project.

Project has multiple fields relating to resource availability. And yes,
in order to use these fields effectively the resource's work schedule
(resource calendar) must be defined on the Resource Sheet. Time spent
working on tasks relates to the resource's assignments (e.g. full time
or part time assigned to work on any number of tasks). So basically you
aren't missing anything, other than what I perceive as an corporate
unwillingness to learn how to use Project to its advantage.

John
Project MVP