Retain full utilization of resources after a task is complete

[Joe]

I have a development project plan I am managing. I have a developer who has
4 coding task to complete, which start on the same day. I don’t care what
order he completes these task items, so he can work on all 4 items for 2
hours a day or any combination. These task items have different durations.
Lets say they are t1=10hrs., t2=14 hrs., t3=20 hrs., t4=10 hrs. I would like
to set up the plan with this resource assigned to all 4 task items at 25%
utilization. The problem is after he is finished with t1 and t4, the plan
will still only have him at 25% utilization for t2 and t3, even though he
technically should be 50% utilization. So instead, I have the resource
assigned to the 4 task at 100% utilization, with each task dependent on the
other starting from t1. I really don’t like this method because it makes the
plan look like they are dependent on each other, but they really are not.

I thought of manually adjusting the hours after the task is done to make the
resource fully utilized, but it is a manual and tedious process, with over 20
developers, it is unmanageable.

Does anyone have this issue and have a better suggestion on how to handle
this?

Joe

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Joe,

Well, if you do your best to find trouble you'll end up finding it.
This is one of the many many reasons why I advise against setting up
percetage allocations to tasks.
You should
Leave the tasks at 100%
If ypu want a realistic total duration luse resourc eleveling
When a task is reported done
Clear leveling
Report actuals
Resource Leveling again.

Sounds long but it is more elegant than messing about with 25 % becoming 33
and shifting task setc.
HTH

 

[Joe]

Thanks Jan, I recall from about 1 year ago - reading many of your postings
regarding resource leveling. I specifically remember you saying something
about a specific overallocation basis setting to use, but I don't remember
what it was. Could you tell me what setting you recomemnd and why, or
explain what that setting is for or how it works?

Thanks, I value your opinion.

Joe

 

[Steve House [MVP]]

I see a couple of issues here. You quote some times for your tasks and you
are referring to durations T1 = 10 hours, T2=14 hours, and so forth. But I
wonder if those are really durations or are they work? Taking T1 for
example - you were thinking of putting him on at 25%. 25% means 2 hours per
day, assuming a standard workday. So when you say it's 10 hours, do you
mean 10 man-hours of work, taking him 5 duration days to complete at a rate
of 2 hours per day, or do you mean 10 duration hours, starting Monday at 8am
along with the other 3 tasks and finishing Tuesday at 10 am having spent a
total of about 3 man-hours on T1's part of his total work performed, the
work on T1 interleaved with the other 3 tasks he's juggling at the same time
to fill out the 10 hours duration elapsed for all 4 taken together? It is
extremely important to be crystal clear on just what "10 hours" really
means!

You've said you don't care what order they're done but is that really true?
Most tasks in a project don't take place in a vacuum. Is there anything
following them that can't proceed until one or more of them is finished? If
so, is it the completion of specific task(s) out of the group of 4 or is it
completion of the group?

How accurately does this need to be modeled? Would it do to have 1 task
"Build 4 modules" instead of 4, estimated to require a total work or
duration of 54 hours and assign him to it 100%, letting him sort out the
details of how much time is spent when on each one? Or perhaps have a
summary task with all 4 underneath it. Assign him to all 4 at 100%. He'll
show overallocated but resource leveling will sequence them, albeit
apparently arbitrarily. That way you'll get sequencing so as to fit the
group into the overall project model without introducing fictitious
dependency links. If all that matters is the group, why worry if he choses
to work according the the theoretical sequence or not, as long as all 4
finish by the required time, who cares how he goes about it? Or if it does
matter because of follow-on work, place those that should be done first at a
higher priority than the others before leveling. Manage as tightly as
needed but if the details don't matter, forgetaboutit <grin>.

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi Joe,

Quoting from memory, that must have been about the issue of multiple
resources working together.
You can obtain that through leveling by unchecking "Leveling can adjust
individual assignments on a task".
It doesn't come into play whan you have only one resource on a task, though.

HTH