Can resource availability updates be automatically applied to existing tasks?

Question

Hello,

I have a project that I have set up with a separate resource pool as I plan to add additional projects at a later date that will access the same resources. The initial set up went well and I even did some updates to the resource pool that were automatically reflected in the project file. The problem occurred after I had assigned some resources to tasks and I noticed I needed to change the resource availability. I changed the availability in the resource pool, it was reflected on the resource sheet of my project, but it did not update the availability of the resources already attached to a task. Will I need to go through each task, delete and re-enter the resources?

Thank you!

Tom

Answer 1

Hi,

There is a conversion factor setting the relation between Hours and days, and it probably is stuck to 8hours per day. Go to File menu, Options, Schedule,and change hours per day to he number in your calendar.

Greetings,

Answer 2

Hi Tom,

Max units set in the Resource Sheet does not impact assignment units to tasks.  If you change the resource's calendar - the schedule will shift.  But if you drop max units from 100% to 80% (for example) and the resource is assigned at 100% -- all that will happen is the resource will still be assigned at 100% - above their max and the resource is over allocated.

You can use the Assign Resources window and replace a resource with the same resource - manually keying the lower assignment unit value.

Answer 3

Hi Julie (or another helpful person),

This seems to work - thank you.

I've noticed another issue : even though I am using a custom global calendar with a 7 hour work day, which has been applied both to the resources in my resource pool and the project as the default calendar. When project calculates my task duration and resource work hours, it is using an 8 hour calendar! This seems odd to me and I've been trying to find an answer prior to posting, but no luck so far.

FYI, under file/project information for the project itself is does list the custom calendar and in my resource pool, the resources are all assigned to the custom calendar as well.

Thank you

Tom

Answer 4

Hi Tom,

I'm not sure why 40% is incorrect.  I routinely use resources with max. units at less 100% as very rarely do I have resources fully dedicated to my project.  I set the value directly in the max. units field in the Resource Sheet. Setting the value in the Resource Information/Availability table does the same thing.

If you have resources who are available for 3 specific hours per day change their working time calendar and allow only the 3 hours per day.  If they are fully available for the 3 hours per day - set their max. units to 100% and assign them at 100%.  If you assign the resource to multiple overlappng tasks and the total assignment units is greater than 100% - the resource is overallocated.

I hope this helps.

Julie

Answer 5

Hi Julie,

OK, I can do that. Thanks.

Can you also explain when I would use anything other than 100% for a resource in the resource pool? In my case, I have resources that are not dedicated, so I had thought to have their work calendar as the regular calendar, but list them as 40% availability, for example. This turned out to be incorrect, however, which prompted my original question. FYI, now I am using the individual resource's Resource Information/Resource Availability table and using that to set their work days to the same percentage as the time available (i.e. a decent work around).

I will give you another actual scenario: I have resources which can be available 100% of the time for limited periods. How can I reflect this in the resource pool? Is there an automated way which can tell me if I have gone over the limit for the amount of time I can use them per week, for example? If there is a daily limit in terms of availability, it is easier, as I can just have them available 100% for three hours per day, for example, as in the scenario in the first paragraph. The issue is when it is a resource that will be called up from time to time to be dedicated for brief periods.

Tom