MS Project 2016 - Finish Date does not update when I assign resources

Question

Hello,

I am having an issue with MS Project 2016. I am trying to project the finish date of a project based on the total amount on duration (hrs) and the amount of resources allocated.

When I create a task, I set the duration to the estimated number of hours and then assign my resources. I have my resources max units set to 75% since they will only be working on my project 75% of the time. When I enter the duration of a task, a finish date is calculated based on 1 resource working 100% of the time during a standard schedule. I then add my resources but the finish date does not change. How do I get the duration to stay constant and just the finish date to adjust based on the number of resources I have allocated?

Thank you.

Answer 1

No. When you enter a duration, that's the duration. MSP doesn't have to assume anything about the resources that may or may not be assigned to it. A task can have a duration without having any resources assigned. All of the tasks can have durations without resources assigned. Now you may think that a task must have resources. Well, yes, sort of. But if you take a broader view of what a task is, it might be a milestone with zero duration (usually, but not always, has no resource assigned), or it might also be some kind of event which has duration but certainly does not have any resources attached to it. For example, "Wait For Concrete To Set" is a thing which has duration but no associated resource.

You are confusing duration and work. Where you say "duration to stay constant and just the finish date to adjust", well that's just impossible because the duration is the amount of working time between the start and that finish of the task.

Do this.

New blank project, new tasks auto scheduled

Make a task with 10 days duration. Call it "Lay 10000 bricks"

Go to the resource sheet and make a resource. Don't fiddle with max units.

Go back to the Gantt chart, and resource tab, assign resources button, and assign the resource.

Switch to the work table. Before you assigned the resource work was zero. After you assigned the resource, work is 80 hours.

Go back to the entry table.

Go to the resource sheet and make another resource.

Go back to the Gantt chart, and resource tab, assign resources button, and assign the second resource.

Switch to the work table. Before you assigned the second resource work was 80 hours. After you assigned the second resource, work is 160 hours. Duration is still 10 days.

Now double click on the task and go to the advanced tab of task information. There are two settings there, task type and effort driven. The default in all MSP versions since 2010 is fixed units and effort driven off. There three task types and effort driven is either on or off. That makes 6 possible combinations, except that effort driven can only be on for fixed work, so that makes 5 possible combinations.

Now make another 10 days task and do everything the same, except this time, before assigning the second resource go to task information, advanced and check effort driven on. Now when you assign the second resource, the duration will halve to 5 days and the work will stay at 80 days.

Explore the same thing 5 different ways to see the effect of the 5 different combinations of task type and effort driven.

Any help? Let us know how you get on.

Answer 2

Actually, that helps a lot. Thank you for breaking it down for me. I had the categories and their relationships confused.