[Project365] Resources capacity

Question

Created a project, assigned dates, effort and dependencies to tasks.

After assigning people to tasks, I would expect that Project365 would distribute tasks to resources based on their capacity. Instead it assumes that resources have unlimited capacity and unless there are dependecies, tasks are all run parallel.

Does Project365 have this feature? Am I missing some settings that I cannot see?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

And.Jann1,

I know very little about Project for the Web except that it is very limited, I use the standalone desktop version of Project. If you access Project via a URL that contains "project.microsoft.com", then what you have is indeed Project for the Web.

Regardless of the version, as I noted previously, no version of Project will automatically distribute resources to tasks based on resource capacity or availability.

John

Answer 2

I would assume it is Project for the Web. I cannot even manual save, so I cannot tell you which plan I have. So with my subscription I access Project via office portal online. I can only export it in an excel sheet.

Also, no way to set level of capacity in resources view.

And yes, pretty confusing.

Answer 3

And.Jann1,

No version of Project will automatically distribute resources to task based on resource capacity. Also, Project does NOT assume resources have unlimited capacity, except for material type resources. Work type resources (i.e. labor or equipment) are limited by their max unit level as specified on the Resource Sheet. For example, a unit level of 100% for a single resource means that resource is full time (i.e. is available for a full 8 hours per day based on the Standard calendar). For group resources (e.g. carpenters, painters, clerical pool, etc.) the max units corresponds to the number of individuals in the group. For example a group resource of 5 carpenters would have a max unit level of 500%.

When you save you have Project 365 online are you referring to Project Online or Project for the Web? They each have very different capabilities, the latter having less functionality. Project Online comes in different "flavors", plan 1, 3 or 5. If you have plan 3 or 5 you will also have the Project desktop client which is equivalent to the stand alone installation of Project.

Confusing, isn't it. But unfortunately that's what users have to deal with.

John

Answer 4

Hello and thanks for your reply.

Your solution is sound, but it refers to other versions of Project, no Project365 (online). With my current subscription to office365 I have access to this version, so I was wondering if distribution is also possible with this one.

Thanks!

Answer 5

Dear And.Jann1,

Good day! Thank you for posting your query in our community.

Based on your description, you want to distribute tasks to resources based on their capacity.

Here is an article for your reference: Distribute project work evenly (level resource assignments) - Microsoft Support.

If my understanding is wrong, please feel free to post back.

Sincerely,

Jazlyn | Microsoft Community Moderator