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Microsoft Project 2010Advanced Scheduling

Fine-Tuning Assignment Details – (Part 9)

Soe Naing WinEmail: [email protected]

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Delay the start of a resource assignment.

Control how a resource’s work on a task is scheduled by using work contours.

Apply different cost rates for a resource to account for different kinds of work performed by the resource.

Assign a material resource to a task.

See resources’ capacities to do work.

In this chapter, you will learn how to:

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Fine-Tuning Assignment Details

Work resources are often the most expensive part of a

project, understanding how to make the best use of their

time is an important project management skill.

1. In this chapter, you apply a variety of Microsoft

Project 2010 features to manage resources’

assignments to tasks and costs of assignments.

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Delaying the Start of Assignments

If more than one resource is assigned to a task, you might not

want all the resources to start working on the task at the same

time. You can delay the start of work for one or more resources

assigned to a task.

1. For example, assume that four resources have been

assigned a task. Three of the resources initially work on

the task, and the fourth later inspects the quality of the

work. The inspector should start work on the task later

than the other resources.

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Delaying the Start of Assignments

Exercise : delay the start of a resource assignment on a

task.Change Gantt Chart view > Task Usage view.

Task Copyeditors > Task tab > Editing group > Scroll to Task.

two resources assigned

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Delaying the Start of Assignments

The intent of task 18 is that Author will review the edits made to his book manuscript, and shortly afterward, the copyeditor will begin to incorporate the author’s feedback.

Right now, both resources are assigned work throughout the duration, We’d like to delay the start of the copyeditor’s work by two days. We’ll make this adjustment in the Task Usage view.

• Format tab > Assignment group > Information > General tab

• Start > 4/30/12.

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Delaying the Start of Assignments

Project adjusts the copyeditor’s assignment

Duration changed - the finish date moved out two working days

The duration of this task has increased as the work is over a longer period of time.

Time phased > zero hours of work for copyeditor for 2days

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Applying Contours to Assignments

CONTOURS

Resources are usually human beings and therefore they bring a lot of unpredictability with them - dates can change, resources may be assigned too much of work or they may have to leave in the middle of a project. We have to leave room for changes in assignments and work distributions. Project allows you to arrange for resources to start or finish work at different dates, interrupt assignments to allow for work on other tasks and also assign overtime work if necessary - in other words a contouring of assignments is possible. The Task Usage View and the Resource Usage Views offer such possibilities. 

What does the term contour mean in Project? It is the shape of the distribution of work within an assignment. Usually, if a resource is assigned 100% to a 40-hour task with no predecessors, the task will begin immediately with 8 hours of work/day for 5 days. This is the default flat work contour where each unit's work is spread evenly across the duration of the task.

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Applying Contours to Assignments

Sometimes, you may need to change the distribution of an assignment's work by applying a predefined contour or creating a custom contour for it. MS Project includes 8 predefined contours as listed below:

1. Flat: The default contour with an even distribution of work.

2. Back-loaded: Peak activity happens at the end of the project.

3. Front-loaded: Peak activity is at the beginning of the project.

4. Double Peak: A Project that has two major periods of peak activity.

5. Early Peak: the same as the Front-loaded but with a ramp up to peak activity

6. Late peak: a Back-loaded contour with a ramp.

7. Bell: single peak in the middle of the project

8. Turtle: A bell with a ramp up and ramp down.

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Applying Contours to Assignments

1. Flat:

2. Back-loaded:

3. Front-loaded:

4. Double Peak:

5. Early Peak:

6. Late peak:

7. Bell:

8. Turtle

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Applying Contours to Assignments

1. Flat:

2. Back-loaded:

3. Front-loaded:

4. Double Peak:

5. Early Peak:

6. Late peak:

7. Bell:

8. Turtle

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Applying Contours to Assignments

Sometimes, you may need to change the distribution of an assignment's work by applying a predefined contour or creating a custom contour for it. MS Project includes 8 predefined contours as listed below:

1. Flat: The default contour with an even distribution of work.

2. Back-loaded: Peak activity happens at the end of the project.

3. Front-loaded: Peak activity is at the beginning of the project.

4. Double Peak: A Project that has two major periods of peak activity.

5. Early Peak: the same as the Front-loaded but with a ramp up to peak activity

6. Late peak: a Back-loaded contour with a ramp.

7. Bell: single peak in the middle of the project

8. Turtle: A bell with a ramp up and ramp down.

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Applying Contours to Assignments

In addition to viewing assignment details, you can change the amount of time a resource works on a task in any given time period. There are various ways to do this: 1. Apply a predefined work contour to an assignment. Predefined

contours generally describe how work is distributed over time in terms of graphical patterns. • For example, the Bell predefined contour distributes less work to the

beginning and end of the assignment and distributes more work toward the middle. If you were to graph the work over time, the graph’s shape would resemble a bell.

2. Edit the assignment details directly. • For example, in the Resource Usage or Task Usage view, you can

change the assignment values directly in the timescaled grid.

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Applying Contours to Assignments

Exercise : Apply a predefined contour to an assignment and manually edit another assignment .

1. Task 38 > Carole Poland > Task tab > Editing group > Scroll to Task.

two resources are scheduled to work on this task four hours per day . and a third resource is scheduled to work full time on this task

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Applying Contours to Assignments

You want to change Carole Poland’s assignment on this task so that she starts with a brief daily assignment and increases her work time as the task progresses.

To accomplish this, you will apply a back-loaded contour to the assignment. Note that task 38, Final review is a fixed-duration task type, not the default fixed-units task type.

1. Format tab > Assignment group > Information > Work Contour > Back Loaded > OK.

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Applying Contours to Assignments

You see that in each successive day of the task’s duration, Carole Poland is assigned slightly more time to work on the assignment

The contour indicator matches the type of contour applied - back-loaded in this case

The back-loaded contour causes Project to assign very little work to the resource initially and then add more work each day

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Applying Contours to Assignments

Applying a contour to a fixed-duration task will cause Project to recalculate the resource’s work value so that the resource works less in the same time period.

For example, Carole’s total work on task 38 was reduced from 20 to 12 hours when you applied the contour. Depending on the task type, applying a contour to this assignment may cause the overall duration of the task to be extended. Task 38 is a fixed-duration task, so applying the contour did not change the task’s duration. For a fixed-work or fixed-unit task, however, it would. If you do not want a contour to extend a task’s duration, change the task type (on the Advanced tab of the Task Information dialog box) to Fixed Duration before applying the contour

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Applying Contours to Assignments

Exercise : Manually edit another assignment .

Hany is currently assigned four hours per day for each day of the assignment’s duration. Why four hours?

Hany normally has eight working hours per day on these particular days (as determined by her resource calendar). She was assigned to this task at 50 percent assignment units, however, so the resulting scheduled work is only four hours per day

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Applying Contours to Assignments

You want to increase Hany’s work on the last two days of this task so that she will work full time on it. To accomplish this, you will manually edit her assignment values.

• Timescaled grid > 8h

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Applying Different Cost Rates to Assignments

In the “Entering Multiple Pay Rates for a Resource” section of Chapter 8, we set up a second rate table for • Hany Morcos to be applied for any assignments in

which she is functioning as a content editor. • Hany is currently assigned to task 36, Proof and review,

as a content editor rather than her default role of a project editor, but her assignment still reflects her default pay rate as a project editor.

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Applying Different Cost Rates to Assignments

Exercise: change the pay rate table to be applied to an assignment. Task Name column > below task 36 > Hany Morcos > View tab > Data group > Tables > Cost.

In the Cost table you can see the tasks and each assignment's total cost. To see other assignment cost values such as actual cost or variance, scroll the table to the right.

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Applying Different Cost Rates to Assignments

• Format tab > Assignment group > Information• Cost Rate Table > select B

1. Project applies Hany’s cost rate table B to the assignment.

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Assigning Material Resources to Tasks

When assigning a material resource, you can handle consumptions and cost in one of two ways: Assign a fixed-unit quantity of the material resource to the

task. Project will multiply the unit cost of this resource by the number of units assigned to determine the total cost. (You’ll use this method in the following exercise.)

Assign a variable-rate quantity of the material resource to the task. Project will adjust the quantity and cost of the resource as the task’s duration changes

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Assigning Material Resources to Tasks

Exercise : Assign a material resource to a task and enter a fixed-unit quantity of consumption.• Task tab > View group > Gantt Chart > Task Name > task 38

• You anticipate that you’ll need 20 bound galley proof copies for this review.

• Task tab > Editing group > Scroll to Task. • Resource tab > Assignments group > Assign Resources.

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Assigning Material Resources to Tasks

• Assign Resources > Units field for the Bound galley proofs resource > 20 > Assign.

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Assigning Material Resources to Tasks

When you assign a material resource to a task, its label value appears in the Units column and next to the Gantt bar to which it is assigned

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Viewing Resource Capacity

Recall that the amount of time that a resource is able to work on tasks in a project plan is called its resource capacity, and in Project, this is measured in units. • By default, such units are presented as a percentage value,

with 0% meaning no capacity and 100% meaning the full or maximum capacity of a single resource with a normal working schedule of 40 hours per week. In Project, a resource’s maximum capacity to do work is tracked as the resource’s Max Units value

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Viewing Resource Capacity

Project planning you can expect one of the following conditions: • Planned work is less than the working capacity of the

team. You may be able to use some portion of your resources’ time for other projects, or to do more work in this project.

• Planned work exceeds the working capacity of the team. You may need to reduce the scope of work or secure more resources.

• Planned work is approximately equal to the working capacity of the team.

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Viewing Resource Capacity

Exercise : look at individual resource capacity per day, week, and month during the time span in which the project plan is now scheduled. • View tab > Resource Views group > Resource Usage.

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Viewing Resource Capacity

Here, our focus is on seeing availability for the resources. To begin, you’ll switch the timephased view to show resource availability. • Format tab >Details group > check Remaining Availability

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Viewing Resource Capacity

• Format tab > Details group > clear the Work• Project hides the Work details, leaving the Remaining Availability detail

visible.

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Viewing Resource Capacity

• Resource Name > View tab > Data group > Outline > Hide Subtasks

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Viewing Resource Capacity

Next, you’ll adjust the zoom level of the timephased view to see availability per month.• View tab > Zoom group> Months >Timescale box.•

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

In the Team Planner view, you see tasks organized by the resource to which they are assigned (like the Resource Usage view) and any unassigned tasks. Both assigned and unassigned tasks may be either: Scheduled tasks Scheduled for a specific time period

and displayed in the Team Planner view at a specific point in time.

Unscheduled tasks Manually scheduled tasks, with or without an assigned resource.

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

Exercise B: Examine resource assignments and address some overallocation problems, as well as assign some unassigned and unscheduled tasks in the new book project plan. View > Resource Views > Team Planner > Resource Name

column, select Carole Poland. Task tab > Editing group >Scroll to Task.

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

The Team Planner view includes four sections:

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

You’d like Carole’s unscheduled task, Launch planning, to start in the beginning of August, so you’ll move it there. • Horizontally scroll the view until the week of August 5th is visible

in the timescale.

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

• Click and drag Carole’s unscheduled task, Launch planning, in Carole’s row so that the task start date is Monday, August 6

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

• Point your mouse pointer at the task that you just scheduled. • A ScreenTip appears and contains the essential task details.

• Still a manually scheduled task, and it will remain so until it is switched to automatic scheduling.

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

Next, you’ll schedule the unscheduled task assigned to Hany Morcos, and you’ll also reassign it to Carole.

You’d like this task to be completed in early August as well. • Click and drag the name of Hany Morcos’s unscheduled task,

Assign launch team members, to Carole’s Poland’s row so that the task start date is Tuesday, August 7.

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

Next, you’ll assign the two unassigned and unscheduled tasks. Both of these tasks should be assigned to Hany Morcos • Click and drag the first unassigned task, Complete author

questionnaire, to Hany Morcos’s row so that the task start date is Monday, August 13.

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

• Click and drag the remaining unassigned task, Schedule author interviews, to Hany Morcos’s row so that the task start date is Tuesday, August 14

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

Now both tasks are assigned and scheduled, though they remain manually scheduled tasks.

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

To conclude this exercise,

you’ll address some of the resource overallocation problems that are visible in the Timeline view.

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

Exercise: you’ll address some of the resource overallocation problems that are visible in the Timeline view. View tab > Zoom group> Timescale box > Weeks Scroll the view horizontally until the week of June 24 is visible in

the timescale

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

Because you need Hany’s full attention on the Interior illustration and design task, you’ll reassign the Copyedit incorp task to someone else. • Right-click Hany’s task, Copyedit incorp, and in the shortcut menu

that appears, click Reassign To, and then select Carole Poland

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Adjusting Assignments in the Team Planner View

There are still overallocation issues in the project plan, but they are minor issues that don’t require additional attention.

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● You can change when a resource will start work on an assignment without affecting other resources assigned to the same task.

● Project includes several predefined work contours that you can apply to an assignment.

● When working with resource costs, you can specify different cost rates for different assignments.

● When assigned to a task, material resources can have a fixed or variable consumption rate.

● In a usage view, you can see remaining availability of work resources at whatever time increment you wish.

● The Team Planner view allows easy dragging of assignments between resources (Project Professional only).

Key Points


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