Controlling Work When Adding or Removing Resource
Assignments
As you saw previously, you define the amount of work that a task
represents when you initially assign a resource or resources to it.
When using automatically scheduled tasks, Project gives you an option
to control how it should calculate work on a task when you assign
additional resources to the task or unassign resources from the task.
This option is called effort-driven scheduling. You have a lot
of flexibility in how you apply effort-driven scheduling. You can turn
on effort-driven scheduling for an entire project plan or just
specific tasks. You can also use the options in an Actions list to
control how Project should recalculate work on a task immediately
after making a resource assignment. Effort-driven scheduling applies
only when you assign additional resources or remove resources from
automatically scheduled tasks.
In this exercise, you adjust resource assignments on
tasks and tell Project how it should adjust the tasks.
-
In the Gantt Chart view, click the name of task 5,
Design and order marketing material.
Currently, Toby is assigned to this task. A quick check of
the scheduling formula looks like this:
80 hours (the same as 10 days, or two weeks) task duration ×
100% of Toby’s assignment units = 80 hours of work
Toby needs some help with this task, so you’ll add a
resource. -
In the Resource Name
column in the Assign Resources
dialog box, click Zac Woodall, and then click
Assign.
Zac is added to the task and Project updates the scheduling
formula values:
80 hours (the same as 10 days, or two weeks) task duration ×
200% (that is, the sum of Toby’s and Zac’s assignment units) = 160
hours work.
Next, you will use a feature called the Actions list to
control how Project schedules the work on a task when adding or
removing resources. Note the small triangle in the upper-left
corner of the name of task 5. This is a graphical indicator that
an action is now available. Until you perform another action, you
can use the Actions list to choose how you want Project to handle
the additional resource assignment. -
Click the name of task 5, and then click the Actions button that appears just to the
left of the task name.
Look over the options on the list that
appears.
These options allow you to choose the scheduling result that
you want. You can adjust the task’s duration, the resources’ work,
or the assignment units.
Tip
You will see other Actions indicators while using Project.
They generally appear when you might otherwise ask yourself,
"Hmm, why did Project just do that?" (such as when a task’s
duration changes after you assign an additional resource). The
Actions list gives you the chance to change how Project responds
to your actions.
For this task, you want the additional assignment to mean
additional work done in the original duration. This is the default
setting, so you’ll close the Actions list without making a
change. -
Click the Actions button
again to close the list.
Next, you’ll remove a resource from a task and then instruct
Project how to schedule the remaining resource assignment on the
task. -
Click the name of task 9, Plan author’s travel
itinerary.
Currently both Jane and Zac are assigned to the task. Jane
has told you that she needs to complete the planned work alone,
but over a longer time period. This is acceptable to you, so
you’ll unassign Zac. -
In the Resource Name
column in the Assign Resources
dialog box, click Zac Woodall,
and then click Remove.
Project unassigns Zac from the task. Next, you’ll
adjust how Project should handle the change in assignments. -
Click the Actions button
that appears just to the left of the task name.
-
Click Increase duration so the task
ends later but requires the same total work
(person-hours).
Project increases the task’s duration from three to six
days, and increases Jane’s work total from 24 to 48 hours. This 48
hours is the same total work on the task when both Jane and Zac
were assigned, but now all the work belongs to Jane.
So far, you’ve been adjusting duration and work
values as you add or remove resources from tasks. You can also
change the default setting for a task such that as you add
resources to the task, its duration is decreased. You’ll do so
next. -
In the Gantt Chart view, click the name of task 10,
Channel Sales prep.
Currently just Zac is assigned to this task, and it has a
two-week duration.
-
In the Task Form, click
Effort-driven, and then click
OK in the upper-right corner of
the Task Form.
There is no change to the duration, units, or work values
for this task, but watch what happens when you assign an
additional resource. -
In the Gantt Chart view, click the name of task 10,
and then, in the Assign
Resources dialog box, click Hany
Morcos, and then click Assign.
Task 10’s duration is reduced from two weeks to one week.
The total work on the task remains 80 hours, but now it is split
evenly between Zac and Hany. This is the scheduling result that
you wanted. If it wasn’t, you could use the Actions list to change
how Project responds to the additional resource assignment.
Tip
By default, effort-driven scheduling is disabled for all
tasks that you create in Project. To change the default setting
for all new tasks in a project plan, on the File tab, click
Options. In the Project Options dialog box, click the Schedule
tab and then select "the New tasks are effort-driven" check box.
To control effort-driven scheduling for a specific task or
tasks, first select the task or tasks. Then, on the Task tab, in
the Properties group, click Information, and on the Advanced tab
of the Task Information dialog box, select or clear the "Effort
driven" check box.
The order of your actions matters with regard to effort-driven
scheduling. If you initially assign two resources
to a task with a duration of three days (equal to 24 hours), Project
schedules each resource to work 24 hours, for a total of 48 hours of
work on the task. However, you might initially assign one
resource to a task with a duration of 24 hours and later
add a second resource. In this case,
effort-driven scheduling will cause Project to schedule each resource
to work 12 hours in parallel, for a total of 24 hours of work on the
task. Remember that when it’s turned on, effort-driven scheduling
adjusts task duration only if you add or remove resources from a
task.
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