Set up work resources

Work resources are the people and equipment doing the work of the project. Project focuses on two aspects of work resources: their availability and their costs. Availability pertains to when specific resources can work on tasks and how much work those resources can perform. Costs refers to the financial costs incurred by resources performing work on the project.

In Project, work resource names can refer to specific people or to specific job titles. Use whatever naming convention makes the most sense to you and to the people who will see your plan. The important questions are these: Who will see these resource names, and how will they identify the resources? The resource names you choose will appear both in Project and in any resource information shared from Project.

A resource might refer to somebody who’s already on staff or to a position to be filled later. If you haven’t yet filled all the resource positions required, you might not have the names of specific people to enter. In that case, use descriptive placeholder names or job titles when setting up resources in Project.

The following table lists some examples of how you can enter work resource names.

Project can help you make smarter decisions about managing resources and monitoring financial costs.

To enter work resource names

1. On the View tab, in the Resource Views group, select Resource Sheet to display the Resource Sheet view.

2. Select an empty cell in the Resource Name column.

3. Enter your resource names, pressing the Enter key after each one.

   Project applies the default Work resource type in the Type field.

   Tip

   You can quickly import resources from your email address book. First, switch to the Resource Sheet view. Then, on the Resource tab, select Add Resources.

To insert a new work resource within a resource list

1. Display the Resource Sheet view.

2. Select in the cell in the Resource Name column where you want to insert the new resource.

3. On the Resource tab, in the Insert group, select Add Resources, and then select Work Resource.

   Project inserts a new row with the <New Resource> name in the Resource Name column and renumbers the subsequent resources.

4. With <New Resource> selected, enter the resource name and press Enter.

To delete a resource

• Right-click or long-press (tap and hold) the resource name, and then select Delete Resource.

Enter the maximum capacity for work resources

Work resources don’t have unlimited capacity within the limited duration of a plan, and Project helps you manage this. The Max. Units field represents the maximum capacity of a resource to work on the tasks assigned to that resource. Specifying that a resource has 100% maximum units means that 100 percent of that resource’s working time is available to work on assigned tasks in the plan. Project alerts you with an indicator and formatting if you assign the resource to more tasks than the resource can accomplish. For example, a resource is overallocated if it is assigned to two or more tasks at 100% capacity each, and the tasks overlap. 100% is the default Max. Units value for new work resources.

For a resource that represents not a specific person but a category of interchangeable people with a common skill set, you can enter a larger maximum units value to indicate the number of available people. For example, entering a maximum units value of 200% for such a resource means that you expect two individual people who belong to that resource category to be available to work full time every workday, or four individual people to each work half time, or any equivalent combination.

For a resource that has less than full-time availability, you can enter a smaller maximum units value. For example, entering a maximum units value of 75% for such a resource means that you expect that resource’s capacity to be three-quarters of a full-time resource. For a 40-hour work week, this equals 30 hours of capacity. Note that such a part-time working capacity might apply to a part-time worker or to a full-time worker who is allocated to a specific project only part time.

To adjust a resource’s working capacity

1. On the View tab, in the Resource Views group, select Resource Sheet.

2. In the Resource Sheet view, select the Max. Units field for the resource you want to adjust (the Max. portion of the field’s column heading might be the only part visible).

   Tip

   When you select a numeric value in a field such as Max. Units, up and down arrows appear. You can select these to display the number you want, or you can enter the number directly in the field.

3. Enter the new value for the resource. For example, enter 200% to represent two resources, or enter 50% for a resource who has only half-time availability.

Enter work resource pay rates

Almost all projects have some financial aspect, and cost limits the scope of many projects. Tracking and managing cost information in Project allows the project manager to answer such important questions as these:

• What is the expected total cost of the project, based on task durations and resource assignments?

• Is the organization using expensive resources to do work that less expensive resources could do?

• How much money will a specific type of resource or task cost over the life of the project?

• Is the organization spending money at a rate that it can sustain for the planned duration of the project?

In Project, you can enter standard rates and costs per use for work and material resources, in addition to overtime rates for work resources. This is shown in Figure 5-1. Recall that Project uses three types of resources: work, cost, and material.

You can enter pay rates with a variety of time bases: per minute, hourly (the default), daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly. You enter rates in the format of rate/period—for example, 30/hr for $30 per hour. Period abbreviations are /min for minutes, /hr for hours, /day for day, /wk for week, /mon for month, and /yr for year.

When a work resource has a standard pay rate entered and is assigned to a task, Project calculates the cost of the assignment. Project does so by multiplying the resource’s assigned work value by his or her pay rate—both using a common increment of time (such as hours). You can then see the cost per resource, cost per assignment, and cost per task (and also costs rolled up to summary tasks and the entire plan). You’ll assign resources to tasks in Chapter 6, “Assign resources to tasks.” You’ll work with multiple resource pay rates in Chapter 11.

Project handles overtime expenses differently. Project applies the overtime pay rate only when you specifically record overtime hours for an assignment. Project doesn’t automatically calculate overtime hours and associated costs because there’s too great of a chance that it might apply overtime when you did not intend it.

You can specify when work resource standard and overtime costs should accrue. The options are at the start of work on a task, at the end of work on the task, or prorated (the default) evenly over the duration of the task.

In addition to or instead of cost rates, a resource can include a set fee that Project applies to each task to which the resource is assigned. This is called a cost per use. Unlike cost rates, the cost per use does not vary with the task’s duration or the amount of work the resource performs on the task.

To enter a standard rate for a resource

1. On the View tab, in the Resource Views group, select Resource Sheet.

2. In the Resource Sheet view, select the Std. Rate field for the resource for which you want to set a standard pay rate.

   Depending on the width of the column, you might see only Std. in the column heading.

3. Enter a standard rate by using the format of rate/period, such as 30/hr.

To enter an overtime rate for a resource

1. Display the Resource Sheet view.

2. Select the Ovt. Rate field for the resource for which you want to set an overtime pay rate.

   Depending on the width of the column, you might see only Ovt. in the column heading.

3. Enter an overtime rate by using the format of rate/period, such as 45/hr.

To enter a cost per use for a resource

1. Display the Resource Sheet view.

2. In the Cost/Use field, enter the value you want.

Adjust working time in a resource calendar

Project uses different types of calendars for different purposes. Chapter 3, “Start a new plan,” describes the project calendar, which specifies nonworking days for the entire plan. This topic focuses on resource calendars. A resource calendar controls the working and nonworking times of a specific resource. Project uses a resource calendar to determine when work for a resource can be scheduled. Resource calendars apply only to work resources (people and equipment), not to material or cost resources.

When you initially create resources in a plan, Project creates a resource calendar for each work resource. The initial working time settings for resource calendars exactly match those of the project calendar, which, by default, is the Standard base calendar. The Standard base calendar is built into Project and accommodates a default work schedule from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday, with an hour off for lunch each day.

If all the working times of your resources match the working time of the project calendar, you don’t need to edit any resource calendars. However, chances are good that some of your resources will need exceptions to the working time in the project calendar—for example:

• A flex-time work schedule

• Personal holiday (vacation) time

• Other times when a resource is not available to work on the project, such as time spent in training or when attending a conference

Changes that you make to the project calendar are reflected automatically in resource calendars derived from the same project calendar. For example, in the practice tasks in Chapter 3, you specified a nonworking day for a staff morale event, and Project rescheduled all work to skip that day. Note, however, that after you create an exception in the resource calendar, that exception is not affected by later changes to the project calendar that cover the same time period.

To specify a calendar exception for a work resource

1. On the Project tab, in the Properties group, select Change Working Time.

2. In the For calendar box, select the name of the resource whose calendar you want to change.

   Tip

   When working in the Change Working Time dialog, pay close attention to the value in the For calendar box. Accidentally editing the wrong calendar is an easy mistake.

3. In the Name field on the Exceptions tab in the lower portion of the dialog, enter a description of the exception.

   The description for the calendar exception is a handy reminder for you and others who might view the plan later.

4. In the Start and Finish fields, enter or select the dates you want.

   A calendar exception is illustrated in Figure 5-2.

   Tip

   To set up a partial working time exception for a resource, such as a portion of a day when a resource cannot work, select Details. In the Details dialog, you can also create recurring exceptions to the resource’s availability.

   

5. Select OK to close the Change Working Time dialog.

To modify a resource’s default working week days and times

1. Display the Change Working Time dialog.

2. In the For calendar box, select the name of the resource whose calendar you want to change.

3. Select the Work Weeks tab.

4. Select [Default] directly under the Name column heading, and then select Details.

5. Under Select day(s), select the day or days you want to adjust.

6. Do any of the following:

   • To set the full days to nonworking, select Set days to nonworking times.

   • To set working times that differ from the base calendar, select Set day(s) to these specific working times and then, in the From and To columns, enter the working times as shown in Figure 5-3.

   • To return to the base calendar working times, select Use times from base calendar for these days.

   

7. When you complete your edits to the workweek, select OK, and then select OK again to close the Change Working Time dialog.

To assign a different base calendar to a resource

1. On the Project tab, in the Properties group, select Change Working Time.

2. In the For calendar field, select the resource you want.

3. In the Base calendar field of the resource, select the base calendar you want.

Set up cost resources

Another type of resource you can use in Project is the cost resource. You can use a cost resource to represent a financial cost associated with a task in a plan. Although work resources (people and equipment) can have associated costs (hourly rates and fixed costs per assignment), the sole purpose of a cost resource is to associate a particular type of cost with one or more tasks. Common types of cost resources might include categories of expenses you want to track in a plan for accounting or financial reporting purposes, such as travel, entertainment, or training.

Cost resources do no work and have no effect on the scheduling of a task. The Max. Units, Standard and Overtime pay rate, and Cost Per Use fields do not apply to cost resources. After you assign a cost resource to a task and specify the cost amount per task, you can see the cumulative costs for that type of cost resource, such as total travel costs in a project.

The way that cost resources generate cost values differs from that of work resources. When you assign a work resource to a task, the work resource can generate a cost based on a pay rate (such as $40 per hour for the length of the assignment), a flat per-use cost (such as $100 per assignment), or both. You set up such pay rates and cost-per-use amounts once for the work resource, as described in the “Enter work resource pay rates” topic, earlier in this chapter. However, you enter the cost value of a cost resource only when you assign it to a task. You do this in the Cost field of the Assign Resources dialog or in the Cost field of the Task form with the Cost detail shown. This is described in “Assign cost resources to tasks,” in Chapter 6.

To add a cost resource

1. On the View tab, in the Resource Views group, select Resource Sheet.

2. In the Resource Sheet view, select in the Resource Name column where you want to add the cost resource.

3. On the Resource tab, in the Insert group, select Add Resources and then select Cost Resource.

   Project inserts a row for the new cost resource. Project names the new cost resource <New Resource>.

4. With <New Resource> selected, enter the cost resource name and press Enter.

Document resources by using notes

You might recall from Chapter 4, “Build a task list,” that you can record additional information about a task, resource, or assignment in a note. For example, if a resource has conference time recorded as an exception in their resource calendar, it’s a good idea to record this in a note. That way, the note resides in the plan and can be easily viewed or printed.

Chapter 4 described creating a task note by selecting the Notes button on the Task tab, in the Properties group. You can enter resource notes in a similar way (by selecting the Notes button on the Resource tab, in the Properties group). Another option is to enter notes directly in the Resource Form view. The advantage of using the Resource Form is that you can view and edit notes for multiple resources more quickly.

To enter a note for a resource in the Resource Information dialog

1. On the View tab, in the Resource Views group, select Resource Sheet.

2. Select a resource name.

3. On the Resource tab, in the Properties group, select Notes.

4. In the Notes box, enter a note for the resource.

To enter a note for a resource by using the Resource Form

1. On the View tab, in the Resource Views group, select Resource Sheet.

2. On the Resource tab, in the Properties group, select the Details button.

   In this type of split view, details about the item that is selected in the upper pane (a resource, in this case) appear in the lower pane. You can quickly change the selected resource name in the upper pane by selecting a name directly or by selecting Previous or Next in the Resource Form.

   The Resource Form view can display one of several details; initially, it displays the Schedule details.

3. Select anywhere in the Resource Form view to change the focus to the Resource Form. The label of the Resource Sheet Format tab changes to Resource Form Format.

4. On the Resource Form Format tab, in the Details group, select Notes.

   Tip

   You can also right-click in the gray, empty background area of the Resource Form view and, in the shortcut menu that appears, select Notes.

   As shown in Figure 5-4, the Notes details appear in the Resource Form view.

   

5. In the Notes box, enter the note for the resource.

   Notice that, as soon as you start typing the note, the Previous and Next buttons change to OK and Cancel.

6. Select OK.

Skills review

In this chapter, you learned how to

• Set up work resources

• Enter the maximum capacity for work resources

• Enter work resource pay rates

• Adjust working time in a resource calendar

• Set up cost resources

• Document resources by using notes

Practice tasks

The SimpleSetUpResources practice file for these tasks is located in the ProjectDesktopSBSCh05 folder. For practice file download instructions, see the introduction to this book.