Identifying Tentative, Generic, or Budget Resources
by Teresa S. Stover, Bonnie Biafore, and Andreea Marinescu
Microsoft® Project 2010 Inside Out
- Microsoft® Project 2010 Inside Out
- SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
- A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
- Introduction
- I. Project Fundamentals
- 1. Introducing Microsoft Project 2010
- 2. Understanding Projects and Project Management
- II. Developing the Project Plan
- 3. Starting a New Project
- Getting from Idea to Proposal to Project
- Focusing the Project Vision
- Creating a New Project Plan
- Entering Tasks
- Sequencing and Organizing Tasks
- Organizing Tasks into an Outline
- Setting Up Your Work Breakdown Structure
- Adding Supplementary Information to Tasks
- 4. Viewing Project Information
- Understanding Project Information Categories
- Accessing Your Project Information
- Switching Between Views
- Using Views
- Scheduling with Gantt Charts
- Highlighting Tasks with the Timeline
- Flowcharting with Network Diagrams
- Visualizing the Project with the Calendar
- Reviewing Assignments with the Team Planner
- Charting Team Availability with the Resource Graph
- Tabling with Sheet Views
- Timesheeting with Usage Views
- Seeing Details with Forms
- Cross-Referencing with Combination Views
- Using Tables
- Using Fields
- Arranging Your Project 2010 Window
- Navigating to a Specific Location in a View
- Rearranging Your Project Information
- 5. Scheduling Tasks Manually or Automatically
- 6. Building Your Schedule
- 7. Setting Up Resources in the Project
- Understanding the Impact of Resources in the Plan
- Adding Resources to the Project
- Removing a Resource from the Project
- Identifying Tentative, Generic, or Budget Resources
- Setting When Resources Are Available for Work
- Adding Detailed Resource Information
- 8. Assigning Resources to Tasks
- Assigning Work Resources to Tasks
- Assigning Material Resources to Tasks
- Assigning Cost Resources to Tasks
- Reviewing Assignment Information
- Changing Resource Assignments
- Contouring Resource Assignments
- 9. Planning Resource and Task Costs
- 10. Checking and Adjusting the Project Plan
- Working with the Critical Path and Critical Tasks
- Controlling Schedule Changes with Task Types
- Bringing in the Project Finish Date
- Reducing Project Costs
- Balancing Resource Workloads
- Changing Project Scope
- Reviewing the Impact of Changes
- Obtaining Buyoff on the Project Plan
- 3. Starting a New Project
- III. Tracking Progress
- 11. Setting a Baseline and Updating Progress
- Saving Original Plan Information Using a Baseline
- Updating Task Progress
- Updating Actual Costs
- 12. Responding to Changes in Your Project
- 11. Setting a Baseline and Updating Progress
- IV. Reporting and Analyzing Project Information
- 13. Reporting Project Information
- Establishing Your Communications Plan
- Using Views to Report Project Information
- Generating Text and Visual Reports
- Generating the Right Reports
- Summarizing with Overview Reports
- Focusing on Tasks with Schedule Progress Reports
- Using the Unstarted Tasks Report
- Using the Tasks Starting Soon Report
- Using the Tasks In Progress Report
- Using the Completed Tasks Report
- Using the Should Have Started Tasks Report
- Using the Slipping Tasks Report
- Using the Baseline Report in Visio
- Using the Baseline Work Report in Excel
- Using the Task Status Report in Visio
- Using the Budget Work Report in Excel
- Analyzing Budget Status with Cost Reports
- Using the Cash Flow Report
- Using the Cash Flow Report in Excel
- Using the Cash Flow Report in Visio
- Using the Baseline Cost Report in Excel
- Using the Budget Report
- Using the Budget Cost Report in Excel
- Using the Resource Cost Summary Report in Excel
- Using the Overbudget Tasks Report
- Using the Overbudget Resources Report
- Using the Earned Value Report
- Using the Earned Value Over Time Report in Excel
- Evaluating Resource Allocation with Assignment Reports
- Using the Who Does What Report
- Using the Who Does What When Report
- Using the To-Do List
- Using the Overallocated Resources Report
- Using the Resource Availability Report in Visio
- Using the Resource Work Availability Report in Excel
- Using the Task Usage Report
- Using the Resource Usage Report
- Using the Resource Work Summary Report in Excel
- Using the Resource Remaining Work Report in Excel
- Using the Resource Status Report in Visio
- Revising a Built-In Report
- Building a Custom Report
- Saving Project Data Fields
- Sharing Project Reports Electronically
- 14. Analyzing Progress Using Earned Value
- 13. Reporting Project Information
- V. Managing Multiple Projects
- 15. Managing Master Projects and Resource Pools
- Structuring Master Projects with Subprojects
- Consolidating Project Information
- Opening Multiple Project Files as a Set
- Sharing Resources by Using a Resource Pool
- 16. Exchanging Information Between Project Plans
- 15. Managing Master Projects and Resource Pools
- VI. Integrating Project 2010 with Other Programs
- 17. Exchanging Information with Other Applications
- 18. Integrating Project 2010 with Excel
- 19. Integrating Project 2010 with Visio
- 20. Integrating Project 2010 with Outlook
- 21. Collaborating as a Team by Using SharePoint
- Creating a Project Tasks List on a SharePoint Site
- Exchanging Project Information with SharePoint
- Synchronizing Changes Between Project and SharePoint
- Opening and Viewing Connected Project Information
- Collaborating with Team Members on Task Updates
- Assigning Tasks to Team Members
- Updating Task Progress
- Updating Task Progress in SharePoint
- Updating Task Progress in Project
- VII. Managing Projects Across Your Enterprise
- 22. Understanding Enterprise Project Management
- 23. Administering Your Enterprise Project Management Solution
- Signing In and Out
- Configuring Project Server Security
- Administering the Enterprise Resource Pool
- Establishing the Enterprise Portfolio
- Setting Up Project Workflows
- Standardizing Enterprise Project Elements
- Setting Up Team Member Work Pages
- Managing Pages, Views, and Reports
- 24. Managing Enterprise Projects and Resources
- Connecting to Your Project Server
- Working with Enterprise Projects
- Following a Project Workflow
- Building Your Enterprise Project Team
- Finding Resources to Meet Your Needs
- Building Your Project Team in Project Professional
- Building Your Project Team in Project Web App
- Identifying Resource Attributes by Using Custom Enterprise Fields
- Using Generic Resources as Placeholders
- Adding a Team Assignment Pool to Your Project Resource List
- Finding Enterprise Resources That Meet Specific Criteria
- Review Resource Assignments and Availability
- Replacing an Existing Project Resource with an Enterprise Resource
- Matching an Existing Project Resource
- Matching and Replacing Generic Resources
- Proposing Tentative Resources
- Assigning Tasks to Enterprise Resources
- Finding Resources to Meet Your Needs
- Collaborating with Your Project Team
- 25. Participating on a Team Using Project Web App
- Getting Started with Project Web App
- Working with Your Assignments
- Submitting Text-Based Status Reports
- Logging Time by Using Timesheets
- Working with Issues and Risks
- Setting Up E-Mail Reminders and Outlook Tasks
- Managing Resources in Project Web App
- 26. Making Executive Decisions Using Project Web App
- 27. Managing and Analyzing Project Portfolios
- VIII. Customizing and Managing Project Files
- 28. Customizing Your View of Project Information
- Customizing Views
- Changing the Content of a View
- Creating a New View
- Saving a View
- Changing Text Formatting in Views
- Formatting a Gantt Chart View
- Modifying the Timescale
- Modifying a Network Diagram
- Modifying the Timeline
- Modifying the Team Planner
- Modifying the Resource Graph
- Modifying the Calendar
- Modifying a Sheet View
- Modifying a Usage View
- Customizing Tables
- Customizing Fields
- Working with Outline Codes
- Customizing Groups
- Customizing Filters
- Sharing Customized Elements Among Projects
- Customizing Views
- 29. Customizing the Project 2010 Interface
- 30. Automating Your Work with Macros
- 31. Standardizing Projects by Using Templates
- 32. Managing Project Files
- Saving Project Files
- Opening Project Files
- Saving and Opening with Different File Formats
- Comparing Project Plans Side by Side
- Safeguarding Your Project Files
- 28. Customizing Your View of Project Information
- IX. Appendixes
- D. Index to Troubleshooting Topics
- E. About the Authors
- Index
- About the Authors
- SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
As you add work, material, or cost resources to the Resource Sheet, you can set up these resources with additional characteristics that provide you with more flexibility in managing resources. You can identify any resource as a proposed rather than a committed resource. You can specify that a resource is generic. You can set up a resource as a budget resource to help you compare project costs against the established budget.
If you’re using Project Professional 2010, you can specify that a resource be either proposed or committed to your project. Adding proposed resources and assigning them to tasks can help you decide whether a particular resource is needed without locking up their availability for other projects. You and other project managers and resource managers can search for resources and include or exclude proposed resources. This helps you build and pre-assign your team, and is particularly helpful in bidding situations.
All resources you add are booked as committed to your project by default. To specify that a resource be proposed rather than committed, follow these steps:
Display the Resource Sheet.
Click the resource you want to specify as proposed.
On the Resource tab, in the Properties group, click Information to open the Resource Information dialog box, shown in Figure 7-7.
In the Resource Information dialog box, be sure that the General tab is showing.
In the Booking Type list, click Proposed.
Click OK.
Update Several Resources at Once
If you want to switch several resources to the Proposed status, you can do this in one step by selecting the resources before you open the Resource Information dialog box.
Click the first resource you want to change, and then use Shift or Ctrl to select the other resources you want to change. On the Resource tab, in the Properties group, click Information.
The Multiple Resource Information dialog box appears. (See Figure 7-8.) Only those fields that can be changed for multiple resources at once are available.
Figure 7-8. Use the Multiple Resource Information dialog box to make a global change to all selected resources.
In the Booking Type list, click Proposed, and then click OK. All the selected resources are changed to the proposed booking status.
You can enter actual names of resources or you can enter generic resources. A generic resource is listed by a title or other similar description instead of an actual name; for example, Accountant, Marketing Specialist, or Sales Representative. (See Figure 7-9.)
As you bring resources into the project, you can leave the generic names or replace the generic names with actual names. Whenever you change resource names in the Resource Sheet, the names are changed on any assigned tasks automatically.
You can mark generic resources as such. Double-click the resource name to open the Resource Information dialog box. Make sure that the General tab is displayed, and then select the Generic check box. Click OK, and you’ll see the generic resource icon appear in the Indicators field for the resource.
If you have a long list of resources to switch to or from a generic status, you can do this more quickly by adding the Generic column to the Resource Sheet. To do this, follow these steps:
Click the column heading next to where you want to insert the Generic column.
On the Format tab, in the Columns group, click Insert Column.
A new column appears showing a temporary drop-down menu of all available resource fields. (See Figure 7-10.)
Type g to quickly go to Generic in the list, and then click it to apply the field to the column and dismiss the drop-down menu.
If the list disappears before you can choose Generic from the list, select the column heading, which is labeled [Type Column Name], and type generic. The column appears as the Generic field.
Click Yes or No in the Generic field for the resources listed on the Resource Sheet.
Whether the Generic column is showing or not, you can use the Generic field to sort, group, or filter your resources to quickly find all your generic resources. Arranging the resource list in this way can help you determine any outstanding resource requirements.
Note
For more information about sorting, grouping, or filtering resources by a particular field, see Rearranging Your Project Information.
Estimating with Generic Resources
Entering generic resources can help you estimate which resources and how many of a type of resource you need to meet your project finish date within a targeted budget. Enter your generic resources in the Resource Sheet, and then assign them to tasks.
Note
For more information about associating resources with specific tasks, see Chapter 8.
Check the calculated project finish date to see whether you need additional resources to meet the targeted date. Check the total project costs to see if you need to change your resource mix to meet your budget.
When you finish tweaking your project plan to meet your requirements, you’ll know which resources you need.
A budget resource is one that you will use specifically to capture a budget amount for a particular category related to the project as a whole. You create a resource that represents that project budget category; for example, Travel Budget, Equipment Cost Plan, or Project Materials. You can identify any work, material, or cost resource as a budget resource.
When you designate a resource as a budget resource, it can then be assigned only to the project summary task. This restriction is in place because the purpose of a budget resource is to reflect the planned budget for that category for the overall project.
Note
For more information about the project summary task, see Showing the Project Summary Task.
You can use this information to compare your planned budget amounts for both costs and amounts of work against what is being scheduled or carried out in your project.
Note
For more information about using budget resources to help monitor and control the project budget, see Setting Up and Reviewing a Project Budget.
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