Managing Resources with Microsoft Project

1. Managing Resources with Microsoft Project May 18, 2005

2. Agenda Presentation 6:35-7:15 p.m. Practical Application 7:15-7:50 p.m. Break 7:50-8:00 p.m. Demonstration / Q & A** 8:00-8:15 p.m. Closing Remarks & Door Prizes ** 8:15-8:30 p.m. ** Please write down questions on the back of your comment card. At the end of the presentation, the comment cards will be collected and the presenter will conduct the Q&A portion of the meeting using them. The cards will also be used in distributing door prizes.

3. Topics • Creating and managing resources from a central location • Managing working times for a Resource Pool • Linking new project plans to a Resource Pool • Demonstrate how to add resources from Microsoft Outlook

4. Create a Resource Pool from Existing Plans Open new MS Project file; Save As xxxxx Resource Pool.mpp Open all related project work plans that include resources Select a project plan (1 of nn) On the Tools menu, select Resource Sharing and click Share Resources In the From list, click the newly created Resource Pool (xxxxx Resource Pool.mpp); Ensure Pool takes precedence is selected Click OK Repeat 3 through 6 for the remaining project work plans Creating and managing resources from a central location Important: Before creating a Resource Pool, ensure all projects have used a consistent naming convention (ex. Fname Lname or Lname, Fname) Create a New Resource Pool • Open new MS Project file; Save As xxxxx Resource Pool.mpp • Select the Resource Sheet • Enter all resources that are available to be assigned to projects

5. Creating and managing resources from a central location

6. Updating Assignments from a Resource Pool In the Resource Usage view of the Resource Pool, locate a resource that currently does not have any assigned tasks (note: 0 hrs of Work) On the Window menu, select the project work plan with the task you wish to assign the resource; On the View menu, click Gantt Chart Select the task you wish to assign the resource, click the Assign Resources button In the Resource Name column, select the name of the resource and click the Assign button; click Close Switch back to the Resource Pool; note that the resource is now assigned to that task Creating and managing resources from a central location Create a Custom View to Manage Resources • Resource Activities View • Combination view used to view resource task information in Gantt format (TIP: Use Go To Selected Task icon to view task timing information)

7. Creating and managing resources from a central location

8. Managing working times for a Resource Pool Updating Individual Resource Information • In the Resource Name column, click the name of resource, Ken Bergman. • On the Standard toolbar, click the Resource Information button. The Resource Information dialog box appears. • Click the Working Time tab. • In the calendar below the Select Date(s) label, drag the vertical scroll bar or click the up or down arrow button until May 2005 appears. • Select the dates May 9 and 10. • Under Set selected date(s) to, select the Nonworking time option, and then click OK to close the Resource Information dialog box. • Scroll the timescale details to see that on May 9 and 10 Ken has no work scheduled. (Previously he did.) Your screen should look similar to the following illustration:

9. Managing working times for a Resource Pool To verify that Ken’s nonworking time setting was updated in the sharer plans, you will look at his working time in one of those project plans. • On the Window menu, click Parnell Aerospace Promo 20. • On the Standard toolbar, click the Assign Resources button. • In the Assign Resources dialog box, double-click Ken Bergman. The Resource Information dialog box appears. • Click the Working Time tab. • In the calendar below Select Date(s), drag the vertical scroll bar or click one of the scroll arrows until May 2005 appears. May 9 and 10 are flagged as nonworking days for Ken; the change to this resource’s working time in the resource pool has been updated in the sharer plans. • Click Cancel to close the Resource Information dialog box, and then click the Close button to close the Assign Resources dialog box.

10. Managing working times for a Resource Pool Updating All Project Working Times • On the Window menu, click Resource Pool 20. The entire company will be attending a local film festival on May 9, and you want this to be a nonworking day for all sharer projects. • On the Tools menu, click Change Working Time. The Change Working Time dialog box appears. • In the For box, select Standard (Project Calendar) in the drop-down list. • In the calendar below Select Date(s), drag the vertical scroll bar or click one of the scroll arrows until May 2005 appears, and then click May 9. • Under Set selected date(s) to, select the Nonworking time option. May 9 is marked as a nonworking day in the resource pool. • Click OK to close the Change Working Time dialog box. To verify that this change to the resource pool’s Standard base calendar was updated in the sharer plans, you will look at working time in one of the sharer plans.

11. Managing working times for a Resource Pool Updating All Project Working Times • On the Window menu, click Wingtip Toys Commercial 20. • On the Tools menu, click Change Working Time. The Change Working Time dialog box appears. • In the For box, click Standard (Project Calendar) in the drop-down list. • In the calendar below Select Date(s), drag the vertical scroll bar or click one of the scroll arrows until May 2005 appears. May 9 is flagged as a nonworking day. All project plans that are sharer plans of the same resource pool will see this change in this base calendar. In the sharer plans linked to the resource pool, May 9 appears as a nonworking day in the Standard base calendar. • Click Cancel to close the Change Working Time dialog box. If you want, you can switch to the Parnell Aerospace Promo 20 project plan and verify that May 9 is also a nonworking day for that project. • Close and save changes to all open project plans, including the resource pool.

12. Linking new project plans to a Resource Pool Linking New Project Plans to a Resource Pool • On the Standard toolbar, click the Open button. The Open dialog box appears. • Navigate to the Chapter 20 Consolidating folder, and double-click Resource Pool 20. Project prompts you to select how you want to open the resource pool. Important: The default option is to open the resource pool as read-only. You might want to choose this option if you and other Project users are sharing a resource pool across a network. If you store the resource pool locally, however, you should open it as read-write. To read more about how to open a resource pool, click the Help button in the Open Resource Pool dialog box. • Click the second option to open the project plan as read-write, and then click OK. • On the View menu, click Resource Sheet. The Resource Sheet view appears. • On the Standard toolbar, click the New button. • Click the Show/Hide Project Guide button on the Project Guide toolbar. The Project Guide closes. • On the File menu, click Save As.

13. Linking new project plans to a Resource Pool Linking New Project Plans to a Resource Pool • In the File name box, type Hanson Brothers Project 20, and then click the Save button. • On the Standard toolbar, click the Assign Resources button. The Assign Resources dialog box is initially empty because you have not yet entered any resource information in this project plan. • On the Tools menu, point to Resource Sharing, and then click Share Resources. The Share Resources dialog box appears. • Under Resources for ‘Hanson Brothers Project 20’, select the Use resources option. • In the From list, make sure that Resource Pool 20 is selected in the drop-down list, and then click OK to close the Share Resources dialog box. In the Assign Resources dialog box, you see all of the resources from the resource pool appear. • Click the Close button to close the Assign Resources dialog box. • On the File menu, click Close. When prompted, click the Yes button to save your changes. The Hanson Brothers Project 20 project plan closes, and the Resource Pool 20 plan remains open. • On the File menu, click Close. When prompted, click the Yes button to save your changes to Resource Pool 20.

14. Demonstrate how to add resources from Microsoft Outlook