Unit 5: Resources

INT416 — Software Project Management Laboratory 11 min read

I. Orientation — Resource Management in Project Scheduling

Resource management is the process of identifying, defining, assigning, scheduling, and monitoring the people, equipment, materials, and costs required to complete project tasks. In Microsoft Project, resource information interacts with task duration, work, calendars, assignment units, and cost rates to produce a resource-loaded and dynamically scheduled project plan.

Resource categories: Microsoft Project supports three principal resource types.
- Work resources: People or equipment whose effort is measured in time, such as a developer or testing server.
- Material resources: Consumable items measured in user-defined units, such as 50 kg of cement.
- Cost resources: Task-related expenses not determined by work or duration, such as airfare.
Scheduling relationship: For a basic work-resource assignment, Project uses:
TEXT
```
  Work = Duration × Assignment Units
```
Here, Work is effort, Duration is scheduled task time, and Assignment Units represent the assigned proportion of resource capacity.
Availability principle: A resource’s maximum units and working calendar determine when and how much that resource can work; demand beyond this capacity creates an overallocation.
Cost principle: Resource cost may depend on standard rates, overtime rates, per-use charges, material quantities, or directly entered cost-resource values.
Calendar hierarchy: The project calendar supplies the general schedule, while resource calendars record individual availability; task calendars can impose additional task-specific restrictions.
Dynamic scheduling: Changes to tasks, assignments, calendars, or availability can automatically recalculate dates, work, duration, and cost for automatically scheduled tasks.

II. Resource Definition and Cost Data — Building the Resource Pool

A. Using The Resource Sheet View

The Resource Sheet is the primary table for creating and maintaining the project’s resource pool.

Opening the view: Select View → Resource Sheet; each row represents one resource, while columns store scheduling and cost attributes.
Core fields: Common columns include Resource Name, Type, Material Label, Initials, Group, Max. Units, Std. Rate, Ovt. Rate, Cost/Use, Accrue At, and Base Calendar.
Table behavior: Values can be entered directly, copied down multiple rows, sorted, filtered, or grouped; inserting a resource here does not assign it to any task.
Resource indicators: The Indicators column can display warnings or symbols, including an icon showing that a work resource is overallocated.
Useful views: The Resource Sheet defines resources, whereas Resource Usage shows assignments beneath each resource with time-phased work and cost.
Data quality: Unique, descriptive names such as “A. Kumar—Developer” are preferable to vague entries such as “Engineer,” especially when several people share a role.

B. Entering Resources

Entering resources establishes the capacity and cost information required before reliable assignment and analysis can occur.

Work-resource entry: Enter a person, team, facility, or reusable equipment item, select Work, and specify availability through Max. Units and a calendar.
Material-resource entry: Select Material and define a material label such as kg, litre, or box; material resources do not use working-time calendars.
Cost-resource entry: Select Cost for expenses such as accommodation or permits; the monetary amount is entered separately on each assignment.
Generic resources: A role such as “Database Administrator” may be marked generic during early planning and replaced later by a named employee.
Groups and codes: The Group field can classify resources by department, skill, contractor, or location, enabling filters such as Group = Testing.
Import caution: Resources imported from an enterprise pool may be centrally controlled, so fields such as rates or calendars may require administrator permission.

C. Understanding Units

Units express resource capacity and the proportion of that capacity assigned to a task.

Maximum units: Max. Units describes total availability; 100% means one full-time equivalent, 50% means half-time, and 300% may represent three interchangeable workers.
Assignment units: The units on an assignment specify how much of the available capacity is used; assigning a full-time person at 50% schedules roughly half of each available working period.
Display convention: Project can display units as percentages or decimal values; 100% = 1.0 and 250% = 2.5.
Overallocation rule: A resource is overallocated when simultaneous assignment demand exceeds available capacity for a time period, not merely because total project work is large.
Worked example: For an eight-hour task assigned to one resource at 50%, the basic relationship gives:
TEXT
```
  Work = 8 hours × 0.50 = 4 hours
```
Depending on task type and effort-driven settings, changing units may alter duration, work, or both.

D. Understanding Rates

Rates allow Microsoft Project to calculate assignment costs from resource work and usage.

Standard rate: Std. Rate is the normal cost per unit of time for work resources, such as ₹800/hour, or per material unit, such as ₹40/kg.
Overtime rate: Ovt. Rate applies only to work explicitly recorded as overtime work; scheduling beyond normal hours does not automatically classify work as overtime.
Cost per use: Cost/Use is charged once for each assignment use, such as a ₹2,000 equipment setup fee, in addition to rate-based cost.

Basic calculation: A simplified work-resource cost is:

TEXT

  Resource Cost = Regular Work × Standard Rate
                + Overtime Work × Overtime Rate
                + Cost per Use

Rate tables: Cost Rate Tables A–E can store alternative rates for the same resource, while effective dates support scheduled pay or rental-rate changes.
Cost-resource distinction: A cost resource has no standard hourly rate; its assignment value, such as ₹15,000 for travel, is entered directly.

E. Understanding Accrue At

The Accrue At setting controls when rate-based and per-use resource costs appear in the project’s time-phased cost records.

Start: The full assignment cost is posted when the task begins, suitable for an advance payment or initial licence charge.
Prorated: Cost accumulates as scheduled work occurs; this default commonly represents wages paid in proportion to effort.
End: The full cost is posted at task completion, suitable for payment due after delivery.

Financial effect: Accrual timing changes cash-flow distribution but normally does not change the assignment’s total calculated cost.
Cost-per-use behavior: Per-use charges follow the selected accrual approach, while directly entered fixed-task costs have their own fixed-cost accrual setting.
Example: A ₹12,000 assignment spanning three equal working periods appears as approximately ₹4,000 per period when prorated, but entirely in the first or last period under Start or End.

III. Resource Calendars and Assignment Control — Matching Work with Availability

A. Assigning a Calendar To a Group Of Resources

A shared base calendar applies the same general working pattern to several work resources.

Calendar creation: Use Project → Change Working Time → Create New Calendar, copy an existing calendar, and define shifts, nonworking days, or recurring exceptions.
Group application: In Resource Sheet, select the resources requiring the pattern and assign the new calendar through the Base Calendar field.
Typical use: A “Night Shift” calendar might define working time from 22:00–06:00 for all members of an operations team.
Benefit: One base calendar provides consistent hours without independently recreating the same schedule for every person.
Restriction: Base calendars apply to work resources; material and cost resources are not scheduled according to working-time calendars.
Maintenance: A change to the shared base calendar affects all resources using it, but individual exceptions remain available in each resource calendar.

B. Assigning Resources (Continued)

Resource assignment connects a resource-pool entry to a task and creates scheduled work, cost, and responsibility.

Assignment methods: Select a task and use Resource → Assign Resources, the Resource Names field in Gantt Chart, or assignment fields in Task Information.
Multiple resources: A task may receive several work, material, and cost resources; each resulting assignment has its own units, work, and cost.
Material quantity: Enter a fixed quantity such as 20 bags, or a variable consumption rate such as an amount per day where supported by the assignment format.
Cost assignment: After assigning a cost resource, enter its monetary amount in a usage view or assignment-information field.
Scheduling consequences: The result of adding or removing resources depends on task type:
- Fixed units: Units remain constant while work or duration changes.
- Fixed work: Total work remains constant, so additional capacity may shorten duration.
- Fixed duration: Duration remains constant while work or units change.
Effort-driven behavior: On an effort-driven task, existing work is redistributed among work resources; material and cost resources do not drive this redistribution.
Assignment verification: Use Task Usage or Resource Usage to check assignment-level work rather than relying only on task-level totals.

C. Assigning A Resource Calendar

A resource calendar records the working and nonworking time of one specific work resource.

Access method: Open Resource Information → Change Working Time and edit the selected resource’s calendar.
Individual exceptions: Record annual leave, training, equipment maintenance, or temporary working hours with exact start and finish dates.
Scheduling result: Project schedules that resource’s work only during available periods; a leave day can therefore delay an assignment or split its scheduled work.
Calendar interaction: Scheduling generally uses the intersection of applicable project, resource, and task-calendar constraints; a task option may explicitly ignore resource calendars.
Correct choice: Use a shared base calendar for a recurring group pattern and a resource-calendar exception for one person’s absence.
Operational value: Accurate exceptions prevent apparently feasible dates from depending on people or equipment that are unavailable.

IV. Capacity Analysis and Dynamic Scheduling — Resolving Demand Conflicts

A. Dynamic scheduling with team planner

Team Planner provides a visual, resource-oriented workspace for moving tasks and balancing work through direct manipulation.

Layout: Resource rows appear vertically and time runs horizontally; scheduled tasks appear in the assigned resource’s row.
Unassigned work: Tasks without resources appear in an unassigned area and can be dragged onto an appropriate resource.
Conflict visibility: Overlapping assignments and scheduling problems are highlighted, making workload clashes easier to identify than in a task-only Gantt Chart.
Dynamic movement: Dragging a task to another resource changes its assignment; moving it along the timeline may modify dates or introduce scheduling constraints.
Automatic scheduling: Automatically scheduled tasks respond to dependencies, calendars, constraints, and resource changes; manually scheduled tasks may retain user-entered dates.
Limitation: Visual movement should be checked against skills, dependencies, task type, and deadlines because a conflict-free display does not guarantee a valid project strategy.

B. Find resources that have available time

Availability analysis identifies resources whose remaining capacity can accommodate additional work during a required period.

Resource Graph: This view displays one resource’s units, work, or remaining availability across time and exposes peaks or unused capacity.
Resource Usage: Time-phased rows show assignment work by day, week, or month; zero or low-demand periods indicate possible availability.
Assign Resources filters: Resource-list filters can narrow candidates by group and by availability sufficient for a specified amount of work.
Remaining availability: Conceptually, capacity is:
TEXT
```
  Remaining Availability = Available Capacity − Assigned Demand
```
Both terms must refer to the same time period, such as hours per day.
Calendar check: A resource showing low assigned work may still be unavailable because of leave, part-time hours, or shift restrictions.
Selection quality: Availability must be combined with skill, location, rate, and task suitability; spare time alone is not adequate evidence for assignment.

C. Group resources who are over allocated

Grouping overallocated resources brings capacity problems together so that their causes and severity can be examined efficiently.

Identification: In Resource Sheet or Resource Usage, apply the built-in Overallocated Resources filter or group by the Overallocated field.
Visual evidence: Overallocated names and time-phased work commonly appear in red, while indicators mark resources whose demand exceeds Max. Units.
Timescale importance: A person may appear acceptable at monthly resolution but exceed capacity on a particular day; inspect a sufficiently detailed timescale.
Cause analysis: Expand a resource in Resource Usage to locate simultaneous assignments responsible for the overload.
Resolution choices: Delay or split tasks, replace resources, reduce assignment units, add capacity, authorize realistic overtime, or use resource leveling.
Leveling caution: Automatic leveling generally delays or splits work according to priorities and settings; it does not create additional capacity and may extend the project finish date.
Validation: After adjustment, recalculate the schedule and confirm that dependencies, deadlines, calendars, costs, and task ownership remain acceptable.