Project Scheduling

1. Soe Naing Win
Email: snw1975@gmail.com

2.  Delay the start of a resource assignment.
 Control how a resource’s work on a task is
scheduled by using work contours.
 Apply different cost rates for a resource to account
for different kinds of work performed by the
resource.
 Assign a material resource to a task.
 See resources’ capacities to do work.

3. Work resources are often the most expensive part of a
project, understanding how to make the best use of their
time is an important project management skill.
1. In this chapter, you apply a variety of Microsoft Project
2010 features to manage resources’ assignments to
tasks and costs of assignments.

4. If more than one resource is assigned to a task, you might not
want all the resources to start working on the task at the same
time. You can delay the start of work for one or more resources
assigned to a task.
1. For example, assume that four resources have been assigned a
task. Three of the resources initially work on the task, and the
fourth later inspects the quality of the work. The inspector
should start work on the task later than the other resources.

5. Exercise : delay the start of a resource assignment on a
task.
Change Gantt Chart view > Task Usage view.
Task Copyeditors > Task tab > Editing group > Scroll to Task.
two resources
assigned

6. The intent of task 18 is that Author will review the edits made to his book
manuscript, and shortly afterward, the copyeditor will begin to incorporate the
author’s feedback.
Right now, both resources are assigned work throughout the duration, We’d
like to delay the start of the copyeditor’s work by two days. We’ll make this
adjustment in the Task Usage view.
• Format tab > Assignment group > Information > General tab
• Start > 4/30/12.

7. Project adjusts the copyeditor’s assignment
Duration changed - the finish date moved out two working days
The duration of this task
has increased as the
work is over a longer
period of time.
Time phased > zero
hours of work for
copyeditor for 2days

8. CONTOURS
Resources are usually human beings and therefore they bring a lot of
unpredictability with them - dates can change, resources may be
assigned too much of work or they may have to leave in the middle of a
project. We have to leave room for changes in assignments and work
distributions. Project allows you to arrange for resources to start or finish
work at different dates, interrupt assignments to allow for work on other
tasks and also assign overtime work if necessary - in other words a
contouring of assignments is possible. The Task Usage View and the
Resource Usage Views offer such possibilities.
What does the term contour mean in Project? It is the shape of the
distribution of work within an assignment. Usually, if a resource is
assigned 100% to a 40-hour task with no predecessors, the task will
begin immediately with 8 hours of work/day for 5 days. This is the default
flat work contour where each unit's work is spread evenly across the
duration of the task.

9. Sometimes, you may need to change the distribution of an
assignment's work by applying a predefined contour or creating a
custom contour for it. MS Project includes 8 predefined contours as
listed below:
1. Flat: The default contour with an even distribution of work.
2. Back-loaded: Peak activity happens at the end of the project.
3. Front-loaded: Peak activity is at the beginning of the project.
4. Double Peak: A Project that has two major periods of peak activity.
5. Early Peak: the same as the Front-loaded but with a ramp up to
peak activity
6. Late peak: a Back-loaded contour with a ramp.
7. Bell: single peak in the middle of the project
8. Turtle: A bell with a ramp up and ramp down.

10. 1. Flat:
2. Back-loaded:
3. Front-loaded:
4. Double Peak:
5. Early Peak:
6. Late peak:
7. Bell:
8. Turtle

11. 1. Flat:
2. Back-loaded:
3. Front-loaded:
4. Double Peak:
5. Early Peak:
6. Late peak:
7. Bell:
8. Turtle

12. Sometimes, you may need to change the distribution of an
assignment's work by applying a predefined contour or creating a
custom contour for it. MS Project includes 8 predefined contours as
listed below:
1. Flat: The default contour with an even distribution of work.
2. Back-loaded: Peak activity happens at the end of the project.
3. Front-loaded: Peak activity is at the beginning of the project.
4. Double Peak: A Project that has two major periods of peak activity.
5. Early Peak: the same as the Front-loaded but with a ramp up to
peak activity
6. Late peak: a Back-loaded contour with a ramp.
7. Bell: single peak in the middle of the project
8. Turtle: A bell with a ramp up and ramp down.

13. In addition to viewing assignment details, you can change the
amount of time a resource works on a task in any given time
period. There are various ways to do this:
1. Apply a predefined work contour to an assignment. Predefined
contours generally describe how work is distributed over time in
terms of graphical patterns.
• For example, the Bell predefined contour distributes less work to the
beginning and end of the assignment and distributes more work
toward the middle. If you were to graph the work over time, the
graph’s shape would resemble a bell.
2. Edit the assignment details directly.
• For example, in the Resource Usage or Task Usage view, you can
change the assignment values directly in the timescaled grid.

14. Exercise : Apply a predefined contour to an assignment and
manually edit another assignment .
1. Task 38 > Carole Poland > Task tab > Editing group > Scroll to
Task.
two resources are scheduled
to work on this task four
hours per day . and a third
resource is scheduled to
work full time on this task

15. You want to change Carole Poland’s assignment on this task so that
she starts with a brief daily assignment and increases her work time
as the task progresses.
To accomplish this, you will apply a back-loaded contour to the
assignment. Note that task 38, Final review is a fixed-duration task
type, not the default fixed-units task type.
1. Format tab > Assignment group > Information > Work Contour > Back
Loaded > OK.

16. You see that in each successive day of the task’s duration, Carole
Poland is assigned slightly more time to work on the assignment
The contour indicator matches the
type of contour applied - back-
loaded in this case
The back-loaded contour causes
Project to assign very little work to
the resource initially and then add
more work each day

17. Applying a contour to a fixed-duration task will cause Project to recalculate
the resource’s work value so that the resource works less in the same time
period.
For example, Carole’s total work on task 38 was reduced from 20 to 12
hours when you applied the contour. Depending on the task type, applying a
contour to this assignment may cause the overall duration of the task to be
extended. Task 38 is a fixed-duration task, so applying the contour did not
change the task’s duration. For a fixed-work or fixed-unit task, however, it
would. If you do not want a contour to extend a task’s duration, change the
task type (on the Advanced tab of the Task Information dialog box) to Fixed
Duration before applying the contour

18. Exercise : Manually edit another assignment .
Hany is currently assigned four hours per day for each day of the
assignment’s duration. Why four hours?
Hany normally has eight working hours per day on these particular days (as
determined by her resource calendar). She was assigned to this task at 50
percent assignment units, however, so the resulting scheduled work is only
four hours per day

19. You want to increase Hany’s work on the last two days of this task so
that she will work full time on it. To accomplish this, you will manually
edit her assignment values.
• Timescaled grid > 8h

20. In the “Entering Multiple Pay Rates for a Resource”
section of Chapter 8, we set up a second rate table for
• Hany Morcos to be applied for any assignments in
which she is functioning as a content editor.
• Hany is currently assigned to task 36, Proof and review,
as a content editor rather than her default role of a
project editor, but her assignment still reflects her
default pay rate as a project editor.

21. Exercise: change the pay rate table to be applied to an
assignment.
Task Name column > below task 36 > Hany Morcos > View tab >
Data group > Tables > Cost.
In the Cost table you can see the
tasks and each assignment's total
cost. To see other assignment cost
values such as actual cost or
variance, scroll the table to the
right.

22. • Format tab > Assignment group > Information
• Cost Rate Table > select B
1. Project applies Hany’s cost rate table B to the assignment.

23. When assigning a material resource, you can handle
consumptions and cost in one of two ways:
 Assign a fixed-unit quantity of the material resource to the
task. Project will multiply the unit cost of this resource by the
number of units assigned to determine the total cost. (You’ll
use this method in the following exercise.)
 Assign a variable-rate quantity of the material resource to the
task. Project will adjust the quantity and cost of the resource
as the task’s duration changes

24. Exercise : Assign a material resource to a task and enter a
fixed-unit quantity of consumption.
• Task tab > View group > Gantt Chart > Task Name > task 38
• You anticipate that you’ll need 20 bound galley proof copies for
this review.
• Task tab > Editing group > Scroll to Task.
• Resource tab > Assignments group > Assign Resources.

25. • Assign Resources > Units field for the Bound galley proofs
resource > 20 > Assign.

26. When you assign a material resource to a task, its label value appears
in the Units column and next to the Gantt bar to which it is assigned

27. Recall that the amount of time that a resource is able to
work on tasks in a project plan is called its resource
capacity, and in Project, this is measured in units.
• By default, such units are presented as a percentage value,
with 0% meaning no capacity and 100% meaning the full or
maximum capacity of a single resource with a normal
working schedule of 40 hours per week. In Project, a
resource’s maximum capacity to do work is tracked as the
resource’s Max Units value

28. Project planning you can expect one of the following
conditions:
• Planned work is less than the working capacity of the
team. You may be able to use some portion of your
resources’ time for other projects, or to do more work in
this project.
• Planned work exceeds the working capacity of the
team. You may need to reduce the scope of work or
secure more resources.
• Planned work is approximately equal to the working
capacity of the team.

29. Exercise : look at individual resource capacity per day,
week, and month during the time span in which the
project plan is now scheduled.
• View tab > Resource Views group > Resource Usage.

30. Here, our focus is on seeing availability for the resources. To
begin, you’ll switch the timephased view to show resource
availability.
• Format tab >Details group > check Remaining Availability

31. • Format tab > Details group > clear the Work
• Project hides the Work details, leaving the Remaining Availability detail
visible.

32. • Resource Name > View tab > Data group > Outline > Hide
Subtasks

33. Next, you’ll adjust the zoom level of the timephased view to see
availability per month.
• View tab > Zoom group> Months >Timescale box.
•

34. In the Team Planner view, you see tasks organized by the
resource to which they are assigned (like the Resource
Usage view) and any unassigned tasks. Both assigned
and unassigned tasks may be either:
 Scheduled tasks Scheduled for a specific time period
and displayed in the Team Planner view at a specific
point in time.
 Unscheduled tasks Manually scheduled tasks, with or
without an assigned resource.

35. Exercise B: Examine resource assignments and address some
overallocation problems, as well as assign some unassigned and
unscheduled tasks in the new book project plan.
 View > Resource Views > Team Planner > Resource Name
column, select Carole Poland.
 Task tab > Editing group >Scroll to Task.

36. The Team Planner view includes four sections:

37. You’d like Carole’s unscheduled task, Launch planning, to start in the
beginning of August, so you’ll move it there.
• Horizontally scroll the view until the week of August 5th is visible in
the timescale.

38. • Click and drag Carole’s unscheduled task, Launch planning, in
Carole’s row so that the task start date is Monday, August 6

39. • Point your mouse pointer at the task that you just scheduled.
• A ScreenTip appears and contains the essential task details.
• Still a manually scheduled task, and it will remain so until it is
switched to automatic scheduling.

40. Next, you’ll schedule the unscheduled task assigned to Hany Morcos,
and you’ll also reassign it to Carole.
You’d like this task to be completed in early August as well.
• Click and drag the name of Hany Morcos’s unscheduled task,
Assign launch team members, to Carole’s Poland’s row so that the
task start date is Tuesday, August 7.

41. Next, you’ll assign the two unassigned and unscheduled tasks. Both of
these tasks should be assigned to Hany Morcos
• Click and drag the first unassigned task, Complete author
questionnaire, to Hany Morcos’s row so that the task start date is
Monday, August 13.

42. • Click and drag the remaining unassigned task, Schedule author
interviews, to Hany Morcos’s row so that the task start date is
Tuesday, August 14

43. Now both tasks are assigned and scheduled, though they remain
manually scheduled tasks.

44. To conclude this exercise,
you’ll address some of the resource overallocation problems that are
visible in the Timeline view.

45. Exercise: you’ll address some of the resource
overallocation problems that are visible in the Timeline
view.
 View tab > Zoom group> Timescale box > Weeks
 Scroll the view horizontally until the week of June 24 is visible in
the timescale

46. Because you need Hany’s full attention on the Interior illustration and
design task, you’ll reassign the Copyedit incorp task to someone else.
• Right-click Hany’s task, Copyedit incorp, and in the shortcut menu
that appears, click Reassign To, and then select Carole Poland

47. There are still overallocation issues in the project plan, but they are
minor issues that don’t require additional attention.

48. ● You can change when a resource will start work on an
assignment without affecting other resources assigned to the
same task.
● Project includes several predefined work contours that you
can apply to an assignment.
● When working with resource costs, you can specify different
cost rates for different assignments.
● When assigned to a task, material resources can have a fixed
or variable consumption rate.
● In a usage view, you can see remaining availability of work
resources at whatever time increment you wish.
● The Team Planner view allows easy dragging of assignments
between resources (Project Professional only).