You might recall from Chapter 4, “Building a task list,” that you can record additional information about a task, resource, or assignment in a note. For example, if a resource has
the note resides in the plan and can be easily viewed or printed.
In Chapter 4, you entered a task note by clicking the Notes button on the Task tab of the Properties group. You can enter resource notes in a similar way (by clicking the Notes but-ton on the Resource tab of the Properties group), but in this exercise, you’ll use a different method. You’ll use the Resource form, which allows you to view and edit notes for multiple resources more quickly.
The scenario: At Lucerne Publishing, you collected some resource details that would be valuable to record in the plan. For one resource, you want to record some relevant work history, and for another resource, you have a clarifying note about her pay rate.
In this exercise, you’ll enter notes in the Resource Form view.
1
In the column, click .2
On the tab, in the group, click the button.99
5
TIP You can also click Details, Resource Form on the View tab of the Split View group.
The Resource Form view appears below the Resource Sheet view
In this type of split view, details about the selected item in the upper view (a resource, in this case) appear in the lower view. You can quickly change the selected resource name in the upper view by clicking directly on a name, using the up arrow or down arrow keys, or clicking Previous or Next in the Resource Form view.
The Resource Form view can display one of several details; initially, it displays the Schedule details. Next you’ll switch it to display the Notes details.
3
Click anywhere in the Resource Form view.With the focus now on the Resource Form, the contextual label of the Format tab changes to Resource Form Tools.
4
On the Format tab, in the group, click .TIP You can also right-click in the gray background area of the Resource Form view and, in the shortcut menu that appears, click Notes.
The Notes details appear in the Resource Form view.
100
5
In the box, typeNotice that as soon as you started typing the note, the Previous and Next buttons changed to OK and Cancel.
6
Click .In the Resource Sheet view, a note icon appears in the Indicators column.
7
Point to the note icon that appears next to Toby’s name in the Resource Sheet view.The note appears in a ScreenTip. For notes that are too long to appear in a ScreenTip, you can double-click the note icon to display the full text of the note. You can also see more of long notes in the Resource Form view or in the Resource Information dialog box.
To conclude this exercise, you’ll add a note for one more resource.
101
5
8
In the Resource Form view, click to shift the focus to and display her details.TIP You can also click on Sharon’s name in the Resource Sheet view above the Resource Form view.
9
In the box, typeThen click .
Finally, you’ll hide the Resource Form view.
10
On the tab, in the group, click the button. The Resource Form view is hidden, leaving the Resource Sheet view displayed.+ CLEAN UP
Key points
Recording resource information in your plan helps you better control who does what work, when they do it, and at what cost.
Work resources (people and equipment) perform the work in a project.
Cost resources account for the types of expenses that you might want to track across a project.
Chapter at a glance
People
Assign work resources to tasks, page 104.
Control
Control schedule adjustment when resources change, page 112.
Cost
Assign cost resources to tasks, page 116.
Review
Check the plan’s essential details, such as duration and costs, page 118.
6
103
IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO
Assign work resources to tasks.
Control how Project schedules additional resource assignments.
Assign cost resources to tasks.
Check on key schedule indicators for duration, cost, and work.
In Chapter 4, “Building a task list,” and Chapter 5, “Setting up resources,” you created tasks and resources. You are now ready to assign resources to tasks. An assignment is the match-ing of a resource to a task to do work. From the perspective of a task, you might call the process of assigning a resource a ; from the perspective of a resource, you might call it a . It is the same thing in either case: a task plus a resource equals an assignment.
IMPORTANT When we talk about resources throughout this chapter, we are talking about work resources (people and equipment) unless we specify material or cost resources. For a refresher on resource types, see Chapter 5.
You do not have to assign resources to tasks in Microsoft Project 2013; you could work only with tasks. However, there are several good reasons for assigning resources in your plan.
When you assign resources to tasks, you can answer questions such as Who should be working on what tasks and when?
Do you have the correct number of resources to accomplish the scope of work that your project requires?
Are you expecting a resource to work on a task at a time when that resource will not be available to work (for example, when someone will be on vacation)?
Have you assigned a resource to so many tasks that you have exceeded the capacity of the resource to work—in other words, have you overallocated the resource?