MS Project: Adding and Managing Resources

Name: MS Project: Adding and Managing Resources
Author: Elissa Smith

How to effectively manage the employee and contractor resources associated with your project.

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Course: On-Demand

Hello. In this lesson, we're going to explore entering the resource sheet and explore the different resources that will be listed there. We're also going to look at how to edit the resources in the resource sheet. So first of all, to get to the resource sheet, it's very easy to go up to the view ribbon tab, and in the resource views group you'll see a resource sheet button there. This of course will take you to a list of the different resources. Now, another shortcut option for entering the resource sheet is to go down to the bottom right hand corner to the shortcut view buttons. The fourth button over from the right will also be a shortcut to take you to the resource sheet. And here in the resource sheet, we're going to see the people, equipment, and costs that are going to help to get our tasks accomplished. Generally, most projects will contain a majority of work resources. These are resources that can accrue at an hourly or time based setting for how they'll get the tasks done. Now, how do we edit one of these resources? All we need to do to edit a resource is come in and click on it. We can start by, for example, editing the name of a resource. We can also determine the type of resource, whether it's work, material, or cost. We can decide, for example, if the resource is going to be internal or external, or even a department. We can determine what number of units this is, the amount of time they'll be able to spend on a task, for example, someone that only has 50% of their units. This will mean that they can only spend 50% of their time on assigned tasks. We'll also see here a standard rate of pay. Now, this can be done yearly, or it can be done weekly, as you see here, or even hourly. Do you know that overtime rates will not accrue? You have to actually put in the overtime rate yourself. So if someone's going to make additional money during overtime, you have to actually enter that in. Now, cost per use would be, for example, if every time you used a specific resource, you would also get charged a rate, for example, down here on these contractors, when we use them on a task, we'll actually accrue a $200 fee. The next column you're going to see is the accrual rate. This means that after a particular resource has been assigned to a task, this helps you to know how the cost will be accrued over that time. Will it be accrued at the beginning of the task, prorated equally throughout the time that the task is using that resource, or at the end the default is for it to be equally spread across the time of the task, and that's prorated. The standard column represents the calendar that each particular resource is using. And of course, we remember that the standard is the default calendar for all projects unless you change it. So we can see here that all of these resources are going back to the standard calendar. If you wanted to use a different calendar that could be created, you can see here that it gives you access to all the calendars that are available in the project file. But again, it always defaults back to the standard unless you change it like I've done here. Thank you so much for joining us. Stay tuned for the next lesson when we're going to look at how to create other resource types.

Intermediate Provider : Elissa Smith 5 Lessons · 10m in Arabic, English

Course Description

Each individual who works on your project is a valuable resource. In this course, you’ll examine how to use the advanced functions of adding and managing internal employee resources and external contractor resources. You’ll learn how to assign a cost to each resource and why this is key to keeping your project on budget. You’ll also learn how to add new resources as they join the project and how to edit resources in the event of a pay increase or overtime shifts, for example.

What You'll Learn

Use the resource function in MS Project to add internal employee and external contractor resources
Input new resources as they join the project
Assign and update costs associated with each resource to keep the project on budget
Use the functions of the Resource Information dialogue box
Leave notes on each resource
Edit existing resources to reflect changes such as pay increases or overtime shifts

Key Takeaways

Every individual who works on a project is treated as a valuable resource within MS Project.
MS Project's advanced functions support adding and managing both internal employee resources and external contractor resources.
Assigning a cost to each resource is key to keeping a project on budget.
Resources can be added as new people join the project and edited when circumstances change, such as a pay increase or overtime shifts.
The Resource Information dialogue box and resource notes help organize information about each resource.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this MS Project course cover?

It covers the advanced functions of adding and managing internal employee resources and external contractor resources, including using the resource function, inputting new resources, using the Resource Information dialogue box, leaving notes on resources, and updating resource costs.

Will I learn how to manage project costs in this course?

Yes. You will learn how to assign a cost to each resource and why this is key to keeping your project on budget, as well as how to update the costs associated with each resource.

Can I add and edit resources after a project has started?

Yes. The course teaches how to add new resources as they join the project and how to edit resources in the event of changes such as a pay increase or overtime shifts.

What lessons are included in this course?

The lessons are Resources Overview, Entering Resources, Resource Information Dialogue Box, Leave Notes on a Resource, and Updating Resource Costs.

What skills does this course help build?

It supports skills in Microsoft Enterprise Project Management, Project Cost Management, Project Management, Project Resources, Resource Management, and Resource Planning.