Objectives - MS Project 2010

* Change the task type settings to control how resources affect task assignments * Apply a preset resource contour to change work value distribution * Working with task information forms

When planning a project schedule, adjustments are often needed to reflect necessary changes in project scope, assignments, etc. In MS Project, when an assignment is changed, the schedule is recalculated to display the changes. You can work with the scheduling method and the task type settings when making changes to the initial resource assignment.

In the previous lesson, the initial resource assignments were made for our project. But we need to learn how to make adjustments to how those resources are used. It is important that you read every part of this lab carefully, if not twice.

Working with Effort-Driven Scheduling

How a task reacts to the addition and removal of resources is defined by the scheduling method and the task type settings. In MS Project, the default scheduling method is effort-driven scheduling. Effort-driven scheduling extends or shortens the duration of a task to accommodate changes to resources but doesn't change the total work for the task.

Work is the amount of effort, or number of hours, resources put into a task.

The total work for a task is determined by the duration estimate for the task and the initial resource assignment using the following formula:

Work = Duration * Units

For example, say you give a task the duration of one day (or eight hours based upon a normal working day). If the initial resource assignment is two units (200%) of a particular resource, the total work for the task will be 16 hours.

16 hours = 1 Day (8 hours) * 200%

As resources are added or removed after the initial assignment, the amount of work is not recalculated, but redistributed among the