Session 6 - MS Project Part 2

MS Project Resources

There are 3 types of resources that can be assigned in MS Project: Work Resources, Material Resources and Cost Resources.

Work Resources

Work Resources are those that perform, or are use to perform, a task in the project. They are paid, utilised, and costed based on time, such as per hour or cost per day. Work resources include people and hire of equipment.

In our tea-making exercise, work resources would be the person making the cup of tea and power usage.

Material Resources

Material resources can also be referred to as consumables. They are assigned and used by quantity. Material resources include any raw materials or ingredients and packaging items such as boxes or bubble wrap.

In our tea-making exercise, material resources would include the water, tea, sugar and milk

Cost Resources

These are any other resources that are used in the project. Anything that is not defined as a work or material cost. They include one-off costs such as fees or permits, airfares and set up fees.


Class Activity 1

Think about our "Big Move" project.

What resources are required to complete the project? Don't worry about what type of resource they are.

Decide which are Work, Material and Cost resources.

Creating Resources in MS Project

Work Resources


You can enter all resources via the Resource Sheet. Work Resources are those that are allocated based on time. In my simple project, the work resources are the people and hire of the removal truck.

We have 2 volunteers at no cost; plus 3 casual library staff at $28/hour. We also have the library manager that oversees the staff at $45/hour. The truck hire is $99 for the day. Here is how I would enter their details:

Volunteers X 2



Casuals X 3



Library Manager X 1



Truck Hire




Material Resources

In our example, we have the following Material Resources: Large moving Boxes $3.00 each; Bubble Wrap $13.50 for 25 metres; Packaging Tape $5 for 50 metres; Labels $8 for 350.



Costs Resources

Just to make it interesting, we will include a Cost Resource for Catering.

Allocating Resources

Resources can be allocated on the Gantt chart based on each task. You can use the Resource ribbon or you can add Resources using the task Information dialog box.

Resources for the first task may look like this


For the second task, Label Boxes, we will use 1 Casual and the library Manager



Reports

Once you have all of the resources allocated, you can view a range of reports that can be used to plan and manage resources. Here are a few examples:

Cash Flow






Resources Overview



Visual Reports




Class Activity 2

Complete "The Big Move" timeline/WBS if you haven't already done so.

Add the Resources from Class Activity 1

Allocate Resources to your tasks (no correct answer here)

View some Reports




















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