Updating actuals modifies unit allocation

Leo Zekas PM II| Givaudan Vulbens, France

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I have created a simple project with a single task (fixed units, not effort driven)and a resource allocated at 50%.

If I switch to the Resource Usage and enter Actual Work of 1 for the first day, the resource's Unit allocation changes to 100% (i.e. allocation is set to largest value entered in Actual Work table).

Looking at the Gantt chart, the figure appears as 100% but there is no impact on the task's timeline (i.e. it still finishes on the same date as planned with 50%).

I would have expected that when I assign a resource at 50%, this 50% is maintained as assigned, even if exceptionally the resource may have worked more than 4 hours on a single day. This means that each time a resource updates their actuals, they can inadvertently reschedule their tasks.

Has anybody else noticed this? Any ideas how to fix it?

PS. I getting this issue with both Project 2002 and Project 2007...

Posted: Jun 11, 2007 9:43 AM

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Leo Zekas PM II| Givaudan Vulbens, France

In case it's not clear, this post relates to Ms Project

Posted: Jun 11, 2007 9:45 AM

K K Chicago, Il, United States

I would think it should update it to 100% allocation. Why do you think it should still continue to show 50% utilization when you are entering an actual of 1d (which is twice the amount of allocated units!)

I would think its a matter of preference and not a design flaw.

Posted: Jun 16, 2007 10:05 PM

Leo Zekas PM II| Givaudan Vulbens, France

Hi KK,

Thanks for your reply.

I believe that the 'Unit Allocation' should
reflect exactly that, that is the number of units at which the resource has been
ALLOCATED by the project manager; if I need to see the actual % I can switch to
the Task Usage and show the actual Percent Allocation.

If I am managing a project with a critical
resource working on more than one task at the same time, that resource will be
allocated at various percentages on each task, hopefully totaling no more than
100%. If this resource has been scheduled on 3 concurrent tasks at 50%, 30% and
20% that SHOULD NOT mean that he/she needs to split every working day/hour into
three and work their time exactly as assigned.

In reality people may spend more time on a task on one day and catch up on the other tasks the next day. In this case, MS Project will change their Unit Allocation to the maximum worked, hence possibly introducing overallocation each time actuals are being entered which then needs to be manually readjusted by the PM!

Multiply this by the fact that resources
are working on many projects and you have a real issue when trying to manage
resource capacity planning!

Any suggestions on how to overcome this?

Posted: Jun 18, 2007 3:47 AM

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Updating actuals modifies unit allocation

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