You have developed your schedule using Microsoft Project. You would now like to know how many Full Time Equivalents (FTE’s) will be required for this project. Here is how to answer that question.

1. Insert the Work column and perform effort estimating for each task

2. Add an FTE on the Resource Sheet (Note a Std Rate of $10 per hour has also been applied as an average hourly rate)

3. Assign the FTE resource to all tasks

4. On the Resource Graph view, right click on the bar chart and chose “Percent Allocation”

5. This view now shows how many FTE’s will be needed per month. (1 in August and September and 1.4 in November and December)

6. As a bonus, if you right click on the bar chart and choose “Cost”…

7. You will now be able to see the Cost per Month based upon the average hourly rate.

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Help for Microsoft Project

Watch video from this article here.

Within the 6th Edition (2017) of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) there is a Knowledge Area called "Project Schedule Management". Within this Knowledge Area is a process called "Develop Schedule". One of the Techniques that PMI references that should be used to assist with this process is "Resource Optimization".

Resource Optimization is used to adjust the start and finish dates of activities to adjust planned resource use to be equal to or less than resource availability. Examples of resource optimization techniques that can be used to adjust the schedule model due to demand and supply of resources include but are not limited to: "Resource Leveling" and "Resource Smoothing". (PMBOK 2017, p. 211)

Resource Leveling

PMI defines Resources Leveling as a resource optimization technique in which adjustments are made to the project schedule to optimize the allocation of resources and which may affect critical path.

Let us now demonstrate Resource Leveling within Microsoft Project. We will start off by reviewing the Gantt Chart view of a simple project schedule:

If we shift to the Tracking Gantt view of the same project, we can see that this project has been baselined (by the grey color in the Task Bar within the Bar Chart). We can also see which tasks are on the Critical Path of this project (by the red color in the Task Bar within the Bar Chart).

Also from this view, we see little red heads appearing with the Indicator column. This is Microsoft Project's way of telling us that at least one resource is being over-allocated by being assigned to that task. Being over-allocated means that we are asking the resource to perform more effort (Work) within a particular time period than they have the availability or capacity to give. Since Work is a variable in this situation, lets add the Work column to this view:

Now we can see the amount of Work tied to each task.

But to better understand what is causing the over-allocation, we must look a little closer. We will now split the screen and display the Resource Graph at the bottom (Note that I have modified the Resource Graph to display Work in the bar chart on the right):

Now we click on the Task 1:

From this view, we can see that within the schedule, Jim is being asked to complete 16 hours worth of Work on Tuesday, when he only has 8 hours of availability or capacity to give. This over-allocation is created by Jim being assigned to work on both Task 1 and Task 2 on the same day.

Now click on Task 3:

From the Resource Graph on the bottom, we can see that Sally is also over-allocated. She is being asked to complete 16 hours worth of work on Wednesday when she only has the capacity or availability to deliver 8 hours worth of Work.

Let us now perform Resource Leveling within Microsoft Project. Click on >Resource tab across the top, then click on > Level All

Microsoft Project then reacts to your input:

You will notice few things happened:

1. There are no longer any tasks with over-allocated resources (the little read heads are gone)
2. A number of Start and Finish dates changed (Change highlighting feature shows all cells that changed in blue)
3. If you examine the bar chart, you can see the difference between the current plan versus the baselined plan by comparing the colored task bars (current) to the grey bar (baseline).

Let us review PMI's definition again; Resources Leveling is a resource optimization technique in which adjustments are made to the project schedule to optimize the allocation of resources and which may affect critical path. In our example in Microsoft Project, we saw both of the items emerge. From my personal experience, this approach has ALWAYS impacted the critical path.

Resource Smoothing

Let us now explore the concept of Resource Smoothing. According to PMI, Resource Smoothing is a resource optimization technique in which free and total float are used without affecting the critical path.

In order to demonstrate Resource Smoothing in Microsoft Project, we will return to our original schedule:

Remember that Jim and Sally are both over-allocated in this project.

Since the concept of Resource Smoothly involves free and total float, we will insert the Free Slack column within our Project Schedule.

We can see that Task 3 and 4 each have 1 day of Free Slack

Now click on >Leveling Option and place a checkmark by "Level only within available slack", then click on >OK

Now click on "Level All". More thank likely, you will see a message like this:

Click on >Skip All

Microsoft Project reacts to your input:

Let's inspect what happened:

1. The tasks that were originally on the Critical Path did NOT get rescheduled
2. This means that Jim is still showing as over-allocated
3. The Start date for Task 4 was moved to 12/24/20
4. Sally is NO LONGER over-allocated

Again, PMI's definitions of Resource Smoothing is; "It is a resource optimization technique in which free and total float are used without affecting the critical path." From the example above, we can see that Microsoft Project performed in accordance with this definition.

You might find this article helpful: 9 Tips for Dealing with an Over Allocated Resource

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You know when your Go Live date should be. The question is; when should your project start?

The following solution demonstrates how Microsoft Project can provide that answer in 2 steps.

This article assumes that you already have a Microsoft Project schedule that has been developed following scheduling best practices. This solution works great when using a Microsoft Project schedule template or when you have recurring projects that follow the exact same tasks.

We will work with this Wine Tasting Fundraiser project.

1. Before we begin the 2-Step process, we must create two custom fields; "Deadline Variance Calculator" and "Target Go Live Date".

   Create the Deadline Variance Calculator field
   

   1.1 Right click on Predecessor and insert the column Duration2

1.2 Right click on Duration2 column heading and click on Custom Fields

1.3 Click on Rename and input "Duration Variance Calculator", then click on OK

1.4 Click on Formula and input the following formula:

IIf([Deadline]=4294967295,0,(([Finish]-[Deadline])*480))

1.5 Click on >Ok and >OK again.

1.6 Right click on the column heading and click on Hide

Create the Target Go Live Date field

1.7 Right click on the Predecessor column and click on Insert Column.

1.8 Select Text1

1.9 Right click on Text1 and click on >Custom Fields

1.10 Click on Rename and input "Targeted Go Live Date", then click on OK

1.11 Click on Formula and input this formula;

IIf([Duration2]=0,"",([Project Start]-([Duration2]/480)))

1.12 Click on >Ok and >Ok

1.13 As a last step, right click on the Target Go Live Date column and insert the column called Deadline

1.14 The view should now show both the Deadline and Target Go Live Date columns

You can see in the schedule above that this project has over 125 rows. It has been developed using Microsoft Project scheduling best practices and the Go Live Milestone is currently at Thur 4/5/18. You can see that there are a number of tasks that are planned to occur AFTER Go Live and the overall Project Finish date is currently at Wed 4/25/18.

But let's say it is 2019 and we want to Go Live on Thur 8/29/2019.

2.1 Step 1 – Input the known date for when the project needs to complete into the Deadline field.

Notice that the Targeted Start Date field automatically populated. Take note of this date.

2.2 Step 2 – Input Project Start Date

Click on >Project, >Project Information and input the Start date of 6/13/2019 (this was the Targeted Start Date)

Click on OK

Notice the Change Highlighting feature turned the background of many cells to blue. Note that all dates in your project schedule just changed. The new Go Live Milestone date is now Thur 8/29/19 just as desired. Since the Milestone Finish date is equal to the Deadline date, the Targeted Start Date now displays as blank. All tasks after Go Live also moved out and the overall Project Finish date is now Wed 9/18/19.

Finally, this example used a Go Live date somewhere in the middle of the schedule. As opposed to trying to use the "Schedule From Finish" option in Microsoft Project, I could easily created a Project Complete Milestone and applied the Deadline there. The solution would have worked just as well.

Get Help Here!

Deadline Variance

There is a field (column) within Microsoft Project called Deadline. It is tightly integrated into the tool and performs multiple functions. One of the biggest benefits of this field is that it will allow Microsoft Project to notify you when a Finish date slips past its Deadline date. Let's demonstrate:

In the Wine Tasting Fundraising project below, you will see a Project Complete Milestone at the end of the schedule (Row 137). Notice that this Milestone has 0 days Duration and appears as a black diamond in the bar chart portion of the Gantt Chart view on the right. Friday 4/6/18 is the planned Finish date for this project. You will notice that the Deadline column has been added to this view and it currently displays NA for the Project Complete Milestone.

Let's assume that our project team and all stakeholders agree that this project schedule is realistic and achievable. With that consensus in place, copy the Finish date for the Project Complete Milestone and paste it into the Deadline field.

In the picture above it appears as if the black diamond changed to a green arrow. The truth is; the arrow is actually laying on top of the diamond. The diamond is still there, we just can't see it.

As the project moves forward in real life, the project schedule should be updated to stay in line with reality. After making an update to a task within the Planning phase of this project, all of a sudden a Red diamond with an exclamation point appeared in the Indicator column on the left. This is Projects way of screaming at you; "You have a problem!"

If you hover over that red diamond, you will see that it says "This task goes past its deadline". If you look at the bar chart you will see that the black diamond has now pushed out to the right of the green arrow.

With a little further investigation, we can see that the current Finish date for the Project Complete Milestone is now Thu 4/12/18 and the Deadline date is Fr 4/6/18. The moral of this story is that if you continue to follow this project schedule as it currently stands, you are going to miss the agreed upon Project Complete Finish date.

As the project manager responsible for completing this project on time, the next objective should be to get this project on track. But the question at this point is; how far are we off track? In other words, what is difference between the current Finish and our Deadline Finish? How may calendar/ working days are we off track? There are a number of fields in Microsoft Project that automatically calculate the variance between two fields. But here is the problem; there is NOT a Deadline Variance field. The good news is; we can create a Deadline Variance field. Here are those steps:

Insert Duration1 column

Right click on the Duration1 column heading and click on Custom Fields

Click on Rename, input Deadline Variance and click on OK

Click on Formula and input this formula: IIf([Deadline]=4294967295,0,(ProjDateDiff([Deadline],[Finish]))) Then click on OK 

The following dialogue box will appear letting you know that any existing data in this field will be deleted. Simply click on OK.

We can now see that our project has slipped by 4 days.

As a good project manager your next step should be to work with the team to determine how to reduce the Duration of the critical path by 4 days in order to get the project back on track.

Get Help Here!

This article will guide the user through configuring a solution that will enable the user to create tasks in Microsoft Project using Google Assistant (or Google Home). Note that this solution does NOT require any custom code, Project Online or the purchase of a third-party add-on.

Watch short overview video here.

This solution does require Microsoft Project, Google Assistant, Trello, Wunderlist, an IFTTT Applet, Microsoft Flow and SharePoint.

The following image shows how the products are integrated and how the solution flows at a high level.

Contents:

Module 1 Create a SharePoint Task List

Module 2 Open SharePoint Task List In Microsoft Project

Module 3 Create Account in Wunderlist

Module 4 Create Trello Account

Module 5 Create Applet in IFTTT

Module 6 Create Workflow in Microsoft Flow

Module 7 Create a task in Microsoft Project using Google Assistant

You may find this of value:

Get Help Here!

This is "Module 7 – Create a task in Microsoft Project using Google Assistant", which is part of a series on "Create Tasks in Microsoft Project using Google Assistant".

30. Simply say "Hey Google, add 'determine painter' to My Project"

31. Click on >Save within the Quick Access Toolbar in the upper left corner. Microsoft Project downloads the latest information.

32. The "determine painter" task is then added to the schedule:

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Coaching on Agile, Project, Program or Portfolio Management

This is "Module 6 – Create Workflow in Microsoft Flow", which is part of a series on "Create Tasks in Microsoft Project using Google Assistant".

27. From within Flow, click on Templates and type in "Wunderlist to SharePoint". Click on the option that says "When a Wunderlist task is created copy it to SharePoint online".

28. Click on Continue

29. Configure the flow as follows, then click on Save

See next article: Module 7 – Create a task in Microsoft Project using Google Assistant

You may find this of value: 

Microsoft Project Schedule Templates

This is "Module 5 Create Applet in IFTTT", which is part of a series on "Create Tasks in Microsoft Project using Google Assistant".

12. Visit https://ifttt.com (If This Then That) and create an account

13. When asked to choose at least three services, select Google Assistant, Wunderlist and Trello

14. Click on the dropdown arrow to the right of your user name and click on New Applet

15. Click the "+this"

16. In Step 1, search for Assistant and click on Google Assistant

17. The Choose trigger step will appear. For Step 2, click on "Say a phrase with a text ingredient"

18. Within the question for "What do you want to say", input 'add $ to my project'. Within the question for "What do you want the Assistant to say in response?', input 'Ok, adding task'.

19. Then click on Create Trigger

20. Click on the "+that"

21. In Step 3 Choose action service, type trello, then click on Trello

22. Step 4, click on Create a card

22. Within Which Board? Click on the dropdown and select the name of your Trello board (the one with no spaces). For List name, input Inbox

23. For Position, select Top of List. For Title, click on Add Ingredient and select TextField.

24. Click on Create action

 25. As a last step, you can change the name of your Applet if you like.

26. Click on Save.

See next article: Module 6 Create Workflow in Microsoft Flow

You may find this helpful:

Help with Project Online

This is Module 4 Create Trello Account which is part of a series on Create Tasks in Microsoft Project using Google Assistant.

11. Visit https://trello.com/ and create an account

12. Create a board* that has at least one list. In the screenshot below, my board is called "MyTrello" and the list is "Inbox". *Note that my original board name contained a space which caused a problem later. I recommend creating this board name with no space.

See next article: Module 5 - Create Applet in IFTTT

You may find this helpful:

MS Project Schedule Aligned To PMI

This is "Module 3 – Create Account in Wunderlist", which is part of a series on "Create Tasks in Microsoft Project using Google Assistant".

9. Visit https://www.wunderlist.com and create an account

10. Your account now exists:

See next article: Module 4 – Create Gmail Account

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Microsoft Project Training