Cost Resource Project Management
Individual Assignment 6 (Lab 3): Instructions
1. Make all revisions as suggested when I reviewed your previous lab submission. Do not re-submit your file with the same mistakes as this will affect your score.
2. Use the Resource Sheet in Microsoft Project to create a resource pool. The resource pool is the list of resources that you will need to carry out your project activities, including people working on your project. When the Max-Units value is other than 100%, enter a resource note to explain your scheme. (2 points)
3. Assign a standard rate for each resource as appropriate. Enter an overtime rate if you are planning for some of your project personnel to work overtime – this is optional. Entering pay rates allows Microsoft Project to calculate resource and activity costs for you. (2 points)
4. Assign resources to all project activities that require resources; note that resources are NOT added to Summary tasks and usually not to milestones. Remember, project activities without resource assignments will not be performed. So you want to ensure that every activity that requires resources has a resource assignment. (4 points)
5. When assigning resources, make sure that activity durations remain the same, unless you want them to change. Review your Project Statistics before and after resource assignments to document any change in your project duration. What did you see? Add a task note in Task zero to share your observation. (1 point)
6. Review your resource allocation and resolve all overallocations if there are any. If you believe that an overallocation is reasonable and does not need to be leveled, please add a resource note to explain why. (4 points)
7. Switch to the Gantt Chart view, apply the Cost table, and note the total cost of the project. Remember, task zero is the project. Calculate 10% of the total cost of the project and add the amount as contingency reserve to your project (see below instructions on how to add contingency reserve in MS Project). Enter a note in Task zero to indicate the total cost of your project. (4 points).
8. If you have developed your plan as fully as possible and you are satisfied with it, save a baseline. Remember, the contingency reserve must be included in the baseline. This is an important task as this baseline will serve as a basis for evaluating your project performance. You cannot effectively monitor progress without the baseline plan. (2 points)
9. Display the Resource Usage view and save your file so that it automatically opens in that view. (1point)
Save and submit your Microsoft Project file in the Resource Usage view to your instructor. This assignment is due no later than the NINTH week of the class.
Hints: 1) When a resource refers to a specific person (e.g., Fred Shaw or Jane Boyd), the Max.Unit column should not exceed 100%; that is, full time. For a resource that is scheduled to work less than full-time, you can enter a smaller maximum-units value.
2) When a resource represents a group of people with common skills such as engineers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, editors, and writers, you can enter a maximum-units value that is higher than 100%. For example, the resource engineers entered with 400% max-units means that you are planning to have 4 engineers working full time on your project.
3) Apply the Resource Usage view to check for activities without resource assignments.
4) Review the sections listed below from the HBSP tutorial to understand various cost categories that your project might generate:
- Identify cost categories
- Consider other potential variables
- Determine whether the project should proceed
- Build in contingency funds
These cost categories may be classified in the resource sheet in Microsoft Project. Microsoft Project will allow you to group your project costs into three types of resources: work resources, cost resources, and material resources. For more information, watch the relevant videos and read the relevant reference guides discussing this topic.
5) In MS project, reserves may be added as follows:
a) From the Resource Sheet view in MS Project, create a “Cost resource” named “Contingency Reserve.” The contingency reserve is treated here as a fixed overhead to the project.
b) Make sure to choose “cost” as the resource type. Next, you will need to switch to the Gantt chart view.
c) From the Gantt chart view, select a work package or activity to which you want to assign the contingency reserve.
d) From the resource tab, click Assign resources and select Contingency Reserve from the Assign Resources dialog box
e) Enter the amount of contingency reserve you calculated.
f) Repeat the process for each task to which you wish to assign a contingency amount.
g) Finally, switch to the Task Usage view to examine where reserves were added to your project.
Save your work and submit your Microsoft Project file to your instructor via the appropriate link. This assignment is due no later than Sunday of the NINTH week of the class. E-mail submission will be rejected.
Note: Submit your assignment via the link below.
Individual Assignment 7 (Lab 4): Instructions
Reporting project progress and variance simulation
1. Make all revisions as suggested when I reviewed your previous lab submission. Do not re-submit your file with the same mistakes as this will affect your score.
2. Mark all your initiating and planning activities 100% complete. (2 points)
3. Set the status date of your project to exactly half way through since the project started (your project start date should coincide with the first working day of the start of this section of the class). Highlight all of the Executing tasks and then click on the Update as Scheduled (Mark on Track) icon. (2 points)
4. Open the Tracking table. Review the percentage complete for each of the tasks that have at least some progress.
5. Using the Tracking table with a split screen combination view, enter Actual Start and/or Actual Finish dates that are different from the planned dates for at least 5 tasks. (Hint: Change only Actual Start and Actual Finish values – Do not change baseline values). (2 points)
6. Using the Tracking table with a split screen combination view, enter Actual Durations that are different from the planned durations for at least 3 other tasks. Add a task note to at least one of these tasks explaining why the duration might have changed. . (Hint: Change only Actual duration values – Do not change baseline values) (2 points)
7. View the Project Statistics to see how much variance you have from the original baseline for your project. You can also analyze project variances using the Earned Value table. You will have the opportunity to cover earned value management techniques extensively in more advanced project management courses.
8. Based on what you saw in question 7, how do you predict this project will end in terms of schedule and cost variances? Provide your forecasts in the submission area in Blackboard (Hint: Assignment Submission>Write Submission or Add Comments in Blackboard). (2 points)
Save and submit your Microsoft Project file in the Resource Usage view to your instructor. This assignment is due no later than Sunday at 8:00 p.m. of the TENTH week of the class