microsoft project change resource units

Assignment Units fields

The Assignment Units fields show the percentage or number that represents the assigned resources' allocation to a task.

There are several categories of Assignment Units fields.

Best Uses Add the Assignment Units field to the Task Usage view when you want to display the allocation of time for each individual assignment. No information is displayed in the Assignment Units task field; it merely makes the corresponding Assignment Units field for the assignments available.

Example You are reviewing assignment units for resources assigned to various tasks. You add the Assignment Units field to the Task Usage view. No information appears in the Assignment Units field next to the task names. However, the assignment units for their individual assignments appear below each task name in the Assignment Units fields.

Remarks The default assignment unit is 100 percent (or 1.0 in decimal units), unless the value in the resource's Max Units (maximum units) field is less than 100 percent. In this case, the default assignment unit for the resource is its maximum units value. Units can be expressed as either percentages or decimals. To switch between the two, go to the Project Options dialog box.

Assignment Units (resource field)

Best Uses Add the Assignment Units field to the Resource Usage view when you want to display the resources' assignment units for their individual assignments. No actual information is displayed in the Assignment Units resource field; it merely makes the corresponding Assignment Units field for the assignments available.

Example You are reviewing assignment units for tasks assigned to various resources. You add the Assignment Units field to the Resource Usage view. No information appears in the Assignment Units field next to the resource names. However, the assignment units for their individual assignments appear below each resource name in the Assignment Units fields.

Remarks The default assignment unit is 100 percent, unless the value in the resource's Max Units field is less than 100 percent. In this case, the default assignment unit for the resource is its Max Units value. You can switch between percentages and decimals for representing assignment units in the Project Options dialog box.

You can set the assignment units in the Task Information dialog box.

Assignment Units (assignment field)

Entry Type Calculated or entered field

How Calculated An assignment assuming a resource's full effort can usually be expressed as 100 percent, assuming the resource's maximum units value is 100 percent. Two resources assigned to a task can be expressed as 200 percent, again assuming a maximum units value of 100 percent each.

By default, Assignment Units are set to 100 percent (or 1.0 in decimal units). If you modify Assignment Units directly, either work or duration changes, depending on your task type setting. If your task type is fixed work and you modify the duration, Microsoft Project changes the assignment units. If your task type field is set to fixed duration and you modify work, Project recalculates the assignment units.

Best Uses Add the Assignment Units field to the sheet portion of the Task Usage or Resource Usage view when you want to display or modify the number of units for which a resource is assigned to a task. The assignment units value interacts with the value in the resource's Max Units field. If you make an assignment with a larger assignment unit than the value in the Max Units field, the resource will be overallocated.

Example You want to assign three carpenters to a task, so you type 300% in the Assignment Units field for the carpenter assignment. To use a single resource part-time on a task, type the percentage in the Assignment Units field that represents the percentage of the resource's daily time spent on the task. For example, if you type 25% in the Units field, you are assigning one-fourth of a resource's day.

Remarks The default assignment unit is 100 percent (or 1.0 in decimal units), unless the value in the assigned resource's Max Units field is less than 100 percent. In this case, the default assignment unit for the resource is its maximum units value. Units can be expressed as either decimals or percentages. You switch between the two in the Project Options dialog box.

By default, the Assignment Units field is included in the Assign Resources dialog box, so you can set assignment units when you first assign a resource to a task. You can also set the assignment units in the Task Information dialog box.

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Set Resource Units

Online Help > Set Resource Units

What does the “Set Resource Units” functionality do?

The “Set Resource Units” functionality allows you to set the percentage of working time you want the resource to spend on the task.

Example: If the resource will be working on this task half time, type 50% .

What is Unit Availability field?

The Unit Availability field contains the percentage or number of maximum units that a work resource is available to accomplish on any tasks during any selected time period, as distributed over time.

What is Unit availability?

Unit availability represents an amount of time, expressed as a percentage or a decimal number, that a resource can be scheduled for assigned work. It refers to the availability of a resource; for example, a resource may be available 50%, 100%, or 300% of full time.

How do I change the resource units?

To change the percentage of working time for a resource, in the Units field, type a percentage less than 100. The resource units can be also changed in Gantt grid. On resource name cell amid [] type desired % units.

How do I set my max units to decimal?

We are sorry, but at this point, the Max Units are only displayed in percent.

How to enter a material resource in Resource Sheet view?

To enter a material resource in Resource Sheet view, in the Type field, click Material . In the Material Label field, enter the label (for example, yards, tons, or boxes) for the resource.

How do I set the consumption rate of a material resource?

To specify the consumption rate of a material resource, in the Units field, type a decimal that indicates the amount of material to be used for this assignment, and then enter the material label.

For example , if you're using 20 yards of lumber, type 20.

The resource units can be changed in Gantt grid on resource name cell amid [] type desired value units.

Step by step on how to set the resource units:

1. Select Resource Sheet view from the View tab.

2. In the Units field, type a percentage.

3. Press Enter .

The resource units can be also changed in Gantt grid:

1. On resource name cell amid [] type desired % units.

2. Press Enter.

Units field in Resource assignment – MS PROJECT 2016

I’ve got a question from one of my Blog readers: “Max units field in Assign Resources are always in %? I want to use QTY instead of %, like we have 10 cranes available, and how many cranes are needed per task instead of using %.”

I will explain this with MS PROJECT 2016 .

First of all, you have two choices when assign resources to the Tasks: to use % (percentage), or to use Decimals. To clarify this, and what decimals means, I will create a simple Project with only one Task:

Now, let’s say that we have 10 Cranes, which are going to be charged per hour, so they will be concerned as worked resource. Let’s say that we have 10 Workers, and they will also be charged per hour. Now, suppose that we need Gasoline, as a Material resource, but it depends on working hours, e.g. we need, for example, 10 liters of Gasoline per hour. And last, we need 500 bricks, no matter how long will the Task take to finish.

Before I create those resources I will change setup for assignment units from Percentage to Decimal:

and finally:

Now I will create Resources:

As you can see, Max. Units are now in Decimal, instead in Percentages (e.g. 10 instead of 1000%).

Now I will assign 500% or 5 Cranes, 500% or 5 Workers, 10 liters of Gasoline per hour, and 500 Bricks:

As you can see, Costs are:

So, yes you can put Decimals instead of percentage, and you will get same results.

Hope this helps!

About Nenad Trajkovski

Is there a way to update resource units more than one at a time?

Home › Forums › Microsoft Project Discussion Forum › Is there a way to update resource units more than one at a time?

Tagged: resource management

Author Posts

I have a plan which contains generic resources. Each resource is available as 1 FTE in the resource sheet. The plan is generic and each resource has a standard unit assigned on the task. Each resource is needed on each task in the plan. Now resource managers are providing input for their resources and I need to update 1 resource unit across multiple tasks. Again the resource is generic e.g., IRT Planner Ph I @.30 FTE. I need to change all resource assignments to across .75 FTE across the plan tasks. Is there a way for me to update the unit FTE across all the tasks for this one resource quickly rather than one task at a time? I have checked all the resource views and I do not see any view that will allow me to do this. Please help !?

Kim, you can use the Resource Usage view and add the Assignment Units field. There you can open all assignments for a resource, change the first assignment, and then drag that down to the other assignments. Be careful as the behavior of the task will depend on how the task is configured, in particular the Task Type field. Hope that helps…

Kim; In addition to Larry’s comments above. If you are using Project Server, the Build Team window (I believe that’s what its called) where you add an enterprise resource to the project’s resource pool contains a replace function. Using this, you can have project automatically replace a generic resource such as IRT Planner with an enterprise resource name such as Joe Smith. In my example, Joe would be assigned to all tasks on which IRT Planner is assigned and the remaining work from IRT Planner would be automatically transferred to Joe. Not sure if you have server, but if you do, this may be an alternative.

Thank you both for your input! Very helpful. Unfortunately we do not have project server at this time. I do have one question though for Larry. What do you mean by the task configuration? Tasks are fixed units and some are fixed duration. Is there something specifically I should watch for ?

Sorry if the phrase task configuration was confusing. My intent was just how the task is defined/setup. Task Type and Effort Driven are the two primary fields that define how the task will behave if you make a change that affects one of the duration/effort/units triangle. For instance, if the task is fixed duration and you make a change to a resource units, then Project will change the resources work. If the task is fixed work and you make that same change, Project will change the duration. There are lots of explanations online if you want more understanding, including several MPUG articles. Hope that helps…

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COMMENTS

Learn more about resource units
Units indicate the percentage of a work resource's time that is assigned to a task. There are two types of units in Project: maximum units and assignment units.
Change the default unit format for assignments
Click the File tab, and then click Options. · In the Project Options dialog box, click Schedule. · In the Show assignment units as a list, click Percentage or
Assignment Units fields
By default, Assignment Units are set to 100 percent (or 1.0 in decimal units). If you modify Assignment Units directly, either work or duration changes
Set Resource Units
To change the percentage of working time for a resource, in the Units field, type a percentage less than 100. The resource units can be also changed in
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Recalculate Resource Duration, Work and Units in MS Project - Project Professional 2019. In this Ms Project Tips and Tricks 2019
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Units field in Resource assignment
I will explain this with MS PROJECT 2016. ... I create those resources I will change setup for assignment units from Percentage to Decimal:.
Is there a way to update resource units more than one at a time?
Kim, you can use the Resource Usage view and add the Assignment Units field. There you can open all assignments for a resource, change the first