Consolidating Projects and Resources

Core Training for Microsoft Project 2002

Creating a Resource Pool

1	To create a new project that you can use as a resource pool for the Wingtip Toys Commercial project and the Parnell Aerospace Promo project, on the Standard toolbar, click the New button.
2	To close the Project Guide Tasks pane and optimize your screen space, in the upper-right corner of the Tasks pane, click the Close button.
3	To save this new project with a name that will identify it as a resource pool, click the File menu and then click Save As.
4	In the Save As dialog box, in the My Documents folder, click the Southridge Video and Film Productions folder and click Open.
5	In the File name box, double-click the existing text, Project1.
6	Type Southridge Resource Pool, and then press the ENTER key.
7	To view all three project plans at once, click the Window menu and then click Arrange All.
8	To switch the resource pool to the Resource Sheet view, click the View menu and click Resource Sheet.
9	Notice that several of the same resources appear in both project plans on the right side of the Microsoft Project window. To begin linking the Wingtip Toys Commercial plan to the new resource pool, click the title bar of the Wingtip Toys Commercial window.
10	Click the Tools menu, point to Resource Sharing, and click Share Resources.
11	In the Share Resources dialog box, click the Use resources option.
12	The From list allows you to choose which of the open project plans to use as a resource pool. Since the Southridge Resource Pool is already selected, click OK.
13	Notice that resource information from the Wingtip Toys Commercial plan is now displayed in the resource pool. To set up the Parnell Aerospace Promo project plan as a sharer plan with the same resource pool, click the title bar of the Parnell Aerospace Promo window.
14	Click the Tools menu, point to Resource Sharing, and click Share Resources.
15	In the Share Resources dialog box, click the Use resources option and then click OK.

Viewing and Updating Resource Pool Assignments

1	To maximize the Southridge Resource Pool window, double-click its title bar.
2	To get a better view of the resource usage from the Wingtip Toys Commercial project and the Parnell Aerospace Promo project, click the View menu and click Resource Usage.
3	To display all of Ken Bergman's assignments, in the Resource Name column, click the name of Resource 6, Ken Bergman, and click six times on the down arrow on the vertical scroll bar.
4	To scroll the timescale details on the right side of the Microsoft Project window so that Ken's earliest task assignments appear, on the Standard toolbar, click the Go To Selected Task button.
5	The red numbers indicate days on which Ken is overallocated. To display the Resource Form and get more detail about Ken's assignments, click the Window menu and click Split.
6	This combination view displays all shared resources and their assignments in the upper pane, and each resource's details in the lower pane. To display Ken's overallocations again, in the upper pane, click once below the scroll box in the vertical scroll bar.
7	Note that Ken has two 8-hour tasks on Wednesday, May 5, Record rough narration and Record music. In the lower pane, you can see that Record rough narration is part of the Wingtip Toys Commercial project. To see the project for Record music, in the scroll bar for the lower pane, click once below the scroll box.
8	You can now see that Record music is part of the Parnell Aerospace Promo project. To maximize the Resource Usage view again, click the Window menu and click Remove Split.
9	To view the assignments for a different resource, click two times below the scroll box on the scroll bar and in the Resource Name column, click the name of Resource 20, Jenny Lysaker.
10	Jenny has no assignments in either sharer plan. To assign Jenny to a task in one of the sharer plans, click the Window menu and click Parnell Aerospace Promo.
11	To view the tasks in this project in Gantt Chart view, click the View menu and click Gantt Chart.
12	In the Task Name column, click the name of Task 5, Add Effects.
13	On the Standard toolbar, click the Assign Resources button.
14	In the Assign Resources dialog box, click Jenny Lysaker, click Assign, and then click Close.
15	To see how this change has affected the resource pool, click the Window menu and then click Southridge Resource pool.
16	To view Jenny's new assignment, on the Standard toolbar, click the Go To Selected Task button.

Updating Resource Information in a Resource Pool

1	To update a resource's working time in the resource pool, in the Resource Name column, click the name of Resource 6, Ken Bergman, and on the Standard toolbar, click the Go to Selected Task button.
2	On the Standard toolbar, click the Resource Information button.
3	In the Resource Information dialog box, click the Working Time tab.
4	To view the calendar for May 2004, in the scroll bar next to the calendar, click once below the scroll box.
5	To specify May 10 and 11 as dates that Ken Bergman will be unavailable to work, position the mouse pointer over May 10, click and hold down the mouse button, drag to the right until May 11 is also selected, and release the mouse button.
6	In the Set selected date(s) to section, click the Nonworking time option and then click OK.
7	To view the updated May 10 and 11 resource information for Ken Bergman, in the horizontal scroll bar below the right pane, click the right scroll arrow four times.
8	To view all of Ken's assignments, on the vertical scroll bar at right, click the down arrow six times.
9	Ken has no work hours scheduled for Monday or Tuesday (May 10 and 11). To verify that Ken's nonworking time setting was updated in the sharer plans, click the Window menu and click Parnell Aerospace Promo.
10	On the Standard toolbar, click the Assign Resources button.
11	To view the resource information for Ken, in the Assign Resource dialog box, in the Resources from Parnell Aerospace Promo list, double click Ken Bergman.
12	To view May 2004 in the calendar below the Select Date(s) label, click once below the scroll box on the scroll bar.
13	As you can see, May 10 and 11 are shaded to indicate that they are nonworking days for Ken, so the change you made to the resource pool has been updated in the sharer plans. To close the Resource Information dialog box, click Cancel.
14	To close the Assign Resources dialog box, click Close.

Updating Working Times in a Resource Pool

1	To set a nonworking time in a base calendar in the resource pool, click the Tools menu and click Change Working Time.
2	To set the nonworking time in all sharer plans, in the Change Working Time dialog box, click the arrow to the right of the For: box.
3	In the For: list, click Standard (Project Calendar).
4	To view May 2004 in the calendar below the Select Date(s) label, click once below the scroll box on the scroll bar.
5	To select May 10 as a nonworking time, in the calendar, click May 10, then in the Set selected date(s) to: section, click Nonworking time, and then click OK.
6	To verify that this change was updated in the sharer plans, click the Window menu and click Wingtip Toys Commercial.
7	Click the Tools menu, and then click Change Working Time.
8	To check the nonworking time in this project plan, in the Change Working Time dialog box, to the right of the For: box, click the arrow and then click Standard (Project Calendar).
9	To view May 2004 in the calendar below the Select Date(s) label, click once below the scroll box on the scroll bar.
10	In the calendar, May 10 has been updated from the resource pool to indicate it is a nonworking day. To close the Change Working Time dialog box, click Cancel.

Linking New Projects to a Resource Pool

1	To open the Southridge Resource Pool project plan, on the Standard toolbar, click the Open button.
2	In the Open dialog box, click the Southridge Video and Film Productions folder and click Open.
3	Click the Southridge Resource Pool file, and click Open.
4	In order to make changes to the pool, you must open it as read/write, so in the Open Resource Pool dialog box, click the second option and click OK.
5	To view all resource information in the Southridge Resource Pool, click the View menu and click Resource Sheet.
6	To create a new project plan that will become a sharer plan for the resource pool, on the Standard toolbar, click the New button.
7	To optimize your screen space, in the upper-right corner of the Tasks pane, click the Close button.
8	To save the new project, click the File menu and click Save As.
9	To delete the default name and save this project with a new name, type Hanson Brothers and then press the ENTER key.
10	To enter resource information in this project plan, on the Standard toolbar, click the Assign Resources button.
11	The Assign Resources dialog box is empty because you have not yet entered any resource information. To make this project a sharer plan so that it pulls resource information from the resource pool, click the Tools menu, point to Resource Sharing, and then click Share Resources.
12	The Share Resources dialog box opens with the Use own resources and Pool takes precedence options selected. In the Share Resources dialog box, click Use resources.
13	In the From list, the Southridge Resource Pool is already selected, so click OK.
14	All resources from the resource pool are now available for assignments in this project. To close the Assign Resources dialog box, click Close.

Updating a Resource Pool from a Sharer Plan

1	To open the Parnell Aerospace Promo project plan, on the Standard toolbar, click the Open button.
2	Click the Southridge Video and Film Productions folder, and click Open.
3	Click the Parnell Aerospace Promo file, and click Open.
4	Because this project plan is a sharer plan, you need to choose whether to open the resource pool to which it is linked. To open the resource pool and see assignments across all sharer files, click OK.
5	To verify that the resource pool has opened in the background as read-only, click the Window menu.
6	Southridge Resource Pool [Read-Only] is listed as the other open window. To close the menu, click the Window menu again.
7	To change an assignment for one of the tasks in this sharer plan, in the Task Name column, click the name of Task 6, Add optical track.
8	On the Standard toolbar, click the Assign Resources button.
9	To assign Stephanie Hooper as the resource for this task, in the Assign Resources dialog box, click two times below the scroll box on the scroll bar, click Stephanie Hooper, and click Assign.
10	To revise assignments for another task, in the Parnell Aerospace Promo window, in the Task Name column, click the name of Task 8, Add dialog.
11	In the Assign Resources dialog box, click three times above the scroll box on the scroll bar, click Sue Jackson, and click Remove.
12	To update the resource pool with the changes you've just made, click the Tools menu, point to Resource Sharing, and then click Update Resource Pool.
13	To update another assignment in the sharer plan, in the Task Name column, click the name of Task 3, Sync sound.
14	In the Assign Resources dialog box, click once below the scroll box on the scroll bar, click Lane Sacksteder, and then click Assign.
15	To close the Assign Resources dialog box, click Close.
16	To close the Parnell Aerospace Promo file, click the File menu and click Close.
17	To save your latest changes to the file, click Yes.
18	To update the resource pool to reflect your most recent changes for all open sharer projects, click OK.

Working with Consolidated Projects

1	To begin creating a consolidated project plan, you first need to open the project plans that will be inserted into it, so on the Standard toolbar, click the Open button.
2	Click the Southridge Video and Film Productions folder, and click Open.
3	Click the Parnell Aerospace Promo file, and click Open.
4	In the Open Resource Pool Information dialog box, click Do not open other files and click OK.
5	To open a second project plan, on the Standard toolbar, click the Open button.
6	Click the Wingtip Toys Commercial file, and click Open.
7	The Open Resource Pool Information dialog box opens. Click Do not open other files, and click OK.
8	To begin inserting the open plans into a consolidated project, click the Window menu and click New Window.
9	In the New Window dialog box, the active project plan is already selected. To insert both project plans into the consolidated project, press and hold the CTRL key on your keyboard, click Parnell Aerospace Promo, and release the CTRL key.
10	Click OK.
11	To optimize the screen space of the new project, in the upper-right corner of the Tasks pane, click the Close button.
12	To adjust the timescale so that the full duration of both projects is visible in the right pane, click the View menu and then click Zoom.
13	In the Zoom dialog box, click Entire project and then click OK.
14	To save the consolidated project plan with a name that identifies its contents, click the File menu and click Save As.
15	In the Save As dialog box, type TV Commercials and then press the ENTER key.
16	In the dialog box asking if you want to save changes to the inserted projects, click Yes to All.
17	To display the project summary task for the consolidated project, click the Tools menu and click Options.
18	On the View tab of the Options dialog box, in the Outline options for 'TV Commercials' section, click the Show project summary task check box and then click OK.
19	Notice that the summary task, TV Commercials, appears at the top, representing the total duration and work of both inserted projects. To save the consolidated project, on the Standard toolbar, click the Save button.

Creating Dependencies Between Projects

1	To link tasks in two project plans, click the Window menu and click Parnell Aerospace Promo.
2	In the Parnell Aerospace Promo window, in the Task Name column, click the name of Task 8, Add dialog.
3	On the Standard toolbar, click the Go To Selected Task button.
4	Notice that Fabrikam Inc. Sound Studio is one of the resources assigned to Task 8. Once this task is completed, you'll need this studio for work on the Wingtip Toys Commercial. To link Task 8 to a task in the Wingtips Toy Commercial project plan, click the Window menu and click Wingtip Toys Commercial.
5	In the Wingtip Toys Commercial window, in the Task Name column, click the name of Task 5, Fine Cut Edit.
6	On the Standard toolbar, click the Task Information button.
7	To specify the project and task to which this task will be linked, in the Task Information dialog box, click the Predecessors tab.
8	In the ID column, click the first empty cell, type Parnell Aerospace Promo\8, and press the ENTER key.
9	To close the Task Information dialog box, click OK.
10	Add dialog now appears as a ghost task name. (in gray type) in the Wingtip Toys Commercial project. To view the task in the timescale grid, on the Standard toolbar, click the Go To Selected Task button.
11	To display a ScreenTip with the file name, location, and other details of the ghost task, in the timescale grid, position the mouse pointer over the gray bar opposite Add dialog.
12	To view the corresponding ghost task in the Parnell Aerospace Promo project, click the Window menu and click Parnell Aerospace Promo.
13	Notice that Task 9, Fine cut edit, is a ghost task, a successor for Task 8, Add dialog. Since Task 9 has no other links to this project, it has no effect on other tasks here. To display the link between these two projects in the consolidated TV Commercials plan, click the Window menu and click TV Commercials.
14	To view the linked tasks, in the Task Name column, click Task 8, Add dialog, and then on the Standard toolbar, click the Go To Selected Task button.