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.

Data Type     Percentage/number

Assignment Units (task field)

Entry Type    Null

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)

Entry Type    Null

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.