Add resources to your project

A resource is traditionally defined as any of the people, equipment, and materials used to complete tasks that make a project.

Other types of resources that you may add to your project include:

• Enterprise resources     Each enterprise resource is a part of the list of resources for the whole organization; therefore, each of these resources can be shared across multiple projects. Typically, the list of enterprise resources is managed by an administrator, and each project manager adds these resources to their projects as needed.

• Non-enterprise resources     A non-enterprise resource, or local resource, is not a part of the list of resources for the whole organization. No other project manager can use your non-enterprise resources in their projects.

• Generic resources     Generic resources are used to specify the staffing requirements for a project, such as carpenters and developers, or a team of resources.

What do you want to do?

Add enterprise resources to your project

Add non-enterprise resources to your project

Add generic enterprise resources to your project

Add generic non-enterprise resources to your project

Add enterprise resources to your project

1. On the Tools menu, click Build Team from Enterprise.

2. In the Build Team from Enterprise dialog box, in the Existing filters box, click the filter that you want to apply. The filtered list of enterprise resources is displayed in the Enterprise Resource column. Any resources already assigned to your project team are listed in the Project Resource column.

3. To search for resources who are available to work a specific number of hours during a particular time range, select the Available to work check box. Enter the amount of time a resource needs to be available to work, and then select the date range by using the From and To boxes.

4. In the Enterprise Resource column, click the enterprise resource that you want to add to your project, and then click Add. To select multiple resources, hold down CTRL while you click each resource.

   • To find enterprise resources that match the skills and other attributes of one of your team's existing resources, select the resource that you want to match under Project Resource, and then click Match.

   • To replace an existing resource with an enterprise resource, in the Project Resource column, select the resource or generic resource that you want to replace. Under Enterprise Resource, select the new enterprise resource, and then click Replace.

     When you replace a resource, the replaced resource is not removed if they have completed any actual work. The replacement resource is assigned the remaining work.

5. To add a proposed resource to the project team, in the Book column, click Proposed.

6. To view a graph of a selected resource's availability, click Graphs.

7. Click OK.

   Notes: 

   • Adding an enterprise resource to your project allows you only to assign the resource to a task on your project. You cannot make changes to the attributes of enterprise resources, such as pay rates or availability.

   • If you want to add resources to the list of available enterprise resources, you must import the resources. Find links to more information about importing resources in the See also section.

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Add non-enterprise resources to your project

1. On the View menu, click Resource Sheet.

2. On the View menu, point to Table, and then click Entry.

3. In the Resource Name field, type a work, material, or generic resource name.

4. If you want to designate resource groups, then in the Group field for the resource name, type the name of the group.

5. Specify the resource type.

   • To specify that this resource is a work resource, in the Type field, click Work.

   • To specify that this resource is a material resource, in the Type field, click Material. In the Material Label field, type the label (for example, yards, tons, or boxes) for the resource.

   • To specify that this resource is a cost resource, in the Type field, click Cost.

6. In the Max. Units field for the resource, type the number of total units that this resource is available for this project. The maximum units value specifies how much of this resource is available for this project — for example, part-time or multiples.

   For example, if you have a resource who is available for your project two days a week, you can enter a maximum units value of 40%. You can use maximum units to specify multiple availability of a resource designation. For example, suppose you have a resource named Engineers, a single resource that represents three individual engineers on your team. You can enter the maximum units for Engineers as 300%. You can schedule all three engineers for full-time work at one time without the Engineers resource being overallocated.

   You can enter maximum units as a percentage (50%, 100%, 300%), or as a decimal (0.5, 1, 3).

Note: 

• To create a budget resource, select the resource, click Resource Information , and then select the Budget check box.

• You can add a work resource and associated information by using your MAPI e-mail address book, from the Active Directory, or from Microsoft Office Project Server. In the Resource Sheet, click Insert, point to New Resource From, and then click Address Book, Active Directory, or Project Server. Select the resource, and then click OK.

• When you (or another project manager) want to share resources, you can add resources from a resource pool.

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Add generic enterprise resources to your project

1. On the View menu, click Resource Sheet, point to Table, and then click Entry.

2. On the Tools menu, click Build Team from Enterprise.

   If there are more than 1,000 enterprise resources, you can filter the list of resources by using enterprise outline codes. Outline codes are defined based upon the requirements of your organization.

3. In the Build Team dialog box, click to expand Customize filters.

4. Under Customize filters, click Generic in the Field Name column, click Equals in the Test column, and then type Yes in the Values column.

5. Click Apply filter to apply the filter settings to the list of enterprise resources.

6. To search for resources who are available to work a specific number of hours during a particular time range, select the Available to work check box. Enter the amount of time a resource needs to be available to work, and then select the date range by using the From and To boxes.

7. In the Enterprise Resource column, select the generic resource that you want to add to your project, and then click Add. To select multiple resources, hold down CTRL while you click each resource.

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Add non-enterprise generic resources to your project

1. On the View menu, click Resource Sheet, point to Table, and then click Entry.

2. In the Resource Name field, type a resource name.

3. Click Resource Information , and then click the General tab.

4. Select the Generic check box.

5. On the Custom Fields tab, under Custom Fields, enter values for any fields that are required for this resource.

   Since these custom fields are unique to each organization, see your administrator for answers to any questions about their use.

Note: 

• You can add any generic resource to the list of enterprise resources. You might have to specify other attributes for the resource, such as calendars and skill sets, depending upon the requirements of your organization.

• Later, when you are ready to replace a generic resource with an enterprise resource who has the right skill set, you can use either the Build Team dialog box or the Resource Substitution Wizard.

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