Priority fields

The Priority field indicates the level of importance given to a task, which in turn indicates how readily a task or assignment can be delayed or split during resource leveling. You can also assign priorities to tasks in order to assess their relative values as part of your project management strategy.

Priority levels range from 0 -  1000. The lowest priority is 0. The default priority is 500. This wide range allows for the greatest flexibility when leveling.

There are several categories of Priority fields.

Data Type    Enumerated

Priority (task field)

Entry Type    Entered

Best Uses    Add the Priority field to a task view when you want to display, filter, or edit the importance of a task as it would affect leveling resources or as it would help you assess the relative value of tasks.

Example    Three tasks are scheduled at the same time for one resource. Because this is causing the tasks to be overallocated, you decide to have Microsoft Office Project level the resource for these tasks. The "Write proposal" task has a priority of 500, the "Coordinate trade show" task has a priority of 1000, and the "Research new prospects" task has a priority of 100. Because of these priority settings, the resource is leveled so that the "Coordinate trade show" task is scheduled first, the "Write proposal" task is scheduled next, and the "Research new prospects" task is scheduled third.

Remarks    Tasks with a priority of 1000 have the effect of "Do Not Level," meaning that Project will never delay or split this task when leveling tasks that have overallocated resources assigned.

Priority (assignment field)

Entry Type    Calculated

How Calculated    The value in the Priority field for the assignment is taken from the value in the Priority field for the task.

Best Uses    Add the Priority field to the Task Usage or Resource Usage view when you want to display or filter the importance of an assignment as it would affect leveling resources.

Example    Sean is assigned to the "Write proposal" task, which has a priority of 500; the "Coordinate trade show" task, which has a priority of 1000; and the "Research new prospects" task, which has a priority of 100. They are all scheduled for the same period of time, and they are causing Sean to be overallocated. You decide to have Microsoft Office Project do resource leveling for Sean. Because of the priority settings, Sean's assignments are leveled so that the "Coordinate trade show" task is scheduled first, the "Write proposal" task is scheduled next, and the "Research new prospects" task is scheduled third.

Remarks    To change the priority for the assignment, you must change it for the task. You can review the Priority field for both tasks and assignments in the Task Usage view.

Those assignments with a priority of 1000 have the effect of "Do Not Level." This means Project will never delay or split this assignment when leveling overallocated assignments.