Type fields

The Type field provides choices that control the effect that editing work, assignment units, or duration has on the calculations of the other two fields. The options are:

• Fixed Work

• Fixed Units (default)

• Fixed Duration

The Type field also provides choices for the resource type. The choices are Work and Material. Work resources are people and equipment. Material resources are consumable supplies, such as steel, concrete, or soil.

There are several categories of Type fields.

Data Type     Enumerated

Type (task field)

Entry Type     Entered

When a task is set to fixed work, the amount of work remains constant, regardless of any change in duration or the number of resources (assignment units) assigned to the task. When a task is set to fixed units, the number of assignment units remains constant, regardless of the amount of work or duration on the task. When a task is set to fixed duration, the duration for the task remains constant, regardless of the number of resources (assignment units) assigned or the amount of work.

Best Uses    Add the Type field to a task view when you want to display, filter, or edit how task duration, work, or units can be adjusted as the task is being assigned and scheduled.

Example    You estimate that the "Create architectural drawings" task will take 160 hours to complete. Project sets the duration to 20 days with one assignment unit. In the Type field, you click Fixed Work. You then change the duration to 40 days. The 160 hours of work stays fixed, and Project changes the units to 50 percent. Now the 160 hours of work are spread over the 40 days.

Later on, you want to schedule one week for client review of the drawings. Because you want one week scheduled regardless of how many clients review the drawings, in the Type field you click Fixed Duration.

Remarks    The default type is Fixed Units. If Fixed Work is selected, the task is automatically set to be effort-driven as well.

You can also change the task type in the Task Information dialog box.

You can set the default type for all new tasks in the Project Options dialog box.

Type (resource field)

Entry Type     Entered

Best Uses    Add the Type field to a resource sheet when you want to view the resource types. Also use the Type field when sorting, filtering, or grouping assignments by their resource types. Sorting, filtering, or grouping in this way can be particularly useful when you want to review all material resources together.

Example    You need to enter the Windows user account names for your work resources. You also want to enter the measurement labels for your material resources. In the Entry table of the Resource Sheet view, you group the assignments by their resource type. All the material resources are grouped together, followed by the work resources.

Remarks    You can set the resource type in the Resource Information dialog box. The Type field is also included by default on the Entry table in the Resource Sheet view. Work is the default resource type.

If you change the resource type after assigning the resource to tasks, you will lose all resource and assignment information except for baseline cost values.

In the Task Usage view, this resource field is called Resource Type, to distinguish it from the Type (task field), which shows the task type (Fixed Unit, Fixed Work, and Fixed Duration) for the tasks.