Microsoft Project Resources

(PMBOK 7)

Addresses Course Outcome #6c

Please be sure to read the Individual Assessment and Grading of Individual Assignments and the Project Documentation Requirements sections of the ITP Master Document.

Assignment for the ITP-2 Project Deliverable

By now, your project team should have a well-fleshed out WBS in MS Project with a schedule and durations and dependencies. This is what is described in the textbook and LEO Conferences. So start by reviewing your previous deliverable assignments and by looking at what the other teams have posted in the SHARED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Discussion for both the Project Charter and the Project Schedule with Dependencies.

This assignment includes 3 Parts.

· In Microsoft Project, add resources to each task at each level of the WBS. Remember that resources are persons, places and things necessary to complete each task. EVERY task will have a resource. Remember that WORK is done at the lower level tasks, so your labor and non-labor resources will be more heavily utilized at those levels.

· PLEASE use the RESOURCE SHEET View in Project to list the resources and then use the pull-down menu in the Gantt View to add the resources. Resources must be categorized as labor or as the proper non-labor category on the Resources Sheet in Microsoft Project. For non-labor resources, make sure that they are properly categorized as expendable material resources and supplies, or as non-expendable equipment and other costs. Then add a descriptive label showing a useful resource type or sub-category. CONTRACTORS ARE NON-LABOR because we typically pay one price for the whole job. If you have a reason to list contractors as labor, please contact me so we can discuss it.

· Microsoft Project defaults labor to an 8 hour a day, 5 day a week work schedule. You may (and should) change this schedule, if you find a need. If you, for example, assign James to review a one-day duration decision point, remember that Microsoft Project will allocate 8 hours of James’s time to that decision point. If the decision point is a meeting, the duration should reflect 2 hours, not 1 day. Some labor might not work full-time on tasks. In those cases, you might want to assign that labor resource to something less than 100% (8 hours a day/5 days a week). This is particularly important when you are assigning resources to the Major Task level. There is, typically, very little actual “work” at this level – more monitoring, controlling, and reviewing.

· When you finish assigning resources, go to the RESOURCE GRAPH to see if any resource is over-allocated (working more than 8 hours a day on assigned tasks shows as a RED bar). Try to resolve the over-allocations.

· Make sure that all the tasks are covered, that none are left out---both lowest level leaf-node (sub-sub).

In Microsoft Excel, duplicate the Work Breakdown Structure and the resources. Assign costs (units and extensions) to all resources and then to all tasks. So, for example, if your task is to buy the paint, your resources might include:

Task Manager (Project Team Member) – 4 hours @ $20.00 = $80.00

Paint (5 gallons @$40/gallon = $200)

Brushes (3 wall brushes, 3 trim brushes each at $4.00 = $24)

Gas to get to paint store (12 miles is ½ gallon of gas @ $4.00 per gallon = $2.00)

Do not forget to include equipment you might need (copiers, printers, carts to transport equipment), maybe facilities (such as a storage unit for staging equipment), and, of course the people who are doing the work. If you include a vendor/contractor on a contract or purchase order that has ONE price for the entire effort, you will include ONE contractor@ $xx,xxx.xx (contract price). Think about how you will address this contractor in the Resource Sheet – labor or non-labor? Remember that the contractor is NOT likely to charge by the hour…! You must include EVERYTHING it takes to do every task at every level.

Details:

· Enter resources and costs for each task. Remember that ALL tasks must have resources; major level tasks must have a project team member assigned some small percentage of time to monitor and track the task.

· For all cost categories provide the unit costs or rates (e.g., for labor costs, supplies, etc.), then for each line item, make sure to include the unit costs (e.g., labor rates, costs per each, etc.), and the quantities used (e.g., hours, quantities ordered or used, etc.), and the extended costs (rates or unit costs times quantity).

· Do not forget to include expendable materials and supplies (e.g., paint, brushes, construction materials, etc.), non-expendable equipment you might need (copiers, printers, carts to transport equipment, computer furniture, etc.), maybe facilities (such as a storage unit for staging equipment), and, of course the people who are doing the work along with their labor rates, hours, and costs per person. A rough example is below:

· If you include a vendor/contractor on a contract or purchase order that has ONE price for the entire effort, you will include ONE contractor@ $xx,xxx.xx (contract price). Think about how you will address this contractor in the Resource Sheet – labor or non-labor? Which makes sense?

· You must include EVERYTHING it takes to do every task at every level. The project sponsor and project manager should be able to see how much EACH task (and lower level tasks) costs individually.

· Make sure that the spreadsheet includes a clear bottom line total of all project costs so that you and your stakeholders can tell whether your plan is within the project budget or not. And make sure that all required data are included. In Excel, there is an expectation that the math will be accomplished by the use of formulas.

· You may want to determine subtotals by cost type (labor, supplies, equipment, etc.); and/or by person if a person is assigned to work on than one task. But you still must show the cost of each major task plus the total cost of the project.

· The Cover Sheet text document should include the SOURCES of your costs. For example, if you used a Department of Labor category, the discussion should include why you used this source and the appropriate citations.

· Assign costs (units and extensions) to all resources and then to all tasks in the WBS.

· In MS Project, make sure to insert the columns as needed, into the appropriate views (e.g., Resource Sheet, Gantt chart, etc.), to show the data required here (e.g., total costs, unit costs, rates, cost type, etc.). Remember that your version of MS Project may use different names or labels for those data items / columns than the textbook or tutorials.

Example

So, for example, for a task to buy the paint to paint a bathroom, your resources might include:

         Paint (5 gallons @$40/gallon = $200)

         Brushes (3 wall brushes, 3 trim brushes each at $4.00 = $24)

         Gas to get to paint store (12 miles is ½ gallon of gas @ $4.00 per gallon = $2.00) 

Tips

· Enter resources and costs for each lowest level leaf node task. Add them up for higher level roll-up summary and major task groups or phases. Do not directly enter costs for such summary and major task groups individually except by adding up the costs of the lower level tasks subordinate to the summary and major task group and except for the task manager for the summary and major tasks. MS Project should do the math at the higher levels automatically.

· For all cost categories with unit costs or rates (e.g., for labor costs, expendables and supplies, etc.), then for each line item, make sure to include the unit costs (e.g., labor rates, costs per each, etc.), and the quantities used (e.g., hours, quantities ordered or used, etc.), and the extended costs (rates or unit costs times quantity).

· Do not forget to include expendable materials and supplies (e.g., paint, brushes, etc.), non-expendable equipment you might need (copiers, printers, carts to transport equipment), maybe facilities (such as a storage unit for staging equipment), and, of course the people who are doing the work along with their labor rates, hours, and costs per person. If you include a vendor/contractor on a contract or purchase order that has ONE price for the entire effort, you will include ONE contractor @ $xx,xxx.xx (contract price). Think about how you will address this contractor in the Resource Sheet – labor or non-labor? Which makes sense?

· You must include EVERYTHING it takes to do every task at every level.

· Do not forget to include the costs the costs of project management, change control processes, risk management processes, etc.

· Make sure that there is a clear bottom line total of all project costs so that you and your stakeholders can tell whether your plan/proposal is within the project budget or not. (MS Project will do this for you automatically, but you should check the appropriate views to make sure that it does and that it includes everything you want.) And make sure that all required data (fields, columns) are included. Make sure to read the rubrics, below.

· You may want to determine subtotals by cost type (labor, supplies, equipment, etc.); and/or by person if a person is assigned to work on than one task. (Again MS Project should do this for you, but you may need to make sure it's set up properly, and you should check the appropriate views to make sure that it does and that it includes everything you want.) And do not forget those roll-up summary and major task groups or phases.

Please ensure that your (MS Project (.mpp) file includes at least the following fields (columns) visible in the left-hand table portion of the Gantt chart view or the Tracking Gantt view and also in the Resource Sheet view:

· All fields from ITP-2 and ITP-3

· Resource Name

· Material

· Type

· Group

· Standard Rate

· Cost per Unit

· Cost

· Work

Please be sure to include an APA format Cover Sheet and the Executive Summary with appropriate changes in the accompanying Word document or text discussing the following questions:

1. How did you determine the appropriate resources? Were other similar projects used to help determine resources that might be needed?

2. Was a salary website or the Department of Labor website used to help determine the hourly rate of the labor resources? If not, how were hourly rates determined?

3. Were other credible sources used to help the you determine what non-labor resources might be required?

4. Did you revisit the project charter to ensure resources were consistent with the SCOPE of the project? This is particularly important in the case of non-project team resources. For example, if a server or telecom closet is to be built, do the resources include construction types of resources? And did the you consider appropriate mountings or furniture for the IT equipment in the bakery areas?

5. Was some of the work contracted out? Why or why not?

6. What contractors or vendors might be involved in the project and what products or services would they provide?

7. Were the totals by task in Excel and the MS Project (.mpp) file the same? Was the total cost of the project the same? If not, why not?

· When done, if you have not yet done so, save the baselined project schedule as described in the textbook, or the various MSP tutorials, or Please http://polaris.umuc.edu/~kschank/MS-Project-Skills-Baselining.htm. Or if you had already saved a baseline, then update the baseline. In the text area of the Conference, include the title page information -- team name and table of team roles. Then just attach the .mpp.

· submit the MS Project (.mpp) file, the Excel file, and the Word file to your Assignment Folder.

Approximate breakdown by areas include:

· General: Structure, Format, Mechanics, Style (~2%)

· Tasks (~15%)

· Resources (~15%)

· Non-labor costs (~35%)

· Labor / human resources costs (~17%)

· Vendor / contractor costs (~4%)

· Roll up (~5%)

· Other (~3%)

· Questions and rationale (~4%)