How to Add Resources to Microsoft Project 2016
Synopsis: In Microsoft Project 2016, the term “resources” refers to the people involved in the project, the equipment, and material used, cost associated with the project, and other types of resources. In this tutorial, you will learn how to add resources to Microsoft Project 2016.
In Microsoft Project 2016, the term “resources” refers to the people involved in the project, the equipment and material used, cost associated with the project, and other types of resources.
Under the View tab of Project 2016, the first two groups are Task Views and Resource Views. This is primarily because when we are looking at a project, we tend to be dealing with tasks or resources.
In the Resource Views group, one view commonly used is Resource Sheet View. This view displays the information about all resources in the project.
Gantt Chart View and Resource Sheet View
Another way of switching views is by clicking the appropriate icon down at the right-hand end of the Status Bar. Clicking the first icon will enable you to view the Gantt Chart of MS Project.
The icon beside that is Task Usage View, which lists tasks and shows which resources are used in a task. The next icon is Team Planner View, which enables you to look at how the work on your project is distributed between a team.
The fourth icon to the right, the one that looks like a spreadsheet, will take you to Resource Sheet View.
Resource Properties
After adding a Resource Name, you can specify its corresponding properties such as the maximum number, standard rate, and overtime rate.
In the example below, the Resource Name is Bride. Since there is only one bride for this project, the Max column displays 100%.
The next column for Std. Rate shows $0.00/hr because in this type of project, the bride naturally will not be charging anything.
If you were working on a different kind of project, say construction of a house, and you have three bricklayers, then the Max column should display 300%.
In this type of project, you can also specify the standard rate of the bricklayers as well as their overtime rates. There is also a Cost/Use.
For instance, if you are dealing with something that involves a delivery fee or hiring fee, you can specify that under this column.
Adding Initials
When it comes to using any resource in Project Pro, it is always a good idea to give each resource an initial so that you can identify that resource, for example, on a Gantt Chart.
In this example, the initial for Bride is also “Bride.” After completing the resource properties, you can add as many resource names as needed.
Simon Calder
Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA.He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!
