Resource Allocation in Microsoft Project

[Manik]

I have an issue with the resource allocation percentage. I have made 3 tasks and assigned them to a resource. When I look at the allocation percentage then it looks like each task has a different 100%. For instance, task 1 takes 5d (40h) and has a 11% allocation that resolve to 363 hour for that month for the resource. Task 2 takes 16d (128h) and has 36% that resolves to 355 hours for that month. So, can anyone tell me how does project calculates the allocation percentage? Thanks.

[Gonzo]

Can you tell us what is the work for each task? A 5 day duration task with a resource assigned at 11%, should be 4.4 hours of work where, Duration x Units = Work. Or to solve units - Work/Duration or 4.4/40 = .11. A 16 day duration task with a single resource assigned at 36% = 46.08 hours. Or 46.08/128 = 0.36. I dont know why you are working with a month duration neither task duration is a month.

[Manik]

I just want to see the percentage a task takes from the resource overall time in month. For example, when a resource works for 20d in a specific month and is assigned for a task that should take 5d in that month then the allocation percentage should be 5/20 = 25%.

[JUSTICE]

You need to check in the Resource Usage view Project looks at the smallest time unit setting of the timescale and adds up the total hours the resource's calendar says he can work during that time period. Then it looks at his actual task assignments and adds up the total man-hours of work he's actually been assigned to do during the same time period. Dividing the latter by the former yields the allocation percentage for that time period. Make sure you clearly appreciate the difference between DURATION time hours and WORK effort man-hours. Even though they both are measured in hours, they are NOT the same thing. Duration is the amount of time between when work begins on a task and when it ends, all non-working time, as defined by the calendar, subtracted. A task that starts at 8am and ends at 5 pm has a duration of 8 hours (allowing an hour for lunch). WORK is a measure of the effort the resource puts in, expressed as man-hours.

[Manik]

Thank you very much for the detailed information, it was really helpful. I have got it now.