MS Project 2007 Task Usage - Baseline Cost / Work vs. Current Cost / Work

[Planning_Nate]

Hi all,

Longtime lurker, first time poster. I have a little bit of a quandry on my hands and I'm relatively new to Microsoft Project, though not to scheduling itself...

I've taken over a project. We have tasks, with baseline dates. We have resources against the tasks. For Subcontractors, we have resources with a cost of 1$/hr so you put the subcontract amount in the Units field when assigning the resource, and it comes out to the subcontract amount on costs. It spreads this as well.

On the task usage view, I'm trying to compare current costs (based on our current dates) to our baseline costs (based on our baseline dates).

I'm running into a few resource allocations that don't seem to match their baseline dates IE: baseline start finish equal to 1/1/11 - 4/30/11, and the cost is spread 4/1/11 - 7/31/11 and the current dates are 5/31/11 - 7/31/11.

Any idea why the baseline cost spread wouldn't be hitting on the baseline dates? How could this be happening?

My thought is that someone typed in the "baseline" spread I'm currently seeing from 4/1/11 - 7/31/11. How else could the original baseline spread be changed when the baseline dates match what they should be?

Any ideas would be helpful. I'm running 2007 Professional version.

[Coolestman]

You can set different cost accruals for both resources as well as fixed costs. In addition to the default "prorated" you can set resources costs to start or end. However, this creates a pretty clear "lump sum" at either the start or end.

My guess is that someone may have manually modified the baseline costs to coincide with contracted payment dates.

The baseline may have also been saved too early and is therefore incorrect as far as the spread of money. Is the total baseline cost as expected?

[Planning_Nate]

Yes, the total baseline cost is correct. It just looks like someone move this particular resources' baseline cost. Thanks for your quick reply.

A followup question I have, where in MS Project can you change the accrual type for a resource, as you mention above you can accrue at the start or at the end.

I know in P6 and P3, the option exists to accrue a multitude of ways, spreading costs out at the beginning, end, bell curve, straight lined, and custom. Does a similar function existing within MS Project?

Thanks again for the information.

[Coolestman]

Cost accrual for resources is set on the Resource Sheet. You can also alter the cost spread across a task by changing the work contour. By default, Project spreads work (and hence cost) evenly throughout the assignment. However, you can double click on an assignment (use the Task Usage or Resource usage view for assignment data) and change the work contour to any of the eight available contours.