unable to allocate resources from resource pool

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    • #387711

      Hello,
      I have separate MS Project files for many projects, and have brought them together into a Master Project file. The resource names in the individual MSP files are not the same as the pool, so when I bring them into the Master, I re-allocate them from the pool. I seem to be very hit and miss on getting the pool resources to show up to be able to be reallocated. I believe I’m completing the steps correctly – the pool is open, I select Resource\resource pool\use resources from resource pool (the name of my pool file) and on conflict have selected “pool takes precedence”. Why then are the pool resources not available to be selected for each task in the task form?
      One of the main uses for my master Project file is to look at resource allocation in the upcoming weeks. I can’t do that efficiently with multiple entries for each pool member.
      I’d appreciate your help.
      Warm regards,
      Kristina

    • #387714

      It might be that I’m adding the projects into the master incorrectly? If I add a task manually the pool is available.

    • #387858
      Jeff
      Guest

      I presume your resource pool/master file is a separate project that has all of your other project files linked as read only? If so, why are you not using your pool as a defined and controlled element from the master? We do this to avoid all the typographical errors and options (Finance, Fin, etc.) and keep the table from getting too large. Yes, people can still write to it, and there is clean-up/maintenance that needs to occur but it gives us better resource definition. Then we use a text field (Defined or open naming) to further break down resources (Finance – Estimating, Finance-Payroll, etc.) to find over allocations or bottlenecks. (P) Presuming much of the above, if you open the master file and go to the Resource tab-Resource Pool-Share Resources, are all of your projects showing linked? When done properly, along with which takes precedence in the relationship, when you open the individual files you should get a pop-up asking if you want to open the resource pool too. If not, or you do not always open it then updates from the individual files may not pass over to the pool. (There are some issues/bugs I have discovered too in project.) (P) I have not seen that manual versus auto scheduled has given us issues, but you could check that possibility by testing a couple files (one Auto: one Manual) and see if it makes a difference or not.

    • #388329
      Kristina
      Guest

      Thanks for your reply. The master file has the other project subfiles linked as read-write, which seems to be what happens when I click project-+subproject. I don’t know how to use the pool as a defined and controlled element from the master. It is a separate resource pool document, if that is what you’re saying. My pool is cluttered with resources from the project that I don’t track, and I’d love to know how to clean them up, but that is a side issue that I suspect is more trouble than it is worth right now.

      When I open the master file it asks me if I want to open the resource pool and other linked files, to which I respond yes. If I open one of my individual project files (the subprojects) it doesn’t ask me to open the pool. I suppose I could try allocating the resources from the pool to those individuals and see if the master then works.

      Thanks for your help so far. This has given me some ideas.

      I have a separate problem (or maybe it is related). In my calculation options I have chosen to “move end of completed parts after status date back to status date” and “move start of remaining parts before status date forward to status date”. I set the status date in the Project Information each week. Sometimes when I put % complete to my projects in the Master they move back in the gantt chart to a date months prior to the status date, which means that the % remaining does not show after the status date. Other tasks work perfectly well, and it does not seem to be isolated to a “bad” subproject. Do you have any thoughts about how to fix this?

      Thanks!
      Kristina

    • #417557
      Francisca
      Guest

      If upon sharing the same resource pool, there were now over-allocated resources.
      Why could you only see this after sharing the resource pool?

      How does consolidating a project help this situation?

      How would you fix this?

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