Resource Substitution Wizard

On the Tools menu, click Substitute Resources. On the introductory page, click the Next button.

Select the enterprise project(s) that are to be staffed using the Resource Substitution Wizard.

Check box    Specifies that this project is to be staffed using the Resource Substitution Wizard.

Project Name    Shows the names of all enterprise projects currently opened on the user's computer.

Version    Specifies the version (version: The default version created when saving a project in Project Server is "Published." Other version names may be defined by your organization. It is next to the project name in the Open from Microsoft Project Server dialog box.) name of the project, for example, Published or Archived. If you're selecting multiple projects to be staffed at the same time, they must all be of the same version. New unsaved projects can be used with any version.

Select the group of resources you want to use to staff the selected projects.

In the selected projects    Specifies that the resources in the projects selected on the Step 1. Choose Projects page of the wizard should be used to staff those projects. These resources need not be currently assigned to any tasks. This option is selected by default.

At or below the following level in the resource breakdown structure    Specifies that the resources should be at or below a certain level in the RBS, as defined by your organization's administrator. When you select this option, the RBS box becomes available and includes the defined codes. Select the appropriate RBS level you want for the resources to be included.

Specified below    Indicates that the resources listed in the table should be used to staff the selected projects. Resources are listed in the table when you click Add and select resources from the Build Pool for Resource Substitution dialog box, which can display all available enterprise resources.

Add    Opens the Build Pool for Resource Substitution dialog box. If necessary, apply filters to find enterprise resources who meet your skills or availability criteria. Select the resources in the Filtered enterprise resources table on the left and click Add. The resources are added to the Project team resources table on the right. When finished, click OK. The resources in the Project team resources table are added to the table on the Choose Resources Wizard page.

Remove     Removes the selected resource from the table. Use this when you've selected the Specified below option and are building and fine-tuning the list of resources to be used for resource substitution.

Allow resources with the proposed booking type to be assigned to tasks    Specifies that the Resource Substitution Wizard should assign proposed resources (proposed resource: A resource with a pending resource allocation to a task assignment that has not yet been authorized. This resource assignment does not detract from the availability of the resource to work on other projects.), as well as those that are committed (committed resource: A resource that is formally allocated to any task assignments they have within a project. This is the default booking type.). By default, this check box is cleared.

Resource freeze horizon    Specifies the start date for tasks that you want the Resource Substitution Wizard to begin assigning resources. This is helpful when you want to keep your assignments (assignment: A specific resource that is assigned to a particular task.) as they are in the near term, but want to staff assignments further in the future. By default, the resource freeze horizon is set to the current date.

Review any related projects and specify whether these projects should be included in the set of projects being staffed by the wizard. Related projects are those that have either cross-project links, share enterprise resources with your selected projects, or use any of the resources selected in Step 2. Only projects that contain relationships to other projects are listed in the table on this page.

Include check box    Specifies that the related project is to be added to the list of projects to be staffed using the Resource Substitution Wizard. If you select the check box for a project on this page, that project is added to the projects that can be restaffed through resource substitution. Whether you select related projects or not, the wizard always considers assignments in related projects to calculate a resource's remaining availability.

Name    Shows the name of the related project.

Relationship    Specifies the nature of the relationship between the selected project and the related project, For example, shared resources or linked tasks.

Related Project    Indicates the name of the related project, whether it shares a resource pool, or if it uses any of the resources selected in Step 2.

Specify the priority (priority: An indication of a task's importance and availability for leveling [that is, resolving resource conflicts or overallocations by delaying or splitting certain tasks]. Tasks with the lowest priority are delayed or split first.) for each project to be staffed, and indicate which group of resources should be used for the staffing.

Name    Shows the name of the selected project to be staffed by the wizard.

Priority    Specifies the relative priority by which the projects should be staffed. By default, all projects have a priority of 500, indicating a medium priority on a scale of 0 to 1000. Projects with higher numbers have higher priority for staffing, and determine the order in which projects will be staffed.

Options    Specifies which resources should be used to staff the selected project. Choices are the resources in the project itself or resources in the resource pool selected in Step 2.

Level resources with proposed booking type    Indicates that proposed resources (proposed resource: A resource with a pending resource allocation to a task assignment that has not yet been authorized. This resource assignment does not detract from the availability of the resource to work on other projects.) should be leveled (leveling: Resolving resource conflicts or overallocations by delaying or splitting certain tasks. When Project levels a resource, its selected assignments are distributed and rescheduled.) along with the committed resources (committed resource: A resource that is formally allocated to any task assignments they have within a project. This is the default booking type.). It's a good idea to level your project after the resource substitution process is complete. By default, this check box is cleared.

Review the summary of the choices you've made up to this point. If you want to change any settings, click the Back button to get to the page you need.

Summary of configuration    Shows the names of the projects to be staffed, the resource options selected, the resource pool being used, and the date indicating the resource freeze horizon.

Run    Runs the Resource Substitution Wizard to find resources in the selected pool for resources and assignments in the selected projects. When the process is complete, click Next.

Review the results of the resource substitution process. This page shows the assignments and the resources that have been found for those assignments based on the skill profiles. The assignments aren't actually changed yet; these are the proposed results. You can also sort, filter, and group the changes in a view.

Task    Shows the task for which a resource has been found.

Skill Profile    Shows the list of skills, as defined in the RBS or enterprise resource outline code (outline codes: Custom tags you define for tasks or resources that allow you to show a hierarchy of the tasks in your project that is different from WBS codes or outline numbers. You can create up to 10 sets of custom outline codes in your project.). These are the skills you set for assignments in the Task Usage view, or through the use of assigned generic resources, and are used by the Resource Substitution Wizard to find eligible resources.

Assigned Resource    Displays the name of the resource the wizard has found to staff the task.

Requested Resource    Displays the name of the resource that was originally assigned to the task using the Assign Resources dialog box.

Request/Demand    Specifies whether the resource was requested or demanded in the Assign Resources dialog box.

Specify whether you want to update the projects based on the results of the wizard. You can also save the wizard configuration and substitution results to a file for later use. Your projects are not updated until you apply the results from this page.

Update projects with result of the wizard    Specifies that the results of the wizard should update the project. By default, this check box is selected.

Save results of the wizard    Specifies that the results of the wizard should be saved to a file as a report, rather than applied to the selected projects. These results are saved as an HTML file, and includes the projects, resources selected, the resource freeze horizon, scheduling options, and the resources found by the wizard. By default, this check box is cleared.

If the Update projects with result of the wizard and the Save results of the wizard check boxes are both cleared, the results of the wizard will be discarded. You can also select both check boxes.

Folder    Specifies the folder into which the file containing the saved results of the wizard should be saved. This box is available only when the Save results of the wizard check box is selected.

Browse    Opens the Browse dialog box, which you can use to locate the folder into which you want to save the file containing the results of the wizard. When you find the folder you want, select it and then click OK. The dialog box closes, and the path of the folder appears in the Folder box. This button is available only when the Save results of the wizard check box is selected.

Review the recommendations on this page. When you click Finish, your projects will be updated with the results of the wizard, or the information will be saved to a file.

Update your projects with the results of the wizard    Applies the resource substitutions found by the wizard to the selected projects or saves the results to an HTML file in your selected folder.

Progress bar    Shows the current status of the update. When finished, a message appears, indicating that the wizard has finished.

Stop     Cancels the project updates.

Finish    Completes the resource substitution process and closes the wizard. You can now review the results of the assignment changes.

 Notes 

• After finishing and closing the wizard, review the assignments (assignment: A specific resource that is assigned to a particular task.) by using the Task Usage view or Resource Usage view. You can also review substituted resource information in the Resource Sheet view. If you are satisfied with the changes, make them permanent by saving the projects. To discard the changes, close the projects without saving. You can also save the projects as separate project files by using the Save As command.
• After finishing and closing the wizard, consider leveling (leveling: Resolving resource conflicts or overallocations by delaying or splitting certain tasks. When Project levels a resource, its selected assignments are distributed and rescheduled.) your projects. This helps you see how the wizard's resource assignments have impacted your resource allocation (allocation: The percentage of a resource's capacity that is designated for a specific assignment.) and project finish dates.