Enterprise Resource Outline Codes help you to define custom relationships among resources in your organization. The following are some examples of types of Enterprise Resource Outline Codes that you might create for your organization.

Skills Enterprise Resource Outline Codes

Skills are generally one of the more complicated Enterprise Resource Outline Codes to define. They are also one of the most useful types of Enterprise Resource Outline Codes for managing resource assignments. Skills Enterprise Outline Codes, together with generic resources, can also be used to determine an organization's supply and demand for different types of work. By creating Enterprise Resource Multi-Value Outline Codes, you can allow users to select multiple values for skills. Because most resources have more than one skill, using Enterprise Resource Multi-Value Outline Codes to record skill information is important.

Many organizations need to manage data only to the level of detail of the role of an individual. These organizations can use a simple skills Enterprise Resource Outline Code that lists, hierarchically, only the roles of individuals. The following is an example of a simple skills Enterprise Resource Outline Code.

1.     IT
   1.1     Development
   1.2     Integration
   1.3     Support
   1.4     Project Management
2.     Engineering
   2.1     Mechanical Engineering
   2.2     Chemical Engineering
   2.3     Electrical Engineering
3.     Marketing
   ...
4.     Sales
   ...
5.     Management
   ...

Some organizations might need to manage data to the level of the actual skill that apply to the various resource roles. In this case, roles in the organization are broken down to include attributes, which are used to help determine whether a resource is qualified for a task. The following is an example of a skills Enterprise Resource Outline Code that is broken down to the skills that each role has.

1.     IT
   1.1     Development
      1.1.1     Visual Basic
      1.1.2     C#
      1.1.3     J#
      1.1.4     VB.NET
   1.2     Integration
      1.2.1     Windows
      1.2.2     Messaging
      1.2.3     Active Directory
   1.3     Support
   1.4     Project Management
2.     Engineering
   2.1     Mechanical Engineering
   2.2     Chemical Engineering
   2.3     Electrical Engineering
3.     Marketing
   ...
4.     Sales
   ...
5.     Management
   ...

Large organizations that have centralized processes for resource allocation might also want to apply skill levels to the skills that they define for each role. In previous versions of Project Server, it was difficult to choose whether to embed the skill level in the outline code with the skill or in a separate code. Enterprise Resource Multi-Value Outline Codes in Project Server 2003 enable you to include all of the skills and skill levels in the same code. The following is an example of a skills Enterprise Resource Multi-Value Outline Code that is broken down by skill level.

1.     IT
   1.1     Development
      1.1.1     Visual Basic
         1.1.1.1     Beginner
         1.1.1.2     Intermediate
         1.1.1.3     Advanced
      1.1.2     C#
         1.1.2.1     Beginner
         1.1.2.2     Intermediate
         1.1.2.3     Advanced
      1.1.3     J#
         1.1.3.1     Beginner
         1.1.3.2     Intermediate
         1.1.3.3     Advanced
      1.1.4     VB.NET
         1.1.4.1     Beginner
         1.1.4.2     Intermediate
         1.1.4.3     Advanced
   1.2     Integration
      1.2.1     Windows
      1.2.2     Messaging
      1.2.3     Active Directory
   1.3     Support
   1.4     Project Management
2.     Engineering
   2.1     Mechanical Engineering
   2.2     Chemical Engineering
   2.3     Electrical Engineering
3.     Marketing
   ...
4.     Sales
   ...
5.     Management
   ...

When you create skill-level Enterprise Resource Multi-Value Outline Codes, it is best to check every skill level that applies to a resource so that resources match the largest number of potential resource needs. For example, you might need an intermediate Microsoft Visual Basic .NET programmer for a project but find that no intermediate Visual Basic .NET programmers are available. If you check beginner, intermediate, and advanced skills for advanced Visual Basic .NET programmers, these resources, in addition to resources that have only intermediate Visual Basic .NET programmer skills, will be identified as potential resources for the project.

 Note   Defining skill levels in Enterprise Resource Outline Codes increases the size of the lookup tables. This can result in slower performance when Project Professional interacts with Project Server 2003, especially when you are updating the Enterprise Global Template. Before you implement a large lookup table in an Enterprise Resource Outline Code, consider the potential impact this can have on performance.

Location Enterprise Resource Outline Codes

Another consideration when assigning resources to projects is the physical location of the resource relative to the work. Assigning physical locations to resources can be useful for both resource assignment and analysis purposes. The location for a resource might overlap with the RBS definition. If it does, use the RBS definition for the resource's location.

Department Enterprise Resource Outline Codes

Typically, resources belong to a single department. The department for a resource might overlap with the RBS definition. If it does, then add a department Enterprise Resource Outline Code only if you are using a modified departmental breakdown for your RBS. A department breakdown will enable you to filter resources you consider for an assignment or substitution by a particular department and to look at the workload and availability by department.