Specify resource needs in a project proposal (Project Server 2010)

Provide a high-level estimate of resource needs

You can use a resource plan to communicate high-level estimates of what kinds of resources your project requires.

1. On the Quick Launch, in the Projects section, click Project Center.

2. Click the name of your project in the Project Name column.

3. On the Project tab, in the Navigate group, click Resource Plan.

4. On the Plan tab, in the Resources group, click Build Team.

5. Select the check box in the left column of the left box for each named or generic resource that you think that your project will require.

   Note

   When choosing generic resources, make sure that you select the resources that use the "<Role Name> - Demand" naming convention. For more information, see Create generic resources to represent resource needs (Project Server 2010).

6. Click Add to move the selected resources to the box on the right.

7. On the Team tab, in the Team group, click Save & Close.

8. On the Plan tab, in the Date Range group, click Date Range.

9. Enter the From and To dates for the period during which the resources are needed, and then click OK.

10. On the Plan tab, in the Display group, change the Work Units and Timescale settings to specify how you want to enter work estimates.

    For example, select Full-time Equivalent from the Work Units list, and Months from the Timescale list, to provide the estimated number of months your full-time resources would be needed for this project.

11. On the Plan tab, in the Resource Utilization group, click Resource Plan in the Calculate from list.

12. For each resource in the table, specify the amount (work units) required of each resource per timescale unit. For example, if the timescale is set to months, you can fill out the table to indicate how many of each resource this project will need during each month in the specified date range.

13. Click Save, then click Publish, and then click Close to close the resource plan.

Provide a detailed estimate of resource needs

If you have a more detailed project schedule in place, with the expected tasks, dates, and durations, you can provide a detailed estimate of your proposal’s resource needs by assigning named or generic resources to tasks in the project proposal.

Provide high-level and detailed estimates of resource needs

If you only know project details such as tasks, dates, and durations up to a certain point in your project proposal, you can use a combination of detailed, task-level estimates and high, project-level estimates. Begin by assigning named or generic resources to the tasks that you have defined in your project, and then add the high, project-level estimates using a resource plan.

1. Assign named or generic resources to the tasks that you have defined in your project proposal.

2. Create a resource plan for the rest of your project proposal, when you are unsure of the task details. For more information, see the Provide a high-level estimate of resource needs section, earlier in this article.

3. In the resource plan, on the Plan tab, in the Resource Utilization group, click Project Plan until in the Calculate from list. Enter the date when you want to switch from using the detailed, task-level estimates, to the estimates you provided in the project plan.

Now, the resource constraints for this proposal are analyzed by using the task assignments you provided and the resource plan estimates after the Calculate from date that you identified in step 3.