Edit Resource and Role Spread Data in the Assignment List

From the Resources app or the Schedule app, you can modify spread data directly from the project Assignment List by selecting the data within the cell. You can also use a right-click menu to select the field or the desired field for a role or resource to delete single cell data.

To achieve the most precise resource/role distribution plan, you can manually enter the budgeted or planned resource/role allocation per assignment in the timescale unit you choose (days, weeks, months, quarters). You can adjust the current spread to capture the earliest start date of any activities, or anything that extends beyond the current spread. The calendar automatically adds a small buffer relative to the timescale selected at first login. For example, if you select a daily spread view, the calendar adds four weeks, or 28 days, of buffer to the spread. Editing outside the current spread can impact activity dates.

Editing Planned and Remaining costs can improve forecasting for labor, non-labor, and material resources. By directly inputting cash flow spreads for resource assignments, you can more accurately predict and analyze cost over time. For example, there may be a week in the project schedule when activity work overlaps onto a public holiday. The hourly rate for working individuals increases to account for the holiday pay rate. Instead of editing Price/Unit for a single day, the scheduler can manually adjust cost spreads. See Entering Activity and Assignment Units and Costs.

To edit spread data, several conditions must be met. The activity duration type must be set to Fixed Duration and Units or Fixed Duration & UPT. To edit Planned Units, the field must be on or after the Activity's Planned Start date. To edit Remaining Units, the activity must be Not Completed, and the field must be on or after the Activity's Remaining Start date.

Additional rules apply to the entry of zero when editing cost and units:

• Entering a zero into the first Planned Units future period is considered lag and decreases the Planned Units and Planned Duration of the assignment.
• Entering a zero into the first Remaining Early Units future period decreases the Remaining Early Units and Remaining Duration of the assignment.
• A Planned Cost value with a zero entry for planned duration lumps cost onto the Planned Start Date.
• A Remaining Cost value with a zero entry for remaining duration lumps cost onto the Remaining Late Start Date. Contact the scheduler as this cannot be set manually by users.
• A Remaining Late Cost value with a zero entry for remaining duration lumps cost onto the Remaining Late Start Date. Only schedulers can set the Remaining Late Date.
• An Actual Cost value with a zero entry lumps cost onto the Actual Start Date.
• An At Completion Cost value with a zero entry lumps cost onto the Actual Start Date. At Completion Cost values can only be edited for Fixed Duration & UPT.

Linking Cost and Unit Data

In Summary & Settings, at the project level, the Update units when costs change on resource assignments setting determines if the application updates units when costs change on assignments to activities throughout the project. This means that an update to the costs results in a recalculation of units. At the assignment level, the Calculate costs from units field (Activity Details, Resources tab) determines if costs are updated when you change units for that particular assignment. The Update units when costs change on resource assignments project-level setting only applies when the Calculate costs from units assignment-level option is selected. See Configure Calculation Settings for a Project.

Only users with the Cost Edit privilege can edit linked At Completion Cost values. When costs and units are linked, corresponding fields must have a non-zero value.

Manual Curve Adjustments

While assigning a resource curve to the resource/role assignment will yield more accurate results than spreading costs and units evenly across the duration of an activity, the work you plan to perform per period on an activity may not be fully reflected by a pre-defined curve. As a result, performance against the project plan cannot be accurately measured. When you manually enter a value in a future period for an assignment, a value of Manual displays in the assignment's associated Cost Curve or Units Curve column. By displaying the Cost Curve or Units Curve column, you can determine which assignments already have an assigned resource curve, or a defined manual curve. The first time you begin editing assignment spread data, you will be prompted to confirm before changes are committed. Select Do not show again to prevent the message from appearing each time you edit a new field.