Microsoft Project 2013: The Missing Manual

Assigning People and Other Resources

People and their availability (when folks are scheduled to work, and when they’re taking vacation) ultimately control when tasks get done and how long the project takes. In Project, resources are any people, equipment, or materials needed to complete tasks in your project. Chapters Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 provide the full scoop on how to create and manage all types of project resources. This section provides a quick introduction to adding people to your project as resources and assigning them to tasks.

Add People to Your Project

Work could still be up for grabs when you create your schedule. Even if you don’t know resource names, you probably know what skills are required to do the work. You can use a person’s name if you have a lucky team member lined up, or fill in generic names when all you know is the type of work or skill required.

Project’s Resource Sheet view is specifically for listing resources. Here’s how to display it and fill it in:

1. In the View tab’s Resource Views section, click Resource Sheet.

   A new spreadsheet-like view appears with fields for recording information about your resources.

2. To add yourself as a resource, click the first Resource Name cell, type your name (in Figure 4-8, it’s Chris), and then press Enter.

   Project selects the next Resource Name cell.

3. Repeat step 2 for the colleagues you’ve corralled into cycling.

   If you don’t know who else will work on your project, then in the Resource Name cell, type a name that indicates the ...