My goal is to optimize resource usage when having priority tasks partially allocated.
MS Project 2007 simple two task scenario (My project has thousands of tasks) with automatic leveling:
======------ Gantt Chart -----=====
Task Name | Work | Duration | Resource Name | Gantt
---------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+---------------------
Support QA Phase 1 | 8 hrs | 16 hrs | Alfred [50%] | @@@@@@@@
Develop Screen Login | 16 hrs | 16 hrs | Alfred | ########
(@ - partially allocated - # full allocation)
=====----- Task Usage -----=====
Task Name | Work | D1 | D2 | D3 | D4
-----------------------+--------+----+----+----+----
Project | 24 hrs | 4h | 4h | 8h | 8h
Support QA Phase 1 | 8 hrs | 4h | 4h | |
Alfred | 8 hrs | 4h | 4h | |
Develop Screen Login | 16 hrs | | | 8h | 8h
Alfred | 16 hrs | | | 8h | 8h
After the "leveling" Alfred can only start the screen development after the support is finished, since the development task requires 100% of units of Alfred. But obviously we can work during that QA Support. I'm trying to optimize Alfred time, something like this:
======------ Gantt Chart -----=====
Task Name | Work | Duration | Resource Name | Gantt
---------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+---------------------
Support QA Phase 1 | 8 hrs | 16 hrs | Alfred [50%] | @@@@@@@@
Develop Screen Login | 8 hrs | 20 hrs | Alfred [*] | @@@@@@@@####
(@ - partially allocated - # full allocation)
=====----- Task Usage -----=====
Task Name | Work | D1 | D2 | D3 | D4
-----------------------+--------+----+----+----+----
Project | 24 hrs | 4h | 4h | 8h |
Support QA Phase 1 | 8 hrs | 4h | 4h | |
Alfred | 8 hrs | 4h | 4h | |
Develop Screen Login | 16 hrs | 4h | 4h | 8h |
Alfred | 16 hrs | 4h | 4h | 8h |
So Alfred only works at 50% of its time while support task is occurring, and then can go full speed ahead.
The simple solution is to go to task usage and do manual distribution, others involve splitting tasks. In both cases, in hundreds of tasks this prone to errors and tedious. "Spliting remaing work" only splits tasks that are interrupted by other priority tasks, so no help from here.
Can we, somehow, change the way leveling works so that it does also split the task usage? Is manual labor the only solution for this? (No project server)