How auto share resource for multiple tasks in MS Project

Question

Suppose I have three tasks, each task requires one resource (one engineer), if I have 3 separated resources, say A, B, C, how can I auto assign these resource to my tasks depending on availability.

As I know, one way I can manually assign A to task 1, B to task 2, C to task 3. But I have many tasks and many resources, I can't do it manually, is there any way this can be done automatically?

One workaround is I create one consolidate resource by set its unit to 300%, indicating 3 engineers, then assign it to all tasks. But in this way I can't track which resource is assign to which task exactly.

Any better idea? Thanks.

Answer 1

I've had a similar situation where I have a team running multiple small items of unrelated work.
In the end used a KanBan for low level tracking rather than a project plan.

With a KanBan I could track the work and staff through the phases then for overall reporting have a Project plan.

Answer 2

You can filter the resource list looking for resources with X hours of availability during the task duration using the Assign Resources form. It is not "automatic" as Project doesn't know which resource is most appropriate.

I would not assign 300% of the engineers to a task if only one is needed, you will see your work inflated as well as creating overallocations. If you want to use max units > 100%, that's fine - but make sure you don't assign all the units to tasks needing fewer resources.

Answer 3

I would create a single resource, e.g. Engineer, and assign it at 100% to each task. Then in the Resource Usage page, right click on the Engineer resource and change the availability to 300%.

Then when you level the project it will let all three tasks occur concurrently because you've told Project that each task requires one engineer but that you have three engineers available.

This doesn't let you know in Project which engineer is assigned to each task, but this could be captured elsewhere, like in a note.