How Resource Types Work on Projects and Tasks in Project Insight

Resource types in Project Insight can be used on users, projects, and tasks to describe the type of work being planned or assigned. They help teams plan by role, discipline, or skill set before or after a specific person is assigned.

Resource types are useful for project planning, task assignments, templates, reports, resource forecasting, and Suggest a Resource options.

What is Resource Type Effective?

Resource Type Effective is the resource type assigned to a user from that user’s profile.

For example, if a user’s profile lists Engineering as their resource type, then Engineering will appear as that user’s effective resource type when they are assigned to a project.

The effective resource type comes from the user profile and cannot be changed directly from the project.

Where can you view a user’s resource type?

To view a user’s resource type:

1. Open the user’s profile.
2. Navigate to Resource Info.
3. Review the user’s assigned resource type.

This resource type is used as the user’s effective resource type when the user is assigned to project work.

What is Resource Type Default?

Resource Type Default is a project-level value that can override the user’s effective resource type for a specific project.

For example, a user may normally be listed as Engineering on their profile. If that same user is acting as the Project Manager on one specific project, you can use Resource Type Default to classify that person as Project Manager for that project.

This does not change the user’s main resource type on their profile. It only changes how the user is classified for that project.

What is the Resource Types column?

The Resource Types column is informational. It can show one or more resource types associated with a person on a project.

For example, a person may be involved in both Project Management and Engineering on the same project. The Resource Types column can show both values so the team understands the different types of work associated with that person.

When is it important to assign resource types to tasks?

Assign resource types to tasks when you want to:

1. Allow the assignment of a single resource to multiple tasks all at once.
2. Filter reports by Resource Type, such as type of work, discipline, or skill set.
3. Automatically filter resources for Suggest a Resource options.

Why assign a resource type before assigning a person?

When planning a project, you may not always know which specific resources will be available.

In some instances, the project may be awaiting approval, the schedule may be undetermined, or the project may be used for forecasting.

Assigning a resource type to each task helps you plan the type of work required first. Once you know which resources are available, you can assign the actual people more quickly.

How do you assign a resource type to a task?

1. Open the task.
2. Go to the task details page.
3. Click Edit.
4. Select Edit Task.
5. Go to the Resources section.
6. Select the resource type for the task.
7. Save the task.

Once the resource type is assigned, the task can be filtered and reported by that resource type.

Can you assign a person with a different resource type to a task?

Yes. A task can have one resource type while the assigned user has a different resource type.

For example, a task may be assigned the Engineering resource type. You can still assign a user whose profile resource type is not Engineering.

In reports, the task can still appear as Engineering work because Engineering is the resource type assigned to the task.

Example: Assigning tasks by skill set

For example, you have a project that includes 30 tasks:

• 12 tasks will be assigned to a carpenter.
• 8 tasks will be assigned to a mason.
• 10 tasks will be assigned to an electrician.

You can assign the Carpenter, Mason, and Electrician resource types to the appropriate tasks while leaving the Resource field blank.

Later, when you select the actual carpenter, mason, and electrician for the project, you can associate each resource with the appropriate resource type. In this example, all 30 tasks can be assigned through three resource type assignments instead of updating 30 tasks one at a time.

How can you report by resource type across multiple projects?

Resource type reporting helps you understand demand or utilization by type of work across multiple projects.

For example, one project may include electrician tasks assigned to one electrician. A second project may also include electrician work, but assigned to a different electrician.

You can run a report for all Electrician resource type tasks during a specific time period to understand total electrician utilization across all projects for that time period.

How do task resource types appear in reports?

When a resource type is assigned to a task, the task can appear in reports under that resource type.

For example, if a task has the Engineering resource type, a task report can list it as Engineering work even if the assigned person has a different user resource type.

How do resource types support Suggest a Resource?

Resource types can help filter available resources when using Suggest a Resource options.

For example, if a task needs an electrician, the Electrician resource type can help narrow the suggested resources to people associated with that type of work.

How do you get started?

To get started, make sure your organization has created the resource types it wants to use.

Visit Administration > Users > Resource Type to add or edit your organization’s resource types.

After resource types are created, you can assign them to users, projects, tasks, and templates. You can also use them in reports and resource planning workflows.

Need more help?

If you need help deciding how resource types should be used for tasks, templates, reports, or resource planning, contact Project Insight Support for further clarification.