In the business landscape projects rarely follow a set, well-organized path. Nevertheless, every project at a minimum requires the project managers to define time, resources and a set of tasks to effectively achieve an objective. These factors must be expertly managed to deliver great results.
The process of assigning tasks is fundamental to efficiently utilize resources, obtain a realistic project scheduling and identify resources capacity or potential bottlenecks. That is why project management is critical for businesses.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation (PSA) is an excellent solution to improve resources bookings and achieve an equitable task assignment, avoiding duplicated resources in a task.
Additionally, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation enables intelligent resource assignments with real-time visibility to resources using unified scheduling.
To achieve the effective use of this tool and to utilize the scheduling it is necessary to follow some steps. In this article I will explain, step by step, the most effective manner to schedule resources in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation.
Scheduling resources in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation
First, you have to create the project where you want to assign a resource.
- Login in https://login.microsoftonline.com with your assigned email and password.
2. Then, select “Project Service” module and click on “projects” within the Planning and delivery option:
3. Next you have to select “New project” option to create it or select an existing one. Then click on the project name.
4. Then we have to select the “Work Breakdown Structure” (WBS) Option:
5. After completing the tasks created with the required dates within the WBS, we must follow the next steps:
- Initially, we select the “Generate Project Team” option:
- Then, click on “YES” button to remove unassigned roles and generate a new team based on the WBS:
- Followed by this, the project team assigned according to the WBS will be shown. If it is correct, click on the “OK” button to continue:
6. Then, within the Project, we have to select the “Project Team Member “option:
7. After, we have to select the “generic resource” to reserve a company and associate it with the required role. Then, click on the “BOOK” option:
8. Then, select the necessary filters (date, role, type, etc.) in the “Schedule Assistant Filter” section to apply the search for the required resource:
9. With the application of the above filters, we will see the desired resource and its availability to schedule. Then, we have to select the day where we want to apply this scheduling:
10. As soon as we have selected the resource, we can visualize the “Create Resource Booking” section to create and confirm the resource scheduling according to the required availability:
11. Subsequently, if the reservation was successful, the update will be shown and updated in the Schedule:
12. At the Project Team Member section, we will see the booked resource with the dates and hours indicated. This process must be done for all the generic resources associated to the project.
13. Finally, we can go back to the section of the WBS to associate the resource booked with the tasks needed.
- Within the project, you must display “Work Breakdown Structure” (WBS):
- Now, you can associate all the tasks to the resource that you have previously reserved.
- Followed by this, you can select the scheduled resource.
- Finally, you will visualize all the resources with their assigned tasks.
Thanks to this functionality I have improved scheduling resources and assigning them correctly to a project avoiding overload and distributing equitably all the tasks. This allows us to optimize the use of each resource to deliver the projects without delays.
Hopefully this article provided some insight in how to efficiently use Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Project Service Automation.
If you require more details about Microsoft Dynamics 365 or if you want to schedule a Demo, one of our experts will contact you.