Datasheet

14
Part I: Setting the Stage for Project
Figure 1-3:
This sched-
ule includes
tasks with
both timing
and depen-
dencies.
You can find out more about constraints in Chapter 4 and about the fine art
of managing dependencies in Chapter 6.
Lining up your resources
When people first use Project, some get a bit confused about resources.
Resources aren’t just people: A resource can be a piece of equipment you
rent, a meeting room that you have to pay an hourly fee to use, or a box of
nails or a software program you have to buy.
Project allows three kinds of resources: work resources, material resources,
and cost resources. A work resource is charged by how many hours or days
the resource (often human) works on a task. A material resource, such as
sewing supplies or steel, is charged by a per-use cost or by a unit of measure-
ment (such as square yards or linear feet or tons). A cost resource has a spe-
cific cost each time you use it. That may vary from task to task. For example,
a professional conference pass for one event may be $250, and a pass for the
next conference may be $500. This cost doesn’t vary by how much time you
spend at the conference, but it may vary depending on other external factors.
So you can create a resource named Conference Pass and assign it to differ-
ent tasks at different amounts.
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