Project Planning Resources

In all ReliaSoft desktop applications except MPC, project planning resources can be assigned to actions in order to track the required costs and time in the Project Planner and anywhere else that actions are used. Because project planning resources are shared throughout the database, any change made to one is automatically applied to all actions in the database that use it.

• Cost Categories specify direct and/or per instance costs that can be assigned to any team member, facility or material.

• Teams identify groups of users who will work together on any given action.

• Facilities specify the cost and maximum utilization for facilities (e.g., test lab) or other resources for which the cost depends on the duration of use (e.g., rented test equipment).

• Materials specify the cost and quantity for materials (e.g., test units) or other resources for which the cost depends on the amount used rather than the duration (e.g., purchased usage data).

To open the Project Planning Resources window, choose File > Manage Database > Project Planning Resources. (In a secure database, only users with the "Manage project planning resources and working days" permission will be able to create and edit these resources; other users can select from the resources that have already been predefined.)

Cost Categories

Cost categories can be created from the Project Planning Resources window, or when you are creating/editing a facility, material or individual user account. Enter the Currency Symbol to use for displayed costs at the bottom of the window.

• The Direct Cost per Hour or Unit is the per-hour cost when assigned to a team member or facility, or the per-unit cost when assigned to a material (e.g., the cost of a single light bulb).

• The Cost per Instance is a one-time cost that applies every time a team, facility or material is used.

Teams

Teams can be created from the Project Planning Resources window, or when you are defining an action. A team can include:

• Individual Users who have active user accounts in the database.

• Groups of active user accounts that have been predefined in the database.

Note that you cannot assign a cost category directly to a team. Instead, the team's cost/utilization is based on the cost category and maximum hours per day for each team member. Both of these properties are set on the Alerts/Actions tab of the User Login and Contact Information window.

Facilities

Facilities can be created from the Project Planning Resources window, or when you are defining an action.

• The Cost Category specifies the facility's hourly and/or per-use costs.

• The Max Hours Per Day is the number of hours of use if the facility is set to be 100% utilized for a given action (as specified in the action properties).

Materials

Materials can be created from the Project Planning Resources window, or when you are defining an action.

• The Cost Category specifies the cost per unit (e.g., the cost for each test prototype), as well as any additional fixed cost (e.g., the cost for manufacturing a sufficient number of test prototypes).

• The Quantity that will be used (e.g., 100 light bulbs).