To cost-load projects in Microsoft Project, you need to first create and assign resources. Resources represent the people, equipment and materials required to complete the project’s work. When using Microsoft Project Professional, resources are project-specific. This means that, by default, you can only use your resources within a single project. However, it is not uncommon to need to use the same resources across many projects. For example, you may have reliable subcontractors and vendors that you’ll be using over and over again. To share resources across projects, you can create and share resource pools. 

Resource pools are centralized repositories of resources that you can use within multiple projects. If you have a project with a resource pool, you can share that pool with other projects to give them access to the same resources. This can save you time, as you no longer need to create the same resources over and over again. Additionally, sharing resources in this way allows you to track resource usage across all projects.

This article will outline the process of sharing resource pools in Microsoft Project. The following examples are all from Microsoft Project 2021 Professional. However, the process is the same for all desktop versions of Project.

Creating a Sharer Project

In order to share resources across projects, you need to first create a sharer file. A sharer file is a saved project with the desired resource pool added to it. This project is usually blank, with no data added to it besides the resource pool. However, you can use any project as the sharer file – even if it has data. Basically, the sharer file is just the project that hosts the needed resources.

In this example, I’ll create a new project to use as the sharer file. To create a new project in Microsoft Project, select File > New. You can choose a template – but again, it doesn’t matter what’s within this project beyond the resources you add. I’ll create a Blank Project. The project will automatically open within the main workspace. 

With the project created, you can give it an identifying name by selecting File > Save As. I’ll save this project to my desktop and give it the name Taradigm Resource Pool, then press Save.

Creating Resources

Next, you will need to create the resource pool for the sharer file. In this project, you should create all resources that you will want to share across others.

To create resources in Microsoft Project, navigate to the Resource Sheet by selecting View > Resource Sheet. Select the first blank cell under Resource Name and enter in the desired details. There’s a variety of fields you can enter in for your resources, such as Max Availability and Standard Rate. For a full overview of how to create resources and what data to enter in, please refer to this article here.

You only need to enter in the data that you want to share. For example, let’s say we have a resource who charges different price rates depending on the project. Within the sharer file, you can leave the Std. Rate field blank and instead fill it in per individual project.

Once you have your resource pool created, you can now share it with other projects.

Sharing Resource Pools

Now, open up the project that you wish to add resources to. You will need to have both the sharer file and the project you want to share resources with open in MS Project.

With the sharer file open, you can open another project by selecting File > Open. The newly opened project will open in a new Project window. You can switch between the two projects by hovering over the Project app in your taskbar. You can also switch from one window to another using the View menu. In the Window section, select Switch Windows to switch between any open projects.

With both projects open, focus on the project that you wish to share resources with. Then, select Resource > Resource Pool > Share Resources. Select Use Resources and choose the sharer file. The sharer file will only be an option if it’s currently open – so make sure you keep it open during this process. Press OK, and the resources from the sharer file will be added to your current project. 

Don’t worry if you already have resources in the project – they will remain available. With them, you’ll now have access to the shared resources as well.

It’s important to note that the resource pool will only be available as long as the sharer file is open. If you close the sharer file, the resources will disappear from the new project’s resource pool. However, once you have assigned a shared resource within the new project, it will remain within the resource pool – even once you close the sharer file. Make sure that you keep the sharer file open when assigning shared resources in a new project.

Update Resource Pools

With the resource pool added, you can customize it for the needs of the open project. For example, if you didn’t associate costs with your resources, you can now add them in.

Now, let’s say that you make some adjustments to the resource pool within the open project. For example, you may need to adjust the working periods and rates for the resources to match their current availability. Or maybe you hired more resources and added them to the resource pool. 

If you keep both the sharer file and the new project open, resource changes made in one project will automatically reflect in the other. So if you add a new resource in the new project, that resource will appear in the sharer file as well.

However, if you do not want the new project to update the sharer project, save a copy of the sharer file before sharing it with another project. That way, even as you make changes, your original resource pool stays as it is.

Viewing Resource Allocation Across Projects

With a shared resource pool, you can assign the same resource across multiple projects. Shared resources are especially important to track for overallocation. This often occurs if you assign the resource to work full time on two overlapping projects. Overallocation indicates that you assigned the resource to work more than they are capable of.

After sharing a resource pool, you can view the resource’s usage within all of its assigned projects. You can view this information from either the sharer file or any project using the resource pool. To view the resource’s allocation across projects, select View > Resource Usage. The Resource Usage page will list all tasks assigned to all resources. This page will show usage across all projects, even projects not currently open.

For each resource, you can see their assigned activities and how much they’re working per day. If you’re working with multiple projects and a shared resource, you might want to add a column to the table to show this. I’ll add the Project column to the table by selecting Add New Column > Project. Now, we can see which project these assigned activities are a part of.

In this way, we can track the allocation of these resources across all projects. If the resource shows in red, they are over allocated – or assigned to work more than they are able to. To deal with overallocation, you may want to replace the assignment with another resource. To remove a resource from an activity, right click on the assignment and select Delete Assignment. 

Now, we can find another suitable resource to work on this task instead.

Summary

In Microsoft Project, resources let you track the work and cost values for the people, equipment, and materials used on the project. By default, resources are project-specific – meaning that you can only use them on the open project. However, you can share resources across projects using a shared resource pool. A shared resource pool is a repository of common resources you’ll be using over and over again. You can create this pool in any project, and then share it among others using the Share Resources tool. By sharing resources, you not only save time, but you can also gain more insight on resource usage. From the Resource Usage page, you can track resource assignments across all projects. Even when working with multiple projects, you can make sure that your resources can perform all the work they’re assigned. 

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Lauren Hecker is a Microsoft Project, Primavera P6, and Oracle Primavera Cloud Instructor who teaches onsite and virtual scheduling courses. To see her next open enrollment course, please visit our calendar. To schedule an onsite or custom course, please contact us!