Assigning Multiple Resources

Jesse L

I've seen posts going back 3 years that address this subject, and it's little mind blowing that a feature as basic and essential as this does not seem to be possible yet. My team works on multiple projects each day, and each project has at least three different team members assigned to it at once. Without the ability to assign multiple resources to a task, the Resource Viewing feature is essentially useless for my company. 

Has there been any update on when it will be possible to assign multiple resources to a single task yet?

Chris McKay

I second this.

Along with the inability to use system dates properly because Smartsheet insists on pulling out UTC values, the inability to format Gantt bars associated with parent/summary tasks and the lack of support for formulas in project columns (e.g pull a non-contact email address out from another cell and use it with alerts/notifications) there are some really fundamental flaws in Smartsheet that prevent it from being considered a worthy PPM tool.

I'm sounding like a broken record, but it'd be nice to see what's on the horizon too. Apart from charts and cross-sheet links, almost everything else that's been implemented in the past 12 months has been fluff.

Luke O

I completely agree Jesse. It seems bizarre that on a platform built for project and team management you are unable to assign multiple individuals to a team. How many projects have you worked by yourself? The workarounds suggested are ultimately not helpful either because of the functionality of the system. Why has this still not been addressed after 3 years?

There are several other obvious flaws that exist in Smartsheets that make it incredibly frustrating to use. It seems like their entire development team is focused on fluffing up the appearance of the website rather than making it into a usable product.

Julie Haugland

I am not sure if you are aware of the enhancement but you are now able to assign multiple resources to a single task.  

Dave S

It is nice that multiple resources can be added to a task, but this tool is meaningless if the associate utilization cannot be a variable depending on the resource.

 

Is there any method or reasonable workaround to achieve the above?  There is incredible value in being able to plan and predict resource loading.  This is a massive functional gap that would be nice to have addressed

ChrisT21

Does this also apply to project cards?  How do you assign a card to multiple resources?  

 

Sorry to waste bandwidth.  I found it.  You first need to change the status of the column to allow multiple resources in grid view and then the ability is available in Card view.

Brian Mac G

I also need to assign multiple resources, with varying levels of allocation, to rows. I would like to implement a RACI (Responsible, Approve, Consult, Inform) approach to each row with an associated allocation. Any way to achieve this?

I guess the only work around is to split a given row into separate rows, one for each person assigned.

jeff tutin

I'm working to evaluate if Smartsheets will work for my company. This is a complete game over topic if there is no resolution. Sales told me, "10,000 feet" will solve this but I'm struggling to see how.

Anyone know if this topic has been addressed?

Andrée Starå

Hi @jeff tutin

I hope you're well and safe!

What is your use-case more specifically?

Be safe and have a fantastic weekend!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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Paul Johnson1

Hi, we are a company who run approx 2000 projects globally and manage >700 resources.

The new RM tool in Smartsheet is not usable as a scheduling tool due to the clunky nature of reassigning the entire allocation to only one other resource at a time.

Being able to have a placeholder assigned which requires say 4 resources in a template which we can then resource level would be ideal.

e.g. Task 1 - Assigned to "Field OPs" % resource allocation 400% ( 4 people required to complete the task).

It is not practical for us to create 4 tasks instead of 1 here and assign Field OPs at 100% for each.

Currently the new RM tool allows you to assigned > 100% to a resource which is very useful however the re-assignment is the problem.

In the schedule tool , you can click on "re-assign" however it will re-assign the entire 400% . ideally we would like 2 solutions:

1. Auto reassign 100% to any resources that are available, based on role and discipline. 400% being re-assigned to 4 Resources.
2. Manual reassign a portion of the 400% to a resource e.g. Resource 1 = 100% , Resource 2 = 100% etc etc