Assigning Work Resources to Tasks When you assign a work resource, you are attaching the resource name to a task and then indicating how much of the resource’s total availability is to be devoted to this task. When you first add a resource to the project plan, through the use of maximum units (also known as resource units), you specify how available this resource will be to this project. For example, if the resource is available full time on the project, say, 40 hours a week, you would specify that the resource has 100 percent resource units. If another resource is available 20 hours a week, you would probably specify that this resource has 50 percent resource units. If you have three of the same type of resource, for example, three graphic designers, you could indicate that there are 300 percent resource units. When you assign these resources to tasks, you take the idea of availability a step further by using assignment units. With resource units, you specify resource availability to the project as a whole. With assignment units, you specify resource availability to the specific task to which the resource is assigned. By creating an assignment, you specify both the resources assigned to a task and their associated assignment units. Using the Assign Resources dialog box, you can assign one resource to a task, multiple resources to a task, or multiple resources to multiple tasks. To assign a work resource to a task, follow these steps: 1. Click the task to which you want to assign resources. 2. On the Standard toolbar, click Assign Resources. The Assign Resources dialog box appears (see Figure T12.21 ). 3. In the dialog box, click the name of the work resource you want to assign to the task, and then click the Assign button. 4. The resource name moves to the top of the Resources list in the table and a default percentage appears in the Units field for the resource. For individual resources, the default assignment units are the same as the resource’s maximum units.