To Count or not to Count

[Greg in CO]

I have a resource planning sheet. In column A, I have a drop menu which
allows the user to select a job position which the think they may need. In
column S, they can put the estimate hour for that job. Column S is for
January.
I would like to count the entires in column S which equate to an entry in
column A. I have tried countif, counta, nested if formulas...I am stumped.
The logic should be "if there are entries in column A, count the
corresponding entries in column S. Also, there is the same drop menu in
column C, which allows the user to indicate that they have an actual resource
with the desire job position assigned, and then the estimate or actual hours
for that assigned resource would also go into column S (or for in the column
for the month in question). So, column S could have entries for planned
resources and for assigned resources.

Any help is appreciated...my brain hurts at the moment.

 

[JP]

Here's an array formula that will work

=SUM(IF(TargetCell=MyRange,1,0))

Where

TargetCell = cell in column S you want to look up
MyRange = range of cells you want to search

Keep in mind it's an array formula so it will slow down your worksheet
if you use too large a range, or use too many array formulas. For one
or two it won't be too bad.

HTH,
JP

 

[Greg in CO]

Thanks JP...I tried that, but ti didn't work. I may not have been detailed
enough in my original description.

Column A (Planned Resource) will have a job description (i.e. Lead Chicken
Plucker)

Column S will have an entry for hours (i.e. 40 hours for Jan)

So, as I read across the worksheet, I see the the project requires 1 Planned
Resource (Lead Chicken Plucker) for 40 hours in Jan. In a cell above
January, I am trying to do a count (not a sum) of resources who have hours
allocated in January. Ideally, a formula would look at Column A, confirm
there is an entry (what the entry is is immaterial at this point, it is just
confirming a "Planned Resource" versus an "Assigned Resource"), then look
across to see if there is an entry in the same row in Column S. This would
tell me that there is one Planned Resource needed in January. As for
summing, I already have those formulas, using SUMIF functions. It's getting
counts that is a pain.

Column C has the same info, but is the listing of Assigned Resources and
there is a cell above January for that count as well (it would be the same
formula, just ref'ing to Column C instead of Column A). My head hurts
again...

 

[JP]

Why doesn't =COUNTIF(MyRange,TargetCell) work?

Perhaps you should explain what you mean by "didn't work". You should
also consider posting a small sample of data, what specific formulas
you used that didn't work, your expected outcome, Excel version, etc.

It sounds like you are trying to use Excel to do Project Management.
You should probably use MS Project for that, it's much better suited
for the job of resource planning and scheduling.

--JP

 

[Greg in CO]

Good idea!

Here is some sample data:



Column A - Planned Position Column C - Assigned Position Column S
- Jan
Row 1 - Lead Chicken Plucker
40
Row 2 - Feather Sweeper
20
Row 3 - Beak Tweeker
10
Row 4------------------------------Assistant Beak Tweeker 30

So, this shows that:

I have 3 planned Positions (no warm bodies to fill them yet) and 1 Assigned
position (an actual person has been assigned).
Hours estimated for these folks are listed in Columns S.

I would like to show in two different cells above the January entry:

How many Planned Positions have hours in January
How many Assigned Positions have hours in January

This would then be carried across the entire sheet, showing a count Planned
and Assigned resources for each month.

Ow! the pain in the head!.........

THis is part of a larger reosurce planning and allocation worksheet.

 

[Greg in CO]

The hours should be under Column S......

 

[Greg in CO]

I've seen other post the desired result from the fomula, so here it is, if
that helps:

In the cell showing total Planned Resources with hours in Jan, I would have
3; in the cell for Assigned Resources with hours in Jan, I would have 1.

I am thinking a sumproduct formula might work, but my brain is giving me
data leak errors at the moment.

Thanks! All help is appreaciated

 

[JP]

You seem to have brain issues Greg.

Sumproduct is probably the answer, but I'm having trouble
understanding your data in order to apply it. The best I can do right
now is point you to this site which explains how to use it:

http://www.xldynamic.com/source/xld.SUMPRODUCT.html

ps- If you have dynamic named ranges it makes it much easier to
construct the sumproduct formula.

HTH,
JP

 

[tech1NJ]

Hey Greg,
Try this shot of penecilin. In this example Planned Position is in column
B11, Assigned Position is in column C11, Hours Assigned in Column S12. First
formula is in cell B10 and the other in C10. As the Dr. will say, "Take this
medicine and I wil call yo in the morning".

Jan =COUNTA(B12:B19) =COUNTA(C12:C19) Column S
Column A - Planned Position Column C - Assigned Position
40
Row 1 - Lead Chicken Plucker
20
Row 2 - Feather Sweeper
10
Row 3 - Beak Tweeker
30
Row 4- Assistant Beak Tweeker

 

[Greg in CO]

Close, but no cookie. The COUNTA formulas work fine, but do not reflect the
realtionship between an entry for a Position and that position having hours
in Jan.

Let me try explaining the data again.

Column A has a list of Planned Positions
Column S is where the user enters the planned hours for the month of Jan
(Column T is Feb, etc.)

I am trying to find a formula that will look at Column A and confirm it is
not blank, and then go across on the same row and count the non-blank cell on
Column S.

The end goal is "How many Planned Positions have hours in Jan?" I am not
looking for a sum of the hours, but a count of the hours entries for Jan for
Planned Positions. Using the positions I posted earlier:

Column A Column S (Jan)
Lead Chicken Plucker 40
Feather Sweeper 20
Beak Tweeker 10

I would have the following results: 3 planned resources have hours in Jan.

This is important as, should there be an entry in Column a, but there are no
hours in Column S, then that resource would not be counted as having hours in
Jan.

If anyone is game for me to email them a copy of this sheet, i am happy to
do so. I looked at the SUMPRODUCT site in the UK - great info, but I didn't
see a formula which solved the problem.....at least from what I could see.

Again, any help is appreciated.

 

[Peo Sjoblom]

=SUMPRODUCT(A2:A50<>""),--(S2:S50<>""))

--


Regards,


Peo Sjoblom

 

[Greg in CO]

Thanks Peo, but that did not quite work. It returned a result of "0", even
though A12 and S12 both had entries...so it should have counted S12 as "1".
Here is the formula with my actual ranges (FYI, Excel said there was a parens
missing from the one you posted):

=SUMPRODUCT((A12:A34<>""),--(S12:S34<>""))

 

[Peo Sjoblom]

Apologies, this is the correct one

=SUMPRODUCT(--(A12:A34<>""),--(S12:S34<>""))

it should count correctly



--


Regards,


Peo Sjoblom

 

[Greg in CO]

Whoo-hoo! After looking at the formula Peo sent me...and having read copius
posts about the SUMPRODUCT formula variations...I had a "Hmmmm" moment and
wondered what I would get if I put the "--" in front of the first array...and
it worked!

Yay! (Happy dance, happy dance).

My thanks! to all the folks who took the time to help...you guys are
great!!!!!

Here is the final formula: =SUMPRODUCT(--(A12:A34<>""),--(S12:S34<>"")),
then press CSE to commit.

Yipee!

 

[Peo Sjoblom]

No need to enter with ctrl + shift & enter, that's the beauty of SUMPRODUCT

--


Regards,


Peo Sjoblom