Resource management modes

15 minutes

Project Operations supports two modes for you to run the overall booking flow. The mode of management is defined as a project parameter and can be modified if your business needs change.

The two modes are Central and Hybrid.

Central mode

For organizations that centralize the allocation of resources to projects, the Central mode provides a way to ensure that project managers can define resource requirements at the project level.

Fulfillment of the resource requirements is delegated to a resource manager.

Project managers can accept or reject resources that are proposed by the resource manager.

Diagram of the responsibilities of project managers and resource managers in the allocation of resources to projects.

Define the resource requirement

Resource requirements are defined by the project manager to establish the resources that are needed to implement the work on the project. The following steps define a resource requirement.

In the Work breakdown structure, create one or more tasks.
Assign a generic team member to each task. The assignments will update the total effort of the project team member.
On the Team Member tab, select the team member and then select Generate Requirement.

A generated resource requirement is based on details such as:

Characteristics
Roles
Business units
Resource preferences
Time zone

Note

The schedule assistant uses the details to filter resources.

Submit a resource request

You can submit a generated resource requirement as a resource request. The request is then sent to a resource manager for fulfillment.

In Project Operations, on the Projects page, select the Team tab to view a list of bookable resources.
Select the generic resource that has a resource requirement from the list and then select Submit Request.
The request status of the generic team member will change to Submitted.

After the request is fulfilled, the generic resource is replaced by a named resource if the resource manager fulfills the request by booking a named resource. Otherwise, if the resource manager proposes a named resource, the generic resource remains on the team and the request status will change to Needs Review.

Find a resource

You can use the schedule assistant to book resources based on requirements that are defined by the project manager. The schedule assistant relies on the parameters that are provided in the resource requirement to find the resource. Additionally, the schedule assistant will recommend resources that match relevant requirements, such as time windows or needed skills.

Optimize resource requirement generation

You can improve resource requirement generation by streamlining bookings for multiple tasks scheduled on the same day within a specific resource role. By executing CRUD (create, read, update, delete) operations in parallel, these enhancements boost the scale and efficiency of resource booking, making resource management faster and more effective.

Propose a resource

Resource managers can propose a resource to the project manager by using a resource request.

From the request grid, or the request, select Find Resources.
On the Schedule Assistant page, select the resource, and then in the Create Resource Booking pane, in the Booking Status field, select Book.

The following status updates occur:

On the Schedule Assistant page, the status indicators are updated to indicate that the booking is proposed, not hard-booked.
On the resource request, the status is changed to Needs Review.
On the Team tab of the project, the generic team member's Request Status value is changed to Needs Review.

When Resource managers process resource requests, they can use any of the following approaches:

Propose multiple resources to satisfy the demand if no single resource is available to fulfill the required hours. Proposed hours are then split among multiple resources that can satisfy the required hours. In this scenario, the hours can’t overlap.
Propose fewer resources than are required. In this scenario, the proposed resource capacity is less than the required hours that the requestor specified. Therefore, when the requestor accepts the proposed resources, an unfulfilled resource requirement is created to capture the remaining demand.
Book multiple resources to satisfy the demand if no single resource is available to complete the work.
Book fewer resources than are required. In this scenario, the booked hours are fewer than the required hours. The system guides you to propose resources instead of bookings so that the requestor can verify and keep track of remaining demand.

Hybrid mode

Project managers can use the Resource manager dashboard to manage the resources on projects.

For example, they can add a team member directly to a project and then book a team member to fulfill the resource requirements that were captured by a generic resource.

Add a team member directly to a project

To add a team member directly to a project, on the Projects page, on the Team tab, select New. The Quick Create: Project Team Member dialog box appears, where you can perform these tasks:

Book a named resource - In the Bookable Resource field, select the name of the resource. Then select the role, set the period, and select an allocation method. The named resource that you selected is added to the project by using the selected allocation method and the resources calendar.
Add a generic resource - Leave the Bookable Resource field blank and then select the role, set the period, and select the preferred allocation method. A generic resource is added to the team as a placeholder. The placeholder holds the demand pattern that is used to book named resources on the team. The requirement is made according to the project calendar.
Add a named resource to the team without consuming resource capacity - In the Bookable Resource field, select a resource. Select the period and then select None as the allocation method. The resource is added to the team, but the resource's capacity isn't consumed through a booking.