Resourcing Plan

The resourcing plan is used to ensure that a piece of work (business case, project or service) is adequately staffed to meet its objectives and timelines. The plan defines the staffing requirements of the work or ‘demand’ as well as the assignment or ‘allocation’ of resources to that demand. The resourcing plan represents a ‘top-down’ view of resource requirements and is distinct from the task board or task plan which represent the ‘bottom-up view of resource requirements. It is possible to compare the two views to ensure they are broadly aligned 

• Large entities are likely to have large plans that do not all fit on the page. Use the ‘Search’ filter at the top of the plan to filter specific items of demand, roles, or resources

• Use the ‘Collapse/Expand All’ link to collapse the demand plan and make it easier to find demand.

• Demand and allocations can be entered in Hours, Days or FTEs. Select the appropriate value from the filter field to the top right of the date column headings.

• Demand and allocations can be entered by Day, Week, Month, Quarter or Year. Select the appropriate value from the filter field to the top right of the date column headings.

• Regardless of which unit or period type is selected, demand and allocations are stored at the lowest level (Hours by Day). If entered at a less granular level the values are distributed equally.

• When converting between units the demand line uses the number of working hours in a day defined against the region associated with the project as well as the calendar associated with that region for defining which days are ‘working days’

• Conversely, when converting between units the allocation line uses the number of working hours in a day defined against the region associated with the allocated resource as well as the calendar associated with that resource’s region for defining which days are ‘working days’.

• When resources from one region are assigned to a project in a different region and those regions have different working hours in a day or different calendars (and public holidays) this can lead to over/under allocations.

• The following 2 scenarios show the impact of switching between units and periods:

Beneath each period is a colour indicating the status of demand and allocations for that period.

• Dark Green: Demand and allocations match

• Red: There is unallocated demand. Resource allocation needs increasing, or demand decreased.

• Light Green: There is overallocated demand. Resource allocation needs decreasing or removal

• To the right of each demand line is an icon indicating the demand status. Hover over the icon to check the status:

• New demand indicated by a pencil icon. Used when the demand is in the planning stage and a request for allocation has not been sent.

• Requested or Partially Fulfilled demand indicated by a person icon with a ‘+’ sign to show that some of the demand is unallocated.

• Fulfilled demand indicated by a ‘thumbs up’ icon to show that the demand is fully met.

• Rejected demand indicated by a hammer icon. The person managing the resource pool associated with the demand has rejected the request. Either edit the demand, shift the demand, or select a different resource pool.

• In order to edit the forecast demand for a period, simply click on the cell to be edited and provide a value. Be aware that changing the forecast for a demand that is already allocated will change the status to ‘Partially Fulfilled’ if the new forecast is greater than the allocation. The period RAG will also turn ‘Red’.

• In order to change the attributes for a demand, for example the role, description, or resource pool, click on the demand status icon (to the right of the demand title) and select ‘Edit’ from the pop-up menu.

• When entering cell values it is possible to copy cell values across a number of periods to save time.

• Enter a value in the first cell and leave it highlighted.

• Holding the shift key, left click on the last cell in the range.

• The value in the first cell will be copied through cells to the last one.

• To delete demand, click on the demand status icon (to the right of the demand title) and select ‘Delete’ from the pop-up menu. If a resource is allocated to that demand, the allocations are also deleted thereby freeing up the capacity of the resource.

• To copy a demand line, click on the demand status icon (to the right of the demand title) and select ‘Copy’ from the pop-up menu. The ‘Copy Demand’ window is displayed with attributes pre-filled from the copy. Refer to the table in the Adding Demand section above for details of each of the fields.

• When copying demand using this method, both the demand attributes and effort by period are copied.

• If the demand needs to be shifted for example to be delayed or brought forward, click on the demand status icon (to the right of the demand title) and select ‘Shift’ from the pop-up menu. The ‘Shift Demand’ window is displayed.

• Select the new start date for the demand and demand will be shifted accordingly.

• Check the box ‘Shift allocations’ if resource allocations should be shifted in line with the demand.

• Click on the ‘Shift’ button to shift the demand.

• To add comments about the demand, click on the demand status icon (to the right of the demand title) and select ‘Comment’ from the pop-up menu. The ‘Add Comment’ window is displayed.

• Enter the comments in the comments box and click on ‘Add’.

• Comments can be viewed using the demand history option.

• To view demand history and comments, click on the demand status icon (to the right of the demand title) and select ‘History’ from the pop-up menu. The demand history is displayed showing comments and history of changes.

• Resource plans can be baselined at any stage in a project for later comparison.

• Baselining is only possible when in the Resourcing Plan Page. Baselines cannot be taken from the project workbook, project status report or resource balancer. Refer to the section How to access above for details of how to access the project's Resourcing Plan Page.

• To take a baseline, click on the ‘Baselines’ tab and click on ‘New Baseline’. The ‘Create Baseline’ pop-up window will be displayed asking for a description.

• Click on ‘Create’ when done.

• The baselines tab shows all previous baselines. Click on the ‘View’ button to view the previous baseline. Previous baselines cannot be edited.

• The resourcing plan supports multiple approaches to forecasting, requesting and allocating demand. There are typically two approaches:

  1. • Governed request and allocation process. In this approach the person(s) planning the demand specify the roles they need and the resource pools or teams they expect the demand to be fulfilled from. They plan each line of demand and when ready for resources to be allocated, mark the status as ‘Requested’ which notifies person(s) managing of the resource pool that there is an open request. Person(s) managing the pool then respond by either allocating a resource, rejected the request or forwarding the request to a different resource who they think might be able to fulfil the request. This approach is typically used for projects drawing resources from different teams across the organization.

     • Self-managed request and allocation process. In this approach, the person planning the demand also has rights to allocate resources and there is no requirement for an explicit request process. Instead, demand is planned, and resources allocated at the same time. This approach is typically used by someone planning resource demand for their own team or resource pool, for example a service manager.

• Ultimately, organizations will define their own processes and business rules for how demand is planned, and resources allocated.

• Resource demand and allocation can take place both from the resourcing plan or from the resource balancer with the latter typically being used in scenarios where there is a need to balance conflicting demands for resources across a team or multiple items of demand.

• Demand lines must be in ‘New’ status in order to send an allocation request.

• To send a demand request to the manager of the resource pool, click on the pencil icon to the right of the demand title and select ‘Request’ from the pop-up menu. The demand status changes to ‘Requested’ and the icon changes accordingly.

• Forwarding: To forward a resource request to a different resource pool manager because you believe they may be able to handle the request, click on the demand status icon to the right of the demand and select ‘Forward’. In the ‘Forward Demand’ window select a different resource pool and then click on the ‘Forward Demand’ button.

• Rejecting: To reject a resource request, click on the demand status icon to the right of the demand and select ‘Reject’. In the ‘Reason for Rejection window enter the reason for rejection and then click on the ‘Reject’ button.

• A resource plan captures demand and allocations for 1 specific portfolio entity (proposal, project or service). When responsible for allocating resources in a team it is usually beneficial to be able to see all of the demand on the team from multiple sources. This view is provided by the Resource Balancer.

• In order to balance demand on a team the resource balancer has the capability to both adjust the demand itself and the allocations.

• The Resource Balancer can be accessed from the Analysis section of the drop-down menu. Help is available from within the resource balancer.

• Click on the circular profile icon to the left of the resource name and select ‘Delete’.

• Save changes in the resource plan to confirm the deletion.

• Click on the circular profile icon to the left of the resource name and select ‘Soft Book’.

• A warning triangle is displayed against the resource allocation to indicate it is a soft booking.

• Save changes in the resource plan to confirm the soft booking.

• Click on the Excel ‘Export’ icon to the top of the page, next to the ‘Save’ button.

• The plan is exported for the same time range and in the same units and period granularity as displayed on the page at the time of exporting.

• If allocating resources through the resource plan, it is possible to search for suitable resources.

• Click on the magnifying glass icon in the column header above the first line of demand to bring up the resource finder.

• Select a role, skills (if a specific skill is required) and a start date for the search. Click on the ‘Search’ button to list suitable resources. Resources with the role and skills (if selected) will be displayed along with their current utilization for the 6 weeks following the start period.

• Once a resource is identified, click on OK to return to the resource plan and then allocate the identified resource as described in the section above Responding to Demand Requests (Allocating, Forwarding or Rejecting)