Resource Management: Configuration Guide

 

TaskRay's resource management functionality allows for accurate project planning and optimizing resource utilization based on project needs and team member areas of expertise. To start using this functionality in your project planning process, you will need to take a few simple steps to prepare your TaskRay instance. 

Most of the settings for TaskRay Resource Management are configured in the Configuration Hub.

 

Overview of the Configuration Process

Configurations for the Standard and Premium Editions

At a high level, the setup for TaskRay Resource Management incorporates the following required steps:

• Set up Business Schedules
• Set up Roles 
• Set up Resources

Additional Configurations for the Premium Edition

For the Premium Edition, there are some additional recommended configurations. While these configurations are not required, they are recommended to maximize the use of TaskRay's resource management functionality.

• Set up Attributes
• Set up Forecasting

 

Configurations for the Standard and Premium Editions

Step 1: Set Up Business Schedules

Business Schedules are an essential element of resource management as they provide insight into Resource capacity when allocating work. Review the following article for step-by-step instructions on how to set up Business Hours.

Once defined, Business Schedules can be linked to Roles (recommended) or individual Resources. When linking Business Schedules, you will also have the ability to define Daily Hours for the Role or Resource. This is a required step of setting up TaskRay Resource Management because Business Schedules and Daily Hours are used as the underlying mechanism for calculating Resource capacity. We provide more details on both approaches below.

 

Step 2: Set Up Roles

Roles are used to outline primary job functions or departments for Resources who manage work in TaskRay. They serve a key function in resource management as they are used when allocating new work to team members. Review the following article for step-by-step instructions on how to set up Roles.

When setting up Roles, you can link Business Schedules and define Daily Hours at the Role level. This is the recommended approach because it establishes a shared schedule for team members who are assigned the Role. If you take this approach, keep in mind that you also have the ability to apply overrides to individual team members to define unique Business Schedules and Daily Hours that might be different from what is set at their Role level. 

 

Step 3: Set Up Resources

This is where it all comes together! When setting up Resources, you get to build out accurate representations of your team members by outlining their responsibilities, skills, and capacity. Review the following article for step-by-step instructions on how to set up Resources.

When setting up Resources, you also have the option to link Business Schedules and define Daily Hours at the Resource level. While the recommended approach is to define those at the Role level, taking this path could be applicable if there is a lot of variety in schedules among team members. That being said, remember that if you set Business Schedules and Daily Hours at the Role level, you will always have the option to apply overrides to individual team members.

 

 

Additional Configurations for the Premium Edition

Set Up Attributes

Attributes allow outlining skills and specializations of team members. While Attributes are an important element of resource management, they are not required to use the Resource Management functionality. With that in mind, you have two options on when to set up Attributes:

• Option 1: Set up Attributes as part of the initial configuration process. If you have a good idea of how to structure Attributes for managing work in TaskRay or if they are critical to your  process for allocating work, then you can set them up right away.
• Option 2: Set up Attributes after the initial configuration process. Considering that Roles are the primary driver for work assignment in TaskRay, Attributes can be set up after all the initial (and required) configuration work is complete. This approach can be a good option if you are still in the process of defining which skills and specializations will be necessary for managing work in TaskRay. Meanwhile, you will still have the ability to user Resource Management functionality in TaskRay using Roles; and, when you are ready, you will be able to incorporate Attributes.

Review the following article for step-by-step instructions on how to set up Attributes.

 

Set Up Forecasting

Forecasting allows planning potential future work based on the sales pipeline. With forecasting, you get insight into upcoming work, allowing you to proactively plan for resource needs on projects through Resource Analytics and the Resource Planner.

The setup process for Forecasting incorporates several configurations, including Templates and automations. For an overview of the Forecasting functionality and instructions on how to configure it, refer to the Forecasting article.

 

 

That's It!

You can now start using TaskRay Resource Management functionality! With these configurations in place, you can start managing teams using the Dynamic Team Builder (Standard and Premium edition) and doing capacity planning in the Resource Planner (Premium edition only). Note that the Resource Planner incorporates some additional criteria for project data, which is outlined in the linked article.

Additionally, you can also refer to Resource Analytics for reporting on this data.