Capacity Planning

Capacity planning is the process of allocating resources and distributing work based on availability and expertise. TaskRay's Resource Planner is designed to help facilitate this process by providing project and resource managers with the needed visibility for delegating work based on team member availability, job functions, and skills.

In this article, we will focus on how to use the Resource Planner for viewing and planning capacity allocation. For a general overview of the Resource Planner, including information on how to prepare your TaskRay data and how resource utilization is calculated, see the TaskRay Resource Planner article.

Resource Planner

Resource Planner Permissions

One of the following additive permission sets is required to access and use the TaskRay Resource Planner:

• TaskRay - Admin Access
• TaskRay - Resource Manager Access

Access the Resource Planner

To access the Resource Planner, navigate to TaskRay Resource Planner within the App Launcher.

Resource Management Terminology

As we go over the Resource Planner functionality, we will reference various Resource Management terms.

Resource Planner Filtering

Before looking at specific use cases for using the Resource Planner, it is important to review the filtering mechanism in detail. First and foremost, the planner requires some filter selection to be set at all times to display data. At a minimum, it is necessary to set the date range, but it is recommended to incorporate additional criteria to make the view focused and useful for your objectives.

For example, a general best practice for someone like a team manager is to set the filters to pull in Resource data of direct reports. Assuming that team managers are often responsible for allocating work to the team, refining the Resource data makes the planner more useful.

To access the filtering options, click on the Show Filters option in the top left corner of the view.

Date Range

The Date Range section is used to specify the range for the Resource Planner timeline. It is important to note that the planner is forward-looking with the primary focus on proactive capacity planning, so the date range can only be set with the current day as the earliest end of the range.

The Date Range filter provides dynamic options, such as This Week, This Month, or Next Month. Additionally, you can leverage the Custom date range option and set dates as needed.

Resources

The filtering options found in this section are used to refine Resources (i.e. team members). Here, you can select to pull in Resources that are assigned a particular Role or have a specific attribute or skill. You can also select to pull in a specific team member Resource or even all Resources from a particular project team.

Data Segmentation

The Resource Summary By control allows setting the scale for the planner timeline and summarizing Resource data, such as by day, week, or month. While the day option is helpful for allocating work on a granular level, week and month options allow taking a zoomed-out view of Resource allocation across longer timelines.

The Time Types control allows toggling between billable and non-billable utilization information.

You will also see an Include Forecast Projects toggle. When enabled, the planner will include Forecast Projects for capacity viewing and planning.

Viewing Capacity

Viewing resource capacity is one of the main use cases for the Resource Planner. Using the filtering mechanism, you can specify criteria for the subset of Resource data that you would like to view.

Review the following examples to understand how the filtering mechanism works for different use cases.

Guided Walkthrough

Use the following guided tour to get a visual overview of the process.

Sample Use Case 1: View Capacity for a Role

To demonstrate how the Resource Planner is used for reviewing capacity we'll use an example where a manager needs to view the allocation of work for a particular Role (e.g. department) for a specific timeframe.

For this example, we'll assume that an Implementation Team Manager is reviewing the Implementation Team capacity for the current month. In this case, the filtering configuration would look as follows:

• Date Range: This Month
• Role: Implementation

1. Using the Filters left sidebar in the Resource Planner, click into the Date Range field and select This Month.
2. Click into the Role field, then type in the name of the applicable Role (e.g. Implementation) and select it.
3. Click Apply.

Sample Use Case 2: View Capacity for Team Members with a Specialized Skill

Another use case is viewing capacity for team members who have a specific skill or certification.

Let's say that an organization offers advanced technical services for customers who need assistance with Apex code. In this example, we'll assume that team members with this skill are on different teams and the resource manager needs to review their workload for the next three months. In this case, the filtering configuration would look as follows:

• Date Range: Custom
• Attributes: Apex
• Resource Summary By: Week

1. Using the Filters left sidebar in the Resource Planner, click into the Date Range field and select Custom date range. Enter two fields that appear, enter the Start Date and End Date to set the range (e.g. 3 months).
2. Click into the Attributes field, then type in the name of the applicable Attribute (e.g. Apex) and select it.
3. In the View section, select the Week option to summarize data. Since we are looking at a longer date range, summarizing the Resource data by week allows us to see utilization week over week.
4. Click Apply.

Viewing Capacity for Forecast Data

If Forecasting is configured, then it is also possible to view Forecast Projects in the planner. This can be useful for proactive Resource planning for potential upcoming work. If configured, Forecast Projects are created in the early stages of the Opportunity lifecycle, providing insight into potential Resourcing needs for the post-sale process if the Opportunity is Closed Won.

To view Forecast data in the Planner, use the Include Forecast Projects toggle in the Filters sidebar.

Capacity Planning (Allocating Work)

The Resource Planner takes the guesswork out of project planning by making it easy to distribute assignments to team members based on their availability, job functions, and relevant skills.

In this section, we review some common scenarios for allocating work using the Resource Planner. 

About Roles and Placeholder Assignments

Before jumping into sample use cases, a key concept to understand is placeholder Role assignments on tasks. More specifically, Roles can be leveraged as placeholders on tasks to represent various job functions and teams that should be responsible for executing the work. This is a common approach to structuring new projects, especially those created from templates, to account for dynamic assignments when delegating work to specific team members. 

When using the Resource Planner, Roles are used as a point of reference when allocating work to team members. Roles allow matching up task assignments with available team members according to job functions and responsibilities.

The Change Log and Preview Mode

When reassigning work, the Resource Planner switches to preview mode and displays the potential impact of allocating selected work on Resource utilization. This is a helpful tool for capacity planning as it provides guidance to ensure that Resources aren't put over capacity. You can think of the preview mode as a safe space: moving work around while in preview mode does not impact actual assignments.

That being said, all assignment updates are tracked in the Change Log. As you finalize work allocation, it is important to review the change log before committing and applying new assignments. After you confirm that everything looks good, you can Commit changes to save and apply new assignments.

Allocate New (Unassigned) Work

One common scenario for capacity planning is allocating unassigned work. Unassigned work could either come from an entirely new project that was just kicked off, or it could be new work that was added to an already in-flight project.

Typically, new (unassigned) tasks are created with placeholder Role assignments to designate job functions, or departments, that will ultimately be responsible for completing the work. When allocating new work to specific team members in the Resource Planner, Roles are used as the initial points of reference for identifying matching Resources based on their primary job functions.

Guided Walkthrough

Use the following guided tour to get a visual overview of the process.

1. Using the Filters left sidebar in the Resource Planner, click into the Date Range field and select the needed timeframe option.
   
   Tip: The selection here will depend on the schedules of the tasks that need to be assigned to Resources. For example, if you are planning for new work scheduled to start next month, select the Next month option for the Date Range.
2. Click into the Role field, then type in the name of the applicable Role and select it.
   
   Tip: The selection here will depend on the type of work that needs to be allocated. For example, if you are capacity planning for a particular team, type in the name of the Role configured for that team.
3. Optionally, select an option for Resource Summary By. If you need a day-by-day breakdown, select the Day option. For a more zoomed-out view, select Week or Month.
4. Click Apply.
5. Once the filters are applied, the Resource Planner will display data within the context of the selected Role. 
   • The top row displays work that needs to be allocated for the selected Role. Each cell will display a summary by project for a unit of time (day, week, or month, depending on the option set in the Filters).
   • The rows beneath list individual Resources (a.k.a. team members) who are assigned the selected Role. Each cell will display the total utilization of the Resource for a unit of time (day, week, or month, depending on the option set in the Filters) along with a summary of the work assigned to the Resource.
     
6. Click on the top row for the Role to view the work that needs to be allocated. This will expose a flyout on the right side of the screen with detailed information about the tasks that need to be allocated, grouped by project, for the selected timeframe.
7. When allocating work, you have the following options: 
   1. When reallocating work, you have the following options: 
      1. Reallocate tasks in bulk: To select tasks in bulk, select the checkbox next to the Show tasks option within the applicable project box in the flyout.
      2. Reallocate individual tasks: To select individual tasks, use the Show tasks option within the applicable project box in the flyout to view a detailed breakdown of specific tasks that need to be reallocated. To reassign work to a new Resource, make selections using the checkboxes on tasks.
8. Once the work is selected, locate the new Resource to allocate the work to. Then click on Confirm Selection at the bottom of the screen.
9. Once the work is allocated, review the pending changes in the Change Log on the right of the screen. If everything looks good, click on Commit changes to apply and save the new assignments.

Transferring Work Between Resources

Reallocating work between resources is another common application for the Resource Planner. 

Some examples include:

• A team member (Resource) on an in-flight project is over capacity due to competing priorities.
• A team member (Resource) on an in-flight project has a specialized skill that is needed on another project that occurs at the same as the current in-flight project.
• A team member (Resource) who has active work assigned has an upcoming leave and the work needs to be reassigned to another Resource.

The Resource Planner helps identify individuals who are a good fit for reassigning work based on their availability and responsibilities.

While there are various approaches to filtering in the Resource Planner for these scenarios, a general best practice is to start with criteria, such as the Role of the Resource whose work needs to be reallocated. To add some context, whenever work is reassigned, it is typically delegated to Resources who are on the same team as the original task owner. Therefore, using the Role as filter criteria is a great starting point as it allows pulling up the entire team and identifying available Resources based on their utilization.

Guided Walkthrough

Use the following guided tour to get a visual overview of the process.

1. Using the Filters left sidebar in the Resource Planner, click into the Date Range field and select the needed timeframe option.
2. Click into the Role field, then type in the name of the applicable Role and select it.
   
   Tip: As a starting point, select the Role of the Resource whose work needs to be reallocated.
3. Click Apply.
4. Once the filters are applied, the Resource Planner will display data within the context of the selected Role. Locate the Resource whose work needs to be reassigned and click on the row for that Resource. This will expose a flyout on the right side of the screen with detailed information about the tasks that need to be allocated, grouped by project, for the selected timeframe.
   
   Tip: Depending on the use case for reallocating work, you might not always know the specific Resource whose work needs to be reallocated. If that is the case, you can follow the same filtering approach to identify problem areas. As you refine the Resource Planner to pull in Resources from a particular Role, you will get insight into capacity and utilization for all associated Resources. As you review the data, you will be able to identify Resources that are over capacity, signaling that they could be a good fit for reallocating work to others.
   
5. When reallocating work, you have the following options: 
   • Reallocate tasks in bulk: To select tasks in bulk, select the checkbox next to the Show tasks option within the applicable project box in the flyout.
   • Reallocate individual tasks: To select individual tasks, use the Show tasks option within the applicable project box in the flyout to view a detailed breakdown of specific tasks that need to be reallocated. To reassign work to a new Resource, make selections using the checkboxes on tasks.
6. Once the work is selected, locate the new Resource to allocate the work to. Then click on Confirm Selection at the bottom of the screen.
7. Once the work is reallocated, review the pending changes in the Change Log on the right of the screen. If everything looks good, click on Commit changes to apply and save the new assignments.

Capacity Planning with Forecast Data

If Forecasting is configured, then it is also possible to capacity plan using Forecast Project data.

This can be useful for proactive Resource planning for potential upcoming work. If configured, Forecast Projects are created in the early stages of the Opportunity lifecycle, providing insight into potential Resourcing needs for the post-sale process if the Opportunity is Closed Won.

To incorporate Forecast data in capacity planning, use the Include Forecast Projects toggle in the Filters sidebar.