This article helps a Salesforce user understand Flux Schedules and the important role they play in Flux Capacity reporting.
Flux Schedule Definition
A Flux Schedule is a record that is used to collect daily increments of information related to:
A TaskRay Task and its TaskRay Time logs
OR
A Flux Time Away request
Flux Schedules for a TaskRay Task tell us how much time is expected to be worked on a given day for a Flux Resource Team Member.
Flux Schedules with related TaskRay Time tell us how much time was actually worked on a given day for a Flux Team Member.
Flux Schedules for a Flux Time Away request tell us how much time is deducted from targeted utilization on a given day for a Flux Team Member.
A Flux Schedule is connected to a Flux Resource’s Flux Team Member so we know TO WHOM and TO WHICH TEAM the daily increment of information belongs.
TaskRay Tasks & Flux Schedules
Flux Schedules for a TaskRay Task tell us how much time is expected to be worked on a given day for a Flux Resource Team Member.
- Flux Schedules are used to distribute a Task’s Estimated Time (hrs) into daily increments across its date range. The Task’s daily increment of hours is stored in the Flux Forecast Hours field.
For example, a Task with a Start Date of 10/24, an Estimated End Date of 10/25, and Estimated Time (hrs) of 12.5 will have 2 related Flux Schedules (one for 10/24 and one for 10/25), each with Flux Forecast Hours set to 6.25 (12.5 / 2 days).
The Flux Schedule and its Flux Forecast Hours field is the foundation of Flux Capacity Forecasting reports.
If you are using the Advanced Resource Allocation Model in Flux Capacity, hours are further segmented into Allocation Hours and Work Hours for purposes of reporting.
- Allocation Hours = Flux Forecast Hours for Tasks where Allocation = true
- Work Hours = Flux Forecast Hours for Tasks where Allocation = false
For in-flight Tasks it is worth noting that if a Task is completed early and the Flux Schedule Date > Task’s Actual Completion Date, the Flux Forecast Hours field is set to zero, since there is no additional work to be done on that date (ie. Task is already complete).
TaskRay Time & Flux Schedules
Flux Schedules with related TaskRay Time tell us how much time was actually worked on a given day for a Flux Team Member.
Flux Schedules are used to roll-up TaskRay Time logged by a Flux Resource on a given day.
- The sum of all Billable TaskRay Time is stored in the Actual Billable Time (hrs) field.
- The sum of all Non-Billable TaskRay Time is stored in the Actual Non-Billable Time (hrs) field.
- The sum of all TaskRay Time (billable and non-billable) is stored in the Actual Total Time (hrs) field.
Multiple Time records for the same date and Flux Resource can be rolled up to a single Flux Schedule (shown below).
In the example Flux Schedule below, we see:
- Multiple TaskRay Time logs for the same date (10/24) - highlighted yellow.
- Billable time records are rolled up to Actual Billable Time (hrs) - highlighted teal
- Non-Billable time records are rolled up to Actual Non-Billable Time (hrs) - highlighted blue
Flux Time Away & Flux Schedules
Flux Schedules for a Flux Time Away request tell us how much time is deducted from targeted utilization on a given day for a Flux Team Member. This deduction is critical in setting an accurate utilization target that accounts for time away (ie. Capacity). This capacity deduction is accomplished as described in this section.
- Flux Schedules are used to distribute a Flux Time Away record into daily increments across its date range.
- Flux Schedules are established for each active Flux Team Member associated with the Flux Resource. This allows us to accurately measure actual utilization at both the individual Flux Resource level and the collective Flux Team level.
- The number of hours set on the Flux Schedule is determined based on the Flux Time Away record’s Time Away Increment:
- Full Day: Sets aside the Flux Resource’s full Daily Total Utilization Target
- Half Day: Sets aside 50% of the Flux Resource’s Daily Total Utilization Target
- The resulting daily increment of hours is calculated against each Flux Team Member’s Percent Allocation to Team and then stored in the Flux Capacity Deduction (hrs) field on the Flux Schedule.
Let’s illustrate how this works with an example...
Ruth Testington is a Flux Resource with a Daily Total Utilization Target of 8 hours:
Ruth Testington is a member of 2 Flux Teams:
Ruth submits a Flux Time Away request for 2 full days:
Based on the above, Flux Capacity will insert a total of 4 Flux Schedules (2 days for each of Ruth’s 2 Flux Team Members) related to the Flux Time Away record.
- Consultant Team Member capacity deduction = 2.00 hours per day (8 hour Daily Total Utilization Target x 25% Percent Allocation to Team).
- Developer Team Member capacity deduction = 6.00 hours per day (8 hour Daily Total Utilization Target x 75% Percent Allocation to Team).
Flux Schedules and Reporting
In summary, Flux Schedules tell us the following:
- how much time is expected to be worked
- how much time was actually worked
- how much time is deducted from targeted utilization
All of those pieces of information come together on a Flux Utilization record to tell the story of resource forecasting and actual utilization.
Next, you should read the What is a Flux Utilization Record article to see how this all comes together.
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What is a Flux Utilization Record