Use this activity to allocate resources to a project activity.
All types of resources (e.g., machines, persons, tools/equipment, and crews) that are connected to resource groups can be allocated to project activities to accommodate different project needs. This allows for more comprehensive and flexible resource management. If a person resource is connected to an employee, that resource can optionally be allocated using the employee's ID.
If the resource group has been planned on the activity when allocating a resource, the resource planning record is updated with the allocated hours. If no resource planning record exists when the resource is allocated, a resource planning record is created for that resource group with zero planned hours and updated with the allocated hours. Once an allocation is made, you can compare the number of allocated hours to the number of planned hours of the resource group.
When allocating resources, you can define either a specific number of hours or a percentage of the resource’s available time:
If the resource’s capacity is calculated for the entire allocation period, the capacity coverage relative to the allocation period is considered to be full. If the resource’s capacity is not calculated for the entire allocation period, the % Allocated calculation will be inaccurate, and this will be indicated as partial capacity coverage relative to the allocation period.
For example, if the resource’s capacity is calculated only for 1 week as 40 hours a week and no absences are registered for this week, the resource’s available time is 40 hours for the week. If 100% of the resource is allocated for this week and the next week, the capacity coverage is partial, and 40 hours will be allocated over the 2-week allocation period. If the resource’s capacity was calculated for both weeks, entering 100% for the % Allocated will result in allocating 80 hours over the 2-week period.
To address this issue in the % Allocated calculation, capacity should be calculated for the entire allocation duration.
Resources can be allocated for the duration of the activity or as a fixed allocation with specific dates. Fixed resource allocations are locked to prevent changes to the validity period, even if the activity's Earliest Start or Latest Finish dates are modified. If a resource allocation is fixed and the entered Date From/Date To is outside the activity’s earliest start/(latest) early finish dates, it will be indicated as a resource allocation date exception.
Person resources can allocate themselves to project activities, allowing them to take ownership of their tasks. This self-service option is available using the My Project Allocations page. Persons can register their allocations in the system, specifying the project activities they will work on and the time they will dedicate to each activity. If the person has an employment in the selected company, that employment is fetched by default at the point of allocation. If the person has multiple employments in the selected company, their primary scheduling employment is fetched by default.