Projects → Team Roster → Allocations

Allocations

An individual user resource or an entire resource team can be allocated to a work item. Generic resources can also be allocated to items. Select the resource you want to allocate, associate that resource to a work item, choose their status, assign rates, and then save your resource allocation.

A generic allocation allows you to plan the resource needs for the work item prior to determining the specific resources who will perform the actual work. For example, a generic allocation can be made for a single project manager, or for multiple project managers and actual user resources can be substituted either wholly or partially in place of the generic allocation. For example, if you have a generic allocation for project manager at 300% (essentially three project managers), you can substitute three user resources at 100% each, six resources at 50% each, or virtually any combination; you can also substitute one project manager at 100% and leave the other 200% allocated to the generic resource. Assignments given to the generic resource for all contours are listed under Assignments. When user resources are substituted for all or part of the generic allocation, you can select the specific assignments to be assigned to the user resources.

Adding a generic allocation

A generic resource allocation is when you use a placeholder to allocate a resource instead of allocating an actual resource. When a generic resource has the same name as a resource role, it can help simplify the process of identifying the actual resource who needs to be assigned. A generic resource can be allocated to a task- or activity-based work item. For a task-based item, the generic resource needs to be allocated before a task can be assigned.

Any user with appropriate permissions can create generic resource allocations. A generic resource is a placeholder for a person or a set of people. Generic resources are always named the same as the resource role, and are helpful in establishing what resources a work item may need without specifying which particular resources are allocated.

Creating a generic allocation allows a manager to assign the pseudo-resource to a work item as a placeholder until a resource is allocated to the work item. Generic resources can be allocated to a task-based work item or activity-based work item. For task-based items, the resource needs to be allocated to the work item before it can be assigned to a task.

To add a generic resource allocation
  1. Open the Resources module.
  2. Select the Allocations tab.
  3. Select a resource team in the resources tree, right-click and select New Generic Allocation.
  4. In the Resource Allocation dialog box, select a resource role from the Resource Role drop-down.
  5. From the Investment drop-down, select the work item to which the generic allocation will be made. In the Select Investments dialog box, choose the work item and click Save.
  6. From the Status drop-down, indicate whether the generic allocation is Proposed or Committed.
  7. Click Plus to define how much and when a generic resource will be allocated. For each generic resource allocation, define the percentage of full time (% FTE), the start and finish dates for the allocation, and any comments specific to the allocation. (Click Delete to remove a generic resource allocation definition.)
  8. Click Rates to define the rates associated with the role.
  9. Click Save.

Adding an allocation

A resource allocation is when you make a resource available for work on a work item. He or she can be allocated to a work item, task-based item, or activity-based work item. For task-based items, the user needs to be allocated to the work item before he or she can be assigned to a task.

The Allocation Editor is a dialog box that is accessible from the Projects module's Tasks and Team Roster tabs. This tool enables project managers to use a single interface to allocate both named and generic resources to a work item.

The Allocation Editor provides you with more complete view into resource allocations for a given work item. For example, when building the initial project team, you can add and remove named and generic resources in the editor, change the mix, swap out resources, and essentially look at the overall project team before actually committing the allocations. No new allocations are saved in the system until you click OK in the Allocation Editor.

When you open the Allocation Editor after allocations have been made to a work item, the existing allocations are pre-populated. Some modifications can be made to existing allocations using the Allocation Editor. Existing allocations can also be deleted, provided that no assignments have been made to the allocated user resource.

To add a resource allocation
  1. Open the Projects module.
  2. Select a work item.
  3. Select the Team Roster tab.
  4. Click New Allocation.
  5. In the Resource Allocation dialog box, select a resource from the Resource drop-down.
  6. From the Investment drop-down, select the work item to which the generic allocation will be made. In the Select Investments dialog box, choose the work item and click OK.
  7. From the Role on Investment drop-down, select the resource role you want to associate with the allocation.
  8. From the Status drop-down, indicate whether the generic allocation is Proposed or Committed.
  9. Click Plus to define how much and when a resource will be allocated. For each resource allocation, define the percentage of full time (% FTE), the start and finish dates for the allocation, and any comments specific to the allocation. (Click Delete to remove a resource allocation definition.)
  10. Click Rates to define the rates associated with the allocation.
  11. Click OK.

Deleting a resource

If a resource isn't needed in the resource pool, it can be deleted.

To delete a resource
  1. Open the Projects module.
  2. Select a work item.
  3. Select the Team Roster tab.
  4. Select an allocated resource, and then click Delete Resource Allocation.
  5. Click OK to confirm the deletion. The resource allocation is removed from the work item.

Deleting an allocation

If you no longer need a resource allocation, you can delete it.

To delete a resource allocation
  1. Open the Resources module.
  2. Select the Allocations tab.
  3. Select a resource team.
  4. Select a resource in the resource team and click the work item to which they are allocated. Click Delete to delete the resource allocation.

Editing an allocation

You can modify a resource allocation from the Team Roster tab.

To edit a resource allocation
  1. Open the Projects module.
  2. Select a work item.
  3. Select the Team Roster tab.
  4. Select a resource.
  5. In the lower pane, make your changes and click Save.

Substituting a resource

You can substitute a resources who have been allocated, including substituting generic resources for actual resources. For example, if you have a generic allocation for project manager at 300% (essentially three project managers), you can substitute three user resources at 100% each, six resources at 50% each, or virtually any combination; you can also substitute one project manager at 100% and leave the other 200% allocated to the generic resource.

To substitute a resource
  1. Open the Projects module.
  2. Select a work item.
  3. Select the Team Roster tab.
  4. Select an allocated resource and click to open the Resource Substitution dialog box.
  5. Select the Effective Date of Substitution. This is the date upon which the resource substitution will occur.
  6. Select the resource you want to substitute. Click to open the Find Resource dialog box.
  7. Click OK.

Viewing an allocation

Resource allocations can be viewed from the Allocations tab in the Resources module.

To view a resource allocation
  1. Open the Projects module.
  2. Select the Team Roster tab.
  3. Select a resource team from the resources tree.

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