Capability usage

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Resource management adoption pathway

2. Design and set up

3. Capability usage

4. Reports and outputs

Audience	PMO, resource manager, project manager
Objective	These steps enable project and resource managers to quickly get started with forward-looking demand planning using role-based requirements, as well as authorize named resources to report time to projects for costing and recharging purposes. This allows organizations to understand their overall capacity against forward-looking demand and the type of resources needed to deliver project work.

Create a resource portfolio

Step	Description
Understanding resource portfolios	A resource portfolio helps organizations optimize resource prioritization decisions by providing visibility into resource capacity, demand, and utilization across multiple projects. Resource managers will typically include the group of resources they manage in a resource portfolio, or a group they want to see.
Create a resource portfolio	Create a resource portfolio and give it a descriptive name to easily identify the content of the group. To keep the resource portfolios manageable, it is recommended not to include more than 100 resources, or the number of resources you could manage in one day. Note: managers can only include resources that they have either read-only or read/write permissions to in portfolios they create. For example, if they don't have any permissions to people in other departments, they cannot create a portfolio that includes those people.
Modify an existing resource portfolio	You can modify an existing resource portfolio to update the Resource Primary Structure levels or resources you want the portfolio to include. Note: only the creator of a resource portfolio can edit that portfolio.

Manage resource non-availability and standard activities

Step	Description
Understanding standard activities	To reflect the true capacity of the organization to deliver work and to prevent the over-utilization of resources, resource managers need visibility into the non-availability of resources. Resource non-availability – represented by standard activities – can include vacation, illness, planned absences, as well as non-project work and overhead activities. Standard activities are assigned to resources to represent their non-availability for project work. Standard activities are not billed to any project or work item. Resources report time for standard activities on their timesheet, enabling organizations to track time spent on project work vs. non-project work.
Create standard activities	Standard activities can be created by resource managers or resources themselves in the Staffing screen to indicate resource non-availability for project work. New standard activities are created from the action menu of the Resource Staffing screen. Enter the desired dates, duration, and % Utilization. Set the appropriate standard activity type. There are two types of standard activities: Percentage Type: will expire regardless if the resource reports time against the assigned standard activity. Fixed Type: will continue to move forward in the resource schedule, till the resource has reported time to the assigned standard activity.
In the Resources Staffing screen, resource non-availability is managed through the creation of standard activities.

Assign role-based requirements to work

Step	Description
Understanding requirements	Long-term, role-based resource demand forecasting is achieved through the use of requirements. Requirements allow project and resource managers to define demand for work without the need to specify a named resource. Requirements are typically assigned to a high-level project plan, such as project phases or stages. Requirements are non-named organizational resources used for resource demand management. Requirements cannot report time. Requirements can be assigned to any level of the WBS, shift with schedule changes, and impact resource utilization. Demand is defined on the schedule for each work item and expressed in terms of Org-Res roles. Demand can be balanced against capacity to determine the ability of the organization to deliver work.
In the resource demand management process, work planning and scheduling creates demand for resources. The Org-Res defines the demand as requirements, which in this use case is expressed as the resource role and organizational planning level (OPL), or the "what and where" needed to deliver the work.
Identify resource demand	Identify and quantify all incoming demand placed against all resource types in teams to maintain a balanced and efficient level of utilization among resources. To quantify resource demand, project managers use requirements to request resource effort that is needed to complete a project.
Assign role-based resource requirements	Add resources based on role, department, or other relevant classifications.
Evaluate resource utilization	Compare and balance resource availability against resource requirements to determine current resource utilization.
Manage resource utilization	Quantify and balance resource utilization in the context of effort and budget capacity to determine the ability of the organization to deliver work. Ensure the workload for resources remains balanced, neither over- or underutilized. Using techniques such as eliminating resource overload, a resource manager can balance a project's resource demand against resource capacity to make informed decisions about resource utilization. This ensures an accurate view into the organization's ability to deliver work and manage resource effort and costs efficiently. Resource managers can also balance resource utilization and manage resource assignments from the Resource Staffing screen.

Authorize resources to report time

Step	Description
Understanding authorizations	To progress the plan using timesheet data, named resources must be authorized to report time. Authorizations allow a named resource to enter time against any level of a project. Unlike requirements, authorizations do not give any visibility of demand, nor do they deplete capacity. Authorizations allow resources to report time as needed. Authorizations can report time to any level of the WBS Authorizations do not impact resource utilization Authorizations do not shift with schedule changes In this use case, resource timesheet hours are recorded against time reporting “buckets” or high-level project phases and stages, then integrated as actual dates and hours. This allows organizations to track time against work for costing (including CapEx/OpEx tracking) and recharging purposes.
Configure timesheet to record resource hours	Set up the timesheet system to track and record the number of hours spent by resources on projects, ensuring it aligns with the project’s work breakdown structure (WBS) for accurate reporting.
Set up appropriate time reporting "buckets"	Define categories or buckets within the project to group timesheet entries by work activities or specific project tasks, ensuring accurate time tracking for costing or recharging purposes.
Integrate with Progressing Engine to convert approved timesheet hours into: Actual dates Actual hours	Link the timesheet system with the Progressing Engine to automatically update project milestones and timelines based on the actual time reported by resources by converting the recorded timesheet hours into actual work hours. This provides accurate data on resource effort spent and allows for financial reporting or recharging against project budgets.
Authorize resources	Authorize resources at the appropriate level of the WBS (work breakdown structure) before they can report time, ensuring that only approved work and resources are tracked for time reporting and costing.

Manage resource timesheets

Step	Description
Understanding timesheets	Timesheets are used to monitor the progress of work, together with actual hours and costs. This time reporting information is collected through the submission of timesheets which record the hours spent each day by each resource on project activities and other work. This enables project actual hours and costs to be efficiently collected and used to update project progress and re-forecast future work. Resource management is more effective when there is a regular feedback loop that confirms: How much work has been completed How much work remains to be done Which work is completed Time reporting through Portfolios provides a feedback loop with resources reporting the hours worked each day to both planned and unplanned work. Timesheets are also the mechanism for collecting the actual effort and cost of this effort that has been completed and for determining actual dates for project activities.
This timesheet process flow illustrates the need for an approval to convert reported time into actual effort.
Approve or disapprove timesheets	The Timesheet approval screen is accessible directly from the Resource Portfolio ribbon tile and from the resource menu. It is very important that all timesheets are approved before the projects are progressed by the Progressing Engine. Timesheets that are not approved are not processed, therefore, it will be reflected as if work is not done and work will either be shifted or expired, based on the progressing options selected for the work item.
The typical time reporting process requires resources to sign and submit timesheets for approval on a weekly basis. Submitted time entries must be approved and progressed before it will be reflected as actual effort on the project/work.