Role-based allocation: Finding the Right Resources

The Role Based Resource Allocation Forecast article explains how to allocate resources to a project based on role. This article is focused on how to easily find the resources to allocate. 

Often you will know the name of the specific resource you wish to assign to a project, in which case you just need to input that name in the Resource field. This article will explore how you can utilise the filter functions to find eligible resources, which is beneficial when working with larger teams of resources.

Using Resource Filters to assign resource to a project

Let's walk through adding a resource, based on the filter criteria.

• As a reminder, to add a resource to a project, you need to navigate to the Community section of the workspace and then select Edit Allocation.

• From here, click Add Resource.

• You will be presented with the below dialog. If you know the name of the resource you want to add, simply enter the name in the Select the Resource field. Alternatively, click on Filter Resources to search for the resource you need.

This will expand the filter criteria you can use to search for the correct resources. 

All of these filters relate to data in the resource profile, therefore, ensuring your resources are correctly set up is vital. It is also key to maintaining that data over time. Organisations where this is maintained have the optimum ability to plan and manage their resources effectively.

Filter Options

There are four available filters from which to choose, and these may be used singularly or in any combination. They are Skills, Rate Card, Location, and Profile Role. Let's explore the way and the reasons you might select a filter.

1. Skills

You should use the Skills filter if you are searching for resources by skillset.

In the example below, by selecting Agile Methodology and Product Development as a skill, and then using the drop down to review who is available with that skillset, we can immediately see that we have one resource available who has the required skills.

2. Rate Card

Using the Rate Card to manage the project budget may be a way to assign resources to a project. 

You'll see in the example above, there is a small group of people who fit the criteria, any of whom could be selected.

3. Location

Using the location filter might be essential where a project is being delivered in a physical location. For example, if you have a project hosted in one country, you might wish to be able to engage local resources where possible, to avoid time zone differences, language concerns, and also to reduce travel costs.

As you can see in this example, we have selected Middle East as the location, and you are able to select the resource pool in that location.

4. Profile Role

Using the profile role, you will be able to select from resources whose primary role is shown. For example, if filtered on Operations Manager, you would see all resource where Project Management is their primary function. This is a useful way to find the appropriate resource pool, however the limitation of this filter is that you might overlook resources who are capable of the task, even though it's not their primary role. 

Using Filters to Assign Placeholders

NOTE: This article assumes the reader has basic knowledge of the placeholder functionality. You can learn more about assigning placeholders to projects here. You can also learn about creating and updating placeholder records here. 

Because Placeholders are not genuine resources, they do not show in the resource dropdown list ordinarily. However, they are visible when the filter is set to Yes in the filter options.

In the example below, there are three placeholder resources that become visible, and possible to select, once the Placeholder filter is set to Yes.

This allows the project to be planned with placeholders, although those positions should then be replaced by named resources once the work that is assigned to them is underway.