⏱️ 4 minute read
Accurately and efficiently managing resource demand and utilization is key to project success. By using Forecast's Capacity Planning, you can map out future resource allocation needs based on upcoming demand.
Companies using the following resource management settings can monitor their resource utilization, placeholders and capacity overview using People Schedule, Demand and Capacity Overview.
This article covers:
- Viewing and managing project allocations (People Schedule)
- Viewing and managing placeholders (Demand)
- Understanding and using Capacity Overview
Viewing and managing project allocations (People Schedule)
The People Schedule heatmap displays each team member's utilization and remaining availability based on their individual working hours. It can be viewed by quarter, month, week, or day.
The number of available hours for each team member is shown according to the selected time period and their defined working hours. These working hours are set in each user’s profile and may vary between team members.
Heatmap Color Indicators
| Green |
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| Red |
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Allocations
Allocations can be created in a project's Timeline or in People Schedule.
- To learn how to create and edit allocations, see Creating Allocations.
There may be times when the demand is tentative and not yet confirmed. In these cases, use soft allocations to reserve time for a resource without finalizing the commitment. Once the demand is confirmed, update the allocation from soft to hard to reflect the confirmed assignment and accurately account for the work to be completed.
- Learn more about soft and hard allocation types in Soft vs Hard Project Allocations.
Customizing your Heatmap
You can customize how resource data appears in the heatmap using several display options:
Exclude Allocations
- Control whether soft and/or hard allocations are shown.
- This is especially useful when analyzing overall utilization or focusing on just one type of allocation.
Use Win Probability
- Adjust resource demand based on the likelihood of winning projects.
Eye (Show/Hide)
- Customize your view of the heatmap
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Legacy customers (Pre-Jan 2023) can choose whether to display weekends in the heatmap.
Viewing and managing placeholders (Demand)
Placeholders represent future demand for resources and are created and managed within a project's Timeline.
- To learn more see: Working with Placeholders
Using the Demand View
Demand helps you visualize placeholders and upcoming project needs. Placeholder allocations are displayed as lightly shaded blocks with dotted line borders.
Create new or edit existing placeholder allocations.
Review demand by day, week, or month to identify the roles or resources needed to staff upcoming work.
Key Features
Use Win Probability
- Analyze demand based on the likelihood of winning future projects.
- For example, a project with a 50% win chance will reduce placeholder demand accordingly.
Group By Options
- By default, Demand is grouped by role for a high-level overview.
- Switch to group by project to view all placeholders within a specific project more clearly.
Eye (Show/Hide)
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Toggle to show placeholders without allocations.
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Legacy customers (Pre-Jan 2023) can choose whether to display weekends.
Understanding and using Capacity Overview
Capacity Overview allows you to analyze current resource capacity using a heatmap and a graph to get a more accurate estimation of your resource needs. It takes into account your pipeline’s win probability and compares available versus needed resources.
- Find more in: Capacity Overview.
Using Capacity Overview
By using Capacity Overview, you gain a clear understanding of how many resources are available and how many placeholder resources are needed. This gives you essential insights into your overall resource capacity and project demand. The view is grouped by role and includes filters to help you drill down into relevant details.
Key Features
Use Win Probability
- Analyze demand based on the likelihood of winning future projects.
For example, a project with a 50% win chance will reduce placeholder demand accordingly.
Group By Options
- By default, Capacity Overview is grouped by role for a high-level overview.
Eye (Show/Hide)
- Toggle to show the Capacity graph or weekends.
- Legacy customers (Pre-Jan 2023) can choose whether to display weekends.
Exclude Allocations
- Use Exclude Allocations to hide soft or hard allocations.
Filters
- Apply filters to narrow your view by roles, skills, departments, people or teams.
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