A huge challenge for any project manager is finding available resources to assign to their tasks. Typical questions that a PM has are
- Does a user have free/available hours in a given time period?
- If a task is completed before schedule, will the resources be freed?
- If a project is put on hold, will the resources be freed?
- Can I locate resources with a specific skill set in a given time period and in a specific department?
The Resource Load Chart (RLC) helps answer the above questions.
Does a user have free/available hours in a given time period?
By default the RLC displays all resources whether assigned or unassigned to tasks. This helps you quickly identify free resources to allocate to incoming work items. You can also use sophisticated filters such as Resource : Workspace or Resource : Search to narrow down on specific resources by workspace or specific keywords.
If you wish to explicitly see the Free hours for a resource, you can edit the report by clicking on its three-line menu icon and add the Free (Est) column from the View Tab. Alternately, you can also view the Resource Load Chart (Real-time) report. This report provides visibility of free resources in real-time & helps the PM adjust allocations to ensure optimal resource utilization.
If a task is completed before schedule, will the resources be freed?
Celoxis does not automatically free up any resources. However, you can use the RLC to show all resources in the given time period you require, who are working on tasks that have a Task Status as Completed
(T: Schedule Status filter). This will show all resources and their allocations on tasks in that period that are already completed. Since these tasks are already completed, the allocated hours against those tasks are potentially free. Then, you can assign those resources to other tasks.
If a project is put on hold, will the resources be freed?
Once again, Celoxis does not automatically free up any resources. However, you can filter the RLC to show all resources in the given time period you require, who are working on tasks in projects that are in the Phase - On Hold. Since you know that project is on hold, potentially all that allocation you see on the chart is freed up and you can choose to assign those resources to your tasks.
Can I locate resources with a specific skill set in a given time period and in a specific department?
You can use the filter Keywords to search for resources in the given time period who have the skills specified in keywords. Every resource has skills you can specify. To read more, please click here.