The Task-Based Resourcing methodology enables you to add tasks to a proposed project, and then create resource requests and assignments from them. It also enables you to manage project tasks through the project life cycle and ensure that assignments are updated due to changes to project tasks. You can adjust the following settings and validation rules to customize the process to suit your approach.
Custom Settings Used for Task-Based Resourcing
The following custom settings and their fields are used for task-based resourcing.
|
Custom Setting |
Field |
Description |
|---|---|---|
| Task Management Settings | Project Task Scheduling |
Contains the scheduling strategy value to be used when moving project task dates. The valid values are:
When blank, schedules respect the following configuration options, if set to true: The default value is blank. |
Configuration Options Used for Task-Based Resourcing
The following configuration groups and their options are used for task-based resourcing.
|
Configuration Group |
Configuration Option |
Description |
|---|---|---|
| Resource Requests | allow-to-assign-a-resource-with-different-role | allow-to-assign-a-resource-with-different-role |
| auto-update-pta-with-assigned-resource | auto-update-pta-with-assigned-resource | |
| auto-update-pta-with-held-resource | auto-update-pta-with-held-resource | |
| auto-update-rr-with-assigned-resource |
auto-update-rr-with-assigned-resource | |
| create_RR_only_where_all_info_available_on_PTA | create_RR_only_where_all_info_available_on_PTA | |
| create-rr-if-pta-not-having-resource-when-create-assignment | create-rr-if-pta-not-having-resource-when-create-assignment | |
| ignore-pta-not-having-resource-when-create-assignment | ignore-pta-not-having-resource-when-create-assignment | |
| default-resource-role | default-resource-role | |
| pta_fieldset_to_split _resource_request | pta_fieldset_to_split _resource_request | |
| Schedule | auto-recalculate-schedule-for-assignments | auto-recalculate-schedule-for-assignments |
| auto-recalculate-schedule-for-held-resource-requests | auto-recalculate-schedule-for-held-resource-requests |
Validation Rules Used for Task-Based Resourcing
| Parent Object | Validation Rule | Action | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Task Assignment | Resource_Or_External_Resource_Required | Deactivate | In a task-based approach to project planning, users may want to assign a role, rather than an internal or external resource A person or entity that is external to your Salesforce organization. You can use external resources when assigning external staff, such as contractors, to project tasks., to a project task. If enabled, this validation rule will prevent them from doing so. |
Changes to Assignment Schedules When Project Tasks Are Updated
You must consider the following information if you are using a task-based resourcing methodology and you are updating project tasks that have linked assignments.
You can use:
- A value of Retain Past Schedules in the Project Task Scheduling field in the Task Management Settings custom setting. This ensures that existing schedules in the past are unchanged.
- A value of Retain Schedule Adjustments in the Project Task Scheduling field in the Task Management Settings custom setting. This ensures that any adjustments to assignment schedules are retained if the project task dates are shifted in the Gantt. For example, when the project tasks are moved and there are no changes in the working days and estimated hours, then all assignments should reflect the new dates, and any schedule adjustments carried out in the planners should remain as they are and adjust to the project task dates as per Gantt.
- The auto-recalculate-schedule-for-assignments configuration option in the Schedule configuration group.
Using the Project Task Scheduling Field in the Task Management Settings Custom Setting
You can enter the following values in the Project Task Scheduling field of the Task Management Settings custom setting:
- Retain Past Schedules
- Retain Schedule Adjustments
Retain Past Schedules
You can assign a value of Retain Past Schedules in the Project Task Scheduling field of the Task Management Settings custom setting. Using this value, when project tasks are changed, hours for assignment schedules in the past are not changed but hours for schedules on the current day and in future are distributed evenly across each remaining project task.
After changes have been made to any of an assignment's project tasks, the total estimated hours for the assignment's project tasks and the total scheduled hours on the assignment are always aligned. Also, the earliest project task start date and latest project task end date always match the assignment start and end date.
In cases where the Retain Past Schedule value is assigned, and the project tasks that are in the past are edited in Gantt, the total estimated hours for the assignment's project tasks and the total scheduled hours on the assignment are always aligned. However, it is possible that the earliest project task start date is not aligned with the assignment start date.
Any difference between the updated hours and the project task's original estimated hours is treated in the schedule as follows:
- If there are more hours after updating, these hours are added to the final day of the assignment schedule, whether or not it is a working day, and even if there are more than 24 hours added for that day.
- If there are fewer hours after updating, these hours are removed from the final days of the assignment schedule, as needed. This can result in 0 hours being scheduled on a number of days leading up to, and including, the final day of the assignment schedule.
Retain Schedule Adjustments
Using this value, the changes made to the schedules in the planners can be retained when changes are made in the Gantt.
Any difference between the updated schedule and the project task's original state in the planners is treated as follows:
- If the project tasks are moved and there is no change in the working days and estimated hours, all assignment should respect the new dates as per Gantt.
- If there are multiple project task assignments (PTAs) attached to a project task and an assignment related to only one PTA is updated or modified via planners, that one task should now reflect the updated hours but should still maintain the even distribution of those hours between the start and end dates of the task as defined in the planner. All the other PTAs should remain as they are.
- When the entire structure of tasks is shifted and tasks are dependent on each other, the Retain Schedule Adjustments value works as shown in the following example.
Limitations
Below are the Retain Schedule Adjustment Limitations:
- When tasks overlap and are shifted after schedule contouring.
- If independent tasks are moved to overlap, schedule contouring cannot be maintained.
- For a task with multiple PTAs, if only one PTA's hours are changed, schedule contouring cannot be maintained for other assignments.
- Schedule contouring does not extend beyond project task boundaries.
Example
When T5 is dependent on T4, if you move T4 without changing the task duration then T5 is also moved. In this case, both T4 and T5 should retain the schedule adjustments done on the planner and should now reflect the new dates as per Gantt.
When T5 is dependent on T4, if you change the T4 task duration and increase it by two days, then T5 is also shifted. In this case, the schedule of the assignments will be recalculated for T4, and any adjustments made to T4 on planners are not retained. The T5 is only moved and there is no change in the working days and estimated hours so all assignments retain the schedule adjustments done on the planner and reflect the new dates as per Gantt.
For more information about this custom setting field and the configuration options used for task-based resourcing, see Task Management Settings
Using Configuration Options to Automatically Recalculate Schedules
The relevant Schedule configuration group options are:
- auto-recalculate-schedule-for-assignments
- auto-recalculate-schedule-for-held-resource-requests
Option Set to True
When the option is set to true, changes to project tasks result in the following:
- All of the schedules of related assignments or held resource requests are recalculated.
- The hours allocated to resources are distributed evenly across each project task related to the same assignment or held resource request, whether they are in the past, present, or future.
Option Set to False
When the option is set to false, changes to project tasks result in the following:
- No changes to the schedules of related assignments or held resource requests. The dates and hours can become unsynchronized with the project tasks and need to be recalculated.
- The Eligible for Schedule Recalculation checkbox on the assignment or held resource request is selected.
For details of recalculating assignment and resource request schedules, see also:
Link to Assignments
You can configure PSA to update source project task assignment records with the resource that you eventually assign to a task-driven resource request Describes a resource request that has been generated based on information on project tasks and their associated project task assignments. If you use a task-based approach to manage your projects, you can generate task-driven resource requests on the Generate Resource Requests From Project Task Assignments page (accessed from Project Task Gantt, Gantt or the Project detail record).. This ensures consistency between resources assigned to project tasks and resources assigned to regular assignments downstream. If you have assigned external resources A person or entity that is external to your Salesforce organization. You can use external resources when assigning external staff, such as contractors, to project tasks. to project tasks, using either Project Task Gantt, Gantt or the standard Salesforce interface, they are automatically removed when you come to assign a resource to a task-driven resource request. For more information, see auto-update-pta-with-assigned-resource.
Permissions Required for Task-Based Resourcing
Assign users the Resource Request Entry permission control and edit access for the relevant fields to allow them to generate resource requests based on project tasks. For more information, see Permission Control Fields.