How Resources are Matched, and Held or Assigned in Auto-Staffing

When you select a resource request's Auto-Hold or Auto-Assign checkbox, the auto-staffing process is queued within ten minutes. If other resource requests have their Auto-Hold or Auto-Assign checkbox selected during that period, they are batched up for processing at the same time. Once the auto-staffing process starts, it searches for a suitable resource to match to each resource request in the batch, starting with the resource requests that have been waiting longest. A resource is only matched to one resource request per batch.

Resources are matched according to the priority order of fields and field weightings defined using the Resource Search Service settings, unless those settings are overridden by a staffing preference record linked to the resource request. The highest-ranked resource is determined by how well they match the resource request according to the configured settings.

When the highest-ranked resource is matched to the resource request, the resource is held or assigned depending on whether the Auto-Hold or Auto-Assign checkbox was selected on the resource request:

  • If Auto-Hold was selected:

    • The resource request's status is set to "Held".
    • The resource request's Auto-Hold checkbox is deselected.
    • The resource request's Processing Stage field is set to "Auto-Hold: Completed".

  • If Auto-Assign was selected:

    • An assignment is created and its Source field is set to "Auto-Assign".
    • The resource request's status is set to "Assigned".
    • The resource request's Auto-Assign checkbox is deselected.
    • The resource request's Processing Stage field is set to "Auto-Assign: Completed".

A staffing log record is also created, which contains details about the auto-staffed resource and the search criteria used to identify the resource.

The user who enabled auto-staffing for the resource request receives a notification that points to the Auto-Staffing: Completed list view on the Resource Requests tab. If you need to unassign a resource that has been assigned automatically, you can do this from the resource request record page. For more information, see Unassigning Resources.

If no matching resource is found, the resource request's processing stage is set to "Auto-Hold: No Matched Resource" or "Auto-Assign: No Matched Resource" as appropriate, and its Auto-Hold or Auto-Assign checkbox is automatically deselected. The user who enabled the resource request for auto-staffing receives a notification that links to the Auto-Staffing: No Matched Resources list view on the Resource Requests tab.

If any errors occur during the process, the resource request's processing stage is set to "Auto-Hold: Error" or "Auto-Assign: Error" as appropriate, and its Auto-Hold or Auto-Assign checkbox is automatically deselected. The user who enabled the resource request for auto-staffing receives a notification that links to the Auto-Staffing: Error list view on the Resource Requests page. Your administrator can check the related app log to investigate the error.

Note:

An error is reported if auto-staffing cannot run because the Configure the Delegated System User feature is not enabled in the Feature Console. Contact your administrator if this error occurs.

Availability of Resources

The availability of matched resources can be calculated in one of two ways:

  • The calculation considers a resource's total working hours available in their work calendar and their scheduled commitments, based on the start and end dates of the resource request.
  • The calculation considers a resource's total working hours available in their work calendar and their scheduled commitments, compared with the preferred schedule on the resource request. This is worked out on a daily basis. The overall percentage value is determined using the difference between the total number of hours on the preferred schedule that the resource cannot fulfil, and the total number of hours on the preferred schedule. This is referred to as schedule availability.

If schedule availability is configured but the resource request does not contain a schedule, the alternative method to calculate availability is used instead of schedule availability.

Resource Priorities

An administrator can configure the order of priorities that auto-staffing uses to match a resource to a resource request. The priorities are fields, skills, and availability.

Skills are matched according to the minimum rating specified in the matching criteria. If no rating is specified, all resources with that skill are considered. Resources must have 100% availability to be matched, unless a resource request's staffing preference specifies a lower value. If the Minimum Availability field on a staffing preference is blank, auto-staffing treats it as 100%. For more information about skills and availability, see Calculating Resource Availability and Skills Management Overview.

Fields refer to the following:

  • Resource Role
  • Region
  • Practice
  • Group
  • Worked With Customer
  • Custom fields

Sub-regions, practices, and groups are scored the same as the parent region, practice, or group, and are considered matches when the parent region, practice, or group is a match.

Field Weightings

An administrator can apply weightings to the fields used for matching. The weightings determine how strictly a resource is matched to a resource request. Note that custom fields are weighted as a whole rather than individually. An administrator can set up the custom fields that are considered.

The weightings are determined on a scale of 1 to 4, and equate to the following:

  • 1 - Suggested
  • 2 - Desirable
  • 3 - Ideal
  • 4 - Essential

Weightings can be applied to the following fields:

  • Role
  • Region
  • Practice
  • Group
  • Worked With Customer
  • Custom Fields

The matching process considers the weightings of the fields, and scores each resource depending on whether they match a field on the resource request and its weighting.