Adding Resources to Resource Pools

Resource pools are groups of similar types of resources and are used to request and assign resources on a project. Pools can consist of the following resource types:

• Specific Accolade users.
• General resources, such as Any Engineer, that are typically used for planning purposes. Generic resources typically do not apply to resource pools created only for time tracking purposes. More...

  You may want to do preliminary planning using generic (unspecified) resources. Later you can transfer generic demand to specific individuals when their availability becomes clear. Generic resources can also be set for resources such as labs. To create a generic resource, add a "General Resource" (non-user) resource to the pool. Give the resource a name such as "Any Chemist" or "Generic Engineer I".

  Depending on how you set up your preliminary plan, you may want to create more than one generic user. For example, you might create users to indicate different levels of experience, such as Chemist I, Chemist II, and so on. However, if you use Resource Planning and will be adding demand using demand curves, you should understand that demand curves can be applied to every resource in the pool.

  In the preliminary planning stage, you can add the generic resource to as many projects and time-periods as you need, without regard to availability. However, the availability numbers can be useful, showing you what your resource needs are for each type of resource.

  Then, as specific users schedules become clear, you can replace the generic resources with actual users shortly before they are needed.

• System-generated resources that are added automatically when a function is assigned to a resource pool. These resources are named after the pool. For example, Pool A Unassigned Resource.

Resource Pool Administrators can add resources to any pool that they can access. If security lists are not enabled, they can access every pool.

To add resource to a resource pool:

1. From the Resource menu, select Pool Management.
2. From the Pool list, select the pool to which you want to add a user.

The Pool list contains only pools that you own.

3. Do one of the following:

• To add a resource who is an Accolade user - Click Add User Resource.
• To add a resource that is not an Accolade user - Click Add General Resource.

4. If you added an Accolade user, click Select in the new row and select the user you want to add.

To filter the list of users, enter one or more search criteria to filter by name, login name, email address, function, or extended field. More...

• Clicking Select current user will assign the role to the current user (if they have the appropriate rights).
• Selecting a Function in the drop-down will display available users that are assigned to the function. The current selection defaults to the function to which you are assigning a user, however depending on the project configuration, you can assign any user.
• Clicking the Show advanced filters check box displays or hides the additional filter options.
• Clicking Clear removes the current user assignment and displays [None] to indicate that no user is assigned.

Users can belong to only one pool.

5. If you added a general resource, enter the name of the resource in the text box.

A generic resource is only a name, and Accolade does not verify that the name is unique. However, it is best practice to not add generic resources with identical names to multiple pools.

6. Click Apply to save your changes.

Moving Resources to Different Pools

If a resource's position or responsibilities change, you may need to move the resource to a different resource pool. Resource Pool Administrators can move resources from any pool they own to any pool, regardless of ownership. If security lists for pools are enabled, the administrator must also have access to the pool through security. Existing demands move to the new pool with the resource.

To move a resource to a different pool:

1. From the Resource menu, select Pool Management.
2. In the Pool list, select the resource pool that contains the resource, and click the name of the resource you want to move.
3. In the Pool field select the new pool.
4. Click Apply to save your changes.

Notes:    To remove a resource from a pool, display the pool's resource list, click next to the resource, and click Remove from Pool. You cannot remove system-generated resources from a pool; they are removed if a function is deleted and there are no demands assigned to the resource. To rename a general resource, display the pool's resource list, click the name of the resource you want to change, modify the name, and click Apply. If you use Resource Planning and are going to add demand to a resource using a demand curve, the curve shows demand on the entire pool. If the pool is only intended to be used for planning purposes, it only needs a single, general resource to represent the demand on the entire pool. That is, you would not create three resources named Chemist I, Chemist II, and Chemist III and create different demand curves for them if they were all in the same resource pool. If your company uses Portfolio Optimizer to manage resource availability, use the Prefix for Generic Placeholder Resources system parameter to prevent the individual resource icon () for generic users from being displayed when demand is greater than capacity for a generic resource. Ensure that every generic resource has the same initial word or prefix at the beginning of the resource name (such as "Any Chemist"). Resource Planning is an optional Accolade component that you may not have access to. To implement this solution, contact Sopheon Customer Support .