System Roles (All Required)

Process Designer

Project Importer

Reference Table Manager

Assignments

Table Owner

Creating Resource Pool Import Files

Import resource pool data to add new pools and to modify existing pools using two specially named reference tables. The reference table pair begins with ACC_RPI_, which identifies the tables as reference tables that contain resource pool import data.

Note:  To import this type of data to Accolade, you must have the Process Designer, Project Importer, and Reference Table Manager user roles. To import a new version of an existing file, you must be assigned as the owner of the reference table file used for the import.

Follow these steps to import resource pool data:

Accolade supports reference tables as spreadsheet, CSV, and XML files through the Reference Tables page, and through an auto-loader service. The information and examples provided are in spreadsheet format, contact Sopheon Customer Support for example files in additional formats.

Create a File That Contains the Resource Pool Data to Import (Data Table)

The data table contains the data to import to Accolade. Administrators and Process Designers add the initial versions of the ACC_RPI data table. The assigned table owner, which requires the Reference Table Manager user role, can add new versions of the table as needed.

Create the resource pools data table as a spreadsheet, CSV, or XML file, ensuring that the contents of the file meets the following requirements:

Component Requirements

File Name

Resource pool data must be in a file named ACC_RPI_<pair identifier>_Data, where <pair identifier> matches the <pair identifier> in the resource pools configuration table and is unique within Accolade. For example, ACC_RPI_GlobalPools_Data.

Rows

Each row contains a different resource pool, and each resource pool exists in only one row.

Column Names and Position

Column headings are in the first row of the worksheet. You can name columns as you see fit for your installation.

The configuration table described below maps the columns in the data table to the respective fields in the Accolade database.

Data

The following columns and data are required for each resource pool:

  • Pool Name - Identifies the resource pool in the system. The pool name must be unique.
  • Pool Unit of Measure - The chosen unit of measure in which requests are made for resources that belong in this pool. For example, FTE for a full time employee.

 

The following columns and data are optional for each resource pool:

  • Pool Owner Login - The user login of the Resource Planner who manages the pool. If left blank for a pool any Resource Planner is able to manage the pool.

    To add additional owners to a pool using the import, run the import once with the additional owner user login listed in the Pool Owner column. Run the import a second time, updating the Pool Owner column to the user login of the primary pool owner. The import moves the original owner of the pool to an additional owner, and imports the new owner as the primary pool owner.

    Note: If the Pool Owner column is not included in the import files, the Pool Owner is set to NONE, and any existing assigned owner is set as an Additional Owner.

  • Pool Requested - Enter Yes, Y, True, or 1 to set the pool's demand type to Requested (all other values indicate False). If a value is present in this column, a value is also required in the Assigned column. A pool can be Requested, Assigned, or both. Defaults to TRUE if the column is not provided on initial pool creation. See Resource Pools Overview for a description of requested pools.
  • Pool Assigned - Enter Yes, Y, True, or 1 to set the pool's demand type to Assigned (all other values indicate False). If a value is present in this column, a value is also required in the Requested column A pool can be Requested, Assigned, or both. Defaults to TRUE if the column is not provided on initial pool creation. See Resource Pools Overview for a description of assigned pools.
  • Pool Parent - For assigned-only pools, enter the pool name of the requested-only pool to which the assigned pool is linked. You can associate assigned-only pools with a parent requested-only pool to establish an associated between the pools, which allows Resource Planners to know which group of resources they can assign to certain requests. Assigned-only pools can be linked to multiple parent pools if the Allow Multiple Links For an Assigned Pool system parameter is enabled. If disabled, an assigned-only pool can be linked to only one requested-only pool. List multiple parents using a pipe ( | ) delimited list. See Linking Requested Resource Pools with Assigned Resource Pools for more information.

Important! When linking assigned-only and requested-only pools, the pool named in the Pool Parent column must exist and must be a requested-only pool. Each pool in the link must contain the same Pool Unit of Measure. If you are linking pools, complete the import in two stages: one to import the requested-only pools, and one to import the assigned-only pools. Completing the import in two stages helps to ensure that the pool names listed in the Pool Parent column are established prior to trying to establish a link.

To make demand type or unit of measure changes to a pool that is linked to another pool, you must first remove the link before making any changes to either pool.

  • Pool Security List (1-5) - The security list system name for each list applied to a pool. Security Lists IDs are unique, listed in a pipe ( | ) delimited list.
  • Pool Extended Fields - One or more columns containing the values in extended fields set to apply to pools.
  • Active - Enter Yes, Y, True, or 1 to activate the pool. Other values or an empty cell sets the status of the pool to Inactive.

    Note: If the Active column is not included in the import files, the status of the pool is set to Inactive as well.

  • Delete - Enter Yes, Y, True, or 1 to delete the resource pool. The importer will delete all pools even if it has resources within it with existing, active demands against it. As a best practice, delete or move the demands to another pool before running the importer.
  • Pool ID - To rename an existing pool, provide the existing pool's system ID in a Pool ID column, and the new pool name in the Pool Name column. You can find existing pool IDs with the System Resource Pool ID column using reports.
Example Icon

Import Resource Pool Data Example

* You may need to re-size the Help window to see the entire example.

 

Note the following in the example above:

  • The import renames the existing resource pool in row three to R&D Engineers.
  • The import creates a link between the Manufacturing and Project Managers pools.
  • The import assigns a value to the Location extended field that is available to pools for each of the pools listed.

Download Sample

Map the Resource Pools Data to the Accolade Database (Config Table)

The configuration table contains the data mapping information so Accolade knows what type of data to expect in the accompanying data file. Administrators and Process Designers add the initial versions of the ACC_RPI config table. The assigned table owner, which requires the Reference Table Manager user role, can add new versions of the table as needed.

Create the resource pools configuration table as a spreadsheet, CSV, or XML file, ensuring that the file meets the following requirements:

Component Requirements

File Name

The resource pools configuration must be in a file named ACC_RPI_<pair identifier>_Config, where the <pair identifier> matches the resource pools data file and is unique within Accolade. For example, ACC_RPI_GlobalPools_Config.

Rows

Each row maps a column in the data table to a specific type of resource pool data in Accolade.

Column Names and Position

The resource configuration must have the following column names, from left to right as listed below:

  • Export Column Name - Enter each column heading that is included in the data table.
  • Metadata Name - Enter the metadata name below that identifies the data included is in each column in the data table.

Accolade Metadata Names

Use the following metadata names in the Metadata Name column of the configuration table to map the data to the appropriate locations in the Accolade database:

  • PoolName
  • PoolOwner
  • PoolUnitOfMeasure
  • PoolRequested
  • PoolAssigned
  • PoolParent
  • SecurityList(1-5) - For example, SecurityList2
  • ExtendedField(DefaultName) - Name is "Extended Field" plus the default display name of the field. For example, ExtendedFieldMultiSelect6, ExtendedFieldNumber2, ExtendedFieldString3, and so on.
  • Delete
  • Active
  • PoolID
Example Icon

Import Resource Pool Config Example

* You may need to re-size the Help window to see the entire example.

 

Note the following about the example above:

  • Each item in the Export Column Name column is a column heading in the data table.
  • The names listed in the Metadata Name column must match the metadata names listed above exactly for the import to process successfully. Enter the metadata name for each column that matches, or maps, the data in the data file to the Accolade database to ensure the data is imported to the correct location.

Download Sample

Notes:   

  • If an assigned pool that is linked to a requested pool is deleted and auto-calculated capacities are set for the requested pool, the system auto-calculates capacities accordingly. See Auto-Calculating Capacity for Request-Only Pools for more information.
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