Using Resource Placeholders

This how-to article will help administrators and users to configure and add resource placeholders to projects using TDAdmin and TDNext. The user must be an Admin to create Resource Placeholders and be a project manager to add them to projects.

Overview

As an organization, you may have a need to represent unspecified resources that have certain skillsets on projects. These resources need to be reflected on project plans to illustrate the needs and make it easy to add in the appropriate people.

In TeamDynamix we assign a resource placeholder until an actual person can be identified to perform the assigned tasks.

Resource placeholder user types can be used to represent roles such as a database administrator, developer, contractor, rather than specific people. This is useful when a named resource cannot be identified but you know there is a role to fill, so you can assign them to projects, tasks, incidents risks etc. As a resource manager you can look to the future and see unstaffed demand where resource placeholders are assigned and make accommodations to fill those needs with people.

Resource placeholders are purely a representation of a role. There is no person associated with the resource, so there is no login access, and it does not consume a TeamDynamix license. These replace the concept of phantom users.

Resource placeholders can be: 

• added as resources on projects.
• members but not owners for workspaces.
• responsible for project tasks and cards.
• responsible for issues and risks.
• included in the results for resource reports.
• added as attendees in a calendar invite (to represent a room as a resource placeholder).

A resource placeholder’s workable hours per day are set at 0 (zero) so that the need to identify an actual resource can be easily recognized.

Creating Resource Placeholders

To create a resource placeholder:

1. Navigate to TDAdmin > Users & Roles > Users.
2. Click the +Create button and select Create Resource Placeholder. 
3. In the Add Placeholder window, fill in the Name fields with something informative but generic like Service Desk Placeholder, Software Developer Placeholder, Java Developer Placeholder, etc.
4. Optionally assign a Default Account/Department.
5. If you want billing and cost values to be represented when this resource is added to a project, enter values in the Hourly Bill Rate or Hourly Cost Rate fields.
6. Leave the Daily Capacity as zero. 
7. Click the This user’s capacity is managed checkbox so the user will appear on capacity planning and availability reports.

   When unchecked, this user's Daily Capacity Hours will be automatically set to zero and they will not appear on capacity or availability reports.

8. Click the Save button.
9. To add a Functional Role for this placeholder resource:

   This setting will allow you to search in the resource planning tools by functional role. You’ll be able to see all the obligations and allocations to all users in that role including this placeholder resource, providing a picture of staff demand.

   1. In the left navigation of the User window, click Functional Roles.
   2. Click the Role dropdown and select a role, then click the +Add button at the top.
10. To add a Workspace for this placeholder resource:

    This setting will allow you to represent “types” of resources on a workspace before you are able to actually add those resources. You can configure a schedule that they’d need to be given when added also.

    1. Click Workspaces in the left navigation of the User window.
    2. Click Add, and type in workspace name(s) or use the (magnifying glass) lookup to locate desired workspaces.
    3. Save when all necessary workspaces are selected.
11. Close the User window.

Adding a Resource Placeholder to a Project Via the Resources Page

Once a resource is created, a project manager can assign it to projects, tasks or when staffing project requests just like any other user.

To add a resource from the Resources page: 

1. Navigate to TDNext > Projects > Manage Projects.
2. Select the desired project.
3. Click Resources in the left navigation.
4. Click the Actions button and select Add Resources.
5. Click the checkboxes next to the placeholder resource you want to add to the project.
6. Click the Next button. 
7. Select Months or Weeks as the interval and enter the project member's hours per week or month in the text box. You can add "0" hours to give the user access to the project's workspace but not create a schedule.
8. Click the Save button and close the Project Resources window.

Replacing a Resource Placeholder with a User on a Project

For projects where a resource placeholder is a member, once a real person has been identified as a resource, the project manager can replace the resource placeholder. This is done the same way any resource is changed on a project, with all artifacts and tasks being delegated to the new resource.

To replace a resource placeholder with a real user:

1. Navigate to TDNext > Projects > Manage Projects.
2. Select the appropriate project.
3. In the Project Details window, click Resources in the left navigation.
4. Click the Actions button and select Add Resources.
5. Click the checkbox next to the user that will replace the resource on the project.
6. Click the Next button.
7. Leave the hours fields blank and click the Save button.
8. On the project resources list, click the checkbox next to the resource placeholder to be replaced.
9. Click on the Actions button and select Remove Resources.
10. On the Remove Resources page, in the Delegate To dropdown, select the user that the resource placeholder’s tasks should be reassigned to.
11. Select how to handle the Associated Materials and Resource Schedules.
12. Click the Save button.

Converting a User to a Resource Placeholder

Converting regular users that for some reason or other should actually be resource placeholders is an easy change. In some organizations before the resource placeholder feature was implemented, “phantom users” were created. These can now be converted to resource placeholders.

If a user is converted to a resource placeholder, they will no longer be able to access the TeamDynamix system.

This will clear the following settings:

• Authentication information (including username)
• Contact information
• Security role
• Group memberships
• Application permissions

Because the user will no longer have access, they will not be able to perform actions such as the following:

• Managing projects
• Approving project or resource requests
• Reviewing newly created projects or tickets
• Fulfilling responsibilities on tasks, issues, tickets, or ticket tasks

This user will continue to be listed as a resource on any projects they have currently been approved for. In addition, any information dealing with the user's capacity will be preserved during this conversion.

To convert a user to a resource placeholder:

1. Navigate to TDAdmin > Users & Roles > Users.
2. Click the name of the desired user.
3. In the User window, click the Actions button and select Convert User to Resource Placeholder.
4. Review the warnings in the Convert User to Resource Placeholder window.
5. To complete the conversion, click the Save button and confirm the action in the popup.
6. In the user window, update the resource Name to reflect that it is now a placeholder.
7. Click the Save button and close the window.

Converting a Resource Placeholder to a User

You might have created a Resource Placeholder to begin the process of onboarding a new employee without yet knowing their details. Once this person is fully onboard, you need to go ahead and convert the placeholder into an actual User account to give them access to the necessary areas of TeamDynamix to complete their job functions.

To convert a resource placeholder to a user:

1. Navigate to TDAdmin > Users & Roles > Users.
2. Lookup the resource placeholder in question and select its name.
3. Click Actions > Convert to User.
4. Fill out all fields marked as required and save.
5. At this point you’d need to give the user application access to the needed applications and fill out their bill rate, cost rate, and capacity management information.
6. Once done, this user will now be able to sign in to TeamDynamix and will be associated with any previous functional roles or workspaces the Resource Placeholder had been associated with.

Viewing Resource Placeholders in the Analysis Availability Report

You can run availability reports on resource placeholders and the roles they fulfill to get a picture of the demand.

To see this information in the Analysis Availability Report:

1. Navigate to TDNext > Analysis Application.
2. In the left navigation under Resource Reports, click the Availability Report.
3. Click the filter icon on the right side of the toolbar.
4. In the filter sidebar, enter the appropriate date range and select a Resource Pool.
5. Click the Apply button.
6. Click the Run Report button.

You will see the availability for the selected date range and resource pool.

In the report, you will be able see your resource placeholders and the hours that need to be filled by a real person for the date range. To determine to which projects a resource placeholder is allocated, click on the resource placeholder’s name to view their schedules.