Last Modified On: January 30, 2025
The Resource Utilization Lightning Web Component (LWC) is an upgraded version of our legacy Resource Allocation page. It allows you to view your resources' capacity and availability based on the project tasks assigned to them. This feature allows you to easily see whether resources are over or under allocated and helps you find available resources for new and upcoming projects and tasks.
Vacation time can also be scheduled for resources. If a block of time needs to be reserved or considered for a future project, you can create a Salesforce Task within the Resource Allocation page and link it to a future project. This allows project managers to better allocate resources according to their capacity and availability.
You can set a resource's working hours per day which the Resource Allocation page references when plotting hours for the resource. To learn how to set a resource's working hours per day, please see "Set a Resource's Working Hours per Day".
The resource utilization page also allows you to pin resources, so you can easily view resources you regularly work with.
What's in this article (click on a topic to jump to it):
To view resource utilization, edit resources' working hours per day, create or manage attributes and attribute groups, go to the Resource Management Tab.
You will see three (3) subtabs - Utilization, Resources, and Attributes. The default tab is the Utilization tab.
You can search for resources by attribute, attribute groups, or by resource name. You can either scroll through the drop-down menu to find an attribute/attribute group, or you can type the attribute name in the box. A list of matching attributes will be displayed based on the text you enter. Select the attribute or attribute group by clicking on it. The attribute or attribute group you selected will be displayed just below the "select attribute" search box.
You can search for one or more attribute/attribute groups and every time you select an attribute, it adds it to the attributes displayed below the "select attributes" search box. By default, the operator used between attributes/attribute groups is set to 'AND' which means that a resource must have all the attributes/attribute groups you selected.
If you would like to view resources that have any one of the attributes you select, you can switch the operator to 'OR'.
Inspire Planner will return all resources (users and contacts) which match the attribute/attribute group you selected.
To remove an attribute, click on the "x" to the right of the attribute. The "clear" option at the end of the row will clear all filters and not just attributes.
You may also search for resources by name. Simply start typing a resource's name. Inspire Planner will return users and contacts that match the name you entered. Click on the resource's name from the list of search results.
The resources you selected will be displayed on the page.
You can search for one or more resources and every time you select a resource, the resource is displayed below the "select resources" search box. The operator used between resources is set to 'OR'.
To remove a resource, click on the "x" to the right of the resource's name. The "clear" option at the end of the row will clear all filters and not just resource names.
When you are finished searching for resources by either attributes/attribute groups or resource names, we recommend you hide the Attribute Filter by clicking on the Filter Icon in the top right corner. This will give you more real estate on the page to expand your resources.
You can view resource utilization for tasks or projects. When you first navigate to resource utilization, it displays the resources' utilization for tasks assigned to them.
You can choose between viewing task-based or project-based allocation using the picklist in the top right.
Task allocation means that it will display the resources' utilization based on the project tasks assigned to them. This will not include project allocations.
To view task allocations, select "Tasks" in the picklist in the top right.
To the right of each resource, you will see the total allocated effort for all tasks assigned for each day of the week.
When you hover over the hours, a dialogue box will open and show you the tasks that make up the hours. On top of the dialogue box, it will show you the date followed by how much of the resource's availability is allocated. In the example below, notice that it says "6h of 5h allocated". This means that the resource's availability (or working hours per day) is set at 5 hours, and she has 6 hours of total allocated effort for that day.
Below it, it lists all the tasks assigned to the resource that make up the 6 hours. Beside each task is the allocated effort for the task.
Instead of viewing resources' allocation by hours, you can also choose to view their allocation by percentage. Click on the % icon in the top right corner to view the resources' % allocation.
To toggle back to hours, click on the Time icon in the top right.
When you expand a resource on the left, it displays the resource's assigned project tasks, grouped by project. It will only include the project tasks that make up the hours displayed within the timeline in the Gantt Chart on the right. As you adjust your timeline, it will adjust the project and project tasks displayed under the resource to include only the project tasks that fall within the timeline.
The work hours you see are based on the planned effort and duration specified for the assigned project tasks. For example, if the planned effort for a task is 10 hours and the duration is set to 2 days, then it will plot at 5 hours per day.
Please note the following:
It also takes into consideration the % Allocation of work that the resource is responsible for. This is defined within the project, in the Assigned To field (see image below). For example, if there are two (2) resources assigned to a task and each resource is responsible for 50% of the work, and the planned effort is set to 10 hours with a duration of 2 days, then the work hours shown for each resource would be calculated as follows:
(Task Planned Effort x % Allocation) / Duration = Allocated Effort
So using the example above, work hours would be calculated as:
(10 hours x 0.50) / 2 days = 2.5 hours per resource
By default, the resource utilization page displays the total allocated effort for all tasks assigned to the resource per day. However, you can also view the resources' utilization per week or per month. Click on the Zoom Icon in the top right corner and choose between Days, Weeks or Months.
To move to the previous or next timeline, click on the left or right arrows at the top right corner.
To see utilization within a specific date range, click on the Calendar icon.
Populate the dates and click on Apply.
The page will refresh and display utilization for the date range you specified. Use the scroll bar at the bottom to see the resources' utilization for the date range you specified.
To refresh the page, click on the Refresh Data icon. This will display the most up-to-date allocation.
To go to the project, click on the Open Project icon to the left of the project name.
To go to the project task record, click on the task name.
Project allocation means that it will display the resources' utilization based on the project allocations created for them. This will not include task allocations.
For more information on how to create project allocations, please see Resource LWC - BETA - Project Allocations
To view project allocations, select "projects" in the picklist in the top right.
You can narrow down what is displayed in utilization by using the additional filters available on top of the page.
If you would like to see resource utilization for a specific project, simply search for and select the project in the "Select projects" search box.
When you select a project, the page only displays the resources' utilization for project tasks in that project. You can search for another project and add it. Each project you select is displayed under the "Select projects" box. An "OR" operator is applied between projects.
You can also filter by project status. For example, you may not want to see the utilization of completed or canceled projects. In the example below, we are filtering projects so that it only displays the resources' utilization for projects that meet the status we selected.
Another way to filter is by task status. For example, you may not want to see the utilization of completed tasks. In the example below, we are filtering tasks so that it only displays the resources' utilization for tasks that meet the status we selected.
Please note:
The ability to filter tasks by status is hidden when you are viewing project-based allocation. For more information on project-based allocation, please see Resource LWC - Project-based Allocation.
When the total allocated hours for a resource exceeds the resource's capacity (or working hours per day), it highlights the hours in red to indicate that the resource is over allocated. By default, Inspire Planner assumes that a resource's availability is at 8 hours per day. However, you can define the resource's capacity by setting the working hours per day.
If the resource is under-allocated (where the total allocated effort is less than the resource's working hours per day) or fully allocated (where the total allocated effort is equivalent to the resource's working hours per day), the hours are highlighted in green.
You can pin resources on the page so that they appear on the page every time you view resource utilization. Pinned resources are always visible on the page whether they match the attributes or resource name you searched for or not, and always appear on top of the resource list to make it easy for you to view resources you regularly work with.
To pin a resource, simply click on the Pin icon beside the resource name.
The pin icon turns green for a pinned resource. Pinned resources always display on top of the resource list.
To unpin a resource, simply click on the pin icon again.
The Resource Allocation page also allows you to create booking tasks to block vacation time or set aside time for a future project. Booking tasks are essentially Salesforce Tasks. This allows project managers to better plan and allocate resources based not only on their capacity but also their availability.
To book vacation time, click on the Create Booking Task icon to the left of the resource name.
A 'New Task' window will open. You have the option of linking the new task to an existing project by selecting a project from the project drop down menu.
**Important: Although it is not required that you link the task to a project, we recommend that you do. When you create booking tasks for a resource, you are basically creating a Salesforce Task assigned to the resource. In Salesforce, tasks are only visible to who they are assigned to. Since the task is not assigned to you, you will not be able to see it plot on the Resource Utilization page even though the booking task has been created. Therefore, we recommend that you create a Project that serves as a placeholder for your booking tasks and then add the users who need to see booked tasks as collaborators on the Project. When you create booking tasks within the Resource Utilization page, link them to the project, which will then make the booked tasks visible to all users who have access to the project.
Enter a task name and in the Schedule As drop down, select 'Vacation'. Then specify the inclusive dates. Click on Save when finished.
The resource utilization page will auto-refresh and display the vacation time. Expand the resources on the left to see the vacation time you've booked.
If you link the booking task to a project, it will display under the project you linked it to. If you did not link the booking task to a project, it will display under "No Project".
To edit, click on the edit icon beside it.
To delete it, click on the delete icon beside it.
Perhaps you would like to reserve a resource's time for a future project so that other project managers know that the resource will be occupied at that time. To block time for a future project, click on the Create Booking Task icon beside the resource name.
Enter a task name and in the Schedule As drop down, select 'Future Project'. Then enter the total planned effort and specify the inclusive dates. The planned effort you enter will be divided equally across the dates you specify. In the example below, the total planned effort is 24 hours which will then be divided evenly across 3 days from 2/3/2025 to 2/5/2025. Click on Save when finished.
The resource utilization page will auto-refresh and display the reserved block of time. Expand the resource on the left to see the time you've reserved.
To edit it, click on the edit icon beside it.
For information on how to create attributes and assign them to resources, see Managing Resources with Resource Attributes.