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Project Resource Forecast



Project Resource Forecast

The Project Resource Forecast module provides comprehensive resource allocation and capacity planning for project teams. This tool enables real-time tracking of employee workload across projects with visual warnings for over-capacity situations. All data entered or deleted is saved immediately to the database.

Navigation: Home screen > Project Resource Forecast

1. What You See When You Open Project Resource Forecast

When you first access Project Resource Forecast, the system automatically displays specific data based on your organizational hierarchy and active project assignments.

1.1 Team Scope

  • Direct reports: All employees who report directly to you.
  • Indirect reports: All employees in your hierarchy (reports of reports, recursively through the entire tree).
  • Time tracking enabled only: Only employees with time tracking obligations enabled are included.
  • You are excluded: Your own record does not appear in the forecast view.

1.2 Project Visibility

  • Active assignments only: Projects where employees have active task assignments (via tasks.assignee or task_invites).
  • Existing forecast data: Projects with existing forecast entries within the selected date range.
  • Status filtering: Only projects that are not marked as "Completed" or "Cancelled".

1.3 Default Date Range

The system defaults to a three-month view: current month plus the next two months. This range can be modified at any time using the date range filters in the header section.

Navigation: Header section date filters

2. Page Layout and Components

The Project Resource Forecast interface is organized into five main sections, arranged vertically from top to bottom.

2.1 Header Section

Located at the top of the page with a purple gradient background. Contains the module title, subtitle, and date range controls.

  • Title: "Project Resource Forecast"
  • Subtitle: Brief description of module functionality
  • From date selector: Choose the starting month for the forecast range
  • To date selector: Choose the ending month for the forecast range

Changes to the date range take effect immediately upon selection, triggering a data refresh.

2.2 Global Statistics Cards

Four white cards displaying aggregated metrics across all visible employees after filters are applied.

Card Metric Calculation
Employees Count of visible employees Each employee-position combination counts as one unit
Capacity Total FTE available Sum of FTE values for all visible employees (1.0 = full-time equivalent)
Allocated Total FTE-months allocated Sum of all FTE entries across all months and employees
Utilization Percentage of capacity used Allocated ÷ (Capacity × Number of Months) × 100%
Over-Capacity Count of over-allocated employees Number of employees with at least one month where total FTE allocation exceeds their capacity

Utilization Status Indicators:

  • Empty / Very Low (0-10%): Red indicator. Work planning required.
  • Low (10-30%): Orange indicator. Additional work should be allocated.
  • Normal (30-70%): Yellow indicator. Moderate capacity utilization.
  • Well-planned (70-100%): Green indicator. Optimal allocation achieved.
  • Over-allocated (>100%): Red indicator. Rebalancing required.

Over-Capacity Status Indicators:

  • Perfect (0 employees): Green indicator. All employees within capacity limits.
  • Warning (1-2 employees): Yellow indicator. Minor allocation issues requiring review.
  • Critical (3+ employees): Red indicator. Significant workload rebalancing required.

Each card includes an information icon (i) that displays detailed calculation explanations when hovered.

Navigation: Global statistics section

2.3 Monthly Breakdown Cards

Horizontal scrollable section displaying individual month statistics. This section is hidden when viewing only one month.

Each monthly card contains:

  • Month header: Display name (e.g., "Dec 2024")
  • Allocated FTE value: Total FTE allocated for that specific month
  • Progress bar: Visual representation of utilization percentage
  • Utilization percentage: Numeric display of capacity usage
  • Project count: Number of projects with work planned for that month
  • Status badge: Color-coded indicator (Empty / Very Low / Low / Normal / Well-planned / Over-allocated)

Navigation: Monthly breakdown section

2.4 Filters Section

White section containing six filter controls arranged in a grid layout. All filters feature live search functionality and apply immediately without requiring a submit action.

Filter Description
Employee Filter by specific employee name
Position Filter by job position (e.g., "Developer", "Project Manager")
Department Filter by department name
Office Filter by office location
Manager Filter by direct manager name
Assignment Filter by assignment type (Primary or Secondary)

Filter Usage:

  1. Click on any filter input to activate it.
  2. Type to search for available options (live search updates results dynamically).
  3. Click an option to select it.
  4. A red X button appears when a filter is active – click to clear the selection.
  5. Filters apply immediately and work together using AND logic.
  6. Statistics and visible data update automatically when filters change.

Navigation: Filters section

2.5 Main Data Table

The primary interactive component where forecast data is viewed and edited.

Table Column Structure:

Column Description
Employee Full name of employee
Position Job position with colored badge
Department Department name
Office Office location
FTE Full-Time Equivalent capacity (1.0 = 100%)
Manager Direct manager name
Assignment Primary or Secondary assignment badge
Project Project name with ID reference
Month Columns One column per month with editable input fields

Navigation: Main data table

3. Editing Forecast Data

3.1 Entering FTE Values

FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) values represent the percentage of an employee's time allocated to a specific project during a given month.

Valid FTE range: 0 to 1

  • 0.00 = 0% of time (no allocation)
  • 0.25 = 25% of time (approximately 1 week per month)
  • 0.50 = 50% of time (approximately 2 weeks per month)
  • 0.75 = 75% of time (approximately 3 weeks per month)
  • 1.00 = 100% of time (entire month)

Important Note on Part-Time Employees:

Each employee has an FTE capacity shown in the "FTE" column. For example, a part-time employee with FTE = 0.5 can only be allocated up to 0.5 total per month across all projects. A full-time employee with FTE = 1.0 can be allocated up to 1.0 total per month. You cannot exceed an employee's FTE capacity without triggering over-capacity warnings.

Data Entry Process:

  1. Click on any month input field in the table.
  2. Enter a numeric value between 0 and 1.
  3. The system auto-saves immediately upon input.
  4. All data entered or deleted is saved automatically to the database.

Visual Feedback:

  • White background: Empty field with no data
  • Green background: Valid value entered
  • Red background: Invalid value (outside 0-1 range)

3.2 Understanding the TOTAL Row

Each employee has a TOTAL row that displays the sum of FTE allocations across all projects for each month. This row provides critical capacity warnings.

TOTAL Row States:

  • Beige background: Normal state – total allocation is within capacity
  • Green background with left border: Perfect capacity – exactly 100% utilization
  • Red background with left border: Over capacity – allocation exceeds employee's FTE
  • Amber top and bottom borders: Warning indicator – at least one month is over capacity

Hover Tooltips:

Hovering over TOTAL cells with capacity warnings displays detailed information:

  • Over capacity: "Over capacity: +0.25 FTE (125% of 1.0)"
  • Perfect capacity: "Perfect allocation: 100% of 1.0 FTE"

4. Keyboard Navigation

The table supports Excel-style keyboard navigation for efficient data entry without requiring mouse interaction.

Key Action
Arrow Up ↑ Move to input field above (previous project or previous employee)
Arrow Down ↓ Move to input field below (next project or next employee)
Arrow Left ← Move to previous month (same employee, same project)
Arrow Right → Move to next month (same employee, same project)
Enter ↵ Move down to next input field
Shift + Enter Move up to previous input field
Tab ⇥ Move to next input field (browser default behavior)
Ctrl + Z (Windows)
Cmd + Z (Mac)		 Undo last change

When navigating with keyboard, the system automatically selects all text in the target input field for easy value replacement.

5. Undo Functionality

The undo feature allows you to revert the last change made to any FTE input field. Press Ctrl + Z (Windows) or Cmd + Z (Mac) to trigger the undo action.

Undo Behavior:

  • Restores the previous value that was in the input field before your last edit
  • Automatically saves the restored value back to the database
  • Updates the TOTAL row to reflect the reverted change
  • Maintains a stack of up to 50 changes during your session
  • Shows "Nothing to undo" message if the undo stack is empty
  • Shows "Undo failed" if there is a database error during the restoration

Note: The undo functionality only works for value changes made during your current session. It does not persist across page refreshes or browser closes.

6. Adding Projects to Employees

Each employee section includes an "Add Project" button that allows you to assign additional projects to that employee.

Add Project Process:

  1. Locate the employee in the table
  2. Find the row with the circle-plus icon (⊕) below their existing projects
  3. Click the icon to activate the project search interface
  4. A search box appears with a dropdown list of available projects
  5. Type to search for project names (live search filters results)
  6. Click on a project from the dropdown to select it
  7. A new project row appears immediately with empty month input fields
  8. Focus automatically moves to the first month input field
  9. Begin entering FTE values for the new project

Project Availability:

  • Only active projects (not completed or cancelled) appear in the dropdown
  • Projects already assigned to the employee are excluded from the list
  • If no projects are available, a message indicates "No more projects available"

Navigation: Add Project interface

7. Floating Employee Badge

A purple floating badge appears in the top-right corner of the screen when scrolling through the table. This badge helps you track which employee's data is currently in view.

Badge Contents:

  • Employee name: Full name of the currently visible employee
  • Position title: Job position of the employee
  • Assignment badge: Primary or Secondary assignment indicator
  • Close button (X): Temporarily hide the badge

Badge Behavior:

  • Appears automatically when you scroll past an employee's first project row
  • Updates automatically as you scroll to different employees
  • Can be closed by clicking the X button in the top-right corner of the badge
  • Reappears when you scroll to a new employee (even after being closed)
  • Tracks employee + position combination correctly (handles employees with multiple position assignments)

Navigation: Floating employee badge

8. Best Practices

8.1 Recommended Practices

  • Use keyboard navigation for faster data entry across multiple months
  • Monitor the TOTAL row continuously to avoid over-capacity allocations
  • Use Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z immediately after mistakes to maintain data accuracy
  • Check global Utilization status before planning new work allocations
  • Apply filters to focus on specific teams or departments when planning
  • Hover over information icons (i) for detailed metric explanations
  • Review monthly breakdown cards to identify underutilized or overloaded months
  • Ensure allocations do not exceed employee FTE capacity per position

8.2 Practices to Avoid

  • Do not enter values greater than 1.0 (100% capacity limit per assignment)
  • Do not ignore over-capacity warnings (red TOTAL cells)
  • Do not close the browser while data is being saved
  • Do not allocate more than the employee's FTE capacity across all projects for a single month
  • Do not rely on undo functionality for changes made in previous sessions

9. Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue Solution
"Save failed" error appears Check internet connection and attempt the entry again. If the issue persists, refresh the page and retry.
Input field turns red Value must be between 0 and 1 inclusive. Enter a valid decimal number (e.g., 0.5 for 50%).
TOTAL row displays red background Over capacity detected. Reduce FTE values for that month to bring total allocation within employee capacity.
Expected employee not showing in list Verify the employee has time tracking obligation enabled and is part of your reporting hierarchy.
Project missing from "Add Project" dropdown Project may already be assigned to the employee or is marked as completed/cancelled.
Changes not visible after saving Refresh the page (F5) to reload the latest data from the database.
Undo not working Verify you have not exceeded 50 changes (undo stack limit) or check if undo stack was cleared by page refresh.
Monthly breakdown cards not showing Monthly breakdown section is hidden when viewing only one month. Expand date range to see monthly cards.

10. Summary

  • Project Resource Forecast provides comprehensive capacity planning for your entire reporting hierarchy
  • View and edit FTE allocations across projects and months in a single interface
  • Visual warnings alert you to over-capacity situations in real-time
  • Keyboard navigation and undo functionality enable efficient data entry
  • Six filters allow focused views of specific teams, departments, or positions
  • All data entered or deleted is saved immediately to the database
  • Global and monthly statistics provide high-level utilization insights
  • Add new projects dynamically without leaving the interface
  • Floating employee badge maintains context awareness during scrolling