This chapter contains instructions for implementing Oracle Project Resource Management.
This chapter covers the following topics:
Oracle Project Resource Management is an integrated project staffing application to help you manage project resource needs, profitability, and organization utilization by locating and deploying qualified resources to your projects across your enterprise. Project Resource Management empowers key project stakeholders, such as project managers, resource managers, and staffing managers with key information to make better use of their single most critical asset: their people. Oracle Project Resource Management is part of the Oracle E-Business Suite, an integrated set of applications that are engineered to work together.
Note: To find out how to access a window, refer to the Navigation Paths index, Oracle Projects Fundamentals.
The following checklist shows the steps required to implement Oracle Project Resource Management. The product setup checklist is organized by area of functionality. The Required/Optional column indicates if the step is required or optional for use of the product.
To implement Oracle Project Resource Management, complete the steps in the following order:
The following table lists the step required for licensing:
| Step | Description | Required /Optional | Setup Level | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PJR-P1.1 | Set the profile option PA: Licensed to Use Project Resource Management | Required | Site | System Administrator |
Additional Information: For details about the licensing step, see Licensing Oracle Project Resource Management.
The following table lists the steps required for project staffing:
| Step | Description | Required /Optional | Setup Level | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PJR-P2.1 | Define additional requirement statuses, candidate statuses, assignment approval statuses, and assignment scheduling statuses. | Optional | Site | Projects Implementation Super User |
| PJR-P2.2 | Set the requirement status, candidate status, and assignment status profile options | Required | Site | System Administrator |
| PJR-P2.3 | Define advertisement rules | Optional | Site | Project Super User |
| PJR-P2.4 | Define team templates | Optional | Site | Project Super User |
| PJR-P2.5 | Define staffing priority codes | Optional | Site | Projects Implementation Super User |
| PJR-P2.6 | Implement assignment approval workflow | Optional | Site | |
| PJR-P2.7 | Implement assignment approval workflow extensions | Optional | Site | |
| PJR-P2.8 | Implement candidate notification workflow | Optional | Site | |
| PJR-P2.9 | Implement candidate notification workflow extension | Optional | Site |
Additional Information: For details about the project staffing steps, see Project Staffing.
The following checklist shows the steps required to implement each Oracle Project Resource Management feature. The list is organized by feature. The Required/Optional column indicates if the step is required or optional for each use of the feature.
To implement Oracle Project Resource Management features, complete the steps listed in the following section.
Prerequisites: Before you set up organization forecasting for resources, you must define the following entities in the Project Costing application:
Labor Costing Definitions (Optional Feature)
Burdening Definitions (Optional Feature)
The following table lists the step required for organization forecasting for resources:
| Step | Description | Required /Optional | Setup Level | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PJR-F1.1 | Define forecasting options | Required | OU | Projects Implementation Super User |
Additional Information: For details about the forecasting based on staffing plan step, see Implementing Organization Forecasting for Resources.
The following instructions give details about the Licensing steps in the Oracle Project Resource Management Product Implementation Checklist.
To indicate to the system that Project Resource Management is licensed, set the profile option PA: Licensed to Use Project Resource Management.
See: PA: Licensed to Use Project Resource Management.
The following instructions give details about the Project Staffing steps in the Oracle Project Resource Management Product Implementation Checklist.
This section describes the following setup topics:
Requirement Statuses
Assignment Statuses
Candidate Statuses
Assignment Approval Statuses
For information on using the Statuses window to define statuses, see: Defining Statuses and Status Profile Options.
A status is the state of an object. Objects can have only one status at a time. Your implementation of Oracle Project Resource Management includes predefined statuses for the following objects:
Projects
Requirements
Assignments
Candidates
Assignment approval
You can create new user statuses based on the available system statuses to meet your business needs and create process flows that support those needs. You can also modify the default status controls for each user status.
For each existing user status, you must define the next allowable statuses. Defining the next allowable statuses determines the process flow for your objects.
For example, you can specify that a requirement with the user status Open can have its status changed only to either Filled or Canceled. This example shows that you have just determined two possible process flows of a requirement:
Open -> Filled
Open -> Canceled
Note: Statuses are available for your entire enterprise, and are not specific to any business group or operating unit.
The requirement status indicates the state or condition of the requirement in the staffing life cycle.
The following table shows the predefined requirement statuses and suggested next allowable statuses.
| System Status | User Status | Description | Suggested Next Allowable Statuses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Open | Available for resource assignments | Filled, Canceled |
| Filled | Filled | A resource is assigned | Canceled |
| Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | None |
The status controls for requirement statuses are:
Include in Project Forecasts
Additional Information: Cannot be used for filled or canceled requirements
Visible in Requirement Searches
Assign Resources to the Requirement
Starting Status
If Starting Status is selected, the system uses the status when it creates requirements.
Important: You must define at least one user-defined requirement status with Starting Status selected.
Use these status controls to restrict allowable actions on requirements based on status.
The assignment status is the daily assignment status. Therefore, each day of the assignment has its own schedule status.
The following table shows predefined assignment schedule system statuses and suggested next allowable statuses:
| System Status | User Status | Description | Suggested Next Allowable Statuses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provisional | Provisional | A resource is assigned to the assignment on a provisional basis. | Confirmed, Canceled |
| Confirmed | Confirmed | The resource is confirmed and scheduled for the assignment. | Canceled |
| Canceled | Canceled | The assignment was canceled. | None |
The status controls for assignment statuses are:
Include in Project Forecasts
Additional Information: Cannot be used for canceled assignments
Starting Status
If Starting Status is selected, the system uses the status when it creates assignments.
Important: You must define at least one user-defined assignment status with Starting Status selected.
Use this status control to include assignments in project forecasts based on the status.
Each candidate has a status that indicates the state of consideration in the nomination process on a given requirement.
The following table shows the predefined candidate statuses with and suggested next allowable statuses:
| System Status | User Status | Description | Suggested Next Allowable Statuses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pending Review | Pending Review | Nominated for the requirement and ready for review | Suitable, Under Review, Declined, Withdrawn, or Assigned |
| System Nomination | System Nomination | Nominated by the automated candidate search and nomination process. You cannot modify the attributes of this status. Also, you cannot create user statuses with the System Nomination system status. | Suitable, Under Review, Declined, Withdrawn, or Assigned |
| Under Review | Under Review | In the review process | Under Review, Declined, Withdrawn, or Assigned |
| Suitable | Suitable | A suitable match for the requirement | Under Review, Declined, Withdrawn, or Assigned |
| Declined | Declined | Unsuitable for the requirement (the default status control Requires Change Reason requires the user who declines the candidate to enter a reason) | Suitable or Under Review |
| Withdrawn | Withdrawn | Withdrawn from consideration | Under Review |
| Assigned | Assigned | Assigned to fill the requirement. This status is used only by the workflow process after the candidate has been assigned to fill the requirement. | None |
There is one status control for the candidate statuses:
Requires Change Reason
This status control requires entry of a reason when a user changes the status of a candidate.
Each assignment has a status that indicates the state of the assignment in the staffing life cycle.
Assignment approval statuses are used by workflow processes. The assignment approval status represents the approval status for the entire assignment.
You cannot add, modify, or delete these statuses. The status is applied to an assignment based on the action being undertaken.
The following table shows predefined assignment approval statuses and their next allowable statuses:
| System Status | Description | Next Allowable Statuses |
|---|---|---|
| Working | The assignment is new and has not yet been submitted for approval, or the canceled assignment was changed and needs to be resubmitted for approval. | Submitted |
| Submitted | The assignment is submitted for approval. Approval can be sought either manually or by using a workflow process. | Approved or Rejected |
| Approved | The assignment is approved and the resource is confirmed. | Requires Resubmission |
| Canceled | The assignment is canceled. | None |
| Rejected | The assignment is rejected. The user can modify the assignment and resubmit it for approval. | Requires Resubmission |
| Requires Resubmission | The approved assignment has been changed and requires a resubmission for approval. | Submitted |
Set the following profile options to specify default values for staffing statuses. For details about each profile option, see: Profile Options in Oracle Projects.
PA: Starting Requirement Status: Specifies the default status of newly created requirements.
PA: Filled Requirement Status: Specifies the requirement status when the requirement is filled and becomes an assignment.
PA: Canceled Requirement Status: Specifies the status of a requirement when it is canceled.
PA: Default Starting Candidate Status: Specifies the default status of all newly nominated candidates, except for system-nominated candidates.
PA: Canceled Requirement's Candidate Status: Specifies the candidate status when a candidate nomination is declined due to requirement cancellation.
PA: Invalid Resource Candidate Status: Specifies the candidate status for a candidate whose nomination is declined because the candidate is no longer a valid resource in the Project Resource Management application.
PA: Starting Assignment Status: Specifies the default status of newly created assignments.
PA: Canceled Assignment Status: Specifies the status of canceled assignments.
Advertisement rules control the visibility of a requirement to resources and managers of an organization over a period of time. Each advertisement rule is a list of actions that are performed when the condition associated with each action is met.
Implementation of advertisement rule functionality is optional.
One advertisement rule, Publish to Everyone, is predefined in Oracle Project Resource Management. This rule has the following attributes:
Contains one action, Publish to All
Cannot be modified or deleted
Publishes requirements to everyone starting on the creation date of a requirement
If you are not using advertisement rule functionality, leave the Start Advertisement Rule box selected for each requirement. If a user deselects this box, then the requirement will not be visible in requirement searches or Requirement List pages.
You can optionally define your own advertisement rules.
To define advertisement rules:
Navigate to the Advertisement Rules page.
Choose Create Advertisement Rule.
Enter the name, description, and effective dates. Choose Add Action.
For each action you want to define for the advertisement rule, enter action and condition information and choose Apply. After you apply each action, the Create Advertisement Rule page is displayed with the updated information.
When you have finished entering all actions, choose Apply on the Create Advertisement Rule page to save the entire advertisement rule.
After you define your advertisement rules, you can specify the default rule on the Staffing tab in the system Implementation Options window.
Users can set advertisement rules at various levels. The value defined at each level is the default value for the next subsequent level. The hierarchy for default values is:
Implementation Options
Project Template
Project
Requirement
You set the overall default advertisement rule in the Implementation Options. When a user creates a project template, the project template retrieves the advertisement rule from the Implementation Options. When a user creates a project, the project advertisement rule is copied from either the project template or from the original project from which the new project is being copied. Any new requirements added to the project also adopt the project advertisement rule.
You can override the default advertisement rule at any of the levels from the project template to the requirement. In addition, you can modify the actions of the advertisement rule on individual requirements without affecting the original default advertisement rule.
An advertisement rule action on a requirement is performed only if the associated condition is met and the advertisement rule status is Started or Resumed. The associated condition for advertisement actions is validated under the following conditions:
Concurrent Program is Run: The concurrent program PRC: Perform Action Rules, set at regular frequency, performs the advertisement actions of the open requirements that have met the associated condition.
Online update is performed: The associated conditions of the actions on a requirement are re-evaluated online if the start date of the requirement is changed or if the advertisement rule on the requirement is updated. The qualified actions are performed if the advertisement rule status is Started or Resumed.
Advertisement Rule is Started or Resumed: When a requirement advertisement rule is first activated or resumed, the system validates the advertisement actions to check if they meet the associated condition. The qualifying actions are performed.
The PRC: Perform Action Rules process evaluates the action conditions for each action on a scheduled basis. You should schedule this process to run on a regular basis.
For more information about this process, see: Perform Action Rules., Oracle Projects Fundamentals
A team template contains attributes that you can use to create requirements on a project. If you need to create multiple project teams with similar requirements, you can use team templates to avoid duplicate entry of requirements.
To create a team template:
Note: You must define work types before you can create team templates. See: Defining Work Types.
Navigate to the Team Templates page.
Enter the information for the new team template.
The following table shows selected fields that you complete when you create a team template:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Effective Dates | The period of time during which a template can be applied to projects (regardless of the project actual start date) |
| Calendar | Default calendar for the requirement |
| Work Type | Default work type for the requirement |
| Role List | The list of roles that you can select for each requirement on the team template. In addition to requirements, you can add subteams to the template that also will be created on a project once the template is applied. |
When you apply a team template to a project, the requirements on the template are created on the project.
If the system date falls between the team template effective dates, you can apply the template to a project. You can apply the team template from the Apply Team Template page (accessible through the Schedule Resource page). Or, if your selected project template has an associated team template, then it is applied during the project creation.
If a project has an associated role list, you can apply only team templates with matching role lists to the project. If a project has no associated role list, then you can apply any current team templates to the project.
The process of applying a team template and its associated requirements to a project can take some time. Therefore, an Oracle Workflow process, PA Apply Team Template, handles the application process.
The interval between the team template start date and the dates of the template requirements is used to determine the dates of the requirements created on a project. When the team template is applied to a project, the start date for the new requirement is:
Project Start Date plus (the number of days from the Team Template Start Date to the Team Template Requirement Start Date)
The end date for the new requirement is:
Project Start Date plus (the number of days from the Team Template Start Date to the Team Template Requirement End Date)
Example: You have a team template called Fast Forward Team with a March 1, 1990 start date.
The template has a requirement called DBA with the following attributes:
Start date: April 1, 1990
End date: April 30, 1990
You apply this template to a project with a start date of June 1, 2006.
The interval from the team template start date (March 1) to the template requirement start date (April 1) is 31 days. The DBA requirement is added to the project with a start date of July 2, 2006 (June 1, 2006 plus 31 days) and an end date of July 31, 2006 (June 1, 2006 plus 60 days).
Staffing priority codes on a requirement specify the priority for filling the requirement.
You can select staffing priorities when you add or updat requirements. An assignment retains the staffing priority allocated to the original requirement before it became an assignment (filled requirement).
You use the Oracle Projects Lookups window to define staffing priorities.
To define staffing priorities:
Navigate to the Oracle Projects Lookups window.
Query the lookups for the lookup type STAFFING_PRIORITY_CODE.
Enter the codes you want to add.
For each code, enter a meaning and description.
Select the Enabled box.
Save your work.
For more information on defining and updating lookups in Oracle Projects, see: Oracle Projects Lookups.
You can use the following workflows and client extensions to extend the staffing functionality.
You can use the Assignment Approval Workflow to obtain approvals for a resource assignment. For more information, see: Assignment Approval Workflow Process.
You can use the following client extensions to extend the functionality of the Project Assignment Workflow:
Assignment Approval Changes Extension
Assignment Approval Notification Extensions
You can use the Candidate Notification Workflow to send notifications pertaining to candidates. For details, see: Candidate Notification Workflow Processes.
You can use the Candidate Notification Workflow Extension to extend the functionality of the Candidate Notification Workflow.
The following instructions give details about the Organization Forecasting for Resources steps in the Oracle Project Resource Management Feature Implementation Checklist.
Oracle Project Resource Management provides an organization forecast process that performs calculations based on your predefined bill and cost rates. These rates are evaluated in the time frame of the assignments, requirements, and scheduled work patterns to provide forecast totals. Predefined bill rates can be overridden for individual requirements and assignments.
To generate forecasts totals, you must define information on which the forecasts are based. The following steps are required:
Define a job-based cost rate schedule. See: Rate Schedules.
Define bill rate schedules. See: Rate Schedules.
Update project types with employee and job-based bill rate schedules. For any new project types, manually enter the appropriate job-based bill rate schedule in the remaining field (either job or employee-based) for each project type.
Define periods. In order to create forecast totals for the life of a project, you must define an appropriate number of periods that span the life of your projects. These periods are also necessary to create assignments for time periods in the future. See: Defining GL and PA Periods.
Define unassigned time tracking. See: Defining Unassigned Time Tracking.
Note: Because the forecast totals for requirements depend on the job bill and cost rates of the requirement, each role in Project Resource Management must be associated with a job. For more information on defining roles, see Defining Project Roles.
Oracle Project Resource Management automatically generates totals for unassigned time for all utilization jobs. The calculation for unassigned time subtracts both provisional and confirmed assignment hours from the total capacity for each available day. Any remaining hours generated from this calculation are assigned to projects specifically implemented for the purpose of tracking unassigned hours.
To define unassigned time tracking projects, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Project Types window.
Create a project type using the indirect project type class.
In the Details window, select the following options:
Administrative
Unassigned Time
Create a project template using the unassigned project type. This type of project is used solely for tracking unassigned time for utilization and forecasting calculations. Therefore, users cannot manually add any scheduled roles to this project and the Add Requirement and Add Assignment options are not available for this project.
Create a project using the unassigned project template. Optionally, you can create two unassigned projects: one for billable jobs and one for non-billable jobs.
Complete the options on the Unassigned Time Options tab.
Use the forecasting implementation options to specify implementation settings for resource scheduling, resource utilization, and organization forecasting.
The forecasting implementation options include:
Forecasting Options
Unassigned Time Options
You define forecast and unassigned time options for each operating unit.
Complete the options according to the guidelines shown in the following table:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Operating Unit | Select the operating unit for which you are defining forecasting options |
| Include Administrative Projects | Select this box to indicate that you want to include administrative projects in project forecast totals. You must enable this option to avoid errors because the application does not yet exclude administrative projects. |
| Maximum Historical Versions | Enter the maximum number of historical forecast versions that you want to store. At minimum, you must enter a value of 1. The suggested starting value is 5. |
| Expenditure Type Class | Select the Expenditure Type Class to classify the forecast items. |
| Expenditure Type | Select the Expenditure Type to apply to all generated forecast items. |
| Transfer Price Amount Type | This field is for future use in forecasting functionality. |
| Job-Based Cost Rate Schedule | Select the job-based cost rate schedule for assignments. |
| Forecast Generation and Display | Enter values for forecast generation. |
For information about expenditure types and project classifications, see: Expenditure Types and Project Classifications.
The Unassigned Time Options page has two regions, one for Billable People and the other for Non-Billable People. You complete the same fields for both regions. The following table shows the Unassigned Time Options fields.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Include in Forecast | Select this box to indicate that you want to summarize unassigned time in the project financial forecast totals. If you select this option, enter values for the following fields. |
| Unassigned Time Project | Enter the name of the project for reporting of unassigned time. |
| Expenditure Type Class | Specify the expenditure type class for unassigned time. |
| Expenditure Type | Enter the expenditure type for unassigned time. |