Capacity Planning Page
Overview
Use this page to analyze role allocation and cost over time. Multiple chart formats display role allocation for the projects and roles you select, enabling you to quickly identify areas of under or over allocation.
Using this page, you can perform what-if analysis, graphically change project forecast dates, and apply waterline analysis techniques to assist with critical, executive-level decision making. After conducting your analysis, you can create portfolios containing only the projects that meet your planning criteria.
Screen Elements
Create Portfolio... button
Creates a portfolio using the selected projects. This enables you to view data from multiple projects at one time.
Display across list
Determines whether usage will display across all projects or current portfolio projects only.
Grid View
Enables you to view and configure data in a grid format. You can customize which columns are available in the grid.
Gantt View
Enables you to view data as a graphical representation of sequence and duration.
Full Screen
Expands the current work area so it fills the entire display.
Customize View
Opens the Customize View dialog box.
Search
Enables you to perform a search based on the value you enter in the search bar.
Go to date selector
Enables you to move the spreadsheet and histogram or chart to show a specific timeframe.
Scorecard area
The scorecard displays project data in spreadsheet format.
When you select an option in the scorecard, the project's role allocation is included in the Capacity Planning chart at the bottom of the page.
Download
Enables you to download the data as an Excel file. For hierarchical data, the top level and any expanded levels are downloaded. For flat lists, all rows are downloaded.
Show waterline option
Determines whether to display the waterline on the scorecard. Selecting this option overrides grouping and sorting defined elsewhere.
Gantt Chart area
The Gantt chart displays current and forecast data according to the timescale you specify when you customize the page. Each project in the scorecard has two corresponding bars: the Current Bar (top) and Forecast Bar (bottom).
The Current Bar is based on the project start and finish dates; blue indicates current project progress, while green indicates remaining work. The Forecast Bar spans from the project's forecast start date to the forecast finish date. If forecast dates have not been defined, the Forecast Bar spans from the remaining start date to the remaining finish date.
When the page displays the latest summarized data, you can move the Forecast Bar by entering a new Project Forecast Start in the grid. You can never move the Current Bar.
If the project group you are viewing is an EPS containing child EPS nodes, the Gantt chart displays a yellow Summary Bar rather than an orange Forecast Bar because forecast dates do not apply to EPS nodes.
Collapse Dock
Collapses the dock.
Capacity Planning Chart area
In the lower half of the work area, the Capacity Planning Chart area consists of the following components:
Role selector: Displays roles according to the Group By or Search options you specify.
Capacity Planning chart: For each role you select in the role selector, the chart displays role allocation over time for the projects you select in the scorecard or for all projects in the database.
Chart legend: Displays the name of projects with their associated color so you can understand what the chart is depicting.
Role selector
The role selector displays roles according to the Group By or Search options you specify and enables you to perform a search based on the value you enter in the search bar.
When the page displays the latest summarized data for current projects, roles are grouped by the current portfolio projects. When the page displays data for all projects, you can also choose to group roles by the role hierarchy or role teams. The allocations for the roles you select are displayed in the Capacity Planning chart at the bottom of the page. For example, if you only choose the Project Manager role in the role selector, the Capacity Planning chart only displays allocation for the Project Manager role. You can use this information to determine which projects or time periods the Project Manager role is under- or over-allocated.
Display list
Determines the display format for the dock.
Area Chart: The capacity planning chart is displayed as an area chart. The chart data displays total allocated amount (units or cost) across time.
Net Availability: The capacity planning chart as a net availability chart. This chart displays the role's availability over time; how much the role is over or under-allocated. The Net Availability Chart is only available for units and is always grouped by role.
Spreadsheet: Enables you to view the actual source data used to generate the chart.
Stacked Histogram: The display of the capacity planning chart as a stacked histogram. Categorized data can be grouped, or stacked, to assist with comparisons. Stacked histograms are useful when analyzing relative parts of a whole.
Stacked by list
Select a value for stacking or dividing the presentation of data in your capacity planning histogram, area chart, or spreadsheet. Choose one of the pre-defined general options or a project code. The Stacked by field is not available for the Net Availability Chart.
Stack the chart by project to display the total at completion units or costs, per project.
Stack the chart by role to display the total at completion units or costs per role.
Stack the chart by staffed vs. unstaffed units to display the total staffed and unstaffed units over time.
Stack the chart by current projects vs. other projects to display the aggregate total at completion units or costs for the combination of selected roles across all projects, split into two values. One value represents the role allocation for the projects selected in the current project group (current projects); the other value represents the role allocation for all other projects in the database (other projects).
Note: The option to stack the chart by Current Projects vs. Other Projects is only available if All Projects is selected in the Display Across list.
Stack the chart by project code to display the total at completion units or costs for associated roles and projects.
Chart Settings
Enables you to configure settings for the chart.
Display Units and Display Costs: Determines whether the chart will be displayed by Costs or Units.
Show Limit: Determines whether to show the role limit.
Show Allocation Limit: Determines whether to show the allocation limit.
Capacity Planning Chart work area
The Capacity Planning chart displays the latest summarized data according to the type of chart you choose to view, the roles and projects you select, the customize options you choose, and global preference settings for calculating role limits.
Whichever chart type you choose, when you hover over a color-coded section of the chart, the application displays the data pertaining to that section. For each role you select in the role selector, the Capacity Planning chart displays role allocation over time for the projects you select in the scorecard or for all projects in the database (click Customize to choose options). The chart can display role allocation as a stacked histogram, area chart, net availability chart, or spreadsheet. You can choose to display role allocation per project, role, or project code, or you can choose to display staffed versus unstaffed units or costs. Additionally, you can compare data for the current project group's roles versus roles assigned to all other projects.
Note: An application level setting determines whether cost spreads account for changes in resource and role rates over time.
Tips
- To display the Financial Period timescale, projects must be summarized by financial period and financial periods must be properly configured. To display a calendar timescale (for example, Month/Week), projects must be summarized by calendar intervals.
- The scorecard on this page does not display WBS rows, only project rows. On the Portfolio Analysis page and the Portfolio View portlet, scorecards display WBS rows along with project rows.
Getting Here
- Open a portfolio in the Portfolios section using one of the following methods:
- Click Portfolios to open the last portfolio you were working with.
- Click the Portfolios menu and choose one of the most-recently used portfolios.
- Click the Portfolios menu and choose Open Portfolio to select a group of projects by portfolio type, EPS node, or project code.
- On the Portfolios navigation bar, click Capacity Planning.
Related Topics
Working with the Capacity Planning Page
Analyzing Role Allocation (Capacity Planning)
Last Published Thursday, October 3, 2024