Notification at project level for over allocation

[rdskn023ET]

Hi,

Looking to display a message at the project level if any resource plan within that project is over allocated, i.e. allocated hours>planned hours. This is easy to do at the Resource Plan level but we are looking to do this at the project level to ensure the PM is aware that the resource manager has exceeded the planned hours for the resource plan. With larger projects with many resource plans, this can be overlooked, so we would like to display a message at the project level, similar to a g_form.addWarningMessage item. Has anyone done something similar to this, and if so, could you share your setup or offer any insight? Thanks in advance!

[Sheldon Swift]

Hi @rdskn023ET - I would consider using a scheduled job to send a notification to any project manager overseeing a project with overallocated resources. This job could run weekly. You could still display an alert message on the project, but it might be more efficient to base it on a flag (e.g., a 'has overallocated resources' field) so you don't have to run the query each time the project is viewed (which might have performance implications).

Also, keep in mind that project managers may only be concerned with allocations within a specific time frame.

[rdskn023ET]

Thanks Sheldon. That makes total sense. I will go with that approach. As for the alert, I am not familiar with flags. How exactly is that accomplished with projects, or with specific items within a project from another table, i.e. resource plan table? Thanks again. 

[Sheldon Swift · Accepted solution]

In this context, "flag" is an informal term used to describe a custom field added to a record, typically a Boolean field (true/false) that acts as an indicator for a specific condition or status.

For your use case, the field would be added to the project table and could be named "Has Overallocated Resource" for clarity, or something shorter like "Overallocated Resources". This field would be set by the scheduled job, and if its value is true, your message would be displayed on the project form.

That said, I would probably skip the custom field and simply rely on the notification to start. Managing the flag—particularly unsetting it when resource allocations change—adds unnecessary complexity, especially if you don’t want to wait for the next job run (which could result in the flag indicating overallocation for days after the issue has already been addressed). You could always add the flag later if project managers prefer to see something on the project itself.

[rdskn023ET]

That is what I figured, but wanted to verify, as I don't think they want any additional fields being added at this point, even if they are hidden. 

Appreciate the speedy responses and all your help.