Resource Assignments and Employee Profile Dates

[Paras Rawat]

Resource Assignments and Employee Profile Dates

A guide to how a resource's employment start and end dates shape a resource assignment: who gets allocated, on which days, how much, and what changes between FTE, Hours, user, group, task and operational assignments.

Contents

• What "employee dates" mean for an assignment
• Before you begin
• About this task
• Worked examples – User assignments (task)
• Worked examples – Group assignments (task)
• Worked examples – Updating effort
• Worked examples – Operational work
• Behavior reference
• Frequently encountered messages
• Best practices
• Limitations and known constraints
• Related articles

1. What "employee dates" mean for an assignment

Every resource has an employee profile (sn_employee_profile) with an employment start date and an employment end date. When an assignment is saved, the system creates Resource Allocation Daily records only for working days on which the person is employed.

• A missing start date means "employed since forever".
• A missing end date means "employed with no end".
• No overlap at all means the person can't be assigned on their own, and is skipped in a group.

The effort type decides what happens to the effort when fewer days are available:

Effort type	Fewer available days means…	Effort field after save
FTE	Fewer total hours, same hours per day	Unchanged FTE
Hours	Same total hours, more hours per day	Unchanged hours
Person days	Same as Hours (days × 8 = fixed total)	Unchanged

 

 

2. Before you begin

Role required: resource_user to create, resource_user or it_project_manager to update. Employee profile dates are maintained by your HR or resource administrators.

• The resource must have an employee profile. Without one the save is blocked.
• Know the person's employment dates before you assign. You can see them on the employee profile record.

Setup used in every example

• Calendar: January 2025, Mon–Fri, 8 hours per day
• Average daily FTE = 8, allocation interval = 60 minutes, 24-hour cap not a factor
• Assignment window: Jan 6 – Jan 17 (10 working days) unless stated otherwise

          Mon  Tue  Wed  Thu  Fri
Week 1     6    7    8    9   10
Week 2    13   14   15   16   17
Week 3    20   21   22   23   24

The resources used in the examples

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Situation	Working days available in Jan 6 – Jan 17
Alex	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	Employed all month	10
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	Leaving the company	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)
Sam	Jan 13, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	New hire	5 (Jan 13 – Jan 17)
Morgan	Jan 13, 2025	Jan 17, 2025	One-week contractor	5 (Jan 13 – Jan 17)
Jordan	Jan 20, 2025	Feb 28, 2025	Joins after the window	0
Lee	Dec 1, 2024	Jan 3, 2025	Left before the window	0
Casey, Robin	(blank)	(blank)	No dates on profile	10

Where to find these dates: open the resource's Employee profile record and look at Employment start date and Employment end date. The dates on the user record or on a project don't affect this.

How to read the examples

Every example follows the same layout:

• Scenario: the situation in plain words.
• Employee profile dates: a small table of the employment dates of everyone involved, and how many working days each of them has in the assignment window.
• On the form: the fields you fill in on the resource assignment form, and what each value means.
• What the system does when you select Save: the calculation, step by step.
• What you see after saving: the Effort field, any message, and the hours planned on each day.

Terms used in the examples

Term	Where you find it	What it means
Employment start / end date	Employee profile record	The first and last day the resource works for the organization. Blank means "no limit".
Assignment window	Start date and End date on the form	The period you are booking the resource for
Available days	Calculated	Working days inside both the assignment window and the employment dates
Effort type	Field on the form	FTE: a share of each working day. Hours: a total for the whole window. Person days: a number of full days (behaves like a total). % Capacity: a share of the resource's capacity (operational work only).
Assignment type	Field on the form	User: one named resource. Group: a team. The system creates one child assignment per qualifying member.
Qualifying member	Calculated (group assignments)	An active group member whose employment dates overlap the window by at least one working day
Resource Allocation Daily	Related list on the allocation	The hours planned on each individual day
Allocated hours	Field on the Resource Allocation record	The total of the daily hours

 

 

3. About this task

 

3.1 The core rule

Effective window = assignment dates ∩ employment dates
Available days   = working days (per the person's schedule) inside the effective window

FTE        → total hours = FTE × 8 × available days        (hours/day unchanged)
Hours      → hours/day   = Hours ÷ available days          (total unchanged)

 

 

3.2 Who qualifies in a group

When you assign a group, one child assignment is created for each member who:

• is an active user with an employee profile in the group, and
• is employed on at least one day of the window (missing dates count as employed).

Everyone else is skipped without any message.

 

 

3.3 How a group's effort is split

Effort type	Split among qualifying members	Example
Hours (task and operational)	Equal whole-hour shares; leftover hours go one each to the first members	100 h, 3 members → 34, 33, 33
FTE / Person days (task)	Equal share (2 decimals)	6 FTE, 3 members → 2 each
% Capacity (operational)	Not divided: each member gets the full percentage	20% → 20% each

Each member's share is then planned only on that member's available days. The split is by head count, not weighted by availability.

4. Worked examples – User assignments (task)

Example 1: Employee leaves mid-assignment (FTE)

Scenario: Priya has resigned, and her last working day is Friday, January 10. A project manager books her for her full working day on the Website Overhaul project for two weeks, without noticing her end date.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)

On the form

Field	What you enter	What it means
Plan type	Task	Project work
Task	Website Overhaul	The project being staffed
Assignment type	User	One named resource
Resource	Priya	–
Start date / End date	2025-01-06 / 2025-01-17	Two weeks = 10 working days
Effort type	FTE	A share of each working day
Effort	1	Her full 8-hour day
Allocation type	Monthly (default)	–

What the system does when you select Save

• Checks the employee profile. Priya is employed until Jan 10. That overlaps the assignment window, so the save is allowed.
• Works out the available days. The days that fall in both the window (Jan 6 – Jan 17) and her employment (until Jan 10) are Jan 6 – Jan 10: 5 working days.
• Turns the FTE into hours. 1 FTE = 8 hours per day. On 5 days that is 8 × 5 = 40 hours.
• Creates daily records only for Jan 6 – Jan 10, and shows an info message because she isn't available for the whole window.

What you see after saving

• Effort: 1 FTE (unchanged). Allocated hours: 40.
• Message: Resource Priya is not allocated for the complete duration of resource assignment.
• Resource Allocation Daily:

Date	Day	Hours	Why
Jan 6 – Jan 10	Mon–Fri	8.0 each	Employed
Jan 13 – Jan 17	Mon–Fri	(no record)	After her employment end date
Total		40.0

Key Takeaway: The daily load stays at 8 h, and the total shrinks from 80 h to 40 h because only 5 days are available.

Example 2: Employee leaves mid-assignment (Hours) – the over-allocation trap

Scenario: The same situation as Example 1, but the project manager books Priya for a total of 80 hours, expecting that to be 8 hours a day for two weeks.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)

On the form: Same as Example 1, except:

Field	What you enter	What it means
Effort type	Hours	A total for the whole window
Effort	80	80 hours across Jan 6 – Jan 17

What the system does when you select Save

• Checks the employee profile. Priya is employed until Jan 10, so the save is allowed.
• Works out the available days. 5 working days (Jan 6 – Jan 10).
• Keeps the total. With effort type Hours, all 80 hours must be planned.
• Spreads 80 hours over 5 days. 80 ÷ 5 = 16 hours per day.

What you see after saving

• Effort: 80 hours. Allocated hours: 80.
• Message: Resource Priya is not allocated for the complete duration of resource assignment.
• Resource Allocation Daily:

Date	Day	Hours	Why
Jan 6 – Jan 10	Mon–Fri	16.0 each	80 hours squeezed into 5 days
Jan 13 – Jan 17	Mon–Fri	(no record)	After her employment end date
Total		80.0

Key Takeaway: The total is kept, so the daily load doubles to 16 h, which is 200% of an 8-hour day. Nothing is blocked because 16 h is under the 24-hour cap. Use FTE, or reduce to 40 h.

Example 3: Employee joins mid-assignment

Scenario: Sam is a new hire whose first day is Monday, January 13. The project manager books him on the project from January 6.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17
Sam	Jan 13, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	5 (Jan 13 – Jan 17)

On the form: Same as Example 1, except Resource = Sam. Effort type FTE, Effort 1.

What the system does when you select Save

• Checks the employee profile. Sam starts on Jan 13, inside the window, so the save is allowed.
• Works out the available days. Jan 13 – Jan 17: 5 working days.
• Turns the FTE into hours. 8 × 5 = 40 hours.

What you see after saving

• Effort: 1 FTE. Allocated hours: 40. An info message notes that Sam isn't allocated for the complete duration.
• Resource Allocation Daily:

Date	Day	Hours	Why
Jan 6 – Jan 10	Mon–Fri	(no record)	Before his employment start date
Jan 13 – Jan 17	Mon–Fri	8.0 each	Employed
Total		40.0

Key Takeaway: Planning starts on the join date.

Example 4: Employment window entirely inside the assignment

Scenario: Morgan is a contractor hired for one week only. The project manager books Morgan for three weeks.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 24
Morgan	Jan 13, 2025	Jan 17, 2025	5 (Jan 13 – Jan 17)

On the form: Same as Example 1, except:

Field	What you enter	What it means
Resource	Morgan	–
Start date / End date	2025-01-06 / 2025-01-24	Three weeks = 15 working days
Effort type / Effort	FTE / 1	Full days

What the system does when you select Save

• Checks the employee profile. Morgan's week overlaps the window, so the save is allowed.
• Works out the available days. Only Jan 13 – Jan 17 falls in both, so 5 working days.
• Turns the FTE into hours. 8 × 5 = 40 hours.

What you see after saving

Week	Hours
Jan 6 – 10	(no records)
Jan 13 – 17	8.0 per day = 40.0
Jan 20 – 24	(no records)
Total	40.0

Key Takeaway: Both edges are trimmed. Only the overlap gets allocated.

Example 5: No dates on the employee profile

Scenario: Casey's employee profile has no employment start date and no employment end date.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17
Casey	(blank)	(blank)	10 (all)

On the form: Same as Example 1, except Resource = Casey. Effort type FTE, Effort 1.

What the system does when you select Save

• Checks the employee profile. Blank dates mean no limit, so Casey counts as employed for the whole window.
• Available days: all 10 working days.
• Hours: 8 × 10 = 80 hours.

What you see after saving: Effort 1 FTE, Allocated hours 80, 8.0 hours every working day. No message.

Key Takeaway: Missing dates mean always available.

Example 6: No overlap at all

Scenario: Jordan joins the company on January 20. The project manager tries to book Jordan for the week of January 6.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 10
Jordan	Jan 20, 2025	Feb 28, 2025	0

On the form: Same as Example 1, except Resource = Jordan and End date = 2025-01-10.

What the system does when you select Save

• Checks the employee profile. Jordan isn't employed on any day between Jan 6 and Jan 10.
• Stops the save, because there are no available days.

What you see after saving: The record is not saved. Error: Resource assignment cannot be created or updated because Jordan is not available. No daily records are created.

Key Takeaway: A user assignment needs at least one employed working day in the window.

5. Worked examples – Group assignments (task)

Example 7: FTE group with mixed availability

Scenario: The Delivery Team has five members. Alex is available for the whole period, Priya only for the first week, Sam only for the second week, and Jordan and Lee aren't employed during the period at all. The project manager books the whole team for the equivalent of six full-time people for two weeks. When the Delivery Team is selected on the form, the system automatically fills in the Effort as 3, one FTE for each member who is employed during the period. The project manager then manually changes the Effort from 3 to 6.

Employee profile dates

Member	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17	Qualifies?
Alex	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	10	Yes
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)	Yes
Sam	Jan 13, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	5 (Jan 13 – Jan 17)	Yes
Jordan	Jan 20, 2025	Feb 28, 2025	0	No
Lee	Dec 1, 2024	Jan 3, 2025	0	No

On the form

Field	What you enter	What it means
Plan type	Task	–
Task	Website Overhaul	–
Assignment type	Group	The system splits the work between the members
Group	Delivery Team	The five members above
Start date / End date	2025-01-06 / 2025-01-17	10 working days
Effort type	FTE	A share of each day
Effort	Auto-filled as 3, changed manually to 6	The system suggests one FTE per qualifying member (3). The project manager overrides it with six full-time people's worth for the whole team.

What happens on the form before you save

• Fill in the dates and effort type first. Enter Plan type, Task, Assignment type Group, Start date 2025-01-06, End date 2025-01-17 and Effort type FTE.
• Select the Group (Delivery Team). The system looks at the employee profiles of the people whose primary group is the Delivery Team and counts those who are employed on at least one day between Jan 6 and Jan 17: Alex, Priya and Sam. Jordan and Lee aren't counted.
• Effort is auto-filled. 3 qualifying members = 3 FTE, one FTE per member.
• The project manager changes the Effort. Effort is edited from 3 to 6 before selecting Save.

Field	Auto-filled by the system	Changed by the project manager	Why
Effort	3	6	The auto-filled value is only a suggestion (one FTE per qualifying member). The value saved is the one on the form when you select Save.

Note: The Effort is auto-filled only when Effort type is FTE, and the count uses the Start and End dates already on the form. Enter the dates before you select the group. If you change the group, the Effort is filled in again.

What the system does when you select Save

• Finds the qualifying members. Alex, Priya and Sam overlap the window. Jordan and Lee don't, so they are skipped.
• Splits the effort equally by head count. 6 FTE ÷ 3 qualifying members = 2 FTE each. Members who are available longer don't get a bigger share.
• Turns each share into hours on that member's available days. 2 FTE = 16 hours per day.
• Alex: 16 × 10 days = 160 hours
• Priya: 16 × 5 days = 80 hours
• Sam: 16 × 5 days = 80 hours
• Creates one child assignment for each qualifying member. Jordan and Lee get none.

What you see after saving

Member	Child assignment effort	Available days	Hours per day	Total hours
Alex	2 FTE	10	16	160
Priya	2 FTE	5	16	80
Sam	2 FTE	5	16	80
Jordan	(no child)	–	–	–
Lee	(no child)	–	–	–
Group	6 FTE (3 children)			320

Key Takeaway: Non-overlapping members are skipped without any message. "6 FTE × 10 days" sounds like 480 h, but the group delivers 320 h because two members are each available for only half the window. (2 FTE per person keeps the arithmetic easy to follow.) The auto-filled Effort of 3 already reflects only the members employed during the period. Changing it to 6 doubles each member's share from 1 FTE to 2 FTE.

 

 

Example 8: Hours group with mixed availability

Scenario: A team of four is booked for a total of 90 hours over two weeks. Alex is available throughout, Priya only for the first week, Sam only for the second week, and Jordan joins after the period ends.

Employee profile dates

Member	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17	Qualifies?
Alex	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	10	Yes
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)	Yes
Sam	Jan 13, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	5 (Jan 13 – Jan 17)	Yes
Jordan	Jan 20, 2025	Feb 28, 2025	0	No

On the form: Same as Example 7, with this four-person group, except Effort type = Hours and Effort = 90 (a total for the whole team).

What the system does when you select Save

• Finds the qualifying members. Alex, Priya and Sam. Jordan is skipped.
• Splits the hours equally by head count. 90 ÷ 3 = 30 hours each.
• Spreads each member's 30 hours over their own available days:
• Alex: 30 ÷ 10 days = 3 hours per day
• Priya: 30 ÷ 5 days = 6 hours per day
• Sam: 30 ÷ 5 days = 6 hours per day

What you see after saving

Member	Share	Days	Resource Allocation Daily – Hours
Alex	30 h	10	3.0 per day
Priya	30 h	5 (Jan 6 – 10)	6.0 per day
Sam	30 h	5 (Jan 13 – 17)	6.0 per day
Jordan	(skipped)	–	–
Group	90 h

Key Takeaway: Hours groups always deliver the full total. Because the split is by head count, part-available members carry twice the daily load.

Example 9: Nobody in the group is available

Scenario: A three-person team is booked for two weeks, but none of them is employed during that period.

Employee profile dates

Member	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17	Qualifies?
Member 1	Jan 20, 2025	Feb 28, 2025	0	No
Member 2	Dec 1, 2024	Jan 3, 2025	0	No
Member 3	Feb 1, 2025	Mar 31, 2025	0	No

On the form: Assignment type Group, this three-person group, Start 2025-01-06, End 2025-01-17, Effort type FTE, Effort 3.

What the system does when you select Save

• Finds the qualifying members. None.
• Creates no child assignments and no daily records.

What you see after saving: No child assignments and no allocations. Depending on the path, either the group assignment isn't saved, or it's saved with nobody allocated.

Key Takeaway: Check group membership and employment dates when a group assignment shows no members.

Example 10: Members with no dates

Scenario: A team of four is booked for six full-time people's worth over two weeks. Two members have no dates on their employee profiles, one is employed all month, and one joins after the period.

Employee profile dates

Member	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17	Qualifies?
Casey	(blank)	(blank)	10	Yes
Robin	(blank)	(blank)	10	Yes
Alex	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	10	Yes
Jordan	Jan 20, 2025	Feb 28, 2025	0	No

On the form: Same as Example 7, with this team as the Group. Effort type FTE, Effort 6.

What the system does when you select Save

• Finds the qualifying members. Casey and Robin have blank dates, so they count as always available. Alex qualifies. Jordan is skipped.
• Splits equally. 6 ÷ 3 = 2 FTE each.
• Hours. Each has 10 available days: 16 × 10 = 160 hours each.

What you see after saving

Member	Share	Total hours
Casey	2 FTE	160
Robin	2 FTE	160
Alex	2 FTE	160
Jordan	–	–

Key Takeaway: Someone who has left but has no end date on their profile keeps receiving group work. Keep profiles clean.

Example 11: Hours that don't divide evenly

Scenario: A team of three, all available for the whole period, is booked for a total of 100 hours.

Employee profile dates

Member	Employment start date	Employment end date	Qualifies?
Alex	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	Yes
Casey	(blank)	(blank)	Yes
Robin	(blank)	(blank)	Yes

On the form: Assignment type Group, this team, Effort type Hours, Effort 100.

What the system does when you select Save

• Splits in whole hours. 100 ÷ 3 = 33 whole hours each (99 hours), with 1 hour left over.
• Gives the leftover hour to the first member.

What you see after saving

Member	Share
Alex (first member)	34 h
Casey	33 h
Robin	33 h

Key Takeaway: Hours are split in whole hours. Leftover hours go one each to the first members.

6. Worked examples – Updating effort

When you change the Effort on an existing assignment and select Update, the daily records are rebuilt. The available days stay limited by the employment dates, and a group is re-split among the same qualifying members.

Each example below shows:

• Employee profile dates of everyone involved
• Current assignment (before the update): what is already saved on the form and how the hours are currently planned
• The change on the form: the field you edit, with its value before and after
• What the system does when you select Update and What you see after updating

 

Example 12: User assignment, FTE 1 → 2

Scenario: Priya is already booked for her full working day on the Website Overhaul project for two weeks. Her employment ends after the first week. The project manager decides to double her effort for the days she is still available.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)

Current assignment (before the update)

Field	Saved value
Plan type	Task
Task	Website Overhaul
Assignment type	User
Resource	Priya
Start date / End date	2025-01-06 / 2025-01-17
Effort type	FTE
Effort	1

Date	Day	Hours currently planned
Jan 6 – Jan 10	Mon–Fri	8.0 each
Jan 13 – Jan 17	Mon–Fri	(no record, after her end date)
Total (Allocated hours)		40.0

The change on the form

Field	Before	After
Effort	1	2
Effort type	FTE	FTE (unchanged)

Select Update.

What the system does when you select Update

• Re-checks the employee profile. Priya is still employed only until Jan 10, so the available days are still Jan 6 – Jan 10 (5 days).
• Turns the new FTE into hours. 2 FTE = 2 × 8 = 16 hours per day. On 5 days that is 16 × 5 = 80 hours.
• Rebuilds the daily records for those 5 days. Nothing is created after Jan 10.

What you see after updating

	Effort	Days planned	Hours per day	Allocated hours
Before	1 FTE	Jan 6 – Jan 10 (5)	8.0	40.0
After	2 FTE	Jan 6 – Jan 10 (5)	16.0	80.0

Key Takeaway: Doubling the FTE doubles the daily load on the same 5 available days. The days after her end date stay empty.

Example 13: User assignment, Hours 40 → 80

Scenario: Priya is booked for a total of 40 hours on the project over two weeks. Her employment ends after the first week. The project manager raises the total to 80 hours.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)

Current assignment (before the update)

Field	Saved value
Plan type	Task
Task	Website Overhaul
Assignment type	User
Resource	Priya
Start date / End date	2025-01-06 / 2025-01-17
Effort type	Hours
Effort	40

Date	Day	Hours currently planned
Jan 6 – Jan 10	Mon–Fri	8.0 each (40 ÷ 5)
Jan 13 – Jan 17	Mon–Fri	(no record, after her end date)
Total (Allocated hours)		40.0

The change on the form

Field	Before	After
Effort	40	80
Effort type	Hours	Hours (unchanged)

Select Update.

What the system does when you select Update

• Re-checks the employee profile. Available days are still Jan 6 – Jan 10 (5 days).
• Keeps the new total. With effort type Hours, all 80 hours must be planned.
• Spreads 80 hours over the 5 available days. 80 ÷ 5 = 16 hours per day.

What you see after updating

	Effort	Days planned	Hours per day	Allocated hours
Before	40 h	Jan 6 – Jan 10 (5)	8.0	40.0
After	80 h	Jan 6 – Jan 10 (5)	16.0	80.0

Key Takeaway: The extra hours go onto the same 5 days, so the daily load doubles to 16 hours (200% of her 8-hour day). Check the daily load whenever you increase Hours for someone with an end date.

Example 14: Group assignment, FTE 4 → 6

Scenario: A three-person group is booked on the project for two weeks at 4 FTE. One member is available for the whole period, one only for the first week, and one joins after the period ends. The project manager raises the group's effort to 6 FTE.

Employee profile dates

Member	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17	Qualifies?
Alex	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	10	Yes
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)	Yes
Jordan	Jan 20, 2025	Feb 28, 2025	0	No

Current assignment (before the update)

Field	Saved value
Plan type	Task
Task	Website Overhaul
Assignment type	Group
Group	Delivery Team (Alex, Priya, Jordan)
Start date / End date	2025-01-06 / 2025-01-17
Effort type	FTE
Effort	4

Member	Child assignment	Current share	Days	Hours per day	Current hours
Alex	Yes	2 FTE	10	16	160
Priya	Yes	2 FTE	5	16	80
Jordan	(none)	–	–	–	–
Group	2 children	4 FTE			240

The change on the form (on the group assignment)

Field	Before	After
Effort	4	6
Effort type	FTE	FTE (unchanged)

Select Update.

What the system does when you select Update

• Keeps the same qualifying members. Alex and Priya still overlap the window. Jordan is still skipped, so no child assignment is created for him.
• Re-splits the effort equally. 6 FTE ÷ 2 members = 3 FTE each (it was 2 each).
• Turns each share into hours on that member's available days. 3 FTE = 24 hours per day.
• Alex: 24 × 10 days = 240 hours
• Priya: 24 × 5 days = 120 hours
• Rebuilds each child assignment's daily records.

What you see after updating

Member	Before (4 FTE)	After (6 FTE)	Days
Alex	2 FTE = 160 h	3 FTE = 240 h	10
Priya	2 FTE = 80 h	3 FTE = 120 h	5
Jordan	(skipped)	(skipped)	–
Group	4 FTE = 240 h	6 FTE = 360 h

Key Takeaway: The new effort is shared only among the members who already qualified. Raising the group effort doesn't bring in a member who isn't employed in the window.

Example 15: Group assignment, Hours 60 → 90

Scenario: A three-person group is booked for a total of 60 hours on the project over two weeks. One member is available for the whole period, one only for the first week, and one joins after the period ends. The project manager raises the total to 90 hours.

Employee profile dates

Member	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17	Qualifies?
Alex	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	10	Yes
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)	Yes
Jordan	Jan 20, 2025	Feb 28, 2025	0	No

Current assignment (before the update)

Field	Saved value
Plan type	Task
Task	Website Overhaul
Assignment type	Group
Group	Delivery Team (Alex, Priya, Jordan)
Start date / End date	2025-01-06 / 2025-01-17
Effort type	Hours
Effort	60

Member	Child assignment	Current share	Days	Hours per day
Alex	Yes	30 h	10	3.0
Priya	Yes	30 h	5	6.0
Jordan	(none)	–	–	–
Group	2 children	60 h

The change on the form (on the group assignment)

Field	Before	After
Effort	60	90
Effort type	Hours	Hours (unchanged)

Select Update.

What the system does when you select Update

• Keeps the same qualifying members: Alex and Priya. Jordan is still skipped.
• Re-splits the hours equally. 90 ÷ 2 = 45 hours each (it was 30 each).
• Spreads each share over that member's available days.
• Alex: 45 ÷ 10 days = 4.5 hours per day
• Priya: 45 ÷ 5 days = 9.0 hours per day
• Rebuilds each child assignment's daily records.

What you see after updating

Member	Before (60 h)	After (90 h)	Days
Alex	30 h (3.0 per day)	45 h (4.5 per day)	10
Priya	30 h (6.0 per day)	45 h (9.0 per day)	5
Jordan	(skipped)	(skipped)	–
Group	60 h	90 h

Key Takeaway: Both members get the same extra 15 hours, but Priya has only 5 days to fit them in, so her daily load rises to 9 hours, above her 8-hour day.

Key Takeaway for all updates: An effort update doesn't change who qualifies or how many days each person is available. Only the amounts change.

7. Worked examples – Operational work

Operational work (KTLO, admin, meetings…) follows the same employee-date rules. On the form you use the Operational work view: there is no Task field, you pick an Operational work type, and Effort type offers Hours or % Capacity.

Example 16: Employee leaves (Hours)

Scenario: Priya is booked for 40 hours of KTLO (keep-the-lights-on) support over two weeks, but her employment ends after the first week.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)

On the form (Operational work view)

Field	What you enter	What it means
Plan type	Operational work	Non-project work
Operational work type	KTLO	Keep-the-lights-on support
Resource	Priya	–
Start date / End date	2025-01-06 / 2025-01-17	10 working days
Effort type	Hours	A total
Effort	40	–

What the system does when you select Save

• Checks the employee profile. Available days are Jan 6 – Jan 10 (5 days).
• Keeps the total. 40 ÷ 5 = 8 hours per day.

What you see after saving: Effort 40 hours. Resource Allocation Daily: 8.0 hours on each day from Jan 6 to Jan 10, nothing after.

Example 17: Employee joins (Hours)

Scenario: Sam, a new hire, is booked for 40 hours of admin work over two weeks starting before his first day.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17
Sam	Jan 13, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	5 (Jan 13 – Jan 17)

On the form: Same as Example 16, except Operational work type = Admin and Resource = Sam.

What the system does when you select Save: Available days are Jan 13 – Jan 17 (5 days), so 40 ÷ 5 = 8 hours per day.

What you see after saving: 8.0 hours on each day from Jan 13 to Jan 17, nothing before his start date.

Example 18: FTE stays

Scenario: Priya is booked for one full-time equivalent of meetings over two weeks, but her employment ends after the first week.

Employee profile dates

Resource	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5 (Jan 6 – Jan 10)

On the form: Same as Example 16, except Operational work type = Meetings, Effort type = FTE, Effort = 1.

Note: The operational form offers only Hours and % Capacity. This example shows the rule for an FTE value set another way, for example through an integration.

What the system does when you select Save: Available days are Jan 6 – Jan 10 (5 days). 1 FTE = 8 hours per day, so 8 × 5 = 40 hours.

What you see after saving: Effort remains 1 FTE. Allocated hours: 40.

Example 19: Operational group, only qualifying members

Scenario: A three-person support team shares 60 hours of KTLO over two weeks. One member is available throughout, one only for the first week, and one joins after the period.

Employee profile dates

Member	Employment start date	Employment end date	Available days in Jan 6 – Jan 17	Qualifies?
Alex	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	10	Yes
Priya	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 10, 2025	5	Yes
Jordan	Jan 20, 2025	Feb 28, 2025	0	No

On the form (Operational work view)

Field	What you enter	What it means
Plan type	Operational work	–
Operational work type	KTLO	–
Assignment type	Group	Split between the members
Group	Support Team	The three members above
Start date / End date	2025-01-06 / 2025-01-17	10 working days
Effort type	Hours	A total for the whole team
Effort	60	–

What the system does when you select Save

• Finds the qualifying members. Alex and Priya. Jordan is skipped.
• Splits the hours. 60 ÷ 2 = 30 hours each.
• Spreads each share. Alex: 30 ÷ 10 = 3 h per day. Priya: 30 ÷ 5 = 6 h per day.

What you see after saving

Member	Child assignment?	Share	Days	Hours/day
Alex	Yes	30 h	10	3.0
Priya	Yes	30 h	5	6.0
Jordan	No	–	–	–
Group	2 children	60 h

 

 

Example 20: % Capacity on an operational group

Scenario: Each member of a three-person support team should spend 20% of their time on KTLO.

Employee profile dates

Member	Employment start date	Employment end date	Qualifies?
Alex	Jan 1, 2025	Jan 31, 2025	Yes
Casey	(blank)	(blank)	Yes
Robin	(blank)	(blank)	Yes

On the form: Operational work view, Assignment type Group, Group Support Team, Effort type % Capacity, Effort 20.

What the system does when you select Save

• Finds the qualifying members. All three.
• Applies the percentage to each member. % Capacity is not divided: each member gets 20% of their own capacity.

What you see after saving

Member	Effort applied
Alex	20% of Alex's capacity
Casey	20% of Casey's capacity
Robin	20% of Robin's capacity

Key Takeaway: % Capacity on an operational group isn't divided. Every qualifying member gets the full percentage.

8. Behavior reference

Situation	What happens
Employment covers the whole window	Full allocation
Employment ends inside the window	Dailies stop on the end date. Info message shown.
Employment starts inside the window	Dailies start on the start date. Info message shown.
Employment inside the window on both sides	Only the overlap is allocated
No employment dates	Treated as always employed
No overlap (user assignment)	Save blocked: …is not available.
No overlap (group member)	Member skipped without any message
Inactive user in a group	Member skipped
No overlap for any group member	No children, no allocation
FTE / Person days / Hours	FTE total shrinks with availability. Hours and Person days keep the total, so the daily load rises.
Effort updated	Same qualifying members, same available days, new amounts

 

 

9. Frequently encountered messages

Message	Meaning
Resource assignment cannot be created or updated because {name} is not available.	The person isn't employed on any working day in the window. Change the dates or the person.
Resource {name} is not allocated for the complete duration of resource assignment. (info)	Saved, but dailies cover only the employed days. Review the effort.
Cannot create resource assignment. Generate employee profile for {name} and try again.	The person has no employee profile
Resource allocation cannot be updated to {effort} {type} because {name} is not available.	After an update, nothing could be allocated

 

 

10. Best practices

• Check employment dates first, especially for contractors, interns, secondees and people serving notice.
• Use FTE for people with an end date. The plan shrinks with their availability, so nobody is double-booked. Put the shortfall on someone else.
• If you must use Hours for a leaver, size it to their available days (available days × 8).
• For groups with mixed availability:
• FTE: less delivered, nobody overloaded.
• Hours: everything delivered, part-available members overloaded.
• Individual assignments: full control.
• Treat the "not allocated for the complete duration" message as a review prompt, not just a notice.
• Keep employee profiles clean. Leavers without an end date stay available forever.
• Remember the head-count split. Adding a member who is available for only a few days takes an equal share away from everyone else.

11. Limitations and known constraints

• Group members who don't qualify are skipped without any message.
• The group split is by head count, not weighted by each member's available days.
• Changing a person's employment dates doesn't rebuild existing assignments by itself. Edit the assignment's effort or dates to recalculate it.
• The assignment's visible start and end dates can extend beyond the person's employment, but the dailies never do.