How to request for additional hours in an allocated resource plan without extending to new date

[Ramesh2]

As a project manager, how to request for additional hours in an allocated resource plan without extending the same? ie. Want to keep the resource plan end date same but just need to add some additional hours.

When Project Managers try to extend the allocated resource plan, they cannot extend without changing the End Date. Business is checking if there is an option to extend resource plans by adding hours and not changing the project's end date.

Is there a way to accomplish this?

[PaulaaO]

yes, the manager needs to update the requested allocation records, either via the Project Workbench (resources tab) or within the resource plan form, in the requested allocation related list. hope this helps 🙂

I do need to mention that for the allocated user, whomever is the Resource Mger persona needs to do the same but for the resource allocation records.

there are no OOTB notifications that could notify the Resource Mger of the changes done by the PM so it's either a matter of discussing this offline or setup notifications. there might be a way for the Resource Mger to use reporting to get these sort of situations flagged if it's likely to happen on a regular basis

[Riya Verma]

Hi @Ramesh2 ,

Hope you are doing great.

This can be achieved through a user interface enhancement within the ServiceNow platform.

Try following below technical solution:

1.  Create a new input field in the resource plan form specifically for entering additional hours. This field should be clearly labeled and easily accessible to project managers when they need to make adjustments.

2. Implement the backend logic that calculates the total effort, considering both the original allocated hours and the additional hours entered by the project manager. This logic should validate the input and ensure the total effort does not exceed any predefined limits or constraints.

3.  Configure business rules to trigger when the additional hours field is modified. These rules will recalculate the end date based on the updated effort and ensure that the resource plan's end date remains unchanged.

4. Display the recalculated end date to the project manager, providing them with clear visibility of the updated resource plan without any changes to the original end date

Sample code for backend logic:

function calculateUpdatedEndDate(resourcePlan, additionalHours) {
 
    var totalEffort = resourcePlan.allocated_hours + additionalHours;

    var workdays = getWorkdays(resourcePlan.start_date, resourcePlan.end_date);

    // Calculate effort per workday
    var effortPerDay = totalEffort / workdays;

    // Calculate the new end date based on the effort per workday
    var newEndDate = addWorkdays(resourcePlan.start_date, Math.ceil(totalEffort / effortPerDay));

    return newEndDate;
}