Manage resource requirements

Understand and manage resource requirements in the Skedulo web app.

Overview

Schedulers can add resource requirements to work items in order to specify the number of resources needed to complete the work and the skills a resource must hold before being allocated the work.

When Multiple resource requirements is enabled, a scheduler can specify multiple different groups of required skills and quantities for a given work item.

Skill tags

Skills are defined for both work items and resources using skill tags. When a scheduler creates a work item, they can use these skill tags to restrict to which resources the work can be allocated. For example, it might be necessary for a resource to hold a valid safety certificate before being allocated the work. When a skill tag is applied to a work item, a filter restricts the display of available resources in the Schedule tab of the work details page and the Select Resource(s) modal to only those resources that hold the required skill.

Add resource requirements when creating a work item

A scheduler can specify resource requirements when creating a work item.

  1. On the Create Job page, select the Requirements tab.

    The Requirements tab on the Create Job page.

  2. (Optionally) Use the Quantity picker to define the minimum number of resources required for the work.

  3. (Optionally) Enter the skills that a resource must have in order to be allocated to the work. As you type, any predefined tags that match the text entered will appear in a drop-down list.

    The “Tags required” field with three auto-suggested options in the drop-down

  4. Set the priority level of the skill tag. By default, all skills are set to Required, which means that only resources that are similarly tagged with the required skill will be displayed in the list of available resources. For more information about Skill priorities, see Skill tag weighting.

    The skill priority drop-down list expanded

View resource requirements on work items

If resource requirements have been defined for a work item, they can be viewed in the following locations:

  • On a work card:

    • The Skills required icon Skill requirements icon indicates that skill tags have been added to the work item. Hover the mouse over the icon to view the required skills and their priority. Note that the work card must be in medium or large display size for the icon to be visible.

      work card with the required skills displayed

    • The circles indicate the number of resources required to complete the work. When work is unallocated, the circles are blue with a dashed outline. When a resource has been allocated, the resource’s avatar is displayed. Note that the work card must be in large display size for the circles to be visible.

      work card with the required resources displayed

  • On the work details page, view the resource requirements in the Resources section.

    The Resources section on the work details page.

View the resources that meet the resource requirements

To ensure that only suitable resources are available to be allocated to a work item, if a tag is set to Required, then only those resources that have the required tag will be available in the Schedule tab of the work details page and the Select Resource(s) modal.

In the Schedule tab of the work details page:

  • A green icon beside a resource name indicates that the resource has all of the required tags.
  • A grey icon beside a resource name indicates that the resource has the required tags, but that one or more is expired.
  • On mouse-over, a list of the resource’s tags is displayed in a pop-up.
  • When a resource’s tags are displayed, those tags that match the requirements are marked with a green tick.

the schedule tab of the work details page

Edit resource requirements

To add or edit resource requirements on a work item:

  1. In the Resources section of the work details page, click the actions button Actions.
  2. From the drop-down menu, select Edit requirement.
  3. Use the quantity picker to increase or decrease the number of people required.
  4. In the Tags required field, enter the skills a resource needs in the Tags required field. As you type, any predefined tags that match the text entered will appear in a drop-down list.

The “Tags required” field with three auto-suggested options in the drop-down

  1. Set the Skill priority. By default, all skills are set to Required, which means that only resources that are similarly tagged with the required skill will be displayed in the list of available resources. For more information about Skill priority, see Skill tag weighting below.
  2. Click Save to apply your changes.

Existing skill tags can be deleted by clicking on the x beside a tag.

Skill tag weighting

The priority of a skill tag is used to indicate the importance of the skill when there are multiple tags on the work item. For example, a resource may need to hold a valid driver’s license to be allocated a work item, but a valid first aid certificate is not essential. In this case, the driver’s license tag would be set to a higher priority than the first aid tag.

Typically, tags are categorized into four priorities:

  • 1 = Low.
  • 2 = Medium.
  • 3 = High.
  • 4 = Required (the highest priority).

By default, all skill tags are set to the highest priority when added.

To set the priority of a skill tag on a work item:

  1. In the Resources section of the work details page, click the actions button Actions.

  2. From the drop-down menu, select Edit requirement.

  3. In the Tags required field, click the v icon to open the skill priority drop-down menu.

    The skill priority drop-down list expanded

  4. Select a new priority level from the list.

  5. Click Save to apply your changes.

Multiple resource requirements

If your organization has the Multiple Resource Requirements feature enabled, you can specify multiple different groups of resources and required tags for each work item. This feature can be useful when you need to specify different tags for different stages of a work item. For example, you may need to specify that a work item requires one set of tags for the first two hours and then a different set of tags for the remaining six hours.

Add additional resource requirements when creating a work item

Schedulers can add multiple resource requirements when creating or editing a work item.

When creating a work item:

  1. On the Create job page, select the Requirements tab.
  2. Click Add another requirement to add additional resource requirements. The Add another requirement option on the Create job page
  3. Set the quantity of resources and skill tags for each requirement.

When editing a work item:

  1. Open a work item to display the work details page.
  2. In the Resources section of the Details tab, click Add another requirement.

The Add another requirement option on the work details page

Delete additional resource requirements

When creating a work item, click the x on the resource requirement group you want to delete.

The location of the delete resource requirement button on the create job page

When editing a work item, click the actions button Actions on the resource requirement group you want to delete and select Delete requirement.

The location of the delete resource requirement button on the work details page

Multiple resource requirements and recurring schedules

If Multiple resource requirements is enabled for your organization, the Allocate button on the recurring schedule page is unavailable.

Allocate button on recurring schedule page unavailable

See Allocate or deallocate resources on a recurring schedule for more information.