Use resource requisitioning to respond to requisitions, exchange messages with the project manager, and manage requisition-related processes. CA Clarity PPM resource requisitioning allows you to create simple or detailed requisitions that request resources for multiple time periods.
This section contains the following topics:
Fulfill Requested Staffing Needs
Manage Automated Requisition Processes
A requisition is a request to staff a specific project with labor resources. The chief benefit of requisitions is planning. If you bypass a requisition and assign a resource directly to a project, you could jeopardize your own project. This is because you are assigning without knowing about the other projects the resource can be working on. Hence, you can overburden the resource or assign the wrong resource. Requisition recipients tend to be resource managers who are knowledgeable about the workloads and skills of their resources. Thus, when you submit a requisition, the resource managers assign the most appropriate resources to the projects.
You can use resource requisitioning to do the following:
Requisitions are project-specific, which means that you cannot create a requisition that staffs multiple projects at the same time. Each requisition contains a request for only one staffing requirement and can serve only one project.
For more information, see the Project Management User Guide.
As a manager in charge of resources, you can define a default booking manager for each resource and role in the system. Hence, requisitions are routed automatically to the appropriate resource manager without any intervention from the project manager.
Defining the booking manager is optional. If defined, the Booking Manager field of a requisition defaults to this resource manager and appears on the resource properties page. If you do not define this field, the project manager can define it at the requisition level or leave it blank. If the field is left blank, the access rights of the available resource manager decide the allocation to this requisition.
For roles, a mapping between roles and an OBS structure can be used to define the default booking manager.
Follow these steps:
When a requisition is created, it is routed to the appropriate booking manager based on the following:
Both the project manager (requisition creator) and booking manager (resource manager) are notified of status changes in requisitions. If no booking manager is selected, no notification is sent. But everyone with appropriate access rights sees the requisition in their list. For example, by filtering on unassigned requisitions. The Booking Manager field can be changed at any time to reflect another resource manager. The facility to change allows resource managers to route the requisitions again.
The Requested By field value on the Requisition Properties page defaults to the requisition creator. If you are different from the current Requested By user, change the Requested By field value to equal yourself. If your company has a routing chain that goes through multiple people, the facility to change is useful.
Only users in the Requested By and Booking Manager fields get notified about open requisitions. Requested and booked resources are not notified. Resource notification happens when the resource is added to the project as a staff participant. The notification can be set to occur automatically when the resource is hard-booked. For details, contact your administrator.
The following describes the different requisition status types and describes a typical use for that status:
All requisitions begin as "New." They retain their "New" status until the owner submits the requisition or manually changes the status. When you are ready for a booking manager to fill the request, change the status to "Open."
For more information, see the Project Management User Guide.
This status indicates that the requisition is active and requires to be filled. The requestor who creates the requisition is the one who changes the status to "Open." The booking manager is notified. From "Open," the status can be set to "New," "Proposed," or "Closed."
Note: The status "Proposed" is available if you have the Project – Attach Requisition Entry Resources access right. Also, the Requisition Approval Required setting is required to be selected for the project.
The booking manager proposes bookings to fulfill the requisition. The requestor is notified. The requestor reviews the proposed resources. If the requestor rejects the resources that the booking manager has identified, the requisition status changes to "Open."
This status indicates that a project manager or resource manager has accepted (booked) the resource on the requisition. The requisition status automatically changes to "Booked" and the requester and booking manager are both notified. "Booked" status is available:
This status indicates that no more work is required to happen on a requisition. Only the requestor can close a requisition. If the booking manager declines an open requisition, the requisition status automatically changes to Closed.
Note: The Status field of a requisition is located on the Requisition Properties page. The requisition owner (also named a requestor) is the only person who can change its initial status from "New" to something else (typically "Open"). Recipients can change the status from "Open" to "Proposed," "Booked," or "Closed."
The following table shows the parties notified when the requisition status changes:
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Requisition Status Changes |
Requested By |
Booking Manager |
|---|---|---|
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Created |
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From New to Open |
|
Notified |
|
From Open to New |
|
Notified |
|
From Open to Propose |
Notified |
|
|
From Proposed to Booked |
Notified |
Notified |
|
From Open to Book (if requisition, approval is not required) |
Notified |
|
|
Booking Manager changes |
Notified |
New and old booking managers are notified. |
|
Requested By changes |
|
|
|
Closed |
|
|
|
Deleted |
|
|
You can determine your requisition notification format (that is, the message layout and delivery method) from your Account Settings: Notifications page.
For more information, see the Basics User Guide.
You can set up an automated process to identify the different stages in the lifecycle of a requisition and automatically issue notifications at every stage.
As resource manager, you receive notification for each requisition assigned to you. You can access these open requisitions in the following ways:
The Resource Requisitions page lists all assigned requisitions and unassigned requisitions that you have rights to view. From this page, you can propose and book requisitions.
Use the Requisition Filter section at the top of the Resource Requisitions page to locate one or more requisitions using various search criteria. You can search by requisition name, ID, associated project, status, or priority.
Follow these steps:
The search results display in the bottom portion of the page.
For more information, see the Basics User Guide.
Follow these steps:
This page provides the details that the requisition requestor enters.
Use this page to find and add resources to your requisitions.
Use this page to initiate and participate in the requisition discussions.
Use this page to create, run, and track requisition processes.
Use this page to track changes on the requisition object (if requisition fields are enabled for auditing). For details, contact your administrator.
From the Resource Requisitions page, you can access and fulfill all requisitions assigned to you. You can respond to the requested staffing needs as follows:
Requests for named resources include a proposed resource making it easier for you to respond. To address requests for named resources, open a requisition and address it individually. Or, select multiple requisitions and propose them back to the project manager.
Use the Requisition Resources page to address named resource requisitions. This page displays a histogram presenting more information about the resource. You see exactly how much the project manager requests on a weekly basis. The yellow part of the histogram represents the amount the resource is needed on this particular project. The green part represents amounts needed on other projects. The red shows where the resource is over-allocated.
Follow these steps:
The Resource Requisitions page appears and refreshes the status of the requisition to "Proposed".
After you open a requisition, if you decide that a resource is over-allocated, you can reduce the allocation.
You can also click the Properties icon to the left of the resource name, edit existing allocation segments and optionally add new allocation segments. When you are done, click Save and Return.
Follow these steps:
The yellow now represents the new booking amount to the project and the green represents the bookings to other projects. No red displays to indicate over-allocation.
After opening a requisition and editing the allocation amount for the named resource, you can propose the allocation back to the project manager. Click Propose. The Resource Requisitions page appears and refreshes the status of the requisition to "Proposed".
|
If... |
Then... |
|---|---|
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The Requisition Approval Required option for the project is turned off (no project manager approval required). |
The Book button displays on the page instead of the Propose button. Click Book to hard-book the resource onto the project automatically without the project manager approval. |
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The Requisition Approval Required option is turned off, but you do not have the Project – Edit access right. |
The Propose button displays on the page instead of the Book button. Click Propose to submit the booking for approval, rather than directly booking to the project. Later, when your project manager views the Project Team: Requisitions page, the Book and Reject buttons displays on the page. |
If you propose the same resource with the same allocation to the project manager, the proposal gets approved automatically. The project manager does not approve the proposal. Automatic acceptance sends a notification to the project manager.
Follow these steps:
On the Resource Requisitions page, if a requisition contains a request to unbook a specific resource, a checkmark appears in the Unbook column.
Unbooking a resource removes hard allocation for the resource in the future. The start date of unbooking is set to the next day by default. You can move the start date to an earlier date if you want.
Follow these steps:
On the Resource Requisitions page, note how the hard-booked allocation amount changes in the Average Rate column. If a resource is unbooked fully, the value displays as 0.00 percent.
Note: A requisition to unbook and replace a resource, selects both the Unbook and Replace check boxes on the Requisition Properties page. Also, the Resources menu displays. Click Resources to set appropriate filtering criteria. Then select and add a new resource to match the availability of the replaced resource. If you have the required access rights, the Replace button displays on the page. Click Replace to replace the unbooked resource with the new resource. If not, the project manager can review the proposed replacement and then book that resource.
For more information, see the Project Management User Guide.
On receipt of a role requisition, find and propose at least one resource that fits the role described in the staffing requirement. If you propose multiple resources, allocate the resources appropriately so the requisition amount gets divided among the multiple resources. For example, if the PM asks for one resource for a week, you can propose two resources as follows: one from Monday to Wednesday; and the other from Thursday to Friday.
To find resources that match the staffing needs, open the requisition or click the Person with List icon next to the requisition. The information that displays on the Find Resources page is based on the requirements specified in the staffing request. You can modify the search criteria to find more eligible resources.
Follow these steps:
If a requisition has a single resource, the resource gets selected. The resource is the proposed candidate in the shortlist.
Follow these steps:
The Requisition Resources page appears with the Resources page active.
The Resource Requisitions page appears and refreshes the status of the requisition to "Proposed".
If multiple resources are added to the requisition, figure out how much to allocate each resource.
Follow these steps:
The Resource Requisitions page appears and refreshes the status of the requisition to "Proposed".
As resource manager, you can modify a proposal and resubmit. Edit only when you receive a notification that the project manager has rejected the resources on a requisition.
Follow these steps:
The Resource Requisitions page appears and refreshes the status of the requisition to "Proposed".
You can decline a requisition for several reasons: Differ with the selection or unavailability of the resource to fill the requisition with. If you decline a requisition, you can post a note on the Discussions page explaining the reason for declining a requisition.
Follow these steps:
Use the requisition discussions from within a requisition to exchange messages and other information with recipients. Only requisition recipients and others with access to the requisition can participate in discussions that are launched from within a requisition.
Follow these steps:
If you can access the requisition, start new discussions and reply to existing messages. To create new messages of any kind either to start a new discussion or reply to an existing message, use the Discussion Message: Properties page.
Follow these steps:
Both actions take you to the Discussion Message: Properties page, to create your message.
Defines the subject of the message.
Defines the text of the message.
Click the Browse icon to attach a document.
Specifies if you want the discussion recipients to receive an email notification when a new message arrives for their review.
Default: Selected
You can specify your notification settings, such as email, from your Account Settings: Notifications page.
For more information, see the Basics User Guide.
After you submit the message, you will see it listed in the Messages section of the Requisition Discussion: Messages page.
A discussion thread begins with the first reply under the original message. Subsequent messages display in descending order. Use the Requisition Discussion: Messages Replies page to view the discussion thread, view messages, or reply to a message.
Once you have expanded the discussion thread, click New to reply, thus further expanding the thread. Click Discussion to collapse all open threads. Click New to create a discussion about the requisition.
Follow these steps:
In the out-of-the-box notification system for requisitions, notification generation depends on manually changing the Status setting of the requisition. If the setting is not changed, a notification cannot be sent. If the status of new requisitions is not changed to "Open," the recipients cannot know about the new requisition to fill.
You can avoid notification uncertainty by setting up an automated notification process that identifies different stages in a requisition lifecycle. An automated process can issue a notification whenever a new stage is reached. Use the Requisition: Processes page to issue a notification.
When you create a process from within a requisition, it is available only for that requisition. When your administrator creates a global requisition process in the Administration Tool, the process is available for use by all requisitions. Global access rights are required to create a global process.
The Requisition: Processes page contains two links:
Follow these steps:
Create an automated notification process to identify the different stages in a requisition lifecycle and avoid the uncertainty of manual notifications. An automated process issues a notification on reaching a new stage.
The new process appears in the list of available requisition processes. If the process is manual, to initiate the process, select the process and then click Start. The object for the process is required to be set for requisitions.
For more information, see the Administration Guide.
Follow these steps:
Use the Requisition: Processes page to track the progress of already started processes. To access this page, open a requisition and click Processes.
While the process is in progress, the status displays as "Running" in the Status field on the Requisition: Processes Initiated page. Click Return to stop the process instance.
For more information, see the Administration Guide.
You can delete a process from both the Requisition: Processes Available and Requisition: Processes Initiated pages.
Follow these steps:
The deletion opens the updated processes page.
The Requisition Audit Trail page allows you to see when certain issue fields were changed, and by whom. In this way, you can track changes by resource and date.
Your CA Clarity PPM administrator selects the requisition fields that are available to you on the page using Studio.
Follow these steps:
The audit fields for the requisition display.
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