Unit 8: Overallocations - Subjective Questions

Resource overallocation occurs when a resource is assigned more work than it can complete within its available working time during a specific period.

Common causes include:

• Assigning the same resource to simultaneous tasks.
• Setting assignment units above the resource's maximum availability.
• Scheduling excessive work within a short duration.
• Overlapping task dates after schedule changes.
• Ignoring resource calendars, holidays, or part-time availability.
• Assigning a resource to tasks across multiple projects without coordinating workloads.

An overallocation does not always mean that the entire project is overloaded; it may occur only during particular hours, days, or weeks.

The Resource Usage view groups task assignments under each resource and displays time-phased work information.

It helps identify overallocations by showing:

• Each resource and the tasks assigned to it.
• Work scheduled for each day, week, or other time period.
• Visual indicators or highlighted values for overallocated resources.
• Periods in which assigned work exceeds the resource's available capacity.
• The contribution of each task to the total workload.

By expanding a resource, the manager can determine exactly which assignments overlap and then decide which task should be delayed, reassigned, or adjusted.

A typical procedure is:

1. Open the project schedule and select the Resource Usage view from the view menu or toolbar.
2. Examine the resource names in the left table.
3. Expand a resource to display the tasks assigned to it.
4. Inspect the time-phased grid on the right side of the view.
5. Adjust the timescale to hours, days, or weeks according to the required level of detail.
6. Look for highlighted resource names, warning symbols, or emphasized workload values.
7. Compare the resource's scheduled work with its availability.
8. Record the tasks and dates responsible for the conflict before applying a correction.

This process connects each overallocation to its underlying assignments.

• Resource work: The total effort assigned to a resource for one or more tasks, normally measured in hours or days.
• Resource availability: The amount of working capacity that the resource can provide, based on its calendar and maximum units.
• Resource overallocation: The condition in which assigned work exceeds available capacity during a scheduling period.

For a period of duration , the approximate available effort can be represented as:

where is available effort and is the resource's availability fraction. If scheduled work satisfies , the resource is overallocated for that period.

Changing the timescale controls the level of detail displayed in the time-phased section of the Resource Usage view.

• An hourly scale can reveal conflicts occurring within a single day.
• A daily scale is useful for examining ordinary task overlaps.
• A weekly or monthly scale provides a summary of long-term workload patterns.

A resource may appear adequately loaded at a weekly scale while being overallocated on one particular day. Therefore, the manager should use a timescale fine enough to expose the actual scheduling conflict while retaining a broader scale for workload planning.

The Resource Management toolbar is a collection of commands used to inspect, navigate, and adjust resource assignments and workloads.

Depending on the project management application, it may provide commands for:

• Opening resource-oriented views.
• Moving to the next overallocation.
• Displaying resource assignment information.
• Reassigning or replacing resources.
• Applying resource leveling.
• Inspecting allocation graphs.
• Filtering or grouping resource data.

Its main role is to provide quick access to resource management operations so that a manager can locate a conflict, analyze its cause, apply a correction, and verify the result efficiently.

The manager can follow these steps:

1. Display the Resource Management toolbar.
2. Select a resource-oriented view, such as Resource Usage or Resource Allocation.
3. Use the navigation or overallocation command to locate an overallocated resource.
4. Examine the assignments and dates that produce the conflict.
5. Choose an appropriate action, such as delaying a task, reducing assignment units, replacing the resource, or applying leveling.
6. Recalculate the schedule if the application does not do so automatically.
7. Navigate through the remaining conflicts and repeat the process.
8. Confirm that the warning indicators and graph peaks have disappeared.

The correction should also be checked for effects on task dependencies, milestones, cost, and the project completion date.

Manual adjustment:

• The manager selects the exact assignment to change.
• Possible actions include reassignment, splitting, delaying, or changing units.
• It provides greater control over priorities and important deadlines.
• It requires more time and detailed schedule knowledge.

Automatic resource leveling:

• The software delays or splits tasks according to leveling rules.
• It can resolve many conflicts quickly.
• Results depend on task priorities, constraints, slack, and configuration.
• It may extend the project or move tasks to undesirable dates.

Manual adjustment is preferable for critical or sensitive schedules, while automatic leveling is useful for large schedules when its results are carefully reviewed.

The Resource Allocation view is a combined view used to analyze a selected resource's assignments and workload over time.

Its principal components commonly include:

• A resource list or Resource Usage pane.
• The tasks assigned to the selected resource.
• Assignment fields such as work, units, start, and finish.
• A time-phased Resource Graph or allocation graph.
• Indicators that identify periods of excessive demand.

The table explains which tasks are creating demand, while the graph explains when and by how much the resource is overallocated. Together, these components support detailed workload analysis.

Resource Usage view:

• Organizes all assignments by resource.
• Displays detailed time-phased work values.
• Is useful for reviewing multiple resources and their individual tasks.
• Supports precise examination of workload values by period.

Resource Allocation view:

• Combines assignment information with a graphical workload display.
• Usually focuses on the currently selected resource.
• Makes workload peaks and availability limits easier to visualize.
• Is useful when diagnosing and correcting one resource's conflict.

The Resource Usage view emphasizes detailed assignment data, whereas the Resource Allocation view combines assignment context with graphical analysis.

A systematic method is:

1. Open the Resource Allocation view.
2. Select a resource marked as overallocated.
3. Identify the periods in which the graph exceeds the availability line.
4. Review the tasks assigned during those periods.
5. Check task priority, dependencies, constraints, slack, and deadlines.
6. Select the least disruptive correction.
7. Delay or split a noncritical task, change assignment units, edit the calendar, or assign another suitable resource.
8. Recalculate and inspect the graph again.
9. Verify that the conflict is removed and that no unacceptable delay or new overallocation has been introduced.

The goal is to balance workload while preserving the required project outcome.

A Resource Allocation Graph is a time-phased graphical representation of a resource's scheduled workload.

It commonly displays:

• Time on the horizontal axis.
• Work, units, or percentage allocation on the vertical axis.
• Bars or areas representing scheduled demand.
• A line or reference level representing maximum availability.
• Contrasting colors for normal and overallocated periods.

If scheduled demand rises above the resource's capacity, the excess section indicates an overallocation. The graph allows managers to identify the timing, duration, and approximate magnitude of workload conflicts quickly.

An allocation of 150% means that the resource has been assigned one and a half times its available capacity during that period.

The excess allocation is:

For an eight-hour working day, the implied assigned work is:

The resource therefore has approximately four hours of excess work for that day. The manager should inspect the overlapping assignments and redistribute, delay, split, or reduce one or more of them.

The total assigned work is:

The resource's available capacity is:

Therefore, excess work is:

The scheduled allocation percentage is:

The overallocation above capacity is:

Thus, the resource is assigned 9 hours, is overallocated by 3 hours, and exceeds available capacity by 50%.

• Task delay: Moves a task or assignment to a later date so that it no longer overlaps with other work. Its consequence may be a delayed successor task or project finish date.
• Task splitting: Divides a task into separate working segments and places a break during the overloaded period. It preserves part of the original schedule but can make coordination more complex.
• Resource reassignment: Transfers some or all work to another qualified resource. It can preserve task dates, but the replacement may have different skills, costs, productivity, or availability.

The best method depends on task priority, available slack, resource competence, deadlines, and cost constraints.

Changing assignment units:

• Reducing units lowers the amount of the resource's capacity committed to a task at one time.
• Depending on task type and scheduling settings, task duration or work may change.
• Increasing units can worsen an existing conflict.

Changing the resource calendar:

• Modifies the resource's working and nonworking time.
• Correct calendar errors can remove false overallocations.
• Adding genuine approved availability may increase capacity.
• Artificially extending working hours merely to hide a conflict creates an unrealistic schedule.

Calendar and unit changes must reflect actual working conditions and should be followed by schedule recalculation.

These factors determine how safely an assignment can be moved:

• Task priority indicates which tasks should be protected during leveling.
• Constraints may prevent a task from moving beyond a specified date.
• Dependencies mean that delaying one task can delay its successors.
• Slack shows how long a task can be delayed without affecting a milestone or project finish date.

A task with available slack and low priority is often a better candidate for delay than a critical task with a fixed deadline. Ignoring these factors can resolve the resource conflict while creating a schedule failure elsewhere.

Table-based analysis:

• Provides exact work values for each resource, task, and time period.
• Makes it easier to identify the assignments responsible for a conflict.
• Supports detailed editing and comparison.
• Can be slower to interpret in a large schedule.

Graph-based analysis:

• Makes peaks, trends, and overloaded periods immediately visible.
• Shows the relationship between demand and capacity clearly.
• Is effective for communicating workload patterns.
• May not show enough task-level detail to identify the precise cause.

The strongest analysis uses the graph to locate the problem and the usage table to diagnose and correct it.

The manager should evaluate several options:

• Use available slack: Delay noncritical assignments within their float.
• Reassign work: Transfer work to another qualified and available resource.
• Add resources: Increase capacity when the task can be shared effectively.
• Adjust assignment units: Reduce simultaneous demand and allow work to continue over a longer period.
• Split tasks: Pause flexible work during the conflict and resume it later.
• Change sequencing: Perform independent tasks at different times.
• Revise scope or effort estimates: Correct unrealistic work assumptions with authorization.
• Approve overtime: Use only when practical, lawful, budgeted, and sustainable.
• Apply leveling: Let the software delay or split tasks, then review the result.

The selected option should be checked against cost, quality, skill requirements, dependencies, risk, and milestone dates. A solution is acceptable only when it removes the overload without introducing greater project risk.

Verification should include the following checks:

1. Recalculate the project schedule.
2. Review the Resource Usage view for remaining warning indicators or highlighted workload values.
3. Inspect the Resource Allocation Graph to confirm that demand no longer exceeds capacity.
4. Check the corrected resource at an appropriate timescale, including daily or hourly detail when necessary.
5. Confirm that no other resource became overallocated because of reassignment.
6. Review changed task start and finish dates.
7. Check dependencies, constraints, milestones, the critical path, and the project completion date.
8. Confirm that resource calendars, assignment units, and work values remain realistic.
9. Review cost and quality implications of the correction.

A conflict is fully resolved only when the workload is feasible and the resulting project schedule is still acceptable.