Overallocated and under-utilised resources can impact project delivery, resource wellbeing, and portfolio performance.

The Availability Heatmap helps Resource Managers identify capacity issues by comparing available resource capacity with Proposed and Committed demand over time.

When allocation issues are identified, Resource Managers should work with Project Managers, Team Managers, and Line Managers to review demand, rebalance work, and agree appropriate resource planning actions.

Identify and Resolve Resource Overallocations

1. Navigate to Resources.
2. Select Availability Heatmap.

Tip:
The Availability Heatmap uses configurable colour thresholds to represent capacity utilisation.

The exact colour ranges may vary between organisations depending on how Resource Management settings have been configured.

Before interpreting Heatmap colours, confirm the threshold settings used within your environment.

1. Use the toolbar to define:
   Monthly views are commonly used for capacity planning.
2. • Start Date
   • Number of Periods
   • View Zoom Level
2. Review Resource Demand and Capacity.

The Availability Heatmap combines:

• Available Capacity
• Proposed Demand
• Committed Demand

allowing Resource Managers to assess current and future workload within a single planning view.

When reviewing overallocation:

• Compare demand against available capacity.
• Review whether proposed demand can be deferred.
• Confirm that committed work remains achievable.
• Consider alternative resources or delivery approaches where required.

This helps resource planning decisions remain aligned with organisational capacity.

1. Review any overallocated resources by identifying heavily utilised or over-capacity periods and hovering over the corresponding values to understand the contributing demand and allocations.
2. Select the ellipsis (...) beside a Resource and choose Open Resource to review the resource profile.
3. Select the ellipsis (...) beside a Project and choose Open Project to review the related project demand, allocations, and schedule information.

Investigate the Cause of an Overallocation

Resource overallocation can occur for several reasons, including:

• Multiple projects requesting the same resource.
• Committed demand exceeding available capacity.
• Changes to project schedules.
• Resource availability reductions.
• Delayed work creating demand spikes.
• Resource requests that were approved without adjusting competing commitments.

Understanding the underlying cause helps determine the most appropriate corrective action.

Manage Proposed and Committed Demand

The Availability Heatmap can be used to review both Proposed and Committed demand within a single planning experience.

This allows Resource Managers to:

• Understand current demand alongside approved allocations.
• Review capacity in context.
• Adjust allocations without moving between multiple planning views.
• Make faster resource planning decisions.

Typical Resolution Options

Depending on the circumstances, Resource Managers may choose to:

• Reduce proposed demand.
• Adjust committed allocations.
• Reassign work to another resource.
• Split work across multiple resources.
• Delay non-critical work.
• Increase available capacity where appropriate.
• Escalate competing priorities for management review.

The most appropriate option will depend on project priorities, available skills, delivery timelines, and organisational resourcing policies.

Important:
The Resource Availability Heatmap allows Resource Managers to adjust Proposed and Committed effort so that resource demand remains aligned with available capacity while maintaining consistency across project allocations.

Focus on Relevant Work

The Availability Heatmap can be filtered to focus on:

• Specific Projects
• Groups of Work
• Selected Resources
• Relevant Planning Information

This helps reduce unnecessary information and enables Resource Managers to focus on the projects, resources, and planning periods most relevant to the allocation issue being investigated.

Filtering can be used to:

• Isolate a specific project.
• Review a single team.
• Focus on a particular department.
• Investigate future demand periods.
• Review capacity for a specific resource group.

Resolve the Overallocation

After investigating the cause:

1. Review the affected Project Resource Requests.
2. Review Proposed and Committed allocations.
3. Agree any required changes with the appropriate Project Managers or Resource Managers.
4. Update allocations where required.
5. Review the resulting capacity position.
6. Confirm that the overallocation has been resolved.
7. Save any changes.

Where appropriate, repeat the process until the resource allocation profile reflects a realistic and achievable workload.

Key Considerations

• Availability indicators are influenced by resource calendars, working time settings, and configured capacity thresholds.
• Colour thresholds may differ between organisations.
• Proposed demand represents requested effort that has not yet been formally committed.
• Committed demand represents approved allocations that consume resource capacity.
• Resource planning decisions should consider both current and future demand.
• Capacity issues should be addressed as early as possible to minimise delivery impact.
• Resolving an overallocation may require updates to Project Resource Plans, Resource Requests, or project schedules.
• Availability reporting should be reviewed regularly rather than only when issues are identified.

Tips

• Review Availability regularly to identify upcoming capacity issues before they impact delivery.
• Use filters to focus on specific projects, teams, departments, or resources.
• Review both Proposed and Committed demand before making allocation decisions.
• Investigate recurring overallocation patterns to identify underlying planning issues.
• Coordinate resource changes with impacted Project Managers before approving updates.
• Use Availability reporting together with Resource Insights to gain a broader view of capacity, utilisation, compliance, and workforce trends.
• Review future planning periods as well as current periods to identify emerging risks before they become active overallocation issues.
• Consider skill requirements and resource suitability, not just available capacity, when resolving allocation conflicts.

Related Articles

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• Align project resource requests to the project schedule
• Drill-through Resources insights
• Navigate the Resources area