Project Planner

Project Planner

Overview

The Project Planner is Octayne PSA's resource planning and scheduling tool. It allows project leads and managers to visually allocate team members across billing codes and time periods, set budgets, track bookings against actuals, and identify scheduling conflicts.

The Planner provides two views -- a Gantt View for visual timeline-based planning and a Table View for spreadsheet-style data entry. Both views share the same underlying data and can be used interchangeably.

[Screenshot: Project Planner Gantt View showing a timeline with booking bubbles across weeks for multiple team members and billing codes]

Accessing the Planner

1. Click Projects in the main navigation sidebar.
2. Select the project you want to plan.
3. In the project's central navigation bar, click Planner.
4. The Planner opens in the default view (Gantt or Table, based on your last selection).

Note: The Planner is only available for projects in Active or Draft status. Projects that are On Hold, Completed, or Archived do not display the Planner tab.

Planner Views

Gantt View

The Gantt View displays resource allocations as horizontal bars (bubbles) on a timeline. Each row represents a resource (a combination of team member and billing code, depending on the Group By setting), and each bar represents a booking for a specific date range.

Key elements of the Gantt View:

• Resource Column (left sidebar): Lists the resources with expandable/collapsible groups.
• Metric Columns (configurable): Display hour totals like Booked, Approved, Remaining, and Invoiced.
• Timeline Area (main canvas): Displays weeks or months as column headers, with booking bubbles positioned along the timeline.

[Screenshot: Gantt View with labeled resource column, metric columns, and timeline area with colored booking bubbles]

Table View

The Table View displays the same data as the Gantt View but in a spreadsheet-style layout. Each row is a resource, and each column is a time period (week or month). Cells show the number of hours booked for that resource in that period.

• Click any cell to edit the booked hours directly.
• Empty cells indicate no booking for that period.
• Totals are shown in the rightmost column and bottom row.

[Screenshot: Table View showing a grid of resources (rows) and weekly time periods (columns) with hour values in cells]

Switching Between Views

1. In the top-right corner of the Planner, locate the View Toggle buttons.
2. Click the Gantt icon (timeline bars) to switch to Gantt View.
3. Click the Table icon (grid) to switch to Table View.

Tip: The Planner remembers your last selected view and reopens in that view the next time you access it.

Configuring Your View

Group By Options

The Planner supports two grouping modes that determine how resources are organized in the left sidebar:

Group By	Behavior
Billing Code	Primary grouping is by billing code (e.g., Development, Design). Within each billing code, individual team members are listed as sub-rows.
Member	Primary grouping is by team member. Within each member, their assigned billing codes are listed as sub-rows.

To change the grouping:

1. Click the Group By dropdown in the Planner toolbar.
2. Select Billing Code or Member.
3. The view updates immediately.

[Screenshot: Group By dropdown showing Billing Code and Member options]

Sidebar Columns

You can configure which metric columns appear in the left sidebar alongside the resource names.

1. Click the Columns button (or gear icon) in the Planner toolbar.
2. Toggle the following columns on or off:

• Booked: Total hours booked (planned) for each resource.
• Approved: Total hours from approved timesheets.
• Remaining: Booked minus Approved hours.
• Invoiced: Total hours that have been included on invoices.

1. Click Apply.

[Screenshot: Columns configuration panel with Booked, Approved, Remaining, and Invoiced toggles]

Tip: Enable the Remaining column to quickly identify resources that are behind schedule (negative remaining) or have unallocated time (positive remaining).

View Range

Control the time granularity displayed on the timeline:

1. Click the Range dropdown in the Planner toolbar.
2. Select Weekly to see individual weeks as columns.
3. Select Monthly to see months as columns.
4. Use the left/right arrow buttons or the date picker to scroll the timeline forward or backward.

Note: Weekly view provides the most detail for short-term planning. Monthly view is better for high-level, long-range planning.

Working with the Gantt Chart

Creating Bookings

1. In the Gantt View, locate the resource row where you want to create a booking.
2. Hover over the desired date range in the timeline area. A faint "+" indicator appears.
3. Click and drag horizontally across the dates you want to book.
4. Release the mouse. A booking bubble is created spanning the selected range.
5. A booking form will appear, allowing you to refine the details (see "Editing Bookings" below).

[Screenshot: Gantt chart with cursor hovering over a date, showing the + indicator before clicking to create a booking]

Tip: You can also create a booking by clicking a single date (without dragging) to create a one-week booking.

Editing Bookings

1. Click an existing booking bubble in the Gantt chart.
2. The Booking Detail Form opens as a side panel or popover with the following fields:

Field	Description
Resource	The team member and billing code for this booking (read-only, based on the row).
Start Date	The first day of the booking. Adjust using the date picker.
End Date	The last day of the booking. Adjust using the date picker.
Hours per Day	The number of hours allocated per working day within the date range.
Total Hours	Auto-calculated: Hours per Day x Working Days in range. You can also type a total, and Hours per Day will be recalculated.
Notes	Optional notes about this booking (e.g., "Sprint 4 backend work").

1. Modify the fields as needed.
2. Click Save to update the booking.

[Screenshot: Booking Detail Form showing date range pickers, hours per day input, total hours, and notes field]

Viewing Planned Commitments and Conflicts

When editing a booking, the right side of the booking form displays:

• Member's Total Commitments: All bookings for this team member across all projects for the selected date range, with hours totaled per day.
• Available Capacity: The member's remaining available hours per day (based on their work schedule minus all existing bookings).
• Conflict Indicator: A red warning icon appears if the member is overbooked (total booked hours exceed available hours for any day in the range).

[Screenshot: Booking form showing commitment summary on the right with a conflict warning for an overbooked day]

Warning: Overbooking a team member does not prevent the booking from being saved, but the conflict indicator serves as a visual warning. Use this information to re-balance workloads.

Deleting Bookings

1. Click the booking bubble to open the Booking Detail Form.
2. Click the Delete button (trash icon) at the bottom of the form.
3. Confirm the deletion in the dialog.

Batch Booking Operations

For creating the same booking across multiple resources or time periods:

1. Select multiple resource rows by holding Ctrl (or Cmd on macOS) and clicking each row in the sidebar.
2. Click the Batch Book button in the toolbar.
3. Enter the Date Range, Hours per Day, and any Notes.
4. Click Apply to Selected.
5. Bookings are created for all selected resources with the specified parameters.

Tip: Batch booking is especially useful at the start of a project when you need to allocate hours for the entire team at once.

Assigning Resources

Adding Members to Task Types

If using the Billing Code grouping:

1. Locate the billing code group in the resource column.
2. Click the gear icon next to the billing code name.
3. In the popover, select Add Members.
4. Check the team members you want to assign to this billing code.
5. Click Save.
6. The selected members appear as sub-rows under the billing code.

[Screenshot: Gear icon menu on a billing code row showing Add Members option with a member checklist]

Adding Task Types to Members

If using the Member grouping:

1. Locate the team member in the resource column.
2. Click the gear icon next to the member's name.
3. In the popover, select Add Task Types.
4. Check the billing codes (task types) you want to assign to this member.
5. Click Save.
6. The selected billing codes appear as sub-rows under the member.

[Screenshot: Gear icon menu on a member row showing Add Task Types option with a billing code checklist]

Note: A resource assignment (member + billing code combination) must exist before you can create bookings in the Planner. The gear icon is the primary way to establish these assignments.

Setting Billing Code Budgets

Billing code budgets allow you to set financial or hour-based budgets for individual billing codes within a project. These budgets are tracked in both the Planner and the Project Health dashboard.

Step-by-Step

1. Navigate to the Planner for your project.
2. Click the Billing Codes submenu (tab or link within the Planner view).
3. You will see a list of all billing codes defined for the project.
4. For each billing code you want to budget:

a. Toggle the Budget switch to On.

b. Enter the Start Date for the budget period.

c. Enter the End Date for the budget period.

d. Enter the Budget amount (in hours or currency, depending on your organization's configuration).

1. Click Save.

[Screenshot: Billing Codes submenu in the Planner showing a list of billing codes with Budget toggle, Start Date, End Date, and Budget amount fields]

Tip: Billing code budgets are independent of the overall project budget. They allow you to allocate portions of the total budget to specific work streams (e.g., 200 hours for Development, 80 hours for Design).

Note: Once saved, billing code budgets are displayed in the Planner sidebar columns and are factored into the Project Health dashboard's budget utilization metrics.

Tracking Actuals vs Planned

The Planner is not only a planning tool -- it also tracks actual hours logged against planned bookings, giving you a real-time view of progress.

Weekly Actuals Tracking

• In both Gantt and Table views, actual hours (from approved timesheets) are overlaid on top of planned bookings.
• In the Gantt View, a secondary bar (in a different color) appears within or below each booking bubble, representing actual hours.
• In the Table View, each cell shows two numbers: Booked / Actual (e.g., "8 / 6" means 8 hours booked and 6 hours actual).

[Screenshot: Gantt View showing booking bubbles with actual hours bars overlaid in a contrasting color]

Viewing Approved Hours Against Bookings

1. Enable the Approved sidebar column (see "Sidebar Columns" above).
2. For each resource row, compare the Booked column to the Approved column:

• Approved < Booked: The team member has logged fewer hours than planned. They may be behind schedule or the booking was overestimated.
• Approved = Booked: The team member is on track.
• Approved > Booked: The team member has logged more hours than planned. Investigate whether scope increased or the booking was underestimated.

1. The Remaining column (Booked - Approved) provides a quick summary.

Tip: Review actuals vs. planned weekly during project standups. The Planner's data helps you adjust future bookings proactively rather than discovering deviations at the end of a project.

Permissions

Access to the Project Planner is controlled by the projects:manage_planner_bookings permission.

Action	Required Permission
View the Planner (read-only)	Any project member can view the Planner
Create, edit, or delete bookings	projects:manage_planner_bookings
Set billing code budgets	projects:manage_planner_bookings
Assign resources (add members to billing codes)	projects:manage_planner_bookings
Batch booking operations	projects:manage_planner_bookings

Note: If you can see the Planner but cannot create or edit bookings, your role does not include the projects:manage_planner_bookings permission. Contact your organization administrator to request access.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Possible Cause	Solution
Planner tab not visible	Project is in On Hold, Completed, or Archived status	Change the project status to Active or Draft.
Cannot create bookings	Missing projects:manage_planner_bookings permission	Contact your administrator to update your role.
Booking bubble does not appear after dragging	Browser zoom level is not 100% or screen is too narrow	Reset browser zoom to 100% with Ctrl + 0. Use a wider screen or scroll horizontally.
Actuals not showing on the Planner	Timesheets have not been approved	Only approved timesheet hours appear as actuals. Submit and approve timesheets.
Conflict indicator showing incorrectly	Member's work schedule not configured	Verify the member's work schedule in Settings > Members > Work Schedule. Default is 8 hours/day, 5 days/week.
Billing code budgets not reflecting on Project Health dashboard	Budget not saved or feature flag not enabled	Ensure you clicked Save after entering budget data. Verify the ENABLE_ORG_DASHBOARD flag is enabled.
Batch booking button is grayed out	No resource rows selected	Hold Ctrl/Cmd and click to select multiple rows first.
Table View cells are not editable	Read-only permission	You need the projects:manage_planner_bookings permission to edit cells.
Timeline shows wrong date range	Date picker or navigation arrows moved the view	Use the date picker in the toolbar to reset to the desired date range, or click Today to center on the current week.

FAQ

Q: Can I plan across multiple projects for the same team member?

A: The Planner operates within a single project. However, when you create a booking, the Booking Detail Form shows the member's commitments across all projects. Use the Organization Dashboard or the Resource Overview report for cross-project planning.

Q: What happens if I delete a billing code that has bookings in the Planner?

A: The associated bookings are removed from the Planner. A confirmation dialog warns you about this before the deletion is finalized.

Q: Can I export the Planner data?

A: Yes. Click the Export button in the Planner toolbar and select CSV or PDF. The export includes all visible resources, bookings, and metric columns.

Q: How far into the future can I plan?

A: There is no hard limit on the planning horizon. You can scroll the timeline as far forward as needed. However, for practical purposes, most organizations plan 3-6 months ahead.

Q: Do bookings affect invoicing?

A: No. Bookings are planning estimates only. Invoicing is based on actual time entries from approved timesheets, not on Planner bookings.

Q: Can I create recurring bookings?

A: There is no explicit "recurring booking" feature. However, you can create a booking with a long date range (e.g., spanning 3 months), and the hours will be distributed across working days within that range.

Q: How does the Planner handle holidays and PTO?

A: The Planner respects the organization's holiday calendar (configured in Settings > Organization > Holidays). Days marked as holidays are excluded from hour calculations. PTO must be managed separately; bookings on PTO days will show as conflicts if the member's availability is set to zero for those days.

Q: Can I undo a booking change?

A: There is no undo feature for Planner changes. However, all booking changes are logged in the project's Activity Feed, so you can see what was changed and manually revert if needed.