The Utilization module in Octayne PSA provides visibility into resource utilization and capacity planning across your organization. It tracks how team members spend their time relative to their capacity, breaking down billable vs. non-billable hours, and comparing actual utilization against target percentages defined for each role.
Utilization data is derived from approved time entries and project assignments, giving leadership and delivery managers a real-time view of organizational health and resource allocation.
[Screenshot: Utilization dashboard overview showing billable vs non-billable breakdown, utilization trend line, and summary statistics]
Before utilization metrics are meaningful, the following must be configured:
Note: If target utilization percentages are not configured for roles, the Utilization dashboard will still display actual utilization data but will not show target vs. actual comparisons.
The Utilization Dashboard is the primary view, accessible by navigating to Utilization from the main Navigation Menu. It presents several key visualizations and metrics.
A bar chart or stacked chart showing the total billable hours and non-billable hours for the selected date range. This provides a high-level view of how the organization's time is distributed.
[Screenshot: Billable vs Non-Billable Hours chart showing stacked bars for each period]
Tip: A healthy services organization typically targets 65-80% of total hours as billable. If non-billable hours dominate, investigate whether internal projects or administrative time are consuming too much capacity.
A pie chart displaying the average utilization percentage grouped by job title or role. This helps identify which roles are over- or under-utilized relative to their targets.
[Screenshot: Pie chart showing average utilization percentages by job title with color-coded segments]
A line chart showing utilization percentage over time for the selected date range. This visualization reveals trends such as seasonal dips, ramp-up periods, or sustained over-utilization.
[Screenshot: Utilization trend line chart showing weekly utilization percentages over a 3-month period]
Tip: Overlay the trend line with key business events (e.g., project kick-offs, holidays) to contextualize utilization fluctuations.
A breakdown of utilization metrics by project, showing how much each project contributes to overall utilization. Columns typically include project name, total hours, billable hours, and utilization percentage.
[Screenshot: Utilization by Project table showing project name, total hours, billable hours, and utilization percentage]
At the top of the dashboard, summary cards display:
[Screenshot: Summary statistics cards at the top of the Utilization dashboard]
The Utilization dashboard supports flexible date range selection:
[Screenshot: Date range picker with preset options and custom date fields]
Note: Selecting a very large date range (e.g., Last 12 Months) may increase dashboard load time depending on the volume of time entry data.
Utilization data can be viewed at different levels of time granularity:
| Granularity | Description |
|---|---|
| Daily | Shows utilization data for each day in the selected range. Best for short date ranges (1-2 weeks). |
| Weekly | Aggregates data by week. Recommended for ranges of 1-3 months. |
| Monthly | Aggregates data by month. Best for longer-term analysis (3+ months). |
Toggle between granularity levels using the Daily / Weekly / Monthly selector on the dashboard.
[Screenshot: Granularity selector showing Daily, Weekly, and Monthly toggle buttons]
Tip: Use Weekly granularity as your default for most analysis. It smooths out daily noise while still providing enough detail to identify trends.
The Roadmap view provides a forward-looking visualization of resource allocation and capacity planning.
[Screenshot: Utilization > Roadmap view showing a Gantt-style resource allocation chart]
The Roadmap displays a timeline view of team member assignments across projects, showing:
Tip: Use the Roadmap view during project planning to identify available resources and avoid over-committing team members.
The Roadmap aggregates allocation data to show:
This enables leadership to make informed decisions about taking on new projects or reallocating resources.
Note: The Roadmap view requires the utilization:view_roadmap permission. If you cannot access the Roadmap tab, contact your administrator to verify your permissions.
The Professional view provides individual-level utilization metrics for each team member.
[Screenshot: Utilization > Professional view showing a list of team members with individual utilization metrics]
For each team member, the Professional view shows:
Click on a team member's row to drill into their individual utilization details:
[Screenshot: Individual professional utilization detail view showing project breakdown and personal trend line]
Tip: Use per-person analysis during one-on-one meetings to discuss workload balance, identify burnout risks (sustained over-utilization), or address low utilization.
Utilization percentage is calculated as:
Utilization % = (Billable Hours / Available Hours) x 100
Where:
Note: A positive variance means the team member is exceeding their utilization target, which could indicate high demand or potential burnout. A negative variance suggests available capacity.
The Utilization dashboard and its sub-views support filtering by project:
[Screenshot: Project filter dropdown with multiple projects selected]
Tip: Project filtering is useful when preparing for a client review or assessing the resource impact of a specific engagement.
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| Utilization dashboard shows 0% for all team members | No approved time entries exist for the selected date range | Ensure team members have submitted and reviewers have approved time entries. Adjust the date range to cover periods with approved entries. |
| Target utilization is not displayed | Roles do not have target utilization percentages configured | Navigate to Organization Settings > Roles and set a target utilization % for each role. |
| Roadmap tab is not visible | You lack the utilization:view_roadmap permission |
Contact your administrator to grant the required permission. |
| Utilization percentages seem too high | Available hours may not account for PTO or holidays | Verify that PTO and holiday schedules are configured correctly in Organization Settings > Calendar. |
| A team member does not appear in the Professional view | The team member may not have an assigned role or may be inactive | Check the member's profile in Organization Settings > Members to ensure they have an active role assignment. |
| Dashboard loads slowly | Large date range with high volume of time entries | Reduce the date range or switch to Monthly granularity for faster performance. |
Q: How often is utilization data updated?
A: Utilization data updates in near-real-time as time entries are approved. There may be a brief delay (a few minutes) between approval and dashboard refresh.
Q: Can I export utilization data?
A: Yes. Use the Reports & Exports module to generate utilization-related exports. See the [Reports & Exports](12-reports-and-exports.md) documentation for details.
Q: Does PTO count against utilization?
A: PTO reduces the available hours denominator in the utilization calculation. If PTO tracking is configured, a team member on PTO for a week will have their available hours adjusted accordingly, keeping their utilization percentage accurate.
Q: Can I set different target utilization for the same role on different projects?
A: Target utilization is configured per role at the organization level, not per project. However, the Roadmap view allows you to set allocation percentages per project assignment, which provides project-level capacity planning.
Q: What is the difference between the Roadmap and Professional views?
A: The Roadmap view focuses on forward-looking capacity and resource allocation across projects (who is assigned where and for how long). The Professional view focuses on backward-looking actuals (how much each person actually worked and billed).
Q: Who can access the Utilization module?
A: Access depends on your organization's permission configuration. Typically, admins, delivery leads, and managers have full access. Team members may have limited access (e.g., viewing only their own utilization via the Professional view).
Project health, collections, profitability, internal dashboards.
