Using the Resource Self-Service Feature

This chapter provides an overview of the My Assignments feature and discusses how to:

Specify My Assignments options.
Work with assignments.
Work with the Job Spy feature.
Manage a worklist.

Understanding the My Assignments Feature

Other chapters in this PeopleBook discuss workbenches that are designed primarily for staffing coordinators, resource managers, practice managers, or pool managers to fulfill customer requests and manage resource utilization. As a resource, you also have a uniquely designed workbench containing the tools that you need to review existing assignments and seek new ones.

This section discusses:

My Assignments feature.
Job Spy feature.

My Assignments

The My Assignments feature presents a self-service view of PeopleSoft Resource Management data that is specific to a resource. You can review and act on existing or potential assignments on three pages:

The My Assignments - Assignments page presents assignment-related information with views that display existing assignments, bids, recommendations, and assignment history.

This is the first page that appears when you access the My Assignments component. The page also displays optional, scaled-down versions of PeopleSoft Resource Management charts that you can select as workbench display options.
The My Assignments - Job Spy page displays open resource requests that match your qualifications, preferences, and availability. On the My Assignments - Job Spy page, you can review detailed information about an opportunity and submit a bid for the job.
The My Assignments - Worklist page provides a list of worklist items for your attention.

Job Spy

Job Spy is a PeopleSoft Resource Management tool that resources can use to proactively seek new assignments. This feature uses Resource Matching to provide a ranked list of open resource requests that match the resource's profile and schedule, and the weighting specified for the Availability, Qualifications, and Preferences factor families. You can search through all resource requests or only the requests with a service order owning organization that includes your organization. Once the search results appear, you can drill down and access the Job Detail page to view details of any resource requests in the work space. You can also access the Job Scorecard page to view a detailed evaluation of your qualifications, availability, and preferences compared to resource requests.

By using the Job Spy feature, you can bid on an assignment for the resource request. Bids influence the staffing process in two ways:

Staffing coordinators, resource managers, and practice managers can view a list of resources who submit bids for a particular resource request, and they can consider the bids when making their staffing decisions.
Bids influence the Preferences family factor fit score that is returned by Resource Matching when a staffing coordinator or manager searches for resources to fulfill resource requests.

A resource who submits a bid for a particular resource request may have a higher overall fit score than a resource who is equally qualified and available but does not submit a bid.

Specifying My Assignments Options

To specify My Assignments options, use the My Assignments Options component (RS_MYASSGN_OPT).

This section discusses how to select resource charts and parameters.

Page Used to Specify My Assignments Options

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
My Assignments Options	RS_MYASSGN_OPT	Resource Management, Define User Options, My Assignments Options, My Assignments Options Set Up Financials/Supply Chain, Product Related, Resource Management, My Assignments Options	Select resource charts and parameters to appear in the My Assignments component for the user.

Selecting Resource Charts and Parameters

Access the My Assignments Options page.

Operator Id

Displays the user ID of the resource who is logged into this session.

Weekly Schedule

Select to display your weekly schedule on the My Assignments - Assignments page.

Chart Resource Schedules

Select to display a Gantt chart of your four-week schedule on the My Assignments - Assignments page.

Scheduled Utilization

Select to display a chart of your personal four-week scheduled utilization on the My Assignments - Assignments page.

If you select this option, you must enter a value in the Optimal Utilization Ratio field.

Optimal Utilization Ratio

Enter the percentage of capacity required for you to be treated as optimally utilized on the Scheduled Utilization chart. Enter a whole number. For example, 80 indicates that you must be at least 80 percent utilized for the system to treat you as optimally utilized.

This field is required if you select the Scheduled Utilization chart to appear on the My Assignments - Assignments page.

Working with Assignments

The My Assignments page opens to a list of existing assignments. You can drill down to view current or previous assignment details in the Current and History views. By clicking the Bids and Recommendations links, you can view summary information or details of resource requests for which you placed a bid or received a recommendation. You can also initiate an email message to your manager from these views. The chart-viewing options that you define on the My Assignments Options page appear at the bottom of the page.

You can drill down to view current or previous assignment details using the Current and History links. You can view summary information or details of resource requests for which you have bid or been recommended by clicking the Bids and Recommendations links. When you click a link, the rows that do not meet the filter criteria are hidden. The number of assignments or resource requests that are included in a filter appears in parentheses next to the filter name.

This section discusses how to:

Review your assignments.
View assignment details.
View resource request job details.
Send comments to your manager.

Pages Used to Work with Assignments

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Assignments	RS_MYASSIGNMENTS	Resource Management, My Assignments, Assignments	Review your existing assignments and send comments to your manager.
Assign Resource	RS_ASSIGN_UPDDTS RS_ASSIGN_MAIN	Click Detail on an assignment row in the Current or History view on the My Assignments - Assignments page. Resource Management, Assign Resource, Assign Resource	Review and modify information about an assignment, based on the security access of your user role. Note. Resources have access to only their assignments.
Job Detail	RS_WRKR_JOBINFO	Click Detail on an assignment row in the Bids or Recommendations view on the My Assignments - Assignments page. Click Detail on a resource request row on the My Assignments - Job Spy page.	Review information about the service order and resource request.
Job Scorecard for <Resource>	RS_JOB_SCRD_SEC	Click the View Job Scorecard icon in the Bids or Recommendations view on the My Assignments - Assignments page. Resource Management, My Assignments, Job Spy Click a qualification, preferences, or availability score on the Job Spy page.	View resources' fit scores against the requirements that you specify in a search or on a resource request.
Send E-mail to <Manager>	RS_EMAILTEXT_SEC	Click the E-mail Supervisor button on an assignment row.	Send your manager comments about the associated assignment.

Reviewing Your Assignments

Access the Assignments page.

Hello , <user name>

Displays the user name associated with the user ID.

You currently have <number of items> unworked items in your worklist!

Click to view or process items that are routed to you from workflow. The My Assignments - Worklist page is discussed later in this chapter.

Current

Click this link to view a list of your assignments with the following statuses:

Proposed

Interviewing

Pending Approval

Assigned

You do not have to be currently working on the assignment for it to appear in this filter.

Bids

Click this link to view a list of resource requests for which you submitted a bid. A visual indicator appears in this filter if the resource request that you placed a bid for was assigned to another resource. Bids are removed from this filter once an assignment is created for the resource-and-resource request combination.

Recommendations

Click this link to view a list of resource requests for which you received a recommendation. A visual indicator appears in this filter if the resource request for which you were recommended was assigned to another resource. Recommendations are removed from this filter once an assignment is created for the resource-and-resource-request combination.

History

Click this link to view a list of your assignments that have the following statuses:

Completed

Canceled

Rejected

Assignments

Rows in the Assignments group box provide the following summary information about assignments (in the Current or History view), about resource requests for which you have placed a bid (in the Bids view), or about resource requests for which you have been recommended (in the Recommendations view).

	Indicates that a worklist item on the My Assignments - Worklist page awaits your attention. The worklist item visual indicator may appear in the Current, Recommendations, or History view. Click this icon to view the Worklist page.
	Indicates a current assignment for the resource based on the assignment start and end dates. A current assignment is an assignment with a start date equal to or before the current system date and an end date equal to or after the current system date. This visual indicator may appear in the Current or History view.
	Indicates that another resource was selected to fulfill a resource request for which you submitted a bid or received a recommendation. This visual indicator appears only in the Bids or Recommendations view.
	This visual indicator may appear in the Recommendations or History view. In the Recommendations view, it indicates that the resource request is canceled. In the History view, it indicates that the assignment is canceled.
Dates	Displays the earliest start and latest end date of the date ranges on the assignment.
Role	Displays the role that the resource is fulfilling on the assignment.
Description	Displays the assignment description.
Location	Displays the assignment location.
Status	The information contained in this column changes based on the active view. In the Current or History view, the column displays your assignment status. In the Bids or Recommendations view, the column displays the status of your bid or recommendation.
Detail	The destination of this link changes based on the view. In the Current or History view, click Detail to access the Assign Resource page, where you can review assignment details. You can modify the assignment or change assignment dates based on the permissions associated with your user role. Click Cancel on the Assign Resource page to return to the workbench without modifying the assignment. See Creating Assignments. In the Bids or Recommendations view, click Detail to access the Job Detail page to review information about the service order and resource request. Click Return to My Assignments to return to the workbench. See Viewing Open Resource Requests.
	Click to access your job scorecard and view the detailed evaluation of your qualifications, availability, and preferences compared to the resource request. The job scorecard icon is available if: The assignment is associated with a service order, and the assignment start date is earlier than the current date. There is no assignment associated with the service order, such as in the Bids filter and Recommendations filter. On the job scorecard, click Return to return to the workbench. See Viewing the Job Scorecard.
	Click to access the Send E-Mail to <Manager> page and send a message to your manager regarding the assignment. On the Send E-Mail to <Manager> page, click OK or Cancel to return to the workbench.

For each assignment row, you can view visual indicators and summary information about an assignment or resource request. Each assignment or resource request row displays one of the following visual indicators:

Charts

PeopleSoft Resource Management provides charts that you can view in the workbench in real time. You can select workbench options to display the Weekly Schedule, Resource Schedule, and Scheduled Utilization charts below the Assignments scroll area.

In the Weekly Schedule chart, you can:
- Click the right or left arrow to scroll to the next or previous week.
- Click the link for an assignment description to access the Assign Resource page, where you can review assignment details.
- Modify the assignment or change assignment dates, depending on the permissions associated with your user role.
- Click the link for an appointment description to access the Appointment Details page and modify as required.
- If there are no schedule entries for a day, click the date link to access the Appointment Details page and create a new appointment.
- If there are schedule entries for a day, click the date link to access the Daily Schedule page.
  
  Note. Your schedule appears for the current week.
In the Resource Schedule chart, you can:
- View your unavailable time (gray bar), available time (white area), or overbooked time (red bar) for that period.
- View the assignment and customer description, or appointment description, when your cursor hovers over a task on the chart.
- Click the double-right or double-left arrows to scroll to the next or previous four-week period.
  
  If you also display the Scheduled Utilization chart, the double arrows scroll both charts so they display the same four-week period.
  
  Note. The Resource Schedule chart displays your schedule for a four-week period beginning with the current date. Task categories and corresponding chart colors are specified during implementation on the Installation Options - Resource Management page.
In the Scheduled Utilization chart, you can:
- Click the double-right or double-left arrows to scroll to the next or previous four-week period.
- Compare your scheduled utilization (red line) against your optimal utilization ratio (yellow line).
- View the calculated utilization for a period by moving the mouse pointer across a scheduled utilization node on the chart.
  
  Note. The task categories that the system takes into account are specified during implementation. You specify them on the Installation Options - Resource Management page. The Scheduled Utilization chart represents your scheduled utilization—the amount of time that you are scheduled to spend working on assignments—compared with the optimal capacity threshold that you specified on the My Assignments Options page.

Viewing Assignment Details

Access the Assign Resource page.

On this page, you can view details about the assignment and modify the assignment schedule, based on the security access of your user role.

Click Cancel to return to the workbench without modifying the assignment.

Viewing Resource Request Job Details

Access the Job Detail page.

On this page, you can view details about the service order, as well as resource request details such as requirement dates, competencies, accomplishments, qualifications, preferences, and the specified importance of each to the project role.

Click Return to My Assignments to return to the workbench.

Sending Comments to Your Manager

Access the Send E-mail to <Manager> page.

Note. Your manager appears as the addressee on the page. A supervisor must be defined for a resource on the Update Employee Data - Employee Job page before the resource can send email notifications to a manager.

Enter comments about an assignment or resource request. The message includes other pertinent information about the assignment, such as the customer, description, start and end dates, project role, business unit, service order and resource request ID, or work assignment ID.

OK	Click to send the message and return to the My Assignments - Assignments page.
Cancel	Click to return to the My Assignments - Assignments page without sending or saving the message.

Working with the Job Spy Feature

This section discusses how to:

Search for assignments.
Submit bids.
Evaluate search results.

Pages Used to Work with the Job Spy Feature

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Job Spy	RS_MYJOBSPY	Resource Management, My Assignments, Job Spy	Find assignments based on selected search options and Resource Matching fit scores.
Job Scorecard for <Resource>	RS_JOB_SCRD_SEC	Click a score link in the Qual. or Avail. column on an assignment row. Click View Job Scorecard in the Bids view or Recommendations view on the My Assignments - Assignments page.	View your fit scores against the specific requirements for this assignment.
Job Detail	RS_WRKR_JOBINFO	Click Detail on an assignment row in the Bids or Recommendations view on the My Assignments - Assignments page. Click Detail on a resource request row on the My Assignments - Job Spy page.	Review information about the service order and resource request.
Bid Confirmation	RS_WRKR_BID_SUBMIT	Click Submit Bid on the My Assignments - Job Spy page.	Submit a bid for a specific service order.
Send E-Mail to <Manager>	RS_EMAILTEXT_SEC	Click the E-Mail Supervisor button on a resource request row.	Send your manager comments about a specific resource request.

Searching for Assignments

Access the Job Spy page.

You populate the page with open resource requests that are appropriate for you based on your search options and factor fit scores for each open request.

Search Options

Search options control which resource requests the Resource Match engine evaluates when it searches for assignments for you. You can search all requests, or only the requests that are available to your organization. You can also assign relative priorities to each factor family fit score. The priorities determine which requests are returned and the order in which they appear in the work space.

The order of the resources requests in the grid is based on the overall fit score that consists of:

How well you fit the specified qualifications, availability, and preferences.
The organization's individual factor priorities that are specified on the Search Configuration - Factor Weights page.
The relative priorities that you specify during the search session.

The overall fit score calculation begins with the objective fit scores for each match factor. The system then calculates factor family fit scores by applying installation-level relative factor importance settings. Then the system averages the family scores according to the relative factor family preferences that are selected during each instance of the Resource Match engine.

The resulting overall fit score does not appear on the page, but it controls which resource requests appear in the search results. The resource requests appear in descending order of overall fit score.

Owning Organization	Select this radio button to have the Resource Matching feature evaluate only open resource requests with a service order owning organization that includes your organization. For example, if the organizational unit is Department, Resource Matching evaluates any open resource request that specifies your department or a parent department as the owning organization on the service order.
All Requests	Select this radio button to have the Resource Matching feature evaluate all open resource requests as potential matches for you.
Search	Click this button to initiate the Resource Match engine and calculate fit scores based on your search options. You can adjust your search options and click Search to refresh the work space as many times as needed.
Availability, Preferences, and Qualifications	Expand the Search Settings collapsible group box and assign the relative priorities to each of the factor family fit scores for this search session. Note. At least one of the factor families must have an importance value of at least 1 - Much less important for the Resource Matching feature to return the appropriate search results.
Max Assignments (maximum assignments)	Enter the maximum number of requests to return.
Qual. (qualifications), Prefs. (preferences), and Avail. (availability)	Displays the factor family fit scores that indicate how closely the resource request matches your profile, interests, and schedule. Click any fit score link to access the job scorecard and view details about requirements that are included in your fit score calculation for each factor family. See Viewing the Job Scorecard.
Dates	Displays the start and end date of the resource request. If multiple date ranges are specified on the request, the first start date and last end date appear.
Role	Displays the project role to be filled on the resource request.
Description	Displays the resource request description.
Location	Displays the assignment location that is specified on the resource request.
Detail	Click this link to access the Job Detail page and review available information about the resource request and service order.
Submit Bid	Click this button to access the Bid Confirmation page and submit a bid for this resource request.

Submitting Bids

Access the Bid Confirmation page.

You can submit a bid for any resource request in the Search Results grid on the My Assignments - Job Spy page.

Yes	Verify the resource request information on the confirmation page and click Yes to enter the bid and return to the My Assignments - Job Spy page.
No	Click to return to the My Assignments - Job Spy page without entering a bid.

Note. Once you place a bid, it cannot be canceled.

Evaluating Search Results

With the functionality and convenience of a one-stop workbench, the Job Spy provides easy access to the tools that you need to proactively search for work and make your interests known to managers and members of the staffing team. You can:

Search for work throughout the organization or only in your department (or other organizational unit).
Evaluate your qualifications, preferences, and availability using the job scorecard.

The job scorecard contains the request dates and other requirements that determine your fit score calculation for the resource request.
View all of the available information about the resource request on the Job Detail page.
Express interest in a specific resource request by submitting a bid, or contact your manager about an assignment, resource request, bid, or recommendation.

Managing a Worklist

This section discusses how to manage worklist items.

Page Used to Manage a Worklist

Page Name	Object Name	Navigation	Usage
Worklist	RS_MYWORKLIST	Click You currently have <number of items> unworked items in your worklist on the My Assignments - Assignments page. Click You currently have <number of items> unworked items in your worklist on the My Assignments - Job Spy page. Resource Management, My Assignments, Worklist	Review and process worklist items that are assigned to you.

Managing Worklist Items

Access the Worklist page.

A link to your worklist appears at the top of the workbench to alert you to any outstanding workflow items that require your attention. From the worklist, you can access item details, complete the required actions, and mark the items complete.

Use the Worklist page to view and manage worklist items such as:

Notification of changes to your assignment status.
Notification of changes to your assignment dates.
Notification of requests for which you have been recommended.

A variety of worklist items may appear, including items that originate from sources other than PeopleSoft Resource Management. The actions that generate workflow actions or notification messages are specified during PeopleSoft Resource Management implementation.

Note. PeopleTools also provides a worklist that you can access from the folder navigation or from the Worklist link in the PeopleSoft universal navigation header. The worklist items are the same on any Worklist page, and you can view and process items from any worklist.

Operator Id	Displays the user ID of the resource who is logged into this session.
Weekly Schedule	Select to display your weekly schedule on the My Assignments - Assignments page.
Chart Resource Schedules	Select to display a Gantt chart of your four-week schedule on the My Assignments - Assignments page.
Scheduled Utilization	Select to display a chart of your personal four-week scheduled utilization on the My Assignments - Assignments page. If you select this option, you must enter a value in the Optimal Utilization Ratio field.
Optimal Utilization Ratio	Enter the percentage of capacity required for you to be treated as optimally utilized on the Scheduled Utilization chart. Enter a whole number. For example, 80 indicates that you must be at least 80 percent utilized for the system to treat you as optimally utilized. This field is required if you select the Scheduled Utilization chart to appear on the My Assignments - Assignments page.

Hello , <user name>	Displays the user name associated with the user ID.
You currently have <number of items> unworked items in your worklist!	Click to view or process items that are routed to you from workflow. The My Assignments - Worklist page is discussed later in this chapter.
Current	Click this link to view a list of your assignments with the following statuses: Proposed Interviewing Pending Approval Assigned You do not have to be currently working on the assignment for it to appear in this filter.
Bids	Click this link to view a list of resource requests for which you submitted a bid. A visual indicator appears in this filter if the resource request that you placed a bid for was assigned to another resource. Bids are removed from this filter once an assignment is created for the resource-and-resource request combination.
Recommendations	Click this link to view a list of resource requests for which you received a recommendation. A visual indicator appears in this filter if the resource request for which you were recommended was assigned to another resource. Recommendations are removed from this filter once an assignment is created for the resource-and-resource-request combination.
History	Click this link to view a list of your assignments that have the following statuses: Completed Canceled Rejected