This post is part of a series I’m creating connected with Project Service Automation (PSA) for Microsoft Dynamics 365. This time I will consider resource utilization.

For most professional services situations monitoring resource utilization is a key metric. (Often the most important one!) If the team isn’t billed out a certain percentage of the time, they simply aren’t profitable. It is actually quite common for staff bonus schemes to relate to utilization statistics. So being able to easily see them is very important.

Each resource has a target utilisation percentage. We see the target utilization percentage in the “Project Service” tab on the resource. Below you can see that mine is 75%.

In Project Service, there is a useful resource utilization option.

Within resource utilization we can see a graphical representation of the utilization for all resources. Red means the target hasn’t been reach, green means its been reached (or exceeded). Amber suggests the resource has almost achieved their target.

If you hover the mouse over a resource additional details will be shown. Below you can see that we can see the resources skills but additionally some utilization stats are included. Including the percentage of time on billable and non-billable work. These percentages will reflect the entire date range displayed whilst the individual boxes above will reflect just that single portion of time.

If required we can use the “OPTIONS” option alter how the details are reported. Useful for reporting by hours rather than percentages.

Additionally, you can use the “FILTER” option to expand the filter pane. In here you can filter resources by organization unit, role etc. Just select the required filter and click apply.

You can also use the DAY, WEEK and MONTH options to change the scale of the data displayed.

These capabilities of Project Service are pretty easy to use / self-explanatory. Having said that they are also very important! As percentage utilization is often a key measure to ensure a professional services organisation remains profitable.

This is certainly something my company monitors closely! J