Workload Indicator
ActivityTimeline add-on provides everybody who has access to a specific team timeline the ability to see the workload or availability for each person and the whole team.
The workload indicator is displayed in the planner view below each person's name and shows the amount of work scheduled for that person for a specific period.
To read more about Worklog, Estimate and Time Tracking
What tickets are calculated in the Workload Indicator?
Tickets with remaining or daily estimates.
Workload Indicator Color
Workload indicator has eight main colors to help managers and teams have better visibility of a person's availability:
blue - out of the office; Day Off, Vacation, Sick Leave, or Holiday is scheduled on a user
yellow - workload is not enough (less than 50% h/day) and some additional tickets can be added to a timeline
olive - workload is not enough (between 50-88% h/day) and some additional tickets can be added to a timeline
green - workload is enough (between 88-100% h/day), no more tickets can be scheduled on a timeline
light red - a person is overloaded (between 100-125% h/day) and some tickets have to be re-scheduled for another day
red - a person is overloaded (more than 125% h/day) and some tickets have to be re-scheduled for another day
purple - Day Off, Vacation, Sick Leave, or Holiday is assigned on Logged time or weekend
grey - workload is "0" h/day; no workload is displaying on that day
From version 9.6.4 onwards, it is possible to customize the data range for workload indicators by accessing the "Workload Indicator Color Range Customization" option under the Configurations - Workload Indicator settings.
The workload indicator view depends on a current calendar view, users' involvement, and Work hours in a day. If look at a default one-week scope view, a user will see his availability for each day in the current week:
If the scope is changed to Two Weeks, Month - Weekly, then a different view will load with the aggregated numbers per week, and month.
Workload Calculation Algorithm
Workload Calculation mode can be specified by ActivityTimeline administrator in the main configurations page. There are two ways how a workload can be calculated:
Balance Mode | Liquid Mode |
|---|---|
Balance mode evenly distributes hours for a set period. If a task is estimated for 10 hours, and a manager schedules it for 2 days, the system will automatically schedule 5 hours per each day for that task | The liquid mode will help you to plan the workload according to default involvement of a user. If a task is estimated for 10 hours, and a manager schedules it for 2 days, the system will automatically put all hours upfront. It's a move convenient way of scheduling
|
Example with one task:
| Example with one task:
|
Example with overlapping tasks: 10h task is evenly spread out for two days and 5h task is added to firsd day
| Example with overlapping tasks: the system covered 8h working day with 5h task that should be done for the first day; time of 10h task is allocated according to the user's involvement
|
Individual Indicator Modes
There are four main indicator modes available:
Workload
Number of Issues
Availability
Worklogs and Workload
It is important to remember that the time tracking mode directly influences on the workload/ availability calculation algorithm.
Please review Time Tracking Modes Documentation to choose the correct mode for your usecase.
Workload Mode
Indicators will display people's workload based on remaining estimates of tasks, daily estimates, and events.
“If worked time is tracked”:
The indicator shows only workload with a distributed remaining estimate for the future period without showing logged time in the past. The remaining estimate from the past (ex.: Monday) shifted to future days:
“If worked time isn’t tracked”:
An indicator shows distributed along the durations of the workload of the tasks (The remaining estimates, daily estimates, and events) without showing a logged time:
Number of Issues Mode
Indicators will display how many issues are assigned to a user for the day, week, or month.
Availability Mode
Indicators will display people's availability based on involvement, remaining estimates, and daily estimates of scheduled tasks and events
“If worked time is tracked”:
The indicator shows only how many hours are still available for the specified day, week, or month for the future period without showing logged time in the past or availability. The indicator will show overdue estimated tasks with logged time as a number with a star symbol (*) in the past period (ex.: on Monday). The remaining estimate from the past (ex.: Monday) shifted to future days:
“If worked time isn’t tracked”:
An indicator shows how many hours are still available for the specified day, week, or month taking into account the remaining estimates of the tasks allocated to past and future days as well without showing a logged time:
Worklogs & Workload Mode
This setting is useful when users log work and the remaining time estimate decreases over time.
To reflect proper planning the remaining estimate is excluded and not spread over the past period.
The user has a task assigned from Monday to Friday, he logs work on Monday and Tuesday (8 hours each day) then the remaining estimate of the issue automatically decreases. The indicator will show a number of hours logged for the past (8 hours on Monday, 8 hours on Tuesday) and workload for the future based on the remaining estimate (6.7 hours Wednesday-Friday):
Additional Settings
Exclude Past Days
If ActivityTimeline administrator wants to exclude any past days from the remaining time estimate distribution in Workload and Availability modes as well, he or she can configure this in Configuration:
Go to Configuration tab → Workload Indicator page → Workload & Availability Modes section
Select the desired value:
Distribute the remaining estimate into the past days
(not recommended)
Exclude past days/weeks/days and today from distributing the remaining estimate
3. Click Update.
This setting ensures that the system will not spread the remaining time estimate across the past period and the current date.
This works with both BALANCE and LIQUID workload calculation modes.
Estimation and Overdue tasks (Deprecated from v. 9.8.4)
The indicator will show a star (*) symbol notifying that some estimated task is overdue in the past period and isn’t completed.
The indicator will show a star symbol (*) near logged hours in the past if there is an overdue estimated task in the past and logged hours.
Booking calculation in Workload and Worklogs Mode
ActivityTimeline allows to to track time spent not only on Jira issues. The "Treat Booking items as worklogs" option determines how worklogs are calculated in the past days.
Workload indicators will display users' actual workload based on the bookings' estimates for the future and treat them as worklogs when they are in the past.
To set an option:
Go to Configuration tab → Timesheets Configuration
"Treat Booking items as worklogs" checkbox is enabled
Learn more about how to track time on not Jira Issues
Workload Indicator and Custom Events
As already mentioned previously the system calculates not only the workload/ availability based on remaining estimates of the tasks but also understands the Booking, Days Off, Vacation, and other custom events.
If a manager schedules a ticket estimated for 5 hours for Wednesday and Thursday, and a person has already booked a vacation or day off for Wednesday, the system will put all 5 hours on Wednesday. This case involves Worklog & Workload, Workload, and Availability Modes.
To fix this, resize the task and move it up to Friday → The system will put in 5 hours of work on Friday, and nothing on Thursday.
The same is true with weekends.
Switch back to Two Weeks scope → the system will equally split 20 hours of work on Wednesday-Friday and Monday, keeping nothing on Saturday and Sunday.
Working Days Configuration
To change the default weekend options follow the steps:
Navigate to the Configuration tab → Workload Indicator page → Work Time section.
Check/uncheck the days you wish to be working days in the corresponding option
Edit the number of working hours per day Work hours in day option.
Press the Update button.
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