Display table of contents PPP Scheduler Changes > Scheduler App > Configure Heatmap Colors and Background Rules

Resource Utilization Availability Heatmap - Overview

The Resource Utilization Availability Heatmap provides visual indicators of resource capacity across your project timeline. Each bar in the Resource Utilization view is color-coded to show how much of a resource's available capacity remains, considering both work assigned in the current project and commitments in other projects.

This feature helps project managers quickly identify:

▪Resources with available capacity (white/green)

▪Resources approaching full utilization (yellow)

▪Overallocated resources requiring attention (red)

How the Calculation Works

For each time period displayed in the Resource Utilization view, the system calculates:

Step 1: Determine Effective Capacity

▪Takes the resource's total available hours based on their calendar

▪Adjusts for the assignment percentage (e.g., 50% assignment = half the available hours)

Step 2: Calculate Remaining Capacity

▪Starts with the effective capacity

▪Subtracts hours assigned in the current project

▪Subtracts hours committed in other projects

▪Result = remaining available hours

Step 3: Apply Color Rules

▪The remaining capacity is evaluated against configured thresholds

▪A color is assigned based on which threshold range applies

Calendar Considerations: The system respects each resource's working calendar, including:

▪Standard working days (e.g., Monday-Friday)

▪Working hours per day

▪Holidays and vacation time

▪Custom calendar exceptions

Color Meanings

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▶ Time periods with no working hours (weekends, holidays) remain uncolored (default gray).

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Calculation Modes

The heatmap can operate in two different calculation modes, each suited to different management preferences:

1. Percentage Mode (Recommended Default)

How it works: The system calculates what percentage of a resource's effective capacity remains available.

Formula: Remaining Capacity ÷ Effective Capacity × 100 = Percentage Available

Why use this mode:

▪Consistent across all time scales - A resource showing 50% available capacity on a single day will also show 50% available across a week or month with the same booking pattern

▪No recalibration needed - Thresholds work identically whether viewing daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly periods

▪Universal application - Works regardless of calendar type (8-hour days, 6-hour days, etc.)

Example:

▪Resource has 40 hours capacity for the week

▪Assigned 25 hours of work

▪Remaining: 15 hours

▪Percentage available: 15 ÷ 40 × 100 = 37.5%

2. Absolute Mode

How it works: The system calculates the average remaining hours per working day across the time period.

Formula: Remaining Capacity ÷ Number of Working Days = Hours Available per Day

Why use this mode:

▪Intuitive for standard workdays — Thresholds expressed in hours per day (e.g., "more than 6 hours free per day")

▪Easy to understand — Aligns with how people think about daily capacity

▪Still zoom-independent — A resource with 3 hours free per day shows the same value whether viewing a single day or an entire month

Example:

▪Resource has 40 hours capacity for a 5-day week

▪Assigned 25 hours of work

▪Remaining: 15 hours

▪Hours per day available: 15 ÷ 5 = 3 hours/day

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▶ This mode requires setting thresholds appropriate to your standard working day (e.g., different thresholds for 8-hour vs. 6-hour workdays).

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Consistency Across Time Scales

Both calculation modes provide consistent results regardless of the time period being viewed. This example shows a resource with 8-hour workdays, booked at 62.5% capacity:

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▶ Key Insight: Both modes show the same value at every zoom level, ensuring color-coding remains consistent whether you're viewing daily, weekly, or monthly timescales.

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Default Color Thresholds

If you don't configure custom thresholds, the system uses sensible defaults based on your chosen calculation mode.

1. Default Thresholds — Percentage Mode

These defaults provide a balanced view that highlights resources nearing or exceeding capacity while keeping most well-utilized resources in the green zone.

What this means in practice:

▪Resources turn yellow only when booked above 98% of capacity

▪Resources turn red when overallocated by more than 2%

▪Most well-utilized resources (60-95% booked) show green

▪Lightly utilized resources show white

2. Default Thresholds — Absolute Mode

These defaults are calibrated for standard 8-hour workdays.

What this means in practice:

▪Resources with more than 1 hour of free time per day show green

▪Resources within 1 hour of full capacity (either over or under) show yellow

▪Resources overallocated by more than 1 hour per day show red

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▶ If you use a different standard workday (e.g., 6 hours), you'll want to adjust these thresholds proportionally (see configuration examples below).

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Configuration Reference

The heatmap feature is configured through the scheduler's configuration settings using the heatmapRule property.

Configuration Structure

Basic structure:

{

 "heatmapRule": {

   "calMode": "percentage",

   "rules": {

     "cell-white":  { "op": ">",  "num": 10 },

     "cell-green":  { "op": ">",  "num": 2 },

     "cell-yellow": { "op": "<=", "num": 2, "op2": ">=", "num2": -2 },

     "cell-red":    { "op": "<",  "num": -2 }

   }

 }

}

Configuration Options

calMode (Calculation Mode)

▪"percentage" — Calculate based on percentage of capacity remaining (recommended)

▪"absolute" — Calculate based on hours per day remaining

▪Default: "percentage" if not specified

rules (Color Thresholds)

▪Optional — If omitted, system uses built-in defaults for the selected calMode

▪Define custom thresholds for when each color should appear

Defining Custom Rules

Each color rule consists of:

Required fields:

▪"op" - Comparison operator: > (greater than), >= (greater or equal), < (less than), <= (less or equal), = (equal)

▪"num" - Threshold value to compare against

Optional fields (for range conditions):

▪"op2" — Second comparison operator

▪"num2" — Second threshold value

Available colors:

▪cell-white — Light tint for underutilized resources

▪cell-green — Green tint for well-utilized resources

▪cell-yellow — Yellow tint for resources at/near capacity

▪cell-red — Red tint for overallocated resources

How Rules Are Evaluated

The system evaluates rules in order from highest to lowest threshold value and applies the first matching rule. This means:

▪Rules should be mutually exclusive (non-overlapping ranges)

▪Order rules from most permissive to least permissive

▪The first rule that matches determines the color

Configuration Examples

1. Use Default Settings

When to use: You want standard, balanced color-coding without customization.

Configuration: Leave the heatmapRule setting empty or omit it entirely.

{}

Result: The system uses Percentage Mode with standard thresholds:

▪White: More than 10% capacity available

▪Green: 2% to 10% capacity available

▪Yellow: -2% to 2% capacity (at or near full)

▪Red: Less than -2% capacity (overallocated)

2. Strict Utilization Monitoring

When to use: You want to encourage high utilization and flag resources that aren't being used effectively.

Goal: Show green only when resources are well-utilized (50-90% booked). Flag underutilization and near-capacity situations more aggressively.

{

 "heatmapRule": {

   "calMode": "percentage",

   "rules": {

     "cell-white":  { "op": ">",  "num": 50 },

     "cell-green":  { "op": ">",  "num": 10 },

     "cell-yellow": { "op": "<=", "num": 10, "op2": ">=", "num2": -25 },

     "cell-red":    { "op": "<",  "num": -25 }

   }

 }

}

Color Thresholds:

Use Case: Organizations wanting to maximize resource utilization and quickly identify idle capacity.

3. Early Warning System

When to use: You want advance notice before resources reach full capacity, with zero tolerance for overallocation.

Goal: Provide early warning when resources are 80% booked, and immediately flag any overallocation.

{

 "heatmapRule": {

   "calMode": "percentage",

   "rules": {

     "cell-white":  { "op": ">",  "num": 50 },

     "cell-green":  { "op": ">",  "num": 20 },

     "cell-yellow": { "op": "<=", "num": 20, "op2": ">=", "num2": 0 },

     "cell-red":    { "op": "<",  "num": 0 }

   }

 }

}

Color Thresholds:

Use Case: Conservative resource management where you want to prevent overallocation and maintain buffer capacity.

4. Hours-Per-Day Thresholds (8-Hour Workday)

When to use: You prefer thinking in terms of hours per day rather than percentages, and your organization uses standard 8-hour workdays.

Goal: Use intuitive hour-based thresholds that align with how people think about daily capacity.

{

 "heatmapRule": {

   "calMode": "absolute",

   "rules": {

     "cell-white":  { "op": ">",  "num": 6 },

     "cell-green":  { "op": ">",  "num": 1 },

     "cell-yellow": { "op": "<=", "num": 1, "op2": ">=", "num2": -1 },

     "cell-red":    { "op": "<",  "num": -1 }

   }

 }

}

Color Thresholds:

Practical Examples (8-hour workday, Monday-Friday):

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▶ These thresholds work consistently whether viewing a single day, a week, or a month.

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5. Hours-Per-Day Thresholds (6-Hour Workday)

When to use: Your organization uses 6-hour workdays and you want hour-based thresholds.

Goal: Adjust the hour-based thresholds proportionally for a shorter workday.

{

 "heatmapRule": {

   "calMode": "absolute",

   "rules": {

     "cell-white":  { "op": ">",  "num": 4.5 },

     "cell-green":  { "op": ">",  "num": 0.75 },

     "cell-yellow": { "op": "<=", "num": 0.75, "op2": ">=", "num2": -0.75 },

     "cell-red":    { "op": "<",  "num": -0.75 }

   }

 }

}

Color Thresholds:

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▶ These thresholds are proportionally equivalent to the 8-hour example, maintaining the same utilization percentages.

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6. Simplified Three-Color System

When to use: You want to focus attention only on well-utilized, at-capacity, and overallocated resources.

Goal: Leave lightly-utilized resources uncolored to reduce visual clutter.

{

 "heatmapRule": {

   "calMode": "percentage",

   "rules": {

     "cell-green":  { "op": ">",  "num": 10 },

     "cell-yellow": { "op": "<=", "num": 10, "op2": ">=", "num2": -10 },

     "cell-red":    { "op": "<",  "num": -10 }

   }

 }

}

Color Thresholds:

Use Case: Reduce visual noise by only highlighting resources that need attention.

7. Alert on Overallocation Only

When to use: You only care about identifying overallocated resources and want minimal visual distraction.

Goal: Show color only when there's a problem (overallocation).

{

 "heatmapRule": {

   "calMode": "percentage",

   "rules": {

     "cell-red": { "op": "<", "num": 0 }

   }

 }

}

Color Thresholds:

Use Case: Exception-based management where you only want to see problems, not normal utilization.

8. Binary Status Indicator

When to use: You want a simple pass/fail indicator with no intermediate states.

Goal: Show green for any resource within capacity, red for any overallocation.

{

 "heatmapRule": {

   "calMode": "percentage",

   "rules": {

     "cell-green": { "op": ">=", "num": 0 },

     "cell-red":   { "op": "<",  "num": 0 }

   }

 }

}

Color Thresholds:

Use Case: Simple, binary decision-making where you only need to know "is this resource overallocated or not?"

 

Summary

The Resource Utilization Availability Heatmap provides flexible, visual capacity management:

Key Benefits:

▪Quick identification of resource capacity issues

▪Consistent visualization across all time scales (day, week, month, quarter)

▪Flexible configuration to match your organization's management style

▪Automatic consideration of work in other projects

Getting Started:

1.Start with the default settings (Percentage Mode with standard thresholds)

2.Review the color-coding in your Resource Utilization view

3.Adjust thresholds based on your organization's needs using the configuration examples above

4.Choose between Percentage Mode (universal) or Absolute Mode (hour-based) depending on your preference