This article is for Gantt Charts Cloud.
Problem
A resource on my Gantt Chart is shown as overallocated, but its capacity is not 100%. I don’t understand how a resource can be overallocated when less work is assigned to it than it can do.
Solution
It can be normal for a resource to be overallocated and its capacity level to be shown red in the bottom panel of the chart. Apart from the resource having too much work assigned to it on that specific time period - e.g. having to work 10 hours in a day when the resource’s work schedule only allows 8 hours of work per day, there can be other scenarios. When an overallocation is shown for a period when the resource’s capacity is not exhausted, the following can take place:
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at least two different tasks are assigned to the resource at the same time period, i.e., the work on both tasks either fully or partially overlaps.
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both tasks individually do not have a high work estimate, and the combined estimate doesn’t exceed the resource’s capacity. For example, if a resource can work 8 hours a day, two assigned tasks can have 1 and 2 hours of work in them. The overall estimate is 3 hours, but the resource is still considered to be overallocated.
In this case, it is the expected behavior if the actual working hours are not specified in both tasks. For example, if both tasks start at 9:00 AM, one ends at 10:00 AM, and the other ends at 11:00 AM, the resource would have to put in 2 combined hours of work on both tasks within the time period between 9 and 10 AM, which is not possible. But if the working hours are separated, e.g. one task goes from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM, and the other one goes from 10:00 AM till 12:00 AM, then there will be no overlap, and no overallocation.
Inspecting all tasks assigned to the resource during the highlighted time period, checking their estimates, and the scheduled work hours can definitely provide helpful answers.
If you’re still struggling with understanding why an overallocation is present, please let us know, and we’ll look into it. Please make sure to share all of the relevant details: screenshots of your structure and its Gantt charts with the resources panel, the scope of the tasks assigned to the resource, and individual details about these tasks.