RBS fields

The RBS fields contain the Resource Breakdown Structure, also known as the User Breakdown Structure. The field contains an alphanumeric code defined to represent a hierarchical or organizational structure of resources in a project. This field is an Enterprise Resource Outline Code used specifically for RBS.

There are two categories of RBS fields.

Data Type    Outline Code

RBS (resource field)

Entry Type    Calculated or Entered

How Calculated    RBS codes are defined by your project management administrator or other user with administrator permission. RBS values are then assigned to enterprise resources. The RBS field, with its associated values, is then made available to all users throughout the enterprise.

Best Uses    As a project management administrator, you can use the RBS field to grant project managers permissions on the projects on which their employees are working and on information on the resources themselves.

As a project or resource manager, you can use the RBS field with the Resource Substitution wizard and the Portfolio Modeler, in which you can request resources at or below a particular RBS level. This defines the pool of resources available for tasks in your project. You can add the RBS field to a resource view. You can also group resources by their RBS to see their organizational hierarchy.

Example    You are the project management administrator, and your company has decided to use RBS codes to reflect the organizational structure for all resources. After checking out the enterprise global template, you define the lookup table of all values for the RBS outline code. An administrator in Human Resources then assigns RBS values to all resources. When this is finished, you check the enterprise global template in again to make the RBS field and associated values available to all users.

You are a project manager, and you see that there is a new RBS field available. You add this field to the Resource Sheet and use it to see resources grouped according to the organizational breakdown structure and to obtain summarized information based on this structure. You also use RBS when substituting generic resources in your project with actual resources or when working with the Portfolio Modeler.

Remarks    Only someone with permission to save the enterprise global template (for example, the project management administrator) can check out and edit items in the enterprise global template, including the RBS field. Once defined and checked in, all users throughout the enterprise can view the RBS field.

RBS (assignment field)

Entry Type    Calculated or Entered

How Calculated    RBS codes are defined by the project management administrator or other user with administrator permission. RBS values are then assigned to enterprise resources. The RBS field, with its associated values, is then made available to all users throughout the organization.

Best Uses    As a project management administrator, you can use the RBS field to grant project managers permissions on the projects that their employees are working on and on information about the resources themselves.

As a project or resource manager, you can use the RBS field with the Resource Substitution Wizard and the Portfolio Modeler, where you can request resource assignments at or below a particular RBS level. This defines the group of resources available for tasks in your project. You can add the RBS field to the Task Usage or Resource Usage view. You can also group assignments by their RBS codes to see the resource hierarchy of assignments.

Example    You are the project management administrator, and your company has decided to use RBS codes to reflect the organizational structure for all resources. After checking out the enterprise global template, you define the lookup table of all values for the RBS outline code. An administrator in your human resources department then assigns RBS values to all resources. When this is finished, you check in the enterprise global template again to make the RBS field and associated values available to all users.

You are a project manager and you see that there is a new RBS field available. You add this field to the Task Usage view and use it to see resources grouped according to the organizational breakdown structure and to obtain summarized information based on this structure. You also use RBS when substituting generic resources in your project with actual resources or when working with the Portfolio Modeler.

Remarks    Only someone with permission to save the enterprise global template (for example, the project management administrator) can check out and edit items in the enterprise global template, including the RBS field. Once defined and checked in, all users throughout your organization can view the RBS field.