You build the resource breakdown structure based on the resource types and resources already defined in the system. For each level of the hierarchy, you select the resource type and specify the associated resource.
In addition, you can define your own groupings of resources with the use of the resource type called User Defined Resource. When you select this resource type, you can enter a free-form definition of the grouping, and then create levels below it in the hierarchy that link to actual resource types and resources.
Example
The following table demonstrates how you can use a user-defined resource in a resource breakdown structure:
| Outline Number | Resource Type | Resource |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Organization | Consulting - East |
| 1.1 | User Defined Resource | Assembly |
| 1.1.1 | Inventory Item | Gear Assembly |
| 1.1.2 | Inventory Item | Motor Assembly |
| 1.2 | User Defined Resource | Maintenance Items |
| 1.2.1 | Inventory Item | Lubricants |
| 1.2.2 | Inventory Item | Fasteners |
In this example, the planned and actual amounts of Gear Assembly and Motor Assembly will be rolled up under the user defined resource Assembly. Also, amounts for Lubricants and Fasteners will be rolled up under the user defined resource Maintenance Items.
You define the hierarchies of a resource breakdown structure as symmetric or asymmetric.
Example
The following table demonstrates a symmetric resource breakdown structure:
| Outline Number | Resource Type | Resource |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Organization | Consulting - East |
| 1.1 | Named Person | Amy Marlin |
| 2 | Organization | Consulting - West |
| 2.1 | Named Person | John Smith |
Example
The following table demonstrates an asymmetric resource breakdown structure:
| Outline Number | Resource Type | Resource |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BOM - Labor | Painter |
| 1.1 | Expenditure Type | Computers |
| 2 | Organization | Healthcare |
| 2.1 | Named Person | John Smith |
Attention: You can define up to ten levels in a resource breakdown structure.
You can specify resources at every level in the resource breakdown structure. You can also use the value Any Used Resource in the Resource field to capture all resources that fall under the selected resource type.
The following table demonstrates an example of the use of Any Used Resource:
| Outline Number | Resource Type | Resource |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Person Type | Employee |
| 1.1 | Named Person | John Smith |
| 1.2 | Job | Principal Consultant |
| 2 | Expenditure Category | Expenses |
| 2.1 | Projects Non-Labor Resource | Any Used Resource |
In this example, all costs for John Smith are associated with level 1.1. If other people resources incur costs for the project, this resource breakdown structure will reflect those amounts at the top level, Employee (level 1), because the other individuals are not named. If you prefer to have the sums broken out by person automatically for you, then you could use Any Used Resource for the resource type Named Person instead of identifying the individuals explicitly, such as John Smith.
This example illustrates this concept at level 2.1 There may be several non-labor resources such as crane, telephone charges, and server utility. In place of identifying each non-labor resource that could possibly be used on this project, the resource is simply defined as Any Used Resource. As a result, Oracle Projects automatically creates a level under the outline level 2 for each non-labor resource that incurs costs on the project.
Therefore, the resulting resource breakdown structure may look as illustrated in the following table:
| Outline Number | Resource Type | Resource |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Person Type | Employee |
| 1.1 | Named Person | John Smith |
| 1.2 | Job | Principal Consultant |
| 2 | Expenditure Category | Expenses |
| 2.1 | Projects Non-Labor Resource | Crane |
| 2.2 | Projects Non-Labor Resource | Telephone Charges |
| 2.3 | Projects Non-Labor Resource | Server Utility |
Resource Class setup (PJF)
Inventory and BOM setup (assigning BOM resources to departments) with complete definition of Items, Item Categories, and Costs
Oracle Projects setup for different resource elements, such as:
People, Organizations, Jobs, and Job Groups (a part of the Oracle HRMS setup)
Roles (PJF)
Expenditure Types, Expenditure Categories, Revenue Categories, and Event Types (PJC and PJB)
Non-Labor Resources
Suppliers
To define a resource breakdown structure:
Navigate to the Resource Breakdown Structures page.
Add a new row and enter the basic details for the new resource breakdown structure.
Enable Use For Allocations if you want to allocate costs with this resource breakdown structure.
Additional Information: You cannot use user-defined resources if you are enabling the resource breakdown structure for allocations.
Save your work.
Update the working version to build the hierarchy. You view all the existing versions on the Versions page. The frozen versions can be used by projects and only the working versions can be updated. A working version is created every time a resource breakdown structure is created or a version is frozen.
Select the level and introduce new levels, remove levels, or redefine the resource elements.
Apply the changes before moving on to build the structure at a different level.
Attention: You cannot delete a resource breakdown structure. However, to stop the summarization of data by an existing resource breakdown structure, you can specify an end date for it.
Versions provide a history of resource breakdown structures used for resource reporting. You use versions to make changes and control when to transmit these changes to associated projects. The resource breakdown structure version dates can neither overlap nor have gaps.
When you create a resource breakdown structure, a working version is automatically created. You can make changes to the working version until you freeze it. Only a frozen version can be associated with a project.
When you freeze a version, a new working version is created, which can be used to make further changes. The frozen version enabled for current reporting is used for reporting.
Additional Information: At any point of time, you can have only one working version. In addition, although you can have multiple frozen versions, only one is used for current reporting at any given time.
You can change or modify only the working version of a resource breakdown structure. When a structure is enabled for allocations, you can modify only the resource breakdown structure elements that are not associated with amounts.
To modify a resource breakdown structure that has been associated with a project:
Update the hierarchy
Create a version of the resource breakdown structure
Freeze the modified version
To update projects with the latest resource breakdown structure version, run the PRC: Process Resource Breakdown Structure Updates process. This process affects only projects that reference this resource breakdown structure. The process updates the projects to use the frozen version, which has a system date between the start and end dates of the resource breakdown structure version.