People & Productivity • Module glossary
This glossary explains common words and fields you’ll see when using Workload Planner in XFatora.
Also known as: Staff workload
What it is: Allocation is assigning a portion of someone’s capacity to a project, task, or role.
When you use it: Use allocations to prevent hidden overload and to see future delivery risks early.
Example: You allocate 50% of a designer to Project A and 50% to Project B.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Advanced Projects, Capacity
What it is: An assignment links work to a person: who is responsible and when it should be done.
When you use it: Use assignments to create accountability and clear ownership.
Example: A task is assigned to an engineer with a due date and estimated effort.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Advanced Projects, Task
What it is: Bench time is available time when a resource is not allocated to active work.
When you use it: Use bench time for training, documentation, or process improvement instead of leaving it unused.
Example: During a slow month, the team improves internal documentation and templates.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Underutilization, Training Record
What it is: Capacity is the amount of work time a person or team can realistically handle in a period.
When you use it: Use capacity to plan assignments that match real availability (including leave and meetings).
Example: A team member has 40 hours/week capacity but 8 hours are blocked for training, so capacity is 32 hours.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Allocation, Utilization, Time & Attendance
What it is: Capacity alerts notify you when people or teams are approaching overload or critical shortages.
When you use it: Use alerts to act early—shift work, adjust due dates, or add help.
Example: An alert warns that the support team will exceed capacity after a product launch.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Utilization, Support Desk
What it is: A forecast is a forward-looking view of expected workload and capacity.
When you use it: Use forecasts to plan hiring, outsourcing, and deadlines.
Example: Next quarter forecast shows a shortage of capacity in procurement, so you plan to hire.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Planning, KPIs
What it is: Overbooking happens when assigned work exceeds available capacity.
When you use it: Use overbooking alerts to rebalance tasks or adjust deadlines before problems occur.
Example: Two urgent projects are scheduled for the same week; the planner flags overbooking.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Utilization, Reprioritization
What it is: Portfolio view summarizes workload across multiple projects at once.
When you use it: Use it to understand the big picture and avoid local optimization.
Example: You see that Projects A and B both peak the same week and adjust schedules.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Advanced Projects, Forecast
What it is: Reprioritization is changing the order of work based on urgency, value, or constraints.
When you use it: Use it when new urgent work appears or when capacity changes.
Example: A critical customer issue becomes top priority, pushing lower-priority tasks back.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Support Desk, Advanced Projects
What it is: A resource is a person (or sometimes a team) whose time you plan and allocate.
When you use it: Use resources to represent actual staff members or roles in planning.
Example: You plan workload for the Finance team and key specialists.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Skills, People Records
What it is: Skills are capabilities used to match the right person to the right work.
When you use it: Use skills to avoid assigning tasks to people who can’t do them effectively.
Example: A complex tax task is assigned to someone with VAT compliance skills.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Resource, Assignment
What it is: Underutilization is when capacity is available but not allocated to meaningful work.
When you use it: Use it to identify opportunities to take on more work, improve training, or adjust staffing.
Example: A team has only 50% utilization next month; you schedule process improvements and training.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Capacity, Resource Planning
What it is: Utilization is how much of capacity is allocated or used.
When you use it: Use utilization to identify burnout risk (too high) or wasted capacity (too low).
Example: A utilization of 110% means the person is overbooked and deadlines may slip.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Capacity, Overbooking
What it is: What-if planning lets you test scenarios without changing real assignments.
When you use it: Use it to explore options before committing (new hire, shifting deadlines, outsourcing).
Example: You simulate adding one contractor to see if deadlines become achievable.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Forecast, Decision Making
What it is: Workload KPIs track planning health: utilization, overtime, missed deadlines, and backlog.
When you use it: Use KPIs to improve planning quality and team sustainability.
Example: You track utilization and adjust planning to keep it around 80–90% for sustainable delivery.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Goals Tracker, Reporting
What it is: Workload Planner helps you see who is busy, who is available, and how work is distributed across the team.
When you use it: Use it to avoid overloading staff, plan hiring, and deliver projects on time.
Example: You notice one engineer is overloaded next week and rebalance tasks across the team.
Common fields (and what they mean):
Related terms: Capacity, Allocation, Utilization
