Optimization scopes in Resource Scheduling Optimization

You can define what Resource Scheduling Optimization optimizes, including resources, requirements, or bookings.

Scope is the Resource Scheduling Optimization mechanism for defining the relevant inputs: resource requirements, resources, and existing resource bookings. It also includes the timeframes to be considered for optimization. Extensible scope leverages Dynamics 365 entity views, providing an easy and flexible way to define what to optimize (resource requirements, resources, and existing resource bookings).

After opening the Scheduling Optimization Scope form, users can select existing system views or personal views (for which they have read permissions) from the Resource, Requirement, and Booking view drop-down menus. If a personal view is selected, it is shared with the Resource Scheduling Optimization application user and other users who have access to the scope.

1. Using Resource View for example, 0_WA Resources has been defined with the filter conditions shown in the following screenshot. This is equivalent to configuring WA territory as an optimization scope in the previous version of Resource Scheduling Optimization. Users can apply more filter conditions as needed to specify resources they need to optimize. Resource Scheduling Optimization will respect the Optimize Scheduling setting on individual resource records on top of the resource view filters.

   

   

2. Select at least one requirement or booking view for what needs to be optimized.

   

3. If you select booking view, you can set it to Now or After. For example, maybe you want to optimize bookings for the next five days, from 2 hours on (while excluding bookings within the next 2 hours and bookings in the past). The current, out-of-the-box Dynamics 365 entity view filter doesn’t support this Now or After condition; Resource Scheduling Optimization enabled this additional setting on top of whatever filter conditions are defined for that booking view.

   

4. Optimization Range Settings is the time range where bookings can be created, updated, and deleted.

   Example 1: You want to have a booking created or moved ahead 24 hours but from 1 hour on; in other words, bookings will be moved into a range starting Now+1hour and ending Now+1hour+1day (which might partly still be today).

   

   • Range Reference: The start moment for all subsequent work order range calculation (Job current time or Beginning of the Job’s current day).

   • Range Offset: Amount of time added to the range reference to define the range start.

   • Range Duration (days): Number of days added to the range reference.

     

   Example 2: You want to have a booking created/moved into the next two days.

   

   

   Note

   If bookings or resource requirements are defined in the Requirement/Booking view, but the promised date/time windows are outside the optimization range, Resource Scheduling Optimization won't create or update these requirements or bookings after respecting the scheduling window constraint. If the promised date/time windows are overlapping the optimization range, Resource Scheduling Optimization will create/update these requirements/bookings after respecting the scheduling window constraint.

5. You can preview resources, requirements, and bookings for optimization scope through the schedule board:

   • Resource filters on the schedule board are prepopulated from the Resource View. The resource list matches the number of resources defined in the Resource View. Resource Scheduling Optimization will display a lock icon and tooltip to indicate if a resource is not enabled for optimization (even though it was added into Resource View).

   • Requirements under Eligible for Optimization match the records from the Requirement View.

     

6. You can modify filters on the left panel and save it into scope:

   • If Resource View referred by optimization scope is a system view, modified filters through the schedule board will be saved as a new personal view.

   • If Resource View referred by optimization scope is a personal view, modified filters through the schedule board will be saved back into the same personal view.