Precursive OBX
Managing Precursive Boards
Managing Boards

(OBX) Resourcing Modes (Managed or Independent)

Precursive provides two ways to manage project tasks and resourcing: Managed Mode and Independent Mode. Both offer control, but they work differently depending on how tightly you want tasks and resource bookings connected. This article breaks down how each mode works, the key differences, and what to watch out for when using them.

  • 26-Jun-2025
  • Knowledge

Title
(OBX) Resourcing Modes (Managed or Independent)
URL Name
Managed-VS-Independent-Mode
Body

Quick Summary — Managed Mode vs. Independent Mode

Feature

Managed Mode

Independent Mode

Resource Bookings

Auto-created from Task details

Managed manually by the Resource Manager

Task Effort Drives Capacity?

Yes — Task dates, hours, and owner control bookings

No — Tasks and Bookings operate separately

Who Owns Resource Management?

Project Delivery Team

Resource/Capacity Manager

When to Use

Task-level scoping known upfront, repeatable services

Delivery team needs flexibility to manage tasks

 

Managed Mode — Task-Driven Resourcing

In Managed Mode, the Precursive Board drives resourcing. As you create or update tasks with:

✅ Start Date & End Date

✅ Estimated or Remaining Hours

✅ Task Owner

Precursive automatically generates bookings against the related Phase. These bookings directly reflect what’s happening on the Board — so updating a task updates the resource plan.

Best for: Teams delivering repeatable packages or defined scopes, where the same group owns project delivery and utilization.

Behaviour in Managed Mode

  • Bookings Created from Tasks: When tasks have dates, hours, and an owner, Precursive generates bookings automatically based on that information.

  • Effort Assigned to Task Owner: In OBX+PSX, only the Task Owner’s hours contribute to the Resource Plan.

  • Time Logging Restriction: Only Board Team Members can log time against tasks on Managed Phases.

  • Project Removal Restriction: Once a Team Member has logged time and submitted timesheets, they cannot be removed from the Precursive Project.

  • Effort Spread Across Working Days: Estimated effort is distributed evenly across the working days within the task’s duration.

⚠️ Important — When Bookings Cannot Be Created:

In some situations, bookings cannot be generated for tasks, even in Managed Mode:

✔ If the resource has already submitted their timesheets for the dates of the new task
✔ If the resource’s Role doesn’t match any Roles configured in Precursive HQ
✔ If the resource isn’t enabled in Precursive HQ

When these conditions occur, the task is created, but no booking is generated until the issue is resolved.

Independent Mode — Decoupled Tasks & Resourcing

In Independent Mode, task management and resource bookings are handled separately:

  • Delivery teams have flexibility to plan tasks without affecting bookings.

  • Resource Managers maintain control over bookings and capacity plans.

  • Tasks don’t auto-create or update bookings, even if they have dates or hours populated.

Best for: Projects where delivery teams need to adjust tasks freely without impacting resourcing, or where scoping evolves throughout the project.

Behaviour in Independent Mode

  • Manual Bookings: Resource Managers create and maintain bookings manually.

  • Task Flexibility: Tasks can be updated freely; they don’t affect the Resource Plan.

  • Time Entry: Only Board Team Members can log time against tasks when the Phase is Independent.

Which Mode Should You Use?

Managed Mode:

✔ You deliver defined service packages or standard scopes.

✔ Your team owns both delivery and resource utilization.

✔ You want bookings to follow task plans automatically.

Ultimately Managed Mode works great when you have all of the tasks defined up-front including level of effort — examples of this are packages implementation services.

Independent Mode:

✔ You need flexibility — evolving scope, changing task details.

✔ Resource planning and project delivery are handled by different teams.

✔ You want bookings and tasks to operate independently.

Independent mode i more suited to engagements where the tasks are not known upfront  — examples of this are consulting engagements.

Additional Considerations for Managed Mode

Working in Managed Mode means the Precursive Board drives resourcing. This is ideal when the same team owns both project delivery and utilization — but some important limitations apply:

Ownership & Dates

  • The Project and Phase Owners do not stay synced with the Board Owner.
  • Project and Phase Start and End Dates do not automatically update to match Board dates.
  • Tasks scheduled outside of the Phase or Project dates will not generate bookings.

Team Member Roles

  • A person can be assigned to multiple Roles on the same Board or Phase — but only once per Role.
  • You can have more than one team member holding the same Role.
  • When creating a new Board, the Owner may automatically appear on the Board Team without a Role. Trying to assign them again triggers an error. To avoid this, use the Board Owner Role and Default Queue options on the Taskfeed Board Type.

Effort & Resource Plan Visibility

  • Effort only appears in the Resource Plan for Boards linked to a Precursive Project.
  • Tasks must have:
    ✔ An Owner and/or Owner Role
    ✔ Start and End Dates
    ✔ Estimated Hours greater than 0
  • Otherwise, 0-hour bookings are created or Resource Requests appear for Role placeholders.
  • Estimated Hours apply to the Task Owner only. In OBX+PSX, other Contributors effort isn’t included unless you create subtasks. 

Alignment of Roles between PSX and OBX

  • Role values across Team Board Roles, Resource Roles, and Task Roles must match exactly. If you create a new Role, update all three areas.

Effort Calculations

  • Effort uses a “Daily Planned Hours” formula: (Remaining Time + Time Logged during Task duration) ÷ Duration

Time Logging & Participation

  • Only Board Team Members can log time on Tasks for Managed or Independent Phases.
  • Once time is logged and submitted, the person cannot be removed from the Precursive Project (removing them from the Board leaves them listed as a Participant).
  • Comments added to Time Logs on Tasks do not transfer to timesheets.

Technical Sync Considerations 

  • Precursive Connect does not sync Tasks and Bookings modified asynchronously (e.g., Batch, Future, Queueable processes). Developers must explicitly call the Connect API after such processes.

 
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