Alternative or additive allocation of resources
You can specify whether all human resources allocated to a function are required to carry out the function (additive allocation), or only one is required (alternative allocation). You can model the allocation strategy in two different ways:
Using connection types:
If multiple resources are allocated to a function via the carries out connection, the function is carried out alternatively, that is, only one resource is required. If multiple resources are allocated to a function via the contributes to connection type or via both connection types (carries out/contributes to), the function is carried out additively, that is, all resources are required.
Using the Resource allocation function attribute:
If multiple resources are allocated to a function and the Resource allocation attribute is specified, the allocation strategy (alternative or additive) is determined by this value. The Resource allocation function attribute takes precedence over allocation by connection types.
Number of employees
This attribute (Simulation attribute type group) indicates which human resource is to be used to process a function if there is a choice of several employees who can process it. The higher the number, the higher the priority. For example, if three employees have been allocated to a function, the employee with priority 3 will be used to carry it out. If a new process arrives while this employee is active, the employee with priority 2 will process the new process, and so on.
Under the aspect of multiple resource use, the following applies to positions and roles: If multiple persons are required, the person whose position or role has the highest priority is used first, followed by the person having the position or role with the next highest priority. This procedure continues until all required persons are committed.
The number of persons must be greater than the number of process instances. Please note that the number of employees is always assumed to be 1 for the Position and Role object types, regardless of the number you entered in the Number of required employees attribute (Simulation attribute type group) for the carries out connection.
Prioritization of resource allocation
If resources are allocated to a function alternatively, you can use the Priority attribute to specify which resource has priority if several of them are available at the same time. The resource with the highest priority is then allocated.
General prioritization of resources
To specify which resource is generally to be used as a priority, define the Priority attribute (Simulation attribute type group) at human or technical resources. Indicates which human resource is to be used to process a function if there is a choice of several employees who can process it. The higher the number, the higher the priority. For example, if three employees have been allocated to a function, the employee with priority 3 will be used to carry it out. If a new process arrives while this employee is active, the employee with priority 2 will process the new process, and so on.
Under the aspect of multiple resource use, the following applies to positions and roles: If multiple persons are required, the person whose position or role has the highest priority is used first, followed by the person having the position or role with the next highest priority. This procedure continues until all required persons are committed.
The number of persons must be greater than the number of process instances. Please note that the number of employees is always assumed to be 1 for the Position and Role object types, regardless of the number you entered in the Number of required employees attribute (Simulation attribute type group) for the carries out connection.
Prioritization of resources for a specific function
To specify which resource is to be used as a priority for a particular function, define the Priority attribute (Simulation attribute type group) at the connection between functions and resources. This can be beneficial if certain resources are more suitable for performing a particular task than others. The attribute at the connection has priority over the attribute at the resource. The higher the value, the higher the priority.
Allocation of multiple resources to positions
You can allocate several employees to a position. If a position is requested, an available employee is allocated to that position. If priorities have been specified for employees, the employee with the highest priority is allocated.
Resource commitment
A resource that is allocated to consecutive functions processes these functions one after the other, even if it is requested by another function. Resource commitment can be controlled separately for each resource and can be enabled or disabled for part of the process. The allocation strategy can be controlled using the Commit resource attribute at the carries out and contributes to connection types. If this attribute is active, the resource processes the consecutive functions to which it was allocated without interruption, even if it is requested by other functions. The resource is released as soon as the process folder reaches a function that is not allocated to it. This means that the commitment lasts only as long as functions occur in succession (events are ignored). A resource is released as soon as it has to wait for a reason other than lack of the resource. AND and OR links represent a special case in this context (see below). If an additional resource was committed to carrying out a function, but one of the other allocated resources is not available, the resource is released. Otherwise, it would be waiting unnecessarily, while it could be carrying out other functions. The allocation strategy that is being activated by specifying the connection attribute at a specific point in the control flow remains active for the remainder of the control flow, until the value of the Commit resource attribute is changed.
If the control flow was split by a rule, both paths continue to use the commitment strategy that was in use before the split. The strategy can be altered independently within these paths. When a process folder reaches a joining AND or OR rule, all resources of this process folder are released. This is done for the following reasons:
The process folder must wait at the joining rule for process folders from other incoming paths. If the resource were not released, it would not be available for other tasks during that time, even though it is not carrying out a function.
There are cases in which a resource is required to carry out functions of different process paths that lead to a join. If the resource were not released, it would not be available to carry out these functions. This would create an insoluble situation and the process would not be able to continue to completion.
After the joining rule, the value of the Commit resource attribute is activated if at least one of the incoming process folders was set to active on this attribute, and it is deactivated if all process folders have been set to deactivated. When a process folder reaches an XOR join and can be forwarded, the resource remains committed to the process folder. If the process folder cannot be forwarded, the resource is released. The allocation strategy based on the Commit resource attribute may conflict with the strategy based on the Priority attribute of events and human resources. For this reason, the Commit resource attribute has precedence.
Required and available employees
The number of employees required and provided can be specified for resource types that represent more than one employee, for example, organizational unit, group. The number of employees of a specific resource who are required to carry out a function can be specified for connections between a function and an organizational unit using the Number of required employees attribute. The number of employees made available by a resource can be specified using the resource's Number of employees attribute. If an organizational chart is assigned to the resource, the employees defined in the chart are used. A function is carried out only if the number of employees requested is less than or equal to the number of employees available. If this is not the case, the incoming process folders stack up in dynamic wait state at the function. If the resource provides a multiple of the number of employees required, the function can be carried out in parallel a corresponding number of times. If the corresponding attributes have not been specified, the number of required and available employees is set to 1.
Resource commitment for multiple function executions
You can use the Processes to be processed function attribute to specify how often the function in question is to be carried out before the resource that is processing it is allocated to other functions with process folders in dynamic wait state. If the number of process folders in dynamic wait state at the function is greater than the attribute value, the function is carried out for the number of times specified in the attribute. If the number of process folders in dynamic wait state at the function is smaller than or equal to the attribute value, the function is carried out until no more process folders are waiting.
The allocation strategy based on the Processes to be processed attribute (carries out a specific function more than once) conflicts with the allocation strategy based on the Commit resource attribute (carries out multiple functions consecutively) of the carries out and contributes to connections. If both attributes have been set, the Commit resource strategy has priority.
The allocation strategy based on the Processes to be processed attribute (carries out a specific function more than once) conflicts with the allocation strategy based on the Priority event attribute. If a resource is working on a stack based on the Processes to be processed attribute and is requested at the same time by a function or process folder with a higher priority, the resource finishes working on the stack before it is allocated to another function.