What is this feature?

Option to allocate a resource in a project as a shadow resource to another resource.

Why is it needed?

IT consulting and services companies might want to release some bandwidth of a senior resource allocated to one project and have another junior shadow resource perform some of the tasks allocated to the senior resource.

The senior resource may also be a part of multiple projects where multiple junior resources are shadowing them. This feature enables the project manager to add and assign shadow resources to an existing resource within a project.

Having a junior resource as a shadow resource enables the companies to free up the bandwidth of senior allocated resources who can then be assigned to and billed in multiple projects. This helps the companies optimize their ROI and better resource utilization intelligence.

How does it work?

To assign a shadow resource to an existing resource in a project, go to Project from the left navigation pane on the Keka Portal. Select the Projects tab from this page. Ensure you're on the Project List tab and select Active Projects.

Here on this page, you will see a list of active projects that are currently running. Select the project you want to assign shadow resources from the list. Navigate to the Team tab on the Project page to add shadow resources. 

Select the resource you want to add a shadow resource for. Under the Actions column, click on the three dots, and from the drop-down that opens up, select Assign a Shadow. 

You can assign a resource as a shadow resource only after adding that resource to the team first. 

On the Assign Shadow Resource window, select the resource you want to add as a shadow for the selected resource from the drop-down list. Click Assign to assign the resource selected as a shadow resource. 

In the confirmation window, click on Yes, Go Ahead to confirm the addition of the shadow resource. 

You can now see the shadow resource you've added to the team list.

Once assigned, the billable timesheet hours logged by the shadow resource will be billed at the same rate as the allocated resource. 

You can also see which resource was backed by a shadow resource while generating an invoice. 

Important notes

• A resource can be assigned as a shadow to one resource at a time only. If you wish to assign the resource as a shadow to another, you will need to remove the resource as a shadow from the existing resource. 
• You can remove a resource as a shadow at any time. If the timesheet hours added by the shadow resource are already invoiced, then the invoice will not change. Un invoiced hours logged by the shadow will not be considered while generating the invoice.
• You cannot delete a resource if they are assigned a shadow resource. You will first need to remove the shadow resource assignment and then delete the resource.
• You cannot delete a shadow resource assigned to an allocated resource. You will first need to unassign the resource as shadow and then delete them from the project.

Hope this helped you understand how shadow resources can be added to certain resources and projects. More questions? Talk to our product experts today!