An unexpected absence: reacting within the week
Two days off sick, and someone's week no longer holds. Rather than letting things slip, you see straight away how many hours to reassign, and to whom.
Unexpected absences are part of project life: sick leave, a sick child, an emergency. The problem is not the absence. It is noticing it too late, when tasks have already slipped.
Measure what no longer holds
Izan is absent for two days in week 47. His capacity drops from 35 to 21 hours. He had 30 hours of work planned that week: 9 hours no longer fit. As soon as the absence is entered, the gap appears.
Reassign hours, not tasks
Rather than shifting whole tasks, you reassign the missing hours:
- 5 hours can wait until the following week: Izan goes from 28 to 33 hours in week 48;
- 4 hours are urgent: Martin, at 30 hours in week 47, can take them and goes to 34 hours.
Nobody exceeds their capacity, and critical tasks stay on time.
What makes this reaction possible
You need to see everyone's workload across all their projects, and the absence must be entered where workload is calculated. With those two conditions, the trade-off takes ten minutes, the same day.