When working in the OnePlan Resource Plan, the Compare To dropdown allows you to compare your currently selected Resource Plan Type against another planning dataset or scenario.
This comparison helps resource managers, project managers, and portfolio leaders quickly identify differences between planned work, actual work, capacity, budget scenarios, and forecast versions.
Where Can You Find It?
The Compare To option is available within the Resource Plan view and is used alongside the selected Resource Plan Type to display variances between two different planning sources.
This can help answer questions such as:
- How does planned work compare to available capacity?
- How do actual timesheet hours compare to forecasts?
- How does the current forecast compare to a budget version?
What changed between planning scenarios?
Available Compare To Options
Capacity
Purpose: Compare planned work against available resource capacity.
This option allows you to see whether resources are overallocated or underutilized by comparing forecasted demand against their available working time.
Helpful for:
- Capacity planning
- Resource balancing
- Identifying workload risks
- Forecasting hiring needs
Current
Purpose: Compare against the organization's current working resource plan.
The Current plan typically represents the day-to-day version that project and resource managers use for ongoing planning activities.
Helpful for:
- Measuring changes from another planning version
- Reviewing forecast adjustments
- Comparing budget scenarios to current expectations
Timesheet
Purpose: Compare planned work against actual work recorded in timesheets.
This allows organizations to evaluate how closely project forecasts align with actual effort spent.
Helpful for:
- Forecast accuracy reviews
- Resource utilization analysis
- Project performance reporting
- Variance tracking
Schedule
Purpose: Compare resource plans against assignments imported from the project schedule.
This comparison helps identify differences between project scheduling tools and resource forecasting plans.
Helpful for:
- Schedule validation
- Resource assignment reviews
- Microsoft Project synchronization checks
- Identifying planning inconsistencies
Future
Purpose: Compare against a future planning or forecast scenario.
The documentation identifies Future as an additional Resource Plan Type available for comparison, though no further standard definition is provided.
Organizations may use this plan type for future-state forecasting or scenario planning.
Helpful for:
- What-if analysis
- Long-range planning
- Future staffing projections
ASR
Purpose: Compare against an ASR planning snapshot.
ASR is a Resource Plan Type maintained by the organization and typically serves as a budgeting or planning baseline.
Helpful for:
- Budget reviews
- Forecast comparisons
- Tracking changes from approved plans
Jul Budget
Purpose: Compare against a resource plan captured during a July budgeting cycle.
This provides a historical budgeting reference point.
Helpful for:
- Budget-to-forecast analysis
- Mid-year planning reviews
- Resource demand tracking
Oct Budget Rcl
Purpose: Compare against a resource plan captured during the October budget reconciliation process.
This version is commonly used as a budgeting checkpoint or financial planning baseline.
Helpful for:
- Budget reconciliation
- Forecast validation
- Portfolio planning reviews
Proj 1, Proj 2, and Proj 3
Purpose: Compare against alternate planning and forecasting scenarios.
These plan types are often used by organizations to model different resource demand assumptions, budget forecasts, or business scenarios.
Examples include:
- Best-case scenario
- Expected scenario
- Worst-case scenario
- Alternative budget assumptions
Helpful for:
- Scenario planning
- Strategic forecasting
- Resource demand analysis
- Executive decision-making
How This Helps You
The Compare To feature provides valuable visibility into how resource plans differ across forecasts, budgets, actuals, schedules, and capacity models.
Rather than maintaining separate reports, users can quickly identify:
✅ Variances between planned and actual effort
✅ Resource overallocations and availability issues
✅ Budget-to-forecast differences
✅ Changes between planning scenarios
✅ Potential risks before they impact project delivery
By regularly reviewing these comparisons, organizations can make more informed staffing, budgeting, and portfolio decisions.
| Value | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Capacity | Compare planned work against available resource capacity. |
| Current | Day-to-day planning version used by the organization. |
| Timesheet | Actual work imported from timesheets. |
| Schedule | Resource assignments imported from the project schedule. |
| Future | Future planning scenario or forecast version (the documentation identifies it as another Resource Plan Type available for comparison, but does not further define it). |
| ASR | Budget/planning phase snapshot used by the organization. |
| Jul Budget | Resource plan captured during a July budgeting cycle. |
| Oct Budget Rcl | Resource plan captured during an October budget reconciliation cycle. |
| Proj 1 / Proj 2 / Proj 3 | Additional budgeting or forecasting scenarios maintained by the organization. |
Note: The available Resource Plan Types may vary by organization. Some options, such as ASR, Jul Budget, Oct Budget Rcl, and Proj 1–3, are organizational planning versions that may be configured differently depending on your OnePlan environment.
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