Planning and assigning executor and reviewer algorithm

A mandatory condition for signaling the system that a task is ready for planning is that the task is assigned a Competence (Skill + Level) and efforts are defined.

The system assigns executors and reviewers according to the following rules:

• An task can have only one executor. If a user assigns a Stream with one person to an Objective and defines additional review stages in the workflow, tasks from this Objective must:

Define a separate skill for the review stage; otherwise, no reviewer will be available in such a situation, as either another executor with the same or higher competence will review the task. Still, the executor of the task itself cannot be a reviewer for it.

• A Stream is assigned to the Objective, then the executors and reviewers for the tasks will be selected from those who are part of the stream (according to the chosen criteria for assigning an executor)

The algorithm for assigning executors operates according to the criteria selected on the Company settings screen. These criteria can be changed at any time during stream work.

The algorithm for assigning a reviewer operates according to the selected criteria on the Workflow screen in the Edit stage sidebar. They can be changed at any time during stream work.

If a separate skill is not assigned in the review stage and/or no reviewer assignment criteria are selected, the system will assign a user with the same skill and level. If the "Strict competence matching team member" setting is disabled in the company settings, and such a user is not found, it will assign someone with the same skill but a higher competence level.

If a sub-skill is assigned in the review stage, the system will assign a user with that sub-skill. If "The strict competence matching team member" is disabled, then if such a user is not found, it will assign someone with the same skill but a higher competence level.

Priority in work implementation:

The order of task execution in each Objective.

The system determines lexicographically all business priorities, from Stream to Objective, from the most important to the least important for each task. When comparing two objects, their business weight is first compared. If the business weight is equal, they move on to the following elements of the top-level decomposition. The comparison continues until a difference is found between the business weights of the decomposition elements or until one of the compared elements ends.

(Business weight - a scale from 1 to 9, where 9 is the maximum priority)

For example, tasks from an Objective with a business weight of "5" will have a higher priority than tasks from an Objective with a business weight of "2".

Assignment algorithm

Having assigned competence, efforts, and execution priority, the system refers to the list of potentially assigned team members on the Objective (potentially assigned), possessing the necessary competence according to the assignment criteria defined in the company settings. It determines the readiness of a team member to start work:

• Employee's calendar (working/non-working days):

If the start and end dates of an employee's absence are known (closed interval), then:

❌ The system does not include this employee in the list of potential executors during their absence if there are team members with the required competence.

✅ If this is the only team member with the required competence (even if fall back policies are included), the system will assign them the task, and the employee can start working on it when they return to their work schedule.

If the end date of the employee's absence is not known (open interval):

❌ The system will not assign this employee to perform the task.

❌ If the closed interval of absence changes to an open one: the system removes the team member from the assigned task.

✅ If the open interval changes to a closed one: the rules of the closed interval apply.

• Free from tasks:

According to the assignment criteria defined in the company settings

• Busy working on a task but will be available soon:

Assignment to a task, even if a team member is currently working on another task, is regulated by the following calculations:

spent hours - the actual time spent on task implementation

expected hours - the expected time determined by the user

max hours - the maximum time defined for task implementation

The threshold value until the system waits for the completion of the current task and includes the team member in the list of potential executors is 4 hours.

If a team member is currently working on another task:

• If spent hours < expected hours, then the system calculates the threshold value: expected hours - spent hours
• If spent hours < max hours, then the system calculates the threshold value: max hours - spent hours
• If spent hours > max hours, the system considers the time for the task too uncertain to assign a person and accordingly does not consider them when planning.

If the executor is available - the system adds them to the potential assigned list and selects a suitable one according to the assignment criteria.

If the team member is currently a reviewer.

Types of effort determination at the stage:

• Review efforts estimate. Spent hours are calculated similarly to the algorithm described above for the executor.
• Doing multiplier efforts estimate. The threshold value is calculated as doing multiplier * spent hours in the doing stage - spent hours on review.
• Empty efforts estimate. The reviewer always falls into the list of potential executors.

Reassignment of executor and reviewer

can occur in three cases (only for tasks that have never passed the Ready to do stage, i.e., have not been in the work of an executor):

The competence of the task has changed

Changes occur in available resources for execution:

• A more suitable team member, according to all criteria, becomes available for the task earlier than expected.
• A new employee is added to the team.
• A team member assigned the task is excluded from the team - in this case, the reassignment occurs regardless of the stage at which the task is located.

Change of company policies - criteria for assigning executor and reviewer.

The order of tasks in the stream is determined by the planned iteration date.

The "further" the calendar date, the later the task will enter the planning and assignment algorithm.