requesting and allocating resources are critical and reoccurring activities for both resource managers and project managers from project kickoff through completion the resource management application is used by resource managers to verify resource availability and evaluate existing resource allocations this is done through the information included in resource plans the key element in resource management let's say you're a project manager and have a new project this project includes tasks and timelines in order to complete the tasks a project manager needs resources to do the work resource plans are created based on the work that needs to be done for example does the project need a developer customer researcher or both how many and when is the start and end date for each resource if the project manager also called the resource requester has this information they can create a resource plan for each request when the resource plan details are finalized the project manager will submit the resource plan to the resource manager the resource manager will go into the allocation workbench to see the resource plan request and check availability for the resources being requested using resource finder then confirm allocate or reject the resource plan the group does not have availability to support the request at this time please request again next quarter i have resources with available time i'll confirm the resources you requested i'll allocate the hours from this specific resource to work on your project until the requested end date we had an unexpected shift in priorities and all existing projects are frozen the group can no longer work on this project once i move the resource plan to canceled all past and future allocations are released and available for other projects the group completed their work once i moved the resource plan to complete all future allocation hours after the completion date becomes zero now i can put the resources on a new project requested from another department when you're ready to start using the resource management application the first step is to understand the resource availability in current allocations of groups and individual resources it's the initial benchmark when requesting or approving resources for projects and demands for more information please see our product documentation knowledge base or podcast or ask a question in the servicenow community