Copying Resource Assignments through the Power Automate Bound Action

The Power Automate bound action facilitates the copying of a project schedule/task pane, including resource assignments, into new projects. The key steps involved in this solution are:

1. Understanding the Bound Action:

• The Bound action for the solution requires the following fields: Table name, Action Name, row ID (target project ID), team member option, Source Project (lookup), Teamember Items (not used for this solution), and TeamMemberMapping (Key and Value mapping of source project’s team member ID (The Key) and the destination project’s team member ID (The Value)).

• The team member option determines whether to copy team members and resources:

0 – Don’t copy team members.

1 – Copy team members as generic resources.

2 – Copy team members to specified named or generic resources.

For this solution, we will be using: 2 – Copy team members to specified named or generic resources.

To retrieve the values required by the fields, we will follow the steps outlined below:

1. Get the Unique ID of the Source Project:

In the example, the name of the Source Project is stored in a column called plan template in the destination project’s record.

2. Get Resource Assignments:

Retrieve resource assignments from the source project template. The action below gets the resources assigned in the specified source project (the project ID).

3. Get the Unique ID of the Bookable Resource Category:

Here, we’re using “Team Member”.

4. Create an Array:

Create an array containing the project team ID and the bookable resource ID from the listed resource assignments.

5. Create New Team Members:

Use the retrieved resource IDs to create new team members in the destination project. This involves multiple steps:

• • • To apply to each using the array of bookable resource IDs, create a GUID.
    • Using the unbound action msdyn_CreateTeamMembersV1, add all the resource IDs to the team of the new target project.
    • Append to a new array both the bookable resource ID and their team member ID associated with the new target project.

6. Mapping IDs:

Map the team member IDs from the source project to the new project. Parse both the original project’s ResourceID/TeamID combinations and the new project’s ResourceID/TeamID combinations in parse JSON actions.

Iterate through both projects’ ResourceIDs and where the resource IDs match, append the team IDs to an array, with the KEY being the source project members’ team member IDs and the VALUE being the destination project’s team member IDs.

7. Execute Bound Action:

Run the msdyn_CopyProject action with the appropriate parameters and mappings. The Row ID contains the unique ID of the Destination Project.

8. Remove Duplicates:

Finally, use the Union expression to remove any duplicates from the new mapping of team member IDs.

Practical Application:

Resource assignments and tasks can be copied from an existing project to a new destination project through the mapping of team member IDs. This automation, when successfully implemented, can significantly reduce the time and effort required to set up new projects with pre-assigned tasks and resources. It ensures consistency and accuracy in resource assignments, enhancing overall project management efficiency.