NRP = Network Resource Planning: operational software for open value networks and other next-economy organizations. This tutorial explains the NRP Resource Type and Resource models and shows how to set them up.
Setup Organization Plan Work Purchase Inputs Contribute Funds Coordinate Work Create Recipes Setup Resource Types Resource type setup needs to be done to a basic level before using the NRP. You can of course also make changes as needed whenever you want. This covers setting up the resource types themselves, and also units of measure, locations, roles agents can play regarding resources, and a set of categorization schemes to make the resource types more usable within the application. Resource type setup fits into the NRP here... Distribute Income Exchange Resources Create Resources
Units Units of measure are used for all resources created or used, and for work. Each Resource Type will be assigned a Unit. Typical examples might be: Each US Dollars (set up each currency separately) Hours Days Meters Kilograms Select Admin from the dropdown on the right of the top navigation bar. Select Units from the list, towards the bottom. Add or change units on the admin page. You can come back and add, change, or delete units at any time.
Resource Types Resource Type setup is an art and a skill. People are trained and have full-time jobs in larger manufacturing companies to do nothing but. This document will attempt to give some guidelines on how to think about it, in addition to an understanding of what is available in NRP and how to set it up. Anything that is part of the value creation of the network could be a resource / resource type. These could be, for example: ● Products (physical, electronic) ● Components or parts ● Equipment and tools ● Designs ● Documents ● Money ● Expenses ● Types of work A list of Resource Types can be found on the top navigation bar under Resource Types.
Resource Types Each Resource Type also has its own page. This page shows Resource Type definition, and also shows everywhere in the system this Resource Type is involved at this time. You can get to this page from a Resource Type link on the Resource Type page or Inventory page.
Resource Types and Resources It is important, and sometimes difficult, to understand the difference between Resource Types and Resources. The Inventory page (left) shows Resources by Resource Type. The Resource Type is the definition of all of the Resources that belong to that Type. If you are familiar with ERP systems, a Resource Type is like a Product Master or Item Master, and resources are like Inventory Items. Or in books, an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is the ID of a Resource Type, and all of the individual books with that ISBN are Resources. For another example, "Room 101" and “Room 102” might be Resources belonging to a Resource Type called "Room". Or at Amazon, you always buy a Resource Type. Amazon knows what Resources they have in inventory for that Type, but you are not specifying which Resource you want. The warehouse will determine that when they pick and ship. Usually Resources would only be instantiated if they are inventoried: and usually, that is if they exist physically and tangibly somewhere, and you want to know about it in the system. Money is particular: a Resource Type that might be instantiated in a pile of cash, but more often as the balance of a bank account or a number in a database. Some Resource Types may never be instantiated: for example Types of Work. Resource types Resources Resources
Resource Types - Thinking about it To decide how to create your Resource Types, it is helpful to think about how your production or service processes work. Here are some possibilities: ● Manufacturing processes tend to require specifically defined resource types, which are used in specific recipes (also called procedures or bills of material with routing). These must be defined to the level that someone can pick a any resource of the specified type and use it to assemble something (called “substitutable”). ● Experimental processes (early R&D) tends to be too chaotic to define recipes before doing work. If you want to inventory parts at a specific level, you may want some specifically defined resource types. But it may be most useful to define more general resource types based on general output of stages of work (for example idea, design, prototype). There are lots of gradations of R&D in between manufacturing and experimental. ● Input driven processes (like translating an original document or repairing a car) are best defined with a workflow resource type that can be assigned stages of work on the same resource (like translation, proofed translation, edited translation; or diagnosis, repaired vehicle, tested vehicle). ● Custom work where you do not need repeatable processes for specific products might also be good candidates for workflow resource types for recipes, and specific resources types for managing inventory. In NRP, a Resource Type can be flagged as “substitutable”. This means that any resource of that type can be substituted for any other resource of that type. You can think of substitutable resource types as specific resource types, and non-substitutable resource types as generalized resource types where the differences are defined by the resource.
Resource Type Categorization Another aspect to think about is how you want to categorize your Resource Types. This will affect what lists of Resource Types you have available as choices in different features of NRP. You will also be able to filter Resources and Resource Types by these categorizations. It is sometimes helpful to think about this after you have defined a set of Resource Types - some of the categorizations may jump out at you. Sample filtering Sample selection limitations
Resource Type Categorization NRP has a very powerful and flexible faceted structure for Resource Type categorization. It can handle complex categorization, or can be set up very minimally. The down side of the power and flexibility is that at least one person in the network will need to spend time to understand how the categorization structure works. Resource Type* Pattern* Use Case (Feature) Event Type Facet* Facet Value Facet Value Facet Value* Event Type *user defined Example: Use Case: Process Logging -Pattern: Electronics R&D --Event Type: Produces ---Facet/Facet Value: Deliverable/Prototype ---Facet/Facet Value: Domain/Electronic --Event Type: Cites ---Facet/Facet Value: Deliverable/Design Resource Type: Widget Prototype -Facet/Facet Value: Deliverable/Prototype -Facet/Facet Value: Domain/Electronic Resource Type: Widget Design -Facet/Facet Value: Deliverable/Design
Resource Type Categorization - Facets To create, go to Admin from the dropdown in the upper right, select Facets, and create your Facets and Facet Values for each Facet. The filter lists to the right show one simple categorization scheme and one more complex one. The logic for facet value filtering if there is more than one facet is: within the facet it is OR and between the facets it is AND. For example, (Deliverable: Design OR Deliverable: Product) AND Domain: Electronic. Facets and Facet Values are the sets of categories for the Resource Types. You need at least one Facet, but can have several if you have a complex set of Resource Types. (Examples to the right.) Facets Facet Values
Resource Type Categorization - Facets Resource Types can be added on the Resource Types page. (Depending on the nature of the work, these may be added throughout the product life cycle. But at least initial Resource Types should be entered.) When creating a Resource Type, you can assign Facet Values to it. You may find that adding Resource Types and Facets/Facet Values (previous page) is an iterative process as you work through what might be the most useful sets of categories. There is an additional page where Facet Values can be assigned to Resource Types in a table format. This makes it easier to get an overview of how the Resource Types and Facet Values relate, and to assign Facet Values to Resource Types in one place. Select Patterns from the top right dropdown, then select Change Resource Type Facets from the Patterns page. Less is more when assigning Facet Values. You will find that similar Resource Types will use the same set of Facets, and that if you deviate, you will have too many selections in Resource Type dropdowns.
Resource Type Categorization - Patterns Patterns provide a template that governs a particular page’s use of Resource Types. Patterns are assigned to Use Cases. Some Use Cases are allowed only one pattern, while others can have as many as desired. Select Patterns from the dropdown on the top right. On the Patterns page, first select a Use Case, which is a feature of the application. You can create new Patterns, change an existing Pattern, or assign an existing Pattern to the Use Case.
Resource Type Categorization - Patterns On the Pattern page, on the right, you can assign Facet Values to a Pattern. On the left side, you can see the effect this will have on Resource Type dropdowns in the Use Case feature of the application, and which Facet Values make the Resource Type match the pattern. If the Resource Type dropdowns are not what you want, you may have to adjust the Facet Values assigned to the Pattern, and/or adjust the Facet Values assigned to the Resource Types. All aspects of the categorization setup will probably be iterative.
Locations Locations are optional. Use them if you will want to keep track of or map resource locations. And they can be set up at any time. In the future, they will be able to be used to map agents also. Select Inventory from the top navigation bar. Select Locations link on the Inventory page. On the Location page, select Create a new Location. Include a mappable address, and the location will show on the map.
Agent Resource Roles Agent Resource Roles are useful as part of defining access rules for resources - often equipment or tools. For example, you might require people to ask permission of the Custodian (agent role) of a resource before using it. They are also useful to define ownership for purposes of accounting. If there are resource owners who are not the network or the commons, and you want to run reports for them as owners, define an owner role here. The above is optional. To manage “virtual accounts” used in distributions of income, choose one role that is designated as “owner”. This is mandatory to be able to use the value equation feature. A “virtual account” will be set up as a resource and associated to its owner agent. To create the role types, select Admin from the top right dropdown, select Agent Resource Role Types from the list. In Setup, you need only create the small list of role types. When creating resources during operations, these will appear as in the bottom image.
Accounting References Accounting References are useful if you need to create reports for accounting or governmental purposes, or if you want to import data into an accounting package such as QuickBooks. This setup is optional. An Accounting Reference can be set up for each account used in reporting. Accounting References are then linked to Resource Types. You will be able to report or export financially related events by Accounting Reference and date range. To set them up, select Admin from the top right dropdown, then select Accounting References from the list. Add, change, or delete. Resource Type Accounting Reference Resource Type Event (payment, receipt, expense)
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