An overarching principle is that each role (e.g, project manager, team member, resource manager, planner, etc.) operates best in the format they’re most comfortable with. For this reason, our general recommendation is as follows:
Use FTEs for Forecast
Use Hours for Actuals
Note: Project managers entering task-level assignments tend to think in terms of percentages (e.g., I need 100% of Bob and 50% of Lori). This is why task assignments in ResourceFirst are entered in percentages. The system internally converts that to FTEs or Hours (depending on configuration) when comparing it to the effort forecast for the Resource Histogram. Likewise, when comparing Forecast and Actuals on dashboards and reports, the system will convert internally as needed so you’re comparing “apples-to-apples.”