Power of Automation :: Automatically divide the work hours between the task owners

Power of Automation :: Automatically divide the work hours between the task owners

Hello Everyone,

A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate complex tasks and calculations. 

Let us consider the below use case from a customer - 

As per the design, Work hours will be allocated based on the number of owners assigned to a task. For example, A task is added with the duration of 16 hours and assigned to a user, John. So, the work hours allotted for him will be 16 hours. If one more owner is added to the same task, the work hours gets doubled and the total work hours will be 32. 

But we have received a specific use case from a customer and he wanted to allocate the work hours at task level instead of individual user level.

From the above scenario, he wants the work hours '16' to be equally divided between the task owners rather than doubling it to 32.

We resolved this use case using Custom functions in Zoho Projects

Todo : Create a connection for Zoho Projects service with the scopes “ZohoProjects.portals.READ”, “ZohoProjects.tasks.READ”, “ZohoProjects.tasks.UPDATE” to replace ‘connectionprojects’ with the connection name. Click this link below to learn how to create the connection. Attached the screenshots of Task Workflow Rule & Arguments.

Script to be used : 
  1. endPoint = "https://projects.zoho.com/restapi/portal/";
  2. updateTaskParameter = Map();
  3. ownerIds = "";
  4. isOwnerPresent = false;
  5. taskWorks = List();
  6. if((duration.contains(":")||duration.toNumber()!=0)&&affectedValues.get("action").containsIgnoreCase("Creation"))
  7. {
  8. // Get Task Details
  9. taskResponse = zoho.projects.getRecordById(portalId,projectId,"Tasks",taskId,"connectionprojects");
  10. owners = taskResponse.get("tasks").get(0).get("details").get("owners");
  11. workHours = taskResponse.get("tasks").get(0).get("work");
  12. workhour = workHours.toList(":").get(0).toNumber();
  13. workhour_mins = workHours.toList(":").get(1).toNumber();
  14. convertedMinsToHours = workhour_mins.toNumber() / 60;
  15. totalWorkHours = workhour + convertedMinsToHours;
  16. ownerCount = owners.size();
  17. for each  owner in owners
  18. {
  19. if(owner.get("name").containsIgnoreCase("Unassigned"))
  20. {
  21. break;
  22. }
  23. else
  24. {
  25. isOwnerPresent = true;
  26. ownerWorkHours = totalWorkHours / (ownerCount * ownerCount);
  27. taskWork = Map();
  28. taskWork.put("user_id",owner.get("id"));
  29. taskWork.put("working_hours",ownerWorkHours.round(2));
  30. taskWorks.add(taskWork);
  31. ownerIds = ownerIds + owner.get("id") + ",";
  32. }
  33. }
  34. taskOwners = ownerIds.removeLastOccurence(",");
  35. if(isOwnerPresent)
  36. {
  37. totalHours = totalWorkHours / ownerCount;
  38. updateTaskParameter.put("owner_work",taskWorks);
  39. updateTaskParameter.put("work_type","work_hours");
  40. updateTaskParameter.put("person_responsible",taskOwners);
  41. updateTaskResponse = zoho.projects.update(portalId,projectId,"tasks",taskId,updateTaskParameter,"connectionprojects");
  42. }
  43. }
  44. else
  45. {
  46. // Get Task Details
  47. taskResponse = zoho.projects.getRecordById(portalId,projectId,"Tasks",taskId,"connectionprojects");
  48. owners = taskResponse.get("tasks").get(0).get("details").get("owners");
  49. durationType = taskResponse.get("tasks").get(0).get("duration_type");
  50. duration = taskResponse.get("tasks").get(0).get("duration");
  51. if(durationType.containsIgnoreCase("hrs"))
  52. {
  53. totalHours = duration.toDecimal();
  54. }
  55. else
  56. {
  57. portalInfo = invokeurl
  58. [
  59. url :endPoint + portalId + "/"
  60. type :GET
  61. connection:"connectionprojects"
  62. ];
  63. businessHours = portalInfo.get("portals").get(0).get("settings").get("business_hours");
  64. business_start = businessHours.get("business_start");
  65. business_end = businessHours.get("business_end");
  66. businessTotalHours = (business_end - business_start) / 60;
  67. totalHours = duration.toDecimal() * businessTotalHours;
  68. }
  69. ownerCount = owners.size();
  70. for each  owner in owners
  71. {
  72. if(owner.get("name").containsIgnoreCase("Unassigned"))
  73. {
  74. break;
  75. }
  76. else
  77. {
  78. isOwnerPresent = true;
  79. ownerWorkHours = totalHours / ownerCount;
  80. taskWork = Map();
  81. taskWork.put("user_id",owner.get("id"));
  82. taskWork.put("working_hours",ownerWorkHours.round(2));
  83. taskWorks.add(taskWork);
  84. ownerIds = ownerIds + owner.get("id") + ",";
  85. }
  86. }
  87. taskOwners = ownerIds.removeLastOccurence(",");
  88. if(isOwnerPresent)
  89. {
  90. updateTaskParameter.put("owner_work",taskWorks);
  91. updateTaskParameter.put("work_type","work_hours");
  92. updateTaskParameter.put("person_responsible",taskOwners);
  93. updateTaskResponse = zoho.projects.update(portalId,projectId,"tasks",taskId,updateTaskParameter,"connectionprojects");
  94. }
  95. }
  96. return "success";
Watch this space for more such custom functions


      • Sticky Posts

      • Time Log Reminder

        Tracking the time spent on tasks and issues is one of the most important functions of a timesheet. However, users may forget to update the time logs because they have their own goals to achieve. But, time logs must be updated at regular intervals to keep

      • Enhanced Collaboration and Global Web Tabs

        Hello Users, We are rolling out two key enhancements in Zoho Projects that will be part of our November release. Here’s what to expect: 1. Collaboration Section in the Left Navigation Panel What’s new? All communication and interactive tools will be grouped

      • Tip 37: Time Log Restriction in Zoho Projects

        Timesheet in Zoho Projects helps you big time in entering log hours for the tasks and issues and approving them. Now, with the new Time Log Restriction option, you can set daily and weekly log hour limits. You can restrict users from entering extra log hours than the permissible limit. The limits are restricted to 24 hours per day and 168 hours per week by default based on business hours. To customize, navigate to Task & Timesheet settings under Portal Configuration in Zoho Projects setup and enable

      • Rename Task Module To Suit Your Project

        Task Module in Zoho Projects gives a comprehensive view of all the action items, known as Tasks, across all projects. However, different industries may use alternative terminology for similar processes, which might not always be recognised when labelled

      • Project Billing with the Staff Hours Method in Zoho Projects

        The Staff Hours Billing Method in Zoho Projects allows you to bill your clients based on the actual time spent by each team member on a project, at the rate set for each user. This is useful for projects where different skill sets are needed and service