Task Assignment Blueprints

A Task Assignment Blueprint helps you assign users automatically to all current and future project tasks. This saves time and ensures everyone who needs to work on a task is already assigned.

What is a Task Assignment Blueprint?

A Task Assignment Blueprint is a template that automatically assigns selected users to all current and future tasks in a project. Once set up, it applies these assignments to any new tasks added later without extra steps.

The blueprint fields are the same as a standard assignment, but are applied automatically to tasks:

• Users / Teams: Assign these users or teams to the project tasks.
• Active Between: Specify the date range during which these task assignments remain active.
• Budget: Set a budget per user or team (in hours or currency).
• Allowance: Choose whether to block or allow more hours than the budget.
• Role: Assign a relevant role or job title.

How It Works

Creating a Blueprint

1. Open the Project where you want to apply the blueprint.
2. Click on “Assign Users.”
3. In the Assign To dropdown, select "To all current and future project tasks."
4. Select the Users or Teams you want to include.
5. Define Relevant Fields (date range, budget, role, hourly rate) just as you would in a normal assignment.
6. Save your changes.

Once the blueprint is saved, the selected users or teams are automatically assigned to every current task in the project. Any tasks created in the future will also be assigned using the blueprint fields.

Editing a Blueprint

In the list of tasks and assignments, blueprints are marked with a star.

When you change any field in the blueprint, all assignments crated by the blueprint are also automatically updated.

If you remove a user or team from the blueprint, they are unassigned from all tasks where they were added by the blueprint.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Will the blueprint overwrite manual changes?

   Any updates to the blueprint (e.g., budget or dates) will apply to assignments originally created by the blueprint. However, if you manually adjust the fields on an assignment created by the blueprint, that assignment becomes disconnected from the blueprint. Any future blueprint changes will not apply to this manually modified assignment.

2. Can I create multiple blueprints in one project?

   No. You can only have one Blueprint per project.

3. What happens when a user is already assigned to a task?

   If a user has an existing assignment, eHour will not create a duplicate.

4. What if I remove a user from the blueprint?

   If you remove a user or team from the blueprint, they will automatically be unassigned from all tasks that were originally created by the blueprint.

5. Can I remove or disable the blueprint entirely?

   Yes. If you delete the blueprint, it stops creating new assignments and any previously created assignments are deleted or archived. Don’t worry—any tracked time entries remain intact and are not deleted, preserving your project’s historical data.

6. What is the difference between a Task Assignment Blueprint and a Project Task Template?
   • Task Assignment Blueprint: Focuses on who is assigned to tasks. It automatically adds or removes users to all existing and new tasks in a project.
   • Project Task Template: Focuses on what tasks exist in a project. It’s a predefined set of tasks that updates any project using the template whenever tasks are added, removed, or changed in the template.
   • In other words, the blueprint ensures the right people are on the tasks, while the template ensures the right tasks are in the project. They serve different but complementary purposes.