PAUMS – Frequently Asked Questions

Version: v1.0 | Last updated: 10 Jan 2026 | System: Production / Demo Ready

General & Business

1. What is PAUMS?

PAUMS (Project Allocation & Utilization Management System) is an executive-grade system that converts raw timesheets and allocation data into auditable monthly utilization snapshots.

2. Is PAUMS a timesheet system?

No. PAUMS consumes timesheets but does not replace or manage time entry. It is an analytics and reporting system.

3. Who uses PAUMS?

Executives, delivery leaders, finance teams, TPMO, and audit teams.

Core Concepts

4. What is a Monthly Snapshot?

A Monthly Snapshot is an immutable record of utilization for a specific month.

Timesheets / Allocations | v Snapshot Rebuild | v monthly_snapshot table

5. Why are snapshots immutable?

To ensure auditability, consistency, and executive trust. All dashboards and exports read from snapshots only.

Uploads & Data Flow

6. What does a Dry Run do?

Dry Run validates files, checks dates, detects errors, and shows impact without modifying the database.

7. What happens during Execute?

Execute deletes the target month's snapshot & allocations, ingests new data, and rebuilds the snapshot.

8. Does upload delete old data?

Yes — but only for the target year and month. Other months remain untouched.

APAC Timesheets

9. When are APAC timesheets uploaded?

APAC timesheets are uploaded during the monthly upload process via CSV.

10. What is the staging phase?

Staging temporarily loads APAC data, validates it, and prepares it for commit.

CSV Upload | v Staging Tables | v Commit → timesheets

EMEA Allocations

11. How does EMEA allocation work?

EMEA uses allocation percentages instead of timesheets. Utilization is inferred from FTE allocation.

12. Can allocation exceed 100%?

No. The system normalizes allocations and rejects values above 1.0.

Calculations

13. How is utilization calculated?

Utilization = Utilized Hours ÷ Available Hours × 100

14. Why can utilized exceed available?

This can happen due to overtime or incorrect timesheets. PAUMS flags but does not silently cap data.

Snapshots & Rebuild

15. What does snapshot rebuild do?

It recalculates employee- and org-level metrics from raw data and stores them permanently.

16. What happens if snapshot is missing?

The dashboard will show no data for that month until rebuilt.

Database & Architecture

17. Does deleting monthly_snapshot delete timesheets?

No. It only deletes derived snapshot data, not raw timesheets or allocations.

18. Are timesheets overwritten on re-upload?

Yes — for the target month only.

Safety & Operations

19. What happens if upload fails?

The transaction is rolled back and existing data remains intact.

20. Is PAUMS audit safe?

Yes. All numbers can be traced back to source data via snapshots.

Uploads & Data Control (Deep Dive)

21. Can I upload only APAC data without EMEA?

Yes. If you upload only APAC data for a month, EMEA allocations remain unchanged unless explicitly deleted.

22. Can I upload only EMEA allocations without APAC?

Yes. Snapshot rebuild will infer utilization for EMEA and keep existing APAC timesheets.

23. What happens if neither APAC nor EMEA is uploaded for a month?

No snapshot exists → dashboard shows no data for that month.

24. Does upload overwrite previous uploads?

Yes, only for the selected year & month.

25. Can historical months be re-uploaded?

Yes. PAUMS supports safe historical reprocessing.

26. Is partial upload allowed?

Yes. Uploading only one region is supported.

27. Why is confirmation required for Execute?

To prevent accidental deletion of production snapshots.

28. Does Dry Run modify the database?

No. Zero writes occur.

29. Can I test uploads without affecting dashboards?

Yes, by using Dry Run or deleting snapshots temporarily.

30. Can uploads run concurrently?

No. PAUMS is designed for single monthly execution to avoid data locks.

Snapshot Logic & Integrity

31. What tables does snapshot rebuild read from?

timesheets, emea_allocations, employees, projects

32. What tables does snapshot rebuild write to?

monthly_snapshot only

33. Can snapshot rebuild fail?

Yes, if: No source data exists, Invalid month/year, Database lock timeout

34. Are snapshots cumulative?

No. Each month is independent.

35. Can snapshots be manually edited?

No. They are system-generated.

36. Why is snapshot rebuild a single operation?

To guarantee consistency and audit safety.

37. Does snapshot rebuild affect raw data?

No. Raw data remains untouched.

38. Can snapshots be deleted?

Yes, safely, without touching raw data.

39. Why does dashboard depend only on snapshots?

To ensure fast, predictable, and consistent reporting.

40. Is snapshot rebuild idempotent?

Yes. Running it twice produces the same result.

Timesheets (APAC)

41. When are timesheets inserted?

During APAC upload commit phase.

42. Are timesheets deduplicated?

Yes, based on employee + date.

43. Can timesheets exceed 184 hours?

Yes. PAUMS does not cap reality; it flags anomalies.

44. Are holidays considered?

Only if reflected in timesheets.

45. Does PAUMS calculate leave?

No. It relies on recorded time.

46. What happens if a timesheet date is wrong?

It may be excluded from the target month.

47. Can timesheets be corrected later?

Yes, by re-uploading that month.

48. Does APAC upload delete old timesheets?

Yes, for the same month only.

49. Can APAC and EMEA coexist?

Yes. PAUMS supports mixed-region logic.

50. What if APAC CSV has multiple months?

Upload is rejected or flagged in Dry Run.

EMEA Allocations

51. How is EMEA utilization inferred?

Allocation % × Available Hours.

52. What if allocation is >100%?

It is normalized or rejected.

53. Are allocations month-specific?

Yes. Allocations are stored by year & month.

54. Does EMEA use timesheets?

No. Allocation-driven model.

55. Can allocation be zero?

Yes, but contributes no utilization.

56. Are allocations cumulative across projects?

Yes, but capped at 1.0 per employee.

57. Can EMEA allocations change mid-month?

Only reflected after re-upload.

58. Are projects auto-created?

Yes, if missing.

59. Are employees auto-created?

Yes, during upload if not found.

60. Is project hierarchy required for upload?

No. Hierarchy is reporting-only.

Calculations & Metrics

61. What is Available Hours?

Standard monthly capacity (e.g., 184).

62. What is Utilized Hours?

Actual worked or inferred hours.

63. What is Billable Hours?

Subset of utilized hours mapped to billable work.

64. What is TPMO?

Non-billable organizational work.

65. Is Idle calculated?

Yes: Available − Utilized.

66. Can Idle be negative?

Yes, in overtime scenarios.

67. Does utilization include TPMO?

Yes. Utilized = Billable + TPMO.

68. Are calculations rounded?

Yes, to 2 decimal places.

69. Are executive totals derived or independent?

Derived from employee snapshots.

70. Why do org totals match employee totals?

By design — integrity rule.

Frontend & Dashboard

71. What powers the dashboard?

FastAPI APIs, monthly_snapshot, Vanilla JS.

72. Why did dashboard go blank earlier?

Missing snapshot or JS load failure.

73. Are charts real-time?

No. Snapshot-driven.

74. Can charts drill down?

Yes, employee → project.

75. What happens if snapshot missing?

Charts show empty state.

76. Are dropdowns data-driven?

Yes, from API metadata.

77. Is frontend stateless?

Yes.

78. Does frontend cache data?

No.

79. Can charts be exported?

Yes (CSV/PDF planned).

80. Is mobile supported?

Read-only friendly.

Database & Architecture

81. Does PAUMS use ORM heavily?

No. SQL-first, explicit control.

82. Why MariaDB?

Predictable locking, enterprise-grade.

83. What caused lock timeout earlier?

Long transactions + delete + insert in one session.

84. How was lock issue fixed?

Batch inserts + shorter transactions.

85. Are foreign keys enforced?

Yes, selectively.

86. Is transaction isolation controlled?

Yes (READ COMMITTED).

87. Can PAUMS scale?

Yes, snapshot model scales well.

88. Is PAUMS multi-tenant?

Architecture-ready, single-tenant now.

89. Are backups supported?

Yes (DB-level).

90. Is schema stable?

Yes. Changes are rare and controlled.

Governance, Audit & Demo Safety

91. Is PAUMS audit-ready?

Yes. Snapshots ensure traceability.

92. Can demos be reset safely?

Yes, by deleting snapshots.

93. Is historical data preserved?

Yes, unless explicitly re-uploaded.

94. Can auditors recompute numbers?

Yes, deterministically.

95. Is data lineage clear?

Yes: Timesheets/Allocations → Snapshot → Dashboard.

96. Can executives trust numbers?

Yes — no live recalculation risk.

97. What is PAUMS not designed for?

Daily micromanagement.

98. What is PAUMS best at?

Monthly executive reporting.

99. Can PAUMS support forecasting?

Yes (future extension).

100. What makes PAUMS different?

Immutable snapshots + deterministic math + enterprise safety.