How to Build a Master Roster Pattern (Level 3)

Building a Master Roster Pattern

The Master Roster is your recurring template — "in a typical fortnight, this is who works which shifts." It's the source you apply at Level 4 to generate each fortnight's Living Roster.

The Master Roster is keyed by roster cycle week (1, 2, 3, 4) — so the system supports rotating patterns where Week 1 differs from Week 2.

When to use it

Once at go-live, to build your initial pattern for each Stream
When a new staff member joins (add them to the pattern)
When the pattern itself changes — new shift type added, hours reshaped
Avoid editing for one-off events (sick day, public holiday cover) — those belong at Level 5

Where to find it

Sidebar → Master Roster (Level 3 badge). URL: /master-roster.

Step-by-step

Step 1 — Pick the Stream and cycle week

Stream picker at the top.
Week selector — Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 (matches the cycle weeks configured under Streams patterns).

Step 2 — Assign staff to cells

The grid shows shift patterns (rows) × days of the week (columns).

Click any cell.
The Grid Assignment Modal opens with a list of eligible staff (right Craft Group, holds required scopes).
Pick the staff member → click Assign.

Tip: The modal pre-filters out anyone whose stated availability conflicts. Conflicts are still allowed if you have a reason — toggle Show all to see them.

Step 3 — Bulk operations

Use Bulk Operations (top-right) to:

Copy week — duplicate Week 1 into Week 3 for fortnightly cycles
Clear week — wipe a week to start over
Apply pattern — apply a saved pattern to the current week

Step 4 — Validate

The grid colour-codes cells:

Green — demand met for this cell
Amber — demand met but with warnings (e.g. scope mismatch)
Red — under-staffed for this cell

Aim for all green before moving on. You don't have to fill every cell — anything left empty becomes a vacancy at Level 4 that IRIS or you can fill in Level 5.

Tips & common mistakes

Don't over-fit. A Master Roster that exactly fills every cell is brittle — one resignation breaks it. Leave deliberate flex (10–20% empty cells in Week 2 / Week 4) for IRIS to optimise.
Don't mix one-off cover here. A sick day on a known date is a Level 5 problem.
Re-apply when the master changes. If you change Week 1 today, last fortnight's Living Roster is not updated — only future Apply runs pick up the change.