Resource planning plays a crucial role in steering project portfolio management away from wishful thinking towards a proactive, feasibility-centered methodology. It ensures the precise alignment of the right personnel with the right projects at the right time, ultimately elevating the likelihood of project success.

Resource planning is an ongoing process that requires annual, quarterly, and monthly assessments during portfolio reviews, sometimes with different audience levels. Even in project steering meetings, it’s crucial to regularly evaluate the resource situation and promptly address any issues that may arise.

It’s recommended to update resource plans continually, especially as project planning horizons draw near. In the initial stages, updates may focus on skill-level planning, gradually progressing to detailed planning for named resources as the project’s time horizon approaches. The specific time horizons for updates can vary based on the size and complexity of the project.

It is recommended for managers to engage in a thorough audit of their forecasting processes regularly. This involves reviewing plans versus actuals on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. Additionally, it is essential to conduct these reviews at the conclusion of every phase gate, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of the accuracy and alignment of forecasts with actual outcomes. This structured approach enables timely adjustments, enhances strategic decision-making, and contributes to the overall effectiveness of the planning and execution processes within the organization.

Effort forecasting requires a tiered approach. A preliminary plan at the skill level can be developed months in advance while allocating named resources might occur weeks before. Typically, the accuracy of forecasts diminishes with a longer time horizon due to evolving circumstances. Some organizations follow a two-step process, initially proposing or soft-booking resources and later committing or hard-booking them as the activity draws nearer. It’s akin to making a restaurant reservation versus actually sitting at the table.

It is advised that organizations foster a culture that ensures feasibility checks whenever an assignment transitions to a project, program, or strategic initiative. It is crucial to ensure that all work is visibly achievable before being funded or scheduled. This approach promotes transparency and helps maintain a well-informed decision-making process within the organization.

Resource planning should initially be done at a skill or role level (e.g., I need two business analysts in July and August for Project Alpha). As the project advances and specific resources are identified, skill-based plans can be transitioned to include named individuals. Both skill-based and named individual approaches are effective at the project level, especially when a broad timeframe is established for project phases and milestones. While more detailed task-level assignments are possible, they are often inefficient and prone to inaccuracies due to frequent changes, making this level of allocation reserved for exceptional cases. Balancing the initial skill-based planning with adaptability allows for effective resource management throughout the project lifecycle. Regular reviews and adjustments ensure alignment with evolving project dynamics and foster successful outcomes.

Time tracking may be required for billing purposes or regulatory reasons. Outside of that, it can be a useful source of information, but can also be perceived as a nuisance or morale-buster by employees. Accuracy tends to suffer unless entries are made daily, as individuals might input information hastily at week’s end just to fulfill timekeeping obligations. There are alternative, less-invasive ways to get the relevant historical and predictive information, including:

• Limited Time Studies: Analyzing specific periods to collect relevant historical and predictive information offers relief from the continuous burden of daily time tracking.
• Periodic Interviews: This alternative method involves periodically discussing time allocations with employees to obtain accurate data.
• Subject-Matter-Expert Opinion: By tapping into the expertise of knowledgeable individuals, this method provides valuable insights without the need for detailed time tracking. It offers a nuanced understanding of project progress and resource allocation.
• Percent-Complete and Remaining Time: These periodically collected metrics provide a less intrusive way to gauge progress and forecast completion without requiring daily input.