Resource Plan
Every team manager wants to be informed about what his or her team is working on. The team resource plan excel template will help a team manager to assign team members to multiple projects. It provides a clear view of team allocations.
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Team Resource Plan Excel Template |
About the Team Resource Plan Excel Template
- It can be used to maintain resource allocations for the team.
- The Plan is daily, and allocations can be done up to 60 days.
- Each resource can be allocated to up to 5 projects.
- Each project is assigned a different color.
- Project names can be changed but not the color or serial number order.
How to use the Team Resource Planning Excel
- Enter the Resource Name in the Resource column.
- In the ID column, enter the project ID (It is the No in the against the Project in the Project tab).
- DO NOT ENTER THE PROJECT NAME AS IT AUTO POPULATED.
- An "X" denotes an allocation. Depending on the project selected, the color of the cell will be highlighted,
- An "L" denotes a leave and will be highlighted in red.
- To update the project names, see the project list on the project tab. Please see the below image. In the image, column No is the project ID.
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Projects |
13 Tips for Managing a Team of Resources
#1: Maintain a resource plan
- Always maintain a resource plan.
- It does not matter which resource management tool you use; a resource manager must always access the latest resource allocations.
- You may use a Simple Resource Plan, Resource Matrix, or Advanced Resource Plan.
- The resource plan is like a contract between everyone, so the plan should be up to date.
- Use a resource plan which supports multiple projects. You may also consider using Capacity Planner.
#2: Have a dedicated resource manager
- This is very effective if you have a large team of resources or software developers.
- The resource manager will be responsible for updating the resourcing plans and will be the single point of contact for resource allocations.
- The resource manager should track only the resource loading. How the resources are utilized in a project is a project manager's responsibility.
#3: Regularly update. review and publish resource plans
- It is important to update the resource plan regularly.
- I will recommend that you update the plan at least once a week.
- Review the plan with team managers and project managers at least once in two weeks.
- Publish the resource plan for everyone, including the team, regularly.
#4: Leave enough room for other day to day activities
- Anyone working in a software or IT company has to spend time on other tasks like meetings, performance reviews, training, and other such day-to-day routine tasks.
- It is important that a resource manager leaves room for such activities, and so does the project manager.
- This can be achieved by reducing the resource availability for everyone by a certain %.
- The % of time spent on such tasks will vary from organization to organization.
- By looking at the timesheet data for resources, you will approximate the time resources spend on other activities.
#5: Maintain a resource leave and public holiday register
- It is vital for a resource manager to know who is on leave and for how much time.
- Without knowing the leave plan allocating resources is very dangerous as the project managers will assume the resources are available and plan the project.
#6: Enforce additional leave approval policies
- Implement policies outside normal HR Policies.
- For example, 1 day of leave needs to be approved one week in advance, one week should be notified one month in advance, and anything more than that a quarter in advance.
- This will allow the resource manager to plan accordingly.
- Always insist on a backup being identified for the resource going on leave.
#7: Automate and track resource timesheets
- It is important to know where your resources are spending time.
- There are quite a few systems that allow you to track time. One of them is JIRA.
- Having the ability to track time allows a resource manager to compare actual vs. planned.
#8: Demand to see project plans and track project progress
- After a resource manager assigns resources to a project, it is the project manager's responsibility to ensure the software resources are utilized.
- But a resource manager must know when the project will start and complete so that he can plan the next assignments for the resources.
- Also, knowing the project plan helps in understanding how much workload each resource has.
- The resource manager may also be able to identify opportunities where resources can be shared across projects.
- Check how your project managers can plan project resources effectively.
# 9: Actively track resource cost
- Depending on the resource pool, different resources will have different costs.
- It is up to the resource manager to actively track resource costs and inform the project managers of any cost changes to the resources.
- Also, track that the resource is billable on the right project. It is effortless for a resource to get distracted on non-billable tasks.
- You may consider using Excel Budget Template for resource cost tracking.
#10: Automate resource requests
- It is helpful in tracking and maintaining an audit log when resources are requested.
- It also allows the resource manager to ask for any additional information required as most of the system allows customization.
- It is easier to enforce standards when requests are automated.
#11: Have a resource approval hierarchy
- Always have an approval hierarchy to make sure that you are making the right decisions.
- In some organizations, the resources are jointly owned, and having an approval hierarchy allows validating the resource requests.
- Senior managers in the approval hierarchy can also validate the resource requests' alignment with the organization's priorities.
#12: Plan forward for long-term and be conscious of upcoming projects
- Always try to plan forward and keep your resource plans updated for at least one quarter in advance.
- Also, keep track of the new upcoming projects to determine what kind of resources will be needed.
- In the software development world is always possible to predict the projects.
- Also, a good practice is to keep a fixed number of resources as a buffer.
#13: Keep buffer for on-boarding and training
- When a new resource is on-boarded, it takes a while for the resource to start getting productive.
- Make sure that the project manager leaves a buffer for the boarding and training activity in the project plan,
- Some buffer is needed to be maintained when a new resource from a different project joins.
- Most of the software or IT Projects get delayed or change plans. So having this buffer is always a good idea.
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