The 5 most common mistakes in resource management and capacity planning

Project management is not just about completing tasks and projects within the set time frame - it is also about using the available resources efficiently. Especially in complex projects where several teams are working on different parts at the same time, good resource management and effective capacity planning is essential.

Although theoretical knowledge of resource management and capacity planning can be very helpful, it is important to analyze some common errors, as this highlights problems that are not necessarily apparent in theory. This way, you can plan for these situations at an early stage, which in turn ensures the success of the project. Identifying and correcting these errors at an early stage not only enables better project execution, but also helps to ensure that project staff are well utilized and not dissatisfied.

More tips on effective resource management and successful capacity planning can be found here: 10 tips for better resource management

It is often more difficult than expected to accurately estimate the capacity of resources. In practice, planning is often too optimistic. Although an employee could theoretically work 8 hours a day on a project, such an estimate is unrealistic in most cases. In reality, there is rarely a day where someone works 8 hours undisturbed and exclusively on a single project.

In the course of a project, tasks often arise that cannot be foreseen in advance. It can also happen that employees spontaneously have to complete other tasks that are not included in projects. A buffer helps to compensate for these unforeseen tasks without having to adjust the project plan. The exact percentage of workload can vary depending on the industry, task and other factors and must be determined individually.

In addition, employees may have a fixed percentage of their working time scheduled for other tasks, such as customer support (e.g. 2 hours per day). This time should be deducted from the available capacity. In this case, this means that the employee's capacity for projects is only 6 hours per day, of which only 80-90% (or the appropriate proportion) should be permanently scheduled for project-related tasks.

Plan changes are an everyday part of project management. Rarely is a project plan implemented in every detail as it was originally intended. Changes in priorities, technical problems, delivery delays or staff absences often require adjustments to the plan.

Employees and stakeholders have certain expectations of the project plan, as they are dependent on it and need it for guidance. However, if the plan no longer corresponds to reality and thus loses its reliability, the trust of those involved dwindles and the plan is increasingly ignored. In the worst case scenario, the plan is overtaken by reality so that it no longer matches the actual work flow. This leads to resources working on the wrong issues and, in extreme cases, no longer working efficiently or purposefully at all.

For this reason, project managers should make updating the project plan a high priority in their daily work. Efficient project planning software helps to carry out the associated processes and activities quickly and therefore in a timely manner.

If the project manager plans and controls the tasks of the project team members in too much detail during resource planning, he takes away their personal responsibility and a situation of micromanagement arises. In this case, the project team members feel that they are not trusted enough. They also work less efficiently as they have to adhere to a strict plan that is often unrealistic.

The project manager also strains themself, as detailed planning takes up a lot of time and the number of necessary changes to the plan increase exponentially as the project progresses. The project manager loses the overview and gets caught up in the details. In addition, the project manager may not have the necessary specialist knowledge in all detailed areas that is required for planning in detail.

Instead, the project manager should give the project team members the freedom to plan and implement details independently. The project manager provides the framework and leaves the division and planning of the level of detail to the project team members.

The approach here is that work packages are divided into tasks. With the work packages, the project manager specifies which work unit is to be completed by when. The project team member can then divide the work package into tasks and plan and complete these tasks independently as long as they remain within the given framework.

By transferring responsibility for the planning level below the work packages, the feeling of trust and autonomy is strengthened. At the same time, the project manager saves time as he is no longer responsible for detailed planning and can concentrate on higher-level planning.

If only one project is considered in resource and capacity planning, mistakes can occur that are only noticed during implementation when it is already too late. For example, the same employee is inadvertently scheduled for two projects at the same time without this being noticed because the projects were only considered in isolation.

Realistic resource and capacity planning is only possible in multi-project management, i.e. taking the entire project portfolio into account. Visual aids are essential for this. Without clear graphical representations such as Gantt charts or clear overviews, the project manager quickly lose track. A simple table for managing resources and schedules is not sufficient as it does not provide a visual overview of resource capacities. This means that overloads, for example, are recognized too late.

The project manager should therefore use project management software that enables cross-project resource and capacity planning and also offers visual aids. In this way, the resource plan can be created precisely and realistically and delays in the project execution can be avoided.

Using different project planning tools for different aspects of resource and project planning leads to many problems that can complicate project management. Firstly, there is no uniform way of working within the company, as different departments work with different tools and therefore have no overview of other project areas.

This also increases the workload for project managers. If different tools are used that do not synchronize automatically, the project manager has to manually transfer data from tool A to tool B, which creates opportunities for errors. This also results in delays, as Tool A already contains the current project plan, but the project manager still has to enter the latest data into Tool B first.

For these reasons, it is advisable to use project management software that integrates all important planning tools and manages the data centrally. This creates a comprehensive and clear picture of all aspects of project planning without the project manager having to manually transfer data between different software systems. For resource planning in particular, it is important to have a complete overview of all ongoing projects and available resources in order to avoid overloads and hold-ups.

Octaved Flow is a project management software that specializes in project planning and offers a comprehensive approach to project management. In particular, it enables reliable and realistic resource and capacity planning.

Octaved Flow makes it easy to avoid all the mistakes mentioned above. Clear and concise displays allow you to maintain an overview of the entire project portfolio at all times. This is supported by filter functions that allow you to focus on specific aspects. Octaved Flow also offers numerous visual aids that simplify resource and capacity planning. Project staff are involved in project planning and can act independently.

In Team Planning, the available resources can always be kept in view. The visual display of available time per day prevents resources from being under- or overloaded. In addition, Octaved Flow offers a comprehensive planning simulation that can be used to visualize the utilization of resources in various scenarios. These functions help to identify problems at an early stage, avoid them during resource planning and ensure that projects run smoothly.