Think Ahead with Resource Planning Tools

The ability to think ahead is invaluable when planning a project. Before the project even begins, you need to have a solid understanding of all the resources at your disposal, how they interact with each other, and the best way to implement them. Resource planning tools are able to take all of your resources and help you to determine the best way to utilize them.

Reusable Project Templates

Time is everything during the project planning phase. Not just the actual project timeline, but also how well you actually use the time you have during this planning phase. Resource planning tools can help you to optimize this planning phase by providing reusable project templates. 

Instead of creating a project from scratch, you can instead use a premade template designed to handle projects of a certain type and size. For example, if one of the services your company offers is website redesign, you can create a template that standardizes how that project is handled. The time that was previously spent on determining project procedures can now be allocated to your client’s specific needs and ensuring you hit their goals. If you need to make an alteration, you can always use the template as a reference base. Ultimately, resource planning tools like this save you time and effort.

Resource Planning Backed by Data

Data is king in every industry. Besides just providing records of past performance, data can be used to predict future trends and roadblocks. The issue we run into is how to interpret and decide what is relevant in this mass of information. Resource planning tools can wade through past data to provide you with actionable insights into similar projects.

Similar to how project templates can be standardized, resource planning tools can use past data from similar projects to estimate resource use for an entirely new project. Using these trends to inform resource planning can save overall time and effort. In cases where there are outliers in the data, you can compare your current project and decide if circumstances are akin to the outlier or the average, helping you to determine what resources will need to be used.

Real-Time Resource Allocation

We may have a plan in mind for how we want to use our resources, but in practice, we may experience unforeseen roadblocks or challenges. Resource planning tools not only help in the project planning phase but can be utilized mid-project to make dynamic decisions in real-time.

Because resource planning tools allow you to watch how resources are being used mid-project, project managers are privy to red flags that can impact project completion. For example, if a stage in the project is lagging with only three team members, resource planning tools allow you to catch the issue and assign more manpower to make up for the difference before it reaches a point of no return. 

Team Building

At the end of the day, your team is the best resource you have at your disposal. However, people don’t always behave in the same predictable patterns. Resource planning tools can provide insight into individual team members’ needs and changes that need to be made to the overall team composition.

Resource planning tools like Team Builder and Skills Adjacency can help you determine the best fit for every project by comparing skill sets and past experience. Additionally, these resource planning tools can estimate how team composition can affect the project and provide insight into what combinations are the most beneficial and effective overall.

Take Resource Planning to the Next Level

Kantata makes the most of past data to help you reach your future goals. Learn more about how to take your resource planning to the next level with the Kantata Professional Services Cloud.