Capacity management is essential if you are to complete your projects on time. It enables you to lay solid foundations and optimize the use of your resources.
Discover the key principles of effective capacity management for successful projects.
What is capacity management?
Capacity management involves optimizing the use of available resources within a company. The aim is to maximize the value created with a limited number of hours.
In concrete terms, this involves analyzing available capacity by role and comparing it with the time requirements for each project. This overview ensures that the company has the right skills in sufficient quantity to successfully complete its projects.
Teambook’s dedicated Capacity module lets you view your team’s capacity (« Supply ») on a timeline of 6 to 24 months, and compare it with the needs of current and future projects (« Demand »). This makes resource planning much easier .
Key stages in capacity management
Good capacity management involves several essential steps:
- Calculate current and future available capacity
- Determine resource requirements for each project over time
- If there is a discrepancy between the first 2 points, take appropriate action.
1. Calculate capacity
The first step is to have a clear vision of your teams’ current and future capacity. You need to quantify the number of days/hours available per skill over the coming months.
A resource utilization report is very useful for this. It allows you to quickly identify any future capacity shortages.
With Teambook, for example, you can generate usage reports by team, role or employee. This makes it easy to visualize peaks and troughs in activity.
2. Determine resource requirements
Once you’ve calculated your capacity, you need to compare it with the needs of your projects. For each project, estimate the number of days/hours required month by month.
Teambook offers you a utility to take your operational planning data and calculate the capacity in man-days per month. You can then easily complete subsequent months manually.
Teambook facilitates these first two steps by providing two screens for project planning and resource allocation. The software automatically calculates the occupancy rate for each project, as well as any take-offs between supply and demand, project by project.
3. Adapt capacities
If you don’t have sufficient capacity, you’ll have to take the necessary decisions: hire staff (« increase supply »), step up sales efforts (« increase demand ») or prioritize projects and tasks according to available capacity.
You can also consider reallocating certain resources between projects to make up for shortfalls. In this case, careful task planning is essential.
Best practices for successful capacity management
Here are some tips for optimizing your capacity management:
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Communicate regularly with all stakeholders on the status of capabilities. Transparency is essential.
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Anticipate the risks that could impact your capacity (absences, delays, etc.) and plan solutions.
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Use a dedicated tool to precisely monitor your performance in real time. Software like Teambook will save you precious time.
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Review your estimates regularly, and adjust if necessary. Capacity management must be dynamic.
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Train your teams in capacity management to give them a sense of responsibility.
The benefits of good capacity management
Effective capacity management brings many benefits:
- Improving productivity by optimizing the use of resources
- Better visibility of project feasibility
- Reduces team stress by avoiding overloading
- Objective justification of recruitment needs
- Improving project profitability
With a tool like Teambook, you get a real-time overview of your capacities. So you can make the right decisions to ensure the success of your projects.
Take action to optimize your capabilities
Capacity management is a key element in the success of your projects. By following the right practices and using the right tools, you’ll gain in efficiency and peace of mind.
Don’t wait any longer to implement effective capacity management in your company. Your teams and customers will thank you!
