How to use automation to power your resource planning

How do you currently “power” your resource planning?

Is it possible that you are doing things the old fashioned way still? Let us explain…

Think of each organization as a factory. A certain amount of output is expected for an organization to reach its goals. It is also expected for the delivery of that output to be done on time to reach the factory’s/organization’s goals. During the mid-1900’s, factories went through an electrification process. This led to factories creating 30% more output.

“Manufacturing plants started transitioning to electric motors and fewer facilities continued with front-line shaft and belt drives using steam engines. During this transition, manufacturing facilities experienced about 30% increases in output. This was because electric motors had much greater efficiency compared to steam engines…”

Just like factories went through an evolution to create more output in a shorter amount of time, project portfolio planning is going through a similar evolution. When selecting a PPM solution, it is important to consider what automations a PPM offers to help power the efficiency of your organization’s project portfolio output. This is especially true when it comes to tasks like planning the cost of your resources.

Is it possible that you are currently using a complicated work-around that is taking up your time and therefore eating into your time to be strategic? Maybe it is time to update your resource budget planning processes with automated resource planning?

Auto-calculated resource budget planning 

Here is an example from Proggio, of what we are talking about when it comes to automation in your PPM:

How to find the best solution to power your planning

Will automation improve team efficiency?

By setting up all the predetermined parameters for your resource planning, your PPM’s automations should calculate the cost for you. That means the cumbersome calculating is done for you and you can see the results instantly. 

So what can auto-calculated resource labor costs do for your team?

Bill Gates once said, “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency.” 

As organizations work to achieve operational excellence, they must use tools that enable them to keep up with the pace. Automations like the one we are discussing should be easy to use and built right into your plan. They should mitigate risks by taking into account the entire scope of the work being done. Here are two questions that can help you determine if a solution can do that for your organization.

• Does the automation fit into the bigger “data” picture?
• Does the automation take into account every team member?

Does the automation fit into the bigger “data” picture?

Can you really plan if you don’t know what the plan is? This is what we mean by that. If you make a plan to edit or change any part of your resource planning, does this solution automatically update to a clear birdseye view of the project or portfolio you are working on? 

With a visual first solution like Proggio, you can input updates in the auto-calculated budget planning and it will automatically feed that data to our patented map view. So, not only does the automation calculate your resource needs, but it feeds that data into a view where you can see the entire project or portfolio on one screen. 

That means no multiple tabs or scrolling to understand the big picture. This practice mitigates the risk of you missing a gap or a risk when it comes to your resources and because you can see how your planning impacts the big picture. 

Does the automation take into account every team member?

When planning resources, does your current solution take into account what the demands are on every team member, and if those resources are being used somewhere else already?

When choosing a PPM solution, make sure you select an option that gives you an unlimited user option. With the ability to put everyone in your organization on your PPM, you can accurately plan ahead how each resource will be utilized in fulfilling the demands of your project portfolio. A solution like Proggio takes into account every member of your team. 

That means the risk of a resource being overbooked is mitigated and every person has a clear picture of what the plan is. With everyone from the smallest task and its task owner, to the project manager planning out resources and timelines, and finally all the way up to the top executive making strategic decisions, having everyone on the same platform keeps everyone aligned and organized.

^[1] https://www.progressiveautomations.com/blogs/news/the-evolution-of-automation

^[2] https://www.progressiveautomations.com/blogs/news/the-evolution-of-automation

^[3] https://reverscore.com/85-quotes-operational-excellence-and-continuous-improvement/