Excel template for project resource allocation

Excel template for project resource allocation

This article provides details of Excel template for project resource allocation that you can download now.

Any project requires resources to contribute to its implementation and ultimately its success. Successful project management translates into effective management of the different project resources. These should be determined as early as possible, ideally before the actual launch of the project.

The planning visually represents the organization and your needs for resources, whether human, material or financial, over a given period.

Creating a resource plan lets you know which resources to use and when.

Microsoft Excel software under a Windows environment is required to use this template

These Excel templates for project resource allocation work on all versions of Excel since 2007.

Examples of a ready-to-use spreadsheet: Download this table in Excel (.xls) format, and complete it with your specific information.

To be able to use these models correctly, you must first activate the macros at startup.

The file to download presents five Excel template for project resource allocation

Project management is a very wide area of work, particularly in business. It covers many different topics which can be broken into even smaller particles. Work of a project manager is not only about giving people orders and telling them what to do. Many people limit their work of a project manager to supervising their employees and making sure everyone meets their deadline. But a good project manager knows it’s more than that.

Resource allocation in project management is concerned with creating a plan which can help achieve future goals. There are many resources which have to be allocated when managing a project, beginning from budget to equipment and tools, to data and the project’s plan.

Resource allocation is just a fancy term for a plan that you develop for using the available resources at your disposal in a project. This is mostly a short-term plan set in place to achieve goals in the future.

Resources are varied. Everything from the people you’re working with and the equipment they’re using to complete their tasks to the materials and other supplies you need to even the site where you’re working on the project all fall under the umbrella of resources.

Identify Resources

You know the scope of the project, it’s objective and the tasks necessary to get the work done on time and within the budget approved, now you have to get your resources together.

But that doesn’t mean you have an unlimited pool from which to pull from. So, you have to see who’s currently available, what equipment you’re going to need or purchase and where are you going to perform the tasks for this project, and is that space available.

Before you can allocate resources, you have to have them. So, make a list using the criteria above and then make sure it fits within the budget allotted for the project.

How to Allocate Resources When Managing a Project?

Since resources refer to quite an extensive list of things and aspects of project management, it may be confusing when trying to properly allocate them all. But it’s not difficult and requires certain dedication and involvement. Here’s what you can do to allocate resources in the right way when managing a project:

• know the scope – to know what is your project about, what you will need to achieve it, and to be able to properly allocate resources;
• identify resources – to know which tools, equipment, etc. you will need it completing the project;
• track time – to have a deep analysis of the progress and current situation as well as be able to control it in the real-time;
• don’t look only at the big picture – the process of working on a project is not done with task allocation. Once you allocate resources you have to keep track of all of them. If you lose at least one tiny detail, your project may fail;
• don’t over-allocate – because your team will experience burnout and their productivity will significantly drop.

As a time tracking software, TimeCamp knows the importance of proper time and budget allocation (among others). That’s why extensive features provided by our software enhance resource allocation. But resource allocation is also about controlling reports and invoices. Without it, you will lose track of your and your team’s work.