As a product manager, you must have a systematic approach to resource and project planning. By doing so, you can ensure that your team completes projects on time, within budget, and to the required level of quality. Here are some steps you can take to structure your approach to resource and project planning:
Use a dedicated planning tool: As stated in the literature, using a dedicated planning tool is critical. This tool should be part of an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that provides a complete picture of a project’s health, including key metrics and other critical information.
Determine the three dimensions of planning: capacity planning, project planning, and resource planning. Capacity planning entails high-level, long-term planning that focuses on the combination and number of employees your company requires. Project planning is concerned with the scope and progress of the project, ensuring that it runs on time, within budget, and with a reasonable degree of predictability. Resource planning is short-term planning for optimising your existing employees or current projects, identifying any need for freelance resources, and highlighting any under or over-utilization.
Gather project requirements: Collect project requirements from stakeholders such as customers, management, and the project team. Use these requirements to define the project’s scope and identify any potential risks or bottlenecks.
Estimate resource requirements: Based on the project requirements, estimate the resources needed for the project, including people, time, and budget. This will assist you in ensuring that you have the necessary resources to complete the project successfully.
Create a project plan that outlines the project scope, schedule, budget, and deliverables. Check that the plan includes key milestones and dependencies, and that it is realistic and achievable.
Monitor and adjust: Regularly monitor the project’s progress and make necessary adjustments to the plan. Use the planning tool to identify and mitigate any issues or risks that may arise.
Assume you work as a product manager for a software development company. You’ve been tasked with creating a new mobile app for a client. The first step is to use a designated planning tool within an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to get a complete picture of the project’s health. Then you identify the three dimensions of planning, which are capacity planning, project planning, and resource planning. You collect project requirements from stakeholders in order to define the project scope and estimate the resources needed, including people, time, and money.
Based on this information, you create a project plan outlining the project scope, schedule, budget, and deliverables. You also ensure that the plan includes key milestones and dependencies and that it is realistic and achievable. As the project progresses, you use the planning tool to monitor its progress and adjust the plan as needed. This allows you to identify and mitigate any issues or risks that may arise.
You can ensure that your team delivers the mobile app on time, within budget, and to the required level of quality by employing a structured approach to resource and project planning. This not only meets your client’s needs, but it also boosts the morale and productivity of your team.
