The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook - 9780071836258

It's almost an epidemic that organizations take on too much work for the people they have, stressing everyone out in the process. There's no sense of which new initiatives are most important; little visibility of who's available to do them and when; and not much awareness about how to get the most out of the people they DO have (and no, it's not having them work harder or more hours). The result is usually delayed projects, mass confusion, and missed market windows.

The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook is the first book to tackle the important dual topics of resource management and capacity planning head on, offering benchmark data, case studies, and maturity suggestions for navigating these difficult issues, as well as a new structure called The Capacity Quadrant Framework for helping organizations make the leap from chaos to control.

Organizations everywhere face the same perplexing challenge: How do I maximize the use of my limited staff toward work that matters? In other words, in an era of rapid-fire change and constrained costs, how do you do more with less and not destroy your people in the process? Many organizations take on new demand the way a broken dam takes in water. They lack the visibility to know who they have available to do what and when. They lack the ability to prioritize across competing initiatives. They fail to optimize the resources they do have, and know little about what it takes to boost productivity and morale. And lastly, they lack the planning and governance models needed to manage a complex mix of people, projects, products, and services in any kind of integrated fashion. The inevitable result is delayed projects, overworked resources, missed market windows, and decreased productivity.

The Resource Management and Capacity Planning Handbook is the first book to tackle this issue head on—demystifying the complexities of resource capacity and demand management, and offering a clear path to maximizing your limited resources. Included is:

• The latest benchmark data from a comprehensive study on resource management
• Case studies from organizations who have made the leap from chaos to control
• Tools for overcoming common barriers and making decisions around time capture, resource assignments, and competing priorities
• Recommendations on ownership of the resource management and capacity planning functions
• Considerations for addressing the people side of resource management and capacity planning

The book also offers a simple structure for managing capacity and demand in your organization—The Capacity Quadrant Framework, a tool for successfully navigating what for years has been difficult and nearly unmanageable terrain.