If you're not ready to buy a resource management tool then you can always set up a temporary work around using popular tools like Excel to manage resources. In this short article we'll explain how you can configure an Excel document to manage your resources.
Step-by-Step Guide:
1. Define Your Resource Categories:
- Start by listing all the different types of resources your company needs to manage. This could include human resources (employees), equipment, materials, or any other relevant categories.
- Open a new Excel worksheet and create a column for each resource category. Label each column with the corresponding resource category name.
2. Determine Time Intervals:
- Decide on the time intervals you want to use for your resource planning. Common intervals include weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
- Create rows to represent each time interval in your Excel worksheet. Label each row with the start and end dates of the time interval.
3. Set Up Your Spreadsheet:
- Open Microsoft Excel and create a new worksheet.
- Enter the title of your resource capacity planning template at the top of the worksheet.
- Label the columns with the resource categories and the rows with the time intervals you determined in step 2.
4. Input Resource Availability:
- In each resource category column, enter the availability of that resource for each time interval. For example, if you're managing employee availability, enter the number of hours each employee is available to work during each time interval.
- You can also include additional details such as the total quantity of equipment or materials available during each time interval.
5. Define Resource Requirements:
- Identify the resource requirements for each project or task you need to plan for. This could include the number of employees needed, equipment required, or materials necessary for each project.
- Create additional columns to represent these project or task requirements next to your resource categories.
6. Input Resource Allocations:
- Enter the allocation of resources to specific projects or tasks for each time interval. This could be the number of employees assigned to each project, the amount of equipment allocated, or the quantity of materials needed.
- Use numerical values or color-coding to indicate resource allocation levels.
7. Calculate Resource Utilization:
- Calculate resource utilization by comparing resource allocations to resource availability for each time interval. Divide the allocated resources by the available resources and multiply by 100 to get a percentage utilization.
- Use Excel formulas to perform these calculations automatically. For example, you can use the formula
=(Allocated Resources / Available Resources) * 100to calculate resource utilization.
8. Visualize Data (Optional):
- Create charts or graphs to visualize resource capacity and utilization trends. Excel offers various chart types such as bar charts, line graphs, or pie charts.
- Choose the chart type that best represents your data and insert it into your worksheet. You can then customize the chart's appearance and labels to make it more informative.
9. Add Formatting and Customization:
- Apply formatting to make your resource capacity planning template visually appealing and easy to read. Use bold fonts for headings, apply colors to differentiate sections, and use borders to separate data.
- Add conditional formatting to highlight resource overallocation or underutilization. For example, you can set up conditional formatting rules to color cells red if resource utilization exceeds a certain threshold.
10. Test and Refine:
- Test your resource capacity planning template with real data to ensure accuracy and effectiveness. Input sample data for different projects or tasks and verify that the calculations are correct.
- Solicit feedback from stakeholders and users, and make any necessary adjustments or refinements based on their input.
- Regularly review and update your resource capacity planning template to reflect changes in resource availability, project requirements, or operational priorities.
By following these detailed instructions you can create a comprehensive resource capacity planning tool in Excel to effectively manage your resources and optimize project outcomes.