It’s stressful trying to find people to keep projects moving along. Effective capacity planning helps highlight issues that can be dealt with head-on. The final result is finding solutions that will keep the team happy and keep work flowing. Here are five ways it helps ensure a successful team effort.
- Maximize Utilization. Most companies struggle with resource availability issues. Keeping a clear view of who is available and when helps maximize team utilization. Gaps can be filled in with smaller pieces of work. When you maximize utilization, more gets done using the same number of people to ensure successful on-time delivery.
- Real-Time Data. When you find out a team member isn’t available at the last minute, it can prevent you from reaching goals. When you use real-time data tools for capacity planning and everyone is on board, it’s easier to plan ahead to cover those gaps before they affect the process.
- Easier to Plan Ahead. Being aware of your demand allows for capacity planning over time. You can plan for vacation times, initiatives, new plans and internal projects. Being able to plan better as a manager or owner means accurate forecasting, which equals increasing the probability of meeting deadlines.
- Protect the Team. Proper capacity planning helps team members avoid burnout in the workplace. Work quality often suffers if teams are pushed too far over their capacity for a long period of time. You protect your team with a good plan so you can identify potential overages before they create larger problems.
- Time Organization. When people understand exactly what tasks they should be working on, they are more productive. Making plans for time and tasks for a team allows them to prioritize their workload. They aren’t standing around waiting for instructions to keep the project moving.
If you need help with capacity planning or managing a team, visit the Business Name website for more information.