The best sports managers in history [1] have all been those who had an intuitive grasp of the resources they had available to them. They had a deep understanding of what each team member could do and who could make a difference at crucial moments. This resource management can also be the difference between achieving consistent project success and not.
One of the biggest problems facing project managers however is one of their own creation, the fact that the majority are still trying to perform their resource and project management on spreadsheets. While Excel and Apple Numbers do have their functions [2], they simply cannot give the necessary 360-degree picture of your available resources and how they are performing.
Better Resource Management
One of the most common complaints we hear from project managers is how inefficient their current resource management processes are, “sometimes there aren’t enough staff and we’re hitting delays, and other times there are too many and there’s not enough work to be done, leaving them simply sitting on the bench.” At Clarizen we feel we have developed an effective solution [3] to one of the biggest issues associated with “traditional” project management software. With our product you’ll be well on your way to practicing better resource management, which includes:
- Avoiding multi-tasking wherever possible, small delays in one project strand can end up having huge snowball effects
- Planning thoroughly but don’t be afraid to change these plans as new needs or information arises
- Updating project plans and progress as often as possible through online project management software
- Aligning your processes across different teams but don’t enforce homogeneity, certain fields are better suited to different methodologies
- Maximizing your highest performing resources and blend teams to take full advantage of their abilities
How Clarizen Can Help
By providing real-time updates on project progress [4] and allowing the project manager to drill down into who’s doing what, when it will be delivered and how task strands are feeding into each other, Clarizen’s software gives you what you’ve always needed, complete resource clarity. With this power at your fingertips, you will be able to direct resources to where they are needed and pivot them away from upcoming roadblocks. This means that gone are the days when one task getting delayed ends up with the rest of the team sitting on their hands for a week, waiting for the solution. It also allows you to take a macro view of what’s happening on the project, without having to peer over employees’ shoulders or request constant reports on progress. Automatic updates allow for a more dynamic interaction with team members and gives you the ability to properly quarterback your team’s drive for success.
Beyond Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets can only manage numbers, they can’t describe how individual members or groups are performing and the human dimension of your project is left conspicuously absent. As most project managers know, human potential and performance is probably the biggest factor in deciding how a project performs, by operating with minimal visibility in this area you’re always running a high risk of disaster. Our highly anticipated upcoming webinar on resource management, Get Your Resources into the Ball Game, will see our VP of Solutions, Angela Bunner and Senior Solutions Engineer, Daniel Brodkey share their considerable insight into how Clarizen can greatly improve your resource management. To sign up simply visit our sign-up page here: https://mkt.clarizen.com/webinar-register-get-your-resources-into-the-ballgame.html [5] and fill in your details. We’ll see you on April 4!