Resource and capacity planning: from asking around to one shared view

Project managers could not see who was free, so staffing a pipeline project meant contacting people one by one.

The consultancy worked across several practices, including digital, Microsoft 365, cybersecurity and project delivery, often in cross-functional teams. When a project in the pipeline looked likely to go ahead, its project manager had to plan who would work on it and when.

• No visibility. Nobody could see each person's capacity across the organisation.
• One-by-one checks. Project managers had to contact each person to ask about availability, existing commitments and when they would be free.
• Slow and frustrating. Every staffing decision started with a round of messages and waiting.
• Time blocked in calendars. People recorded commitments by blocking time in their Microsoft Teams calendars, which gave no shared view.

I ran this internal project as the Business Analyst, from identifying stakeholders through to rollout and training.

I started with the people who staffed projects, to understand exactly where resource planning broke down.

1. 1.Identified the key stakeholders: practice leads and project managers, the people who needed to see capacity.
2. 2.Interviewed them about their pain points with resource and capacity planning, which shaped the scope of the project.
3. 3.Drafted the initial requirements from the interviews.
4. 4.Refined them and validated them with every stakeholder before finalising.
5. 5.Prioritised them with MoSCoW, so any tool had to meet the must-haves at a minimum.

The core requirement was a central view of every person's capacity, giving project managers the transparency they lacked.

I evaluated six tools hands-on, narrowed them to two, and let real users try both before recommending one.

• Hands-on trials. I signed up for each tool and worked through its interface and features myself.
• Clear criteria. I compared ease of use, features against the MoSCoW must-haves, and subscription cost.
• A user trial. A group of people tried the two finalists, Resource Guru and ClickUp, to see which felt easier and covered the must-haves.
• Recommendation. I presented my analysis to the major stakeholders, covering the options, their costs, pros and cons, and my recommendation of ClickUp.
• Decision. The Head of Project Delivery made the final call, collectively with the stakeholders, and chose ClickUp.

I set up the procedures and dashboards that turned ClickUp into a shared view of capacity.

• Procedures. Everyone records and plans their capacity in ClickUp in advance, so the right people can see it.
• Dashboards for every user. Each person can see their free time, upcoming pipeline, booked work, potential work and daily capacity.
• Pipeline planning. Project managers can plan capacity against projects in the pipeline.
• Internal capacity only. Client project management stayed in whichever tools each client used; ClickUp covered the consultancy's own capacity.

Adoption started slowly, because updating capacity took time from people with full schedules.

• Training. I ran sessions to help people get started; the interface was simple enough that guides were not needed.
• Moving off calendars. People were used to blocking time in Microsoft Teams, so the transition meant building a new habit.
• Champions. Practice leads, project managers and delivery leads, who needed the capacity view most, actively promoted it and motivated their teams.
• Individual benefit. For team members, keeping capacity current meant a steadier flow of future work, which became a key motivation.

• A tool selected through a structured, evidence-based evaluation, with costs and trade-offs made visible to decision-makers.
• A central view of capacity across practices, replacing one-by-one checks for anyone using it.
• Dashboards giving every person a view of their booked, potential and free time.
• Adoption led by practice leads and project managers within their own teams.

• Stakeholder availability. Practice leads and project managers were in back-to-back meetings, so scheduling interviews stretched the timeline to three to four months.
• Competing with billable work. In a consultancy, client work comes first, and I fitted this project around my own client commitments too.
• Slow early adoption. Updating capacity felt like extra effort at first, especially alongside existing calendar habits.

• Remove double entry. If people already record time somewhere, connect the new tool to it or retire the old habit with a clear switch-over date, so there is only one place to update.
• Show each person what is in it for them. Team members carry most of the effort, so the personal benefit, such as a steadier flow of future work, has to be clear.
• Start with champions. Practice leads and project managers who need the outcome most are the best people to bring their teams on board.
• Balance stakeholder time against billable priorities. Book time early, but respect that client work comes first in a consultancy, and plan the timeline around it.