Planning, budgeting, and scheduling is an activity found within every industry across the spectrum of work. Yet, within IT, planning for a project often occurs only after scoping once the client has committed to an estimate. Sales teams encouraged to ‘sell, sell, sell’ and close deals sometimes skip over the critical part of resource allocation, hoping the details of completing the project they just pitched to the client will figure themselves out later. However, incorporating resource allocation planning into the early stages of project management would set the team up for greater success.
Resource allocation is a critical decision-making step in project management that determines if the right resources to complete a project will be available at the right time. Resources are typically allocated by a project manager (or in conjunction with a few people, such as a product owner and a delivery manager). The project manager breaks a project into its components and assigns resources needed at each step. Planning who will complete work and when and how it will be done requires an in-depth knowledge of the project goals, specs, and requirements to allocate team capabilities accurately.
You may also like: Understanding Level of Effort (LoE) and Its Importance for Scoping
Resources in IT service projects take various shapes. Allocating them all properly requires understanding how each affects the project’s lifecycle. Though the resources available can change from company to company, they can generally be categorized into a couple of buckets:
Human resources include developers, designers, product owners, engineers, IT service professionals, and more. The initial step in planning an IT project is assessing if these people have the right skills for the job. Suppose the project requires advanced data security and encryption knowledge, but the team specializes in cloud networks. In that case, it might be necessary to hire a new employee to fill that skill gap.
For IT projects, technology ranges from software tools to hardware assets. If a client wants to expand their data center and there is a backorder on the specific hardware they use, then the delay in availability would need to be factored into the project planning.
These two resources often overlap. Time can be a constraint if a client is on a deadline or the IT company juggles many projects and has to find the time to slot in a new one. As well, the client might only have a specific budget to spend, requiring the IT service company to allocate resources in a way that makes sure the project does not go over budget. As time needed for a project translates into the project cost, time and budget go hand-in-hand.
Allocating resources during the project planning stages ensures a project is well-equipped to meet its objectives. It allows the IT professionals to follow a well-thought-out plan instead of scheduling each sprint ad hoc. Efficient resource allocation early on yields benefits such as:
Though the basics of resource allocation from a project management perspective apply to IT service projects, it is essential to consider the nuances of this type of work.
Effective resource allocation should take into consideration the following:
IT projects can range from short sprints to one-off add-on projects to multi-year ongoing support work. How human and technological resources are allotted to a project can depend on the length of the work and how often efforts by the IT team will be needed.
As any IT service professional can tell you, each IT project differs from the last, as stakeholders all have slightly different needs and requirements. The skills, knowledge, hardware, and software necessary to complete a project must be factored into overall resource allocation.
Internal projects, like a new marketing initiative, only need alignment from internal decision-makers. Service IT projects require a balance between available internal resources and the changing needs of external clients. As the budget, timeline, or features desired by a client might change over time, this trickles down into affecting the IT team, forcing them to adapt the timeline or scope of a project, which impacts resources.
IT projects must often be designed for scalability, allowing for expansion or reduction without significant rework. This requirement affects resource allocation, necessitating planning for future needs, not just immediate demands.
Understanding the role of resource allocation in the project management lifecycle for IT service projects can make a difference in leading a team to successful outcomes. Though details may change for each project, this step-by-step outline addresses the primary considerations for allotting resources.
Start with thorough discovery sessions, scoping, and analysis to determine a project’s value, objectives, required features, and deliverables. Align all stakeholders and make sure the teams agree on these outputs.
Check the scope against internal constraints and limitations to ensure employees have the proper skill set and the time to complete the work. If there are gaps, plan to hire more staff or purchase what is needed.
Think through each step by breaking down the scope into specific milestones and tasks. This can look like a detailed work breakdown structure, sprint and backlog planning, or another internal planning tactic. Go ahead and allocate the resources—budget, labor, time, etc—to each task so it is planned and trackable. Allow flexibility so any unforeseen obstacles or changes won’t derail the plan.
Make sure you add the details, tasks, and project schedule to a project management software. Common tools for IT projects include JIRA, Asana, ConnectWise, NinjaOne, and Syncro.
The execution stage is like hitting “go” on the project. Resources should be distributed as planned while adjustments are made to accommodate new information that may arise as the project evolves.
Keep a close eye on the progression of work. Compare the planned allocation and consumption of resources against the actual allocation. If any change management is needed, adjust the plan accordingly while continuing frequent check-ins with the IT team and stakeholders, sharing data such as hours used and tasks completed so everyone is on the same page.
Retrospectives can occur at any time, such as after each sprint. Use these to review what is working, potential obstacles, and what could have gone smoother to update and better allocate any resources.
Some projects require ongoing support, and these don’t have a straightforward project “end,” but reviewing and analyzing the project history to date will still yield beneficial insights that can be carried over to the next initiative, improving overall resource allocation.
Resource allocation for IT service projects can come in varying forms, but to help illustrate what it looks like, here are a few examples:
Scenario: A cloud service provider client is releasing a batch of new software features. The client expects more first-time users to join, increasing usage and demand. To prepare, the client wants the team to ensure the infrastructure can handle the surge in sign-ups and data storage without negatively impacting service.
Plan:
Outcome: The cloud service scales smoothly, providing quality service and performance to all existing and new customers.
Scenario: An AR (accounts receivable) financing company wants to utilize the blockchain to increase its customers by offering funding to businesses currently too risky to qualify.
Plan:
Outcome: Carefully considering existing resources within the IT service company allows for strategic improvements, leading to an expansion in blockchain development skills and successfully facilitating the AR financing company to move business management to the blockchain on a timeline that still suits them.
Scenario: A medium-sized enterprise client wants to upgrade its IT infrastructure to improve security, compliance, and efficiency. However, the company must adhere to a strict budget.
Plan:
Outcome: Instead of starting a project and finding out midway that it isn’t workable for the client, in-depth resource allocation highlights the potential conflicts from the start. It allows the IT team and enterprise to workshop various solutions until they find one that functions for all stakeholders.
Project scoping forms the foundation that project planning builds upon. Project planning is when resource allocation gets pulled in. Having one exist without the other is challenging, as each step informs the next. This explains why accurate project scoping is so essential. The better the project scope, the more likely the specific resources needed are identified and allocated accordingly.
Thoroughly scoping a project has the added benefit of letting the IT team identify gaps early so they can be closed before the project is underway. Additionally, assessing the available resources can avoid bottlenecks, as project components can be prioritized in a way that allocates the resources evenly.
Finally, aligning the project scope with available resources allows the project managers to establish realistic goals and deliverables. The well-defined goals help prevent scope creep and set clear client expectations, which promotes communication, trust, and relationship building.
Our CPQ software automates IT service scoping, generating accurate proposals and Statements of Work in minutes. Stop wasting time on manual processes and spreadsheets. See how ScopeStack can streamline your presales process and boost your win rate. Start your free trial today or contact us to discover how ScopeStack’s CPQ software can be a game-changer for your team.
You may also like: