StrategyDriven » Resource Projection

Resource Projection Best Practice 7 – Qualification Projections

StrategyDriven — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:28:45 +0000

Performance proficiency for any given task is only maintained through repetitive performance over time. Without ongoing practice, performance declines until a point is reached when the individual is incapable of performing the task at a level consistent with existing standards and expectations. Additionally, those not routinely performing a task are commonly unaware of changes in expectations and methodologies associated with the activity’s performance. Subsequently, these individuals have a difficult time meeting established performance expectations when assigned the activity. Thus, many organizations establish a personnel qualification system identifying those individuals capable of and authorized to perform a given task. Task qualification is maintained over time through demonstrated performance proficiency and/or testing.

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Resource Projection Warning Flag 1 – Assumed Discretionary Effort

StrategyDriven — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:25:48 +0000

Every day, executives, managers, and employees are asked to do more and more with less and less. Sometimes this pressure results in work streamlining, better prioritization and new more efficient methods. At other times, individuals simply accomplish more because they work additional uncompensated hours.

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New Whitepaper Release – 80 Percent Efficiency Estimate

StrategyDriven — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:08:33 +0000

StrategyDriven contributors are pleased to announce the release of our eighth whitepaper: Resource Projection – 80 Percent Efficiency Estimate.

Perfect human efficiency? Not likely. How then should personnel resources be estimated?

Human beings are social creatures with both emotional and physical needs. Businesses able to satisfy these needs will be better positioned to attract and retain talented personnel; giving them a much needed advantage in the increasingly knowledge driven marketplace where human resources are increasingly limited. Such organizations will further benefit from increased worker engagement because employees feel more connected and valued.

Meeting these very personalized needs requires an ongoing time investment, social time to build and maintain co-worker relationships, to connect with customers and clients, to contact family and friends, as well as time to physically relax, refresh, reflect, and rejuvenate. This time investment varies day-to-day and person-to-person making it extremely difficult to measure. Time studies, project management research, and our collective managerial experience suggest that knowledge workers, on average, require a twenty percent time investment in these personal activities. Stated another way, professionals spend about one and a half hours of an eight hour workday on non-productive but personally necessary activities. Hence, professionals, those whose breaks are ill-defined, can be assumed to work at eighty percent efficiency when fully engaged.

The StrategyDriven 80 Percent Efficiency Estimate whitepaper provides business planners with an easy to follow set of rules to help them appropriately factor personnel efficiency into their project and business plan resource estimates. These rules are detailed with supporting principles and philosophies; helping users understand the reasoning behind each recommendation.

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Resource Projection Best Practice 6 – The 45 Week Year

StrategyDriven — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:36:03 +0000

There are 52 weeks in a year. So a full-time employee works 52 weeks in a year, right? Wrong!

In fact, employers typically pay employees to not work 10 percent or more per year. Consider these common benefits:

2 weeks or more of annual paid vacation (US average = 2.6 weeks)
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2 weeks (10 days) of paid holidays per year (US average = 2 weeks)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
2 weeks (10 days) of yearly sick leave (US average = 1.6 weeks)
Source: Compdata Surveys
1 week (40 cumulative hours) of professional development training, workshops, and conferences (US average = 1 week)
Source: American Society for Training and Development

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Resource Projection Best Practice 5 – The 40 Hour Work Week

StrategyDriven — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:50:40 +0000

For the purposes of personnel resource estimation, what is an individual worth? The answer may seem obvious. A full-time equivalent (FTE) or full-time employee is typically considered to be ‘worth’ 2000 hours of labor per year; calculated as the product of fifty, 40 hour work weeks.

But does any full-time employee really work just 40 hours per week? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, American Time Use Survey, published June 28, 2007, persons employed full-time work an average of 9.3 hours per day or 46.5 hours per week. Should 46.5 hours per week be used as the standard assumption for making personnel resource projections?

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Resource Projection Best Practice 4 – 80 Percent Efficiency Estimate

StrategyDriven — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:05:08 +0000

Human beings are social creatures having both emotional and physical needs. Businesses able to satisfy these needs will be better positioned to attract and retain talented personnel; giving these businesses a much needed advantage in the increasingly knowledge driven marketplace where human resources are increasingly limited. Such organizations will further benefit from increased worker engagement because employees feel more connected and valued.

Meeting these very personalized needs requires an ongoing time investment, social time to build and maintain co-worker relationships, to connect with customers and clients, to contact family and friends, as well as time to physically relax, refresh, reflect, and rejuvenate. This time investment varies day-to-day and person-to-person making it extremely difficult to measure. Time studies, project management research, and this author’s managerial experience suggest that knowledge workers, on average, require a twenty percent time investment in these personal activities. Stated another way, professionals spend about one and a half hours of an eight hour workday on non-productive but personally necessary activities. Hence, professionals, those whose breaks are ill-defined, can be assumed to work at eighty percent efficiency when fully engaged.

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Resource Projection Best Practice 3 – Controlling Assumption Changes

StrategyDriven — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:54:07 +0000

Standardized activity resource assumptions enable decision-makers to anticipate the quantity and type of resources needed to perform approved work; facilitating selection between competing alternatives, long-term resource planning, day-to-day scheduling, and performance measurement. Over time however, personnel, process, and business environment changes will necessitate reevaluation and alteration of the organization’s standardized activity assumptions. To accommodate these changes and maintain the benefits of using standardized assumptions requires establishment and use of a change control process.

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Resource Projection Best Practice 2 – Begin with the Work

StrategyDriven — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:12:49 +0000

The business planning process of balancing what the organization will do with its limited resources is an iterative one. However, resource owners too often focus on the amount of resources they have and alter work estimates so the activity portfolio they are responsible for fits within the resource pool under their immediate control. This practice frequently leads to under-estimating resource needs as managers continually strive to expand their activity portfolios; resulting in reduced quality, late deliveries, and a diminished bottom line.

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Resource Projection Best Practice 1 – Standardized Assumptions

StrategyDriven — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 01:05:56 +0000

Understanding the resource cost of activities is key to creating confidence that assigned work can be completed successfully and on time. Regardless of whether activities are frequently recurring and therefore well understood or one time efforts to produce a unique product or service, the use of standardized resource assumptions greatly helps the organization anticipate the quantity and type of resources needed to perform its approved work.

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Resource Projection – Introduction

StrategyDriven — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 17:18:06 +0000

Business planning is the art and science of identifying what a company should and should not do balanced by its available resources. While much of business planning focuses on setting strategic direction and defining tactical activities, achieving balance requires that significant attention be given to the critical area of resource projection.

Annualized resource projection involves a number of processes that together paint a picture of the organization’s resource availability and needs. Creation of this picture begins with development of two key elements: resource availability and standardized activity assumptions. These assumptions are then applied to the proposed activities identified during the alternative development process. The resulting all encompassing list of resource loaded activities is further honed through an iterative process involving resource projection and alternative selection into the final portfolio of activities to be pursued. Derived from this portfolio is the organization’s time bound resource availability and needs.

Capacity planning refines the annualized resource projections; giving the organization insight to the additional resources needed in order to account for the inefficiencies associated with resource scheduling; personnel hiring delays and qualification; and equipment maintenance, calibration, and retooling. Each of these inefficiencies prevent resources from being available one hundred percent of the time; thereby forcing the organization to either increase its asset base or decrease its level of activity. Capacity planning reveals the average level of inefficiency providing insight to the resource and activity planning adjustments to be made.

Focus of the Resource Projection Topic

Articles in this topic area are dedicated to discussing the leading practices of companies successfully executing a resource projection program in support of strategic planning. The following articles, podcasts, documents, and resources cover those topics critical to a strong resource projection program.

Articles

Best Practices

Best Practice – Standardized Assumptions [StrategyDriven Premium Content]
Best Practice – Begin with the Work [StrategyDriven Premium Content]
Best Practice – Controlling Assumption Changes [StrategyDriven Premium Content]
Best Practice – 80 Percent Efficiency Estimate [StrategyDriven Premium Content]
Best Practice – The 40 Hour Work Week [StrategyDriven Premium Content]
Best Practice – The 45 Week Year [StrategyDriven Premium Content]
Best Practice – Qualification Projections [StrategyDriven Premium Content]

Warning Flags

Warning Flag – Assumed Discretionary Effort [StrategyDriven Premium Content]

Documents

Whitepapers

80 Percent Efficiency Estimate [StrategyDriven Premium Content]

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