Project resource and capacity planning

Project resource and capacity planning compares the work you intend to deliver with the people, skills and time available to deliver it. Start with existing commitments, allow for non-project duties and absences, then decide which new work can fit. A workload chart can reveal a clash; someone still has to decide which commitment moves.

Separate demand from availability

Resource demand is the effort and skills a project needs during a particular period. Capacity is the time people can reasonably offer during that period. Assigning work does not create more capacity.

For an Australian team working across locations, check the applicable public holidays for each person. Use each person's working pattern rather than copying one standard week across the team.

Build a plan people can challenge

Choose a period short enough to expose clashes. A weekly view may help with near-term delivery; a broader view can show demand for a specialist later in the quarter. A broad estimate is not a precise daily booking.

Break deliverables into work that can be assigned and estimated. Identify the required skill as well as the proposed person. Include operational work and approved absence, then compare demand with available time for each person or skill group. Spare time in one role does not solve a shortage in another unless the work can genuinely be transferred.

Where demand exceeds capacity, record a decision: move flexible work, change scope with approval, find qualified help or revise the delivery date. Check the effect on handovers.

Treat early timeframes cautiously

For architectural design and documentation, time taken may exceed the period first indicated. This can lead to client dissatisfaction or disputes between the client and architect, so communicate about timing and manage the relationship throughout the project.

Standard Institute Client and Architect Agreements do not provide for an architect's pre-contract administration services to follow a set or stated program. Clients may still want a known timeframe because their own project program, particularly the tendering date, can depend on how long the architect's work takes.

Read workload views with care

Ask what a workload view counts: tasks, estimated hours, points or a percentage of capacity. Five short tasks may require less effort than one substantial task. Check which projects are included and whether missing dates or estimates leave work out.

Calendar settings matter too. Displayed capacity depends on the working days and other commitments represented in the plan. Before promising a date from a chart, inspect the underlying assignments and ask the people involved whether the estimates and timing remain credible.

Review commitments as they change

Review the plan when a project is approved, a specialist becomes unavailable or an estimate changes materially. Keep proposed work separate from approved commitments.

At each review, ask what demand has arrived, what availability or skills have changed and which decision will keep current commitments feasible. Record that decision and tell the affected project leads.