Resource Planning & Why It Is Necessary

An accomplished museum executive, Joel Bartsch has served as the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) president and CEO since 2004. Before taking on this executive position, Joel A. Bartsch served as a curator and director of earth sciences at the museum for 13 years. He was responsible for analyzing and mitigating project risk, ensuring patron satisfaction, and activity and resource planning.

A significant element of the project planning process is activity and resource planning. When approaching a project, one of the essential questions a team leader can inquire is how the team can ensure they get the project completed on time and within budget. Another critical concern is making sure tasks are completed on schedule without overworking team members. Resource planning can address these challenges.

The practice of assigning tasks to human and non-human resources to enhance their efficiency is known as resource planning. Essentially, project managers can use resource planning to assess resource capacity and manage resource use to keep projects on schedule and budget. Resource planning aids in the organization of your team so that everyone is aware of the tasks they're working on.

In summary, resource planning should improve a team's efficiency, make the most of all resources, help teams prepare for future projects by planning and forecasting their resource availability, fostering outcomes, and mitigating stress. To get the most out of resource planning, a team leader or project manager must be able to personalize and track every aspect of a project (such as the creatives involved) and how much they will cost.