The Project Management Tool Kit: 100 Tips and Techniques for Getting the Job Done Right

Roll Up Resource Requirements into an Overall Resource Plan

Starting with the highest priority project, assign available staff to project activities and summarize the effort profile in a master resource plan using a scheduling tool or a spreadsheet.

Continue allocating staff to lower priority projects in sequence, until you add a project that causes the master resource plan to exceed your available resource profile, either overall or for a specific type of contributor. Complete the process by considering smaller projects with slightly lower priorities (if there are any) that could be staffed using remaining resources. Although it is tempting to book all staff fully, it is prudent to leave some capacity uncommitted (up to 10 percent) as a reserve ...