You can think of a resource plan as the financial blueprint of your project, answering the very critical question of just how much money is going in and where exactly it is going.
As a strategic document, project managers & stakeholders use it for identifying, acquiring, allocating, managing, and tracking the resources needed to deliver a project. But it’s not just about having those resources, effective resource planning is also about making sure the right resources are available when needed at every point across a project’s life cycle.
In our template, we use an Excel spreadsheet to track two different types of resources: (a) Human resources, i.e., all the individuals or entities you intend to hire to complete different project tasks, and (b) Material resources which may include any special equipment, materials, tools, and workspaces needed to execute the project. For each of these, we use Excel functionalities to calculate the total costs based on hourly pay rates and rates per unit (respectively).
Now, let’s see how our template works in more detail:
Project Overview
Right at the top of our template, we identify and describe the project as a whole, including its name and version (in the case of periodically extended projects).
We also identify the project lead (usually, the Project Manager) who oversees the overall planning, procurement, and execution of a project.
But the most useful cells are located at the extreme right where you can see the total cost of each resource type (human and material) – giving you a quick snapshot of the spreadsheets below. Any changes or updates in the mainsheet below are reflected in these values.
Human Resource
In the first part of our spreadsheet, we provide a detailed overview of the human resources expected to be involved during the entire project duration.
Unlike our Project Timeline, where we create an itemized list by task, here, we create a list of all individual professionals who will be working on those tasks. From researchers, web developers, and managers to fieldworkers and administrative staff – each project needs a unique set of human resources to successfully come through.
Once you have specified the relevant department and role, you need to determine the total duration for which they will be working on the project by manually entering a Start and End date in a DD/MM/YY format.
In some cases, this duration will span across the entire length of the project (for example, a Project Assistant or Manager). In other cases, you may only hire a specific human resource for a specific phase or perform a specific time-bound task of the project (such as a web developer who shall only be hired during the phase of website development).
Once you have specified this duration, we automatically calculate the total duration in terms of the number of days. However, in our template, we use the number of hours to calculate the cost of hiring for each role. Doing this offers greater flexibility as it allows you to account for the work of any consultants or freelancing professionals you may need to hire for a project in addition to regular day-to-day project staff.
Once you have added a standard hourly rate and the total number of working hours, both of which are ordinarily agreed upon in the employment contract, we can calculate the total number of hours as well as the total cost of each human resource.
For a month-wise breakdown, we also include separate columns to let you track the number of working days for every month the project was ongoing.
Material Resources
In the second spreadsheet, we focus on identifying, calculating, and tracking the cost of all material resources to be utilized during the project.
This can be a wide range, including the cost of renting office space; buying office supplies (such as stationery items, writing paper, and whiteboards); procuring hardware equipment like laptops and phones for employees; covering hotel accommodation and fuel costs for traveling staff; utilities; marketing expenses and other costs involved in the day-to-day running of the project.
Due to this variety of resources, our template allows you to select the specific metric applicable to each resource type. For example, if you are accounting for fuel, you will select the option liters under Unit. In the case of resources measured by weight (such as cement or iron), you will select the option ‘Kgs’. However, in cases where the metric system is not applicable such as monthly office space rent, hardware equipment, or office supplies, you will select the option ‘per item’.
Once you have selected the applicable metric, you will need to specify a Rate per Unit to standardize these costs over the project duration. You will then use the Month cells to specify the actual quantity of the resource used during every month of the project.
In case of resources for which you are being charged by the hour, day, or week, your metric will be a unit of time – for example, hours, days, or weeks. This allows our spreadsheet to cover all kinds of rented resources, and not just those paid for on a monthly basis. Note that if you are renting heavy equipment such as a bulldozer or a crane for a building project, you will need to add details of each item or piece of machinery in separate rows. This is because each machine is likely to be used at different periods and for different durations.
For example, if you rented a laboratory for 10 days in January, and 20 days in February, you will write ‘10’ and ‘20’ under the corresponding month columns. Once you add the total number of units utilized during the entire project duration (e.g. 5 laptops, or 500 Kgs of steel) – we calculate the Total Resource Allocated for each type of material resource by adding together the total number of units used in all months. Multiplying this value with the rate per unit yields the Total Cost Allocated, as shown in the last column.
Who Is This Template For?
- Project managers
- Team leaders
- Resource managers
- Finance teams
- Stakeholders
- HR professionals
Why You Need This Template?
- To provide a structured approach to identifying, allocating, and managing resources required for project success.
- To ensure all necessary resources are accounted for and allocated effectively.
- To facilitate communication among team members and stakeholders about resource needs and availability.
- To aid in budgeting by outlining resource costs and helping to manage the financial aspects of the project.
Wrapping Up
Effective resource planning is crucial for the success of any project, especially for large projects involving huge sums of money and a large labor base. In such projects where the stakes are high, it is crucial to ensure that resources are utilized efficiently and effectively throughout the project lifecycle.
Our designer-developed Resource Plan can help you avoid shortages or excesses while making sure you can monitor and adjust throughout the project to ensure resources align with project goals and timelines.
Our editable Resource Plan template can be instantly accessed in Excel in .xlsx, .xltx, and .ods formats, as well as Google Sheets.
