PeopleMuster

Resource plan template

A resource plan says who works on a project, in which role, for how many hours each week, and from when to when. Fill one in per project before work starts. Then add up each person's hours across every plan they appear in, because that total is where overbooking shows.

Write one when a project is signed, when its scope changes, or when someone on it goes on leave. The plan covers people's time only. Keep budgets and rates in your finance sheet so this one stays easy to update every week.

RESOURCE PLAN
Project: [PROJECT NAME]
Client: [CLIENT NAME]
Project lead: [PROJECT LEAD]
Start: [START DATE]    End: [END DATE]
Billable: [BILLABLE OR NON-BILLABLE]
Plan version: [VERSION]    Updated: [UPDATE DATE]

PLANNED HOURS PER WEEK
Role | Person | Week of [WEEK 1 DATE] | Week of [WEEK 2 DATE] | Week of [WEEK 3 DATE] | Week of [WEEK 4 DATE] | Total
[ROLE] | [PERSON NAME] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [TOTAL HOURS]
[ROLE] | [PERSON NAME] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [TOTAL HOURS]
[ROLE] | [PERSON NAME] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [TOTAL HOURS]
[ROLE] | [UNFILLED ROLE] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [HOURS] | [TOTAL HOURS]
Project total | | [WEEK TOTAL] | [WEEK TOTAL] | [WEEK TOTAL] | [WEEK TOTAL] | [PROJECT TOTAL]

DOUBLE-BOOKING CHECK (one row per person above)
Person | Hours on this plan | Hours on other plans | Leave or holiday hours | Standard week | Left over
[PERSON NAME] | [THIS PLAN HOURS] | [OTHER PLAN HOURS] | [TIME OFF HOURS] | [STANDARD WEEK HOURS] | [LEFT OVER]
[PERSON NAME] | [THIS PLAN HOURS] | [OTHER PLAN HOURS] | [TIME OFF HOURS] | [STANDARD WEEK HOURS] | [LEFT OVER]

RISKS AND DEPENDENCIES
Risk | Who it affects | What we do if it happens | Owner
[RISK] | [PERSON OR ROLE] | [FALLBACK] | [OWNER NAME]

SIGN-OFF
Project lead: [PROJECT LEAD]    Date: [SIGN-OFF DATE]
Resource manager: [RESOURCE MANAGER]    Date: [SIGN-OFF DATE]

What to put in each blank

[ROLE]
Name the job on this project, such as backend developer or designer. One person can fill two roles; give each role its own row.
[UNFILLED ROLE]
Write the word open for a role nobody holds yet. Leaving the row in keeps the gap visible at every review.
[HOURS]
Enter planned hours for that week, not the hours you hope for. Plan client work in whole or half hours.
[OTHER PLAN HOURS]
Add the same person's hours for that week from every other live project plan, plus internal work.
[TIME OFF HOURS]
Take approved leave and company holidays for the week and turn them into hours using the standard day.
[STANDARD WEEK HOURS]
Use the contracted week for that person, such as 40. Part-time staff get their own figure.
[LEFT OVER]
Standard week minus time off, this plan and other plans. A negative number means the person is overbooked, so move work or dates before you start.
[VERSION]
Number each change: 1, 2, 3. When a client asks why a date moved, the old version answers it.

Before you send it

  • Plan in weeks for projects longer than a month and in days for anything shorter. Daily plans on a six-month project go stale by Tuesday.
  • Name a person in every row you can. A plan full of roles with no names can't show you a clash with another project.
  • Re-run the double-booking check whenever a leave request is approved for someone on the plan, not only at the weekly review.
  • Send the lead and the resource manager the same version. Two copies of a resource plan will disagree within a fortnight.

PeopleMuster plans hours per person per day on one grid, groups it by people or by projects, filters billable from non-billable work, and marks approved leave and company holidays on the same cells.

Questions people ask about this letter

What should a resource plan include?

At minimum: each role on the project, the person named to it, planned hours per week, the start and end dates and a total. Add a double-booking check against other projects and time off, and a short risk list, and the plan will survive its first surprise.

What is the difference between a resource plan and a project plan?

A project plan sets out tasks, milestones and deadlines. A resource plan sets out the people and hours those tasks need. You need both, and the resource plan is the one that tells you whether the project plan's dates are possible.

How far ahead should a resource plan go?

Cover the whole project at weekly detail, and review the next four weeks every week. Beyond about eight weeks the hours are estimates, so mark them as tentative.

Can I use one resource plan for several projects?

Keep one plan per project and one combined view per person. The double-booking section above is that combined view in miniature, and it's the part most templates leave out.

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