Below, you will see how well your organization scores. The radar chart shows your scores on the 8 aspects of planning. For each aspect, the maximum score is a 100 points. Questions about the results? Schedule a free consultation session with one of our planning experts.
Methodology
This aspect shows whether you have the right approach for the type of projects you have. Projects that can be worked out very well and have little uncertainty lend themselves well to a waterfall approach with the deployment of specialists. Other projects require an Agile approach with generalists.
In addition, it is a best practice to separate the large projects from the small projects/assignments and have them tackled by a separate team. Waterfall projects, Agile projects and small assignments have completely different dynamics. Make sure that employees work on the projects that suit them.
Process
This aspect reflects how well you have organized the planning process. Do you focus on the big projects first and do you use the small projects/assignments as flexible filling work? This makes planning easier. The agreements you make with your customers also influence the process.
Have you also efficiently automated the planning? A lot of data comes from other systems, such as leave, project data, illness, and so on. If you have to process all this data manually, planning becomes a time-consuming job. Finally, do you also take a critical look at how you can constantly improve the planning process?
Feedback loop
This aspect indicates whether you reflect on the planning made in the past. One way to do that is to register the actual hours worked. It is important how these are checked and by whom, because without correct or complete data about reality, any comparison with the planning will be skewed.
Another way to look at projects is to look at the margin on projects using cost price rates. Finally, instead of looking back, you can also look ahead based on the progress of projects. This progress should be direct input for adjusting future planning.
Skills
This aspect indicates whether you have a good idea of and grip on the skills of your employees. With 20 employees you can still do it reasonably well from memory, but with more employees it becomes more difficult. Then you need a detailed system to keep track of skills, update them and match demand with supply.
Employees also need to be challenged by offering them projects that may be just a bit too difficult for them. On the other hand, employees who continuously work below their level become demotivated. Are you dealing with certifications that may expire? Keep a close eye on this so that you as an organization are really qualified to take on new projects.
Level of detail
This aspect shows whether you use the right level of detail when planning projects and employees. For example, it makes no sense to make a very detailed project schedule at task level if you work with a trained team that only needs half a word. Make sure that the level of detail is adjusted to this, otherwise you will unnecessarily blow up the planning.
Also keep a close eye on whether employees are not working on too many projects at the same time. This also inflates the planning considerably in terms of the number of units to be planned. If you work in small units (eg 15 minutes), you should also consider whether it would be better to plan the bet in larger blocks. This keeps things workable.
Waste
This aspect reflects the extent to which you avoid wasting time. Quite a lot of time is wasted unnoticed because, for example, employees have to wait until they can start a new project or the next activity. Unnecessary activities and delivering too much than the customer expects are also forms of waste.
A special form of waste is overburdening people. This can lead to higher productivity in the short term, but in the long term it leads to employee absenteeism and therefore waste. Overload can also be caused by employees constantly working above their level.
Planning skills
This aspect shows whether the employees who are responsible for panning also have the right profile. In addition, the requirements for project managers are slightly different from planners / resource managers who are concerned with the overall deployment of employees.
For employees who are allowed to organize their own time, it is important to prevent them from multitasking. Multitasking leads to the situation where they try to make progress on multiple projects at the same time. This leads to delays in all projects. It is better for them to take up the projects one by one.
Security
Finally, this aspect indicates whether you are serious about the security of the data in the planning. A schedule contains confidential personal data that should not just end up on the street. In the context of the GDPR, you must take technical and organizational measures for this, which therefore also apply to the planning.
If you work with a planning system, it is important that you have thought carefully about access to different functions, but also at the level of data. Do the users of the system see only the data that is relevant to them? In addition to personal data, a schedule can also provide insight into sensitive strategic projects and customers.