A resource scheduling outlook can simplify a manual process, improving productivity. However, it must be easy for users to navigate while offering sophisticated functionality.
If this option is enabled, only the specified users and groups can schedule automatically without manual approval from the resource owner. Otherwise, all requests will require approval from a delegate.
Schedule Resources in a Sequence
Using resource scheduling outlook to set up the work sequence for specific resources or all members of a resource group is an important part of creating a realistic project schedule. It involves utilizing lead and lag time to create a logical relationship between tasks for a comprehensible undertaking plan.
Achieving a proper band mix of senior, junior, interns and niche-skilled resources can help reduce resourcing costs by smoothing project workload and assuring billable utilization. Recurrent hiring/firing expenses are expensive and damage the morale of existing employees.
Besides managing availability, capacity and utilization, an ideal solution also offers visibility into individual resource calendars. This granular view allows managers to make more uniform scheduling decisions that are consistent with resources’ skill sets and capabilities. OCSS also automatically publishes bookings made in Whitespace into employee’s Outlook calendars and keeps these appointments in sync. This is something that Outlook cannot do on its own. It also prevents unauthorized modifications of these bookings, which helps protect private and sensitive information.
Prioritize More Urgent Tasks First
It’s not uncommon for projects to take longer than expected, due to unanticipated issues such as ad-hoc requests or force majeure. Fortunately, time tracking and visual planning tools can help you identify these situations quickly, so you can reassign tasks or update deadlines accordingly.
When you’re scheduling resources, it’s important to prioritize tasks based on their priority and urgency. One way to do this is to use the 1-3-9 prioritization technique. This prioritizes one task in the Important and Urgent quadrant, three in the Important but Not Urgent quadrant, and nine in the Not Important but Urgent quadrant.
It’s also essential to leave buffer room when scheduling tasks. This ensures that your team doesn’t run at full capacity and that they still have the ability to complete their usual administrative tasks. This prevents project delays, which can snowball into budget overruns or missed deliverables. If you need to schedule resources in a cost-effective manner, consider using a tool that offers resource scheduling Outlook features.
Avoid Assigning Two Tasks to the Same Person
When multiple people are assigned the same task, they may each have to complete it separately. This can cause a delay in completion of the task and ultimately affect the project deadline.
To avoid this issue, you can set up separate resource mailboxes for room and equipment, with each having a unique email address. You can then use Outlook’s scheduling assistant to keep track of who is using what resources when. This process removes the need for inefficient paper sign-in sheets and allows schedulers to manage the entire booking process from within one interface.
As an additional feature, OCSS can also capture important additional data for each appointment in addition to the time, date and contact. This information can then be made available to Outlook users, which can also report upon it centrally. This adds a whole new dimension to the reporting capability of Outlook and can help organizations streamline their resource scheduling processes even further.
Use Placeholders
One of the biggest risks in resource scheduling is missing project deadlines. It can cause cost overruns and lead to delays in project delivery, which affects business operations and client relationships.
Using Titanium’s Outlook Calendar integration, you can create placeholder appointments that don’t show up in staff members’ free time schedules. These meetings can be defined by their start and end dates and their location, description and comments.
The meeting’s owner (or someone delegated to it) can decide whether anyone else should be able to add, delete or reschedule these events. You can also set how far in advance the event should be scheduled and specify whether new requests are allowed or rejected based on the percentage of conflicts with existing meetings.
Adding these meeting requirements to the Schedule Board allows resources to directly book themselves into these slots without having to access their own Calendar folders and view their own free/busy times. This is especially useful for rooms and equipment that are scheduled with a calendar application.
