Resource Allocation Planner
Maps team members to projects and tracks utilization, availability, and over/under-allocation across a configurable time horizon. Highlights conflicts and generates rebalancing recommendations.
Operations - Resource Allocation Planner.xlsx
Excel (.xlsx) — No macros — Works in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice
What This Spreadsheet Solves
- Team members assigned to more projects than they have capacity for
- No centralized view of who is available and when
- Under-allocated staff going unnoticed while others are overloaded
- Project delays caused by resource conflicts discovered too late
- Manual spreadsheet tracking that breaks as the team scales
Who This Is For
- Operations managers balancing multi-project teams
- Resource managers in professional services firms
- Team leads planning sprint or phase assignments
- PMO directors standardizing resource allocation across the organization
Inputs
- textTeam member name
- #Total available hours per week
- textProject name
- #Allocated hours per week per project
- dateAllocation start date
- dateAllocation end date
Outputs
- Utilization percentage per person
- Over-allocated team members (flagged)
- Under-allocated team members with available hours
- Project-level resource sufficiency status
- Weekly allocation heat map
How Calculations Work
The planner sums allocated hours per person across all projects and compares against available hours to compute utilization. Over-allocation (greater than 100%) triggers a red flag. Under-allocation (below the target threshold) triggers an amber flag. A weekly heat map shows allocation intensity over time. The rebalancing view suggests which over-allocated hours could shift to under-allocated team members with matching skills.
Example Use Case
Scenario: A team of 6 is allocated across 4 projects. Two members are at 110% utilization, one is at 50%, and three are at 80%.
Result: Two members flagged as over-allocated (combined 16 excess hours). One member has 20 available hours. Recommendation: shift 16 hours from over-allocated members to the under-utilized member, resolving all conflicts.
What You Get — 5 Sheets
Technical Details
Frequently Asked Questions
What utilization range is healthy?
75-90% for most teams. Below 70% suggests over-staffing. Above 95% leaves no buffer for unplanned work.
How do I handle part-time team members?
Enter their actual available hours per week. A 60% part-time employee with a 40-hour standard has 24 available hours.
Can I plan across multiple weeks?
Yes. Enter start and end dates for each allocation. The planner distributes hours across the full date range.
What if skills do not match for rebalancing?
The CONFIG sheet lets you define skill tags. The rebalancing engine only suggests shifts between people with matching skills.
How far ahead should I plan allocations?
4-8 weeks for operational planning. 12+ weeks for strategic staffing. The further out, the less precise, so revisit weekly.
Download Resource Allocation Planner
Ready to use immediately. Enter your data in the INPUT sheet, see results in OUTPUT.