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What Is Project Forecasting? How To Project Forecast

By Parallax |
Project forecasting

Ever feel like you’re throwing shots in the dark when it comes to project planning? Guessing how long projects will take your team, what it will cost, and what staffing will look like, only to get half way through delivery to realize your over budget and behind on deadlines? You’re not alone. Project forecasting is a practice that helps professional service organizations accurately predict time, cost, and how you resource projects to complete them successfully. 

So, how is it done? We’re going to cover: 

Make project planning predictable—see how.

What Is Project Forecasting In Project Management?

Project forecasting is like having a project GPS. It helps predict where you’re going, how long it’ll take, and what it’ll cost based on where you’ve been (i.e., historical data) and where you are now (current trends). Project forecasts use past project insights like timelines, budgets, and team performance to make informed predictions about future projects.

Accurate forecasting isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a critical tool for better decision-making. It guides resource management, budget planning, and even helps identify which projects are worth pursuing. Imagine knowing in advance if a project is likely to go over budget or miss deadlines. That’s the power of forecasting.

Duration

Estimating how long a project will take is a classic project management puzzle. Project forecasting helps crack that code by analyzing past project data. By reviewing timelines from similar projects and understanding how long specific tasks took, you can make educated guesses about your current project’s duration.

This isn’t just about calendar math. Accurate duration forecasts help ensure your teams have available capacity, preventing those dreaded last-minute scrambles, and ensuring you have resources available for smoother project execution.

Forecasting also helps identify potential bottlenecks or dependencies that could delay progress like upcoming vacation time or a contract employee’s start date for example. By highlighting these areas early, project managers can adjust schedules, reallocate resources, or implement contingency plans to keep projects on track.

Cost

Budget overruns: the nightmare of every project manager. Project forecasting steps in as your financial safety net. By analyzing historical cost data and current resource rates, you can predict project expenses with much greater accuracy.

This foresight helps set realistic budget expectations, align financial goals with project plans, and avoid unpleasant surprises down the road. 

Forecasting also supports better financial decision-making by providing insights into cost trends, helping managers anticipate fluctuations in project costs, identify savings opportunities, and ensure funds are allocated efficiently throughout the project lifecycle.

Quality

High-quality project outcomes don’t happen by accident. Project forecasting helps maintain quality standards by identifying potential risks early and ensuring you’ve got the right people with the right skills on board.

Forecasting quality risks involves analyzing historical data from previous projects to identify patterns where quality issues occurred. This can include delays in task completion, budget overruns, or resource shortages that lead to rushed work. By spotting these trends, project managers can proactively implement mitigation strategies, such as allocating additional resources, adjusting timelines, or scheduling quality checks at critical project stages.

Additionally, forecasting helps in resource planning by ensuring the right mix of skills and experience is assigned to each phase of the project. This minimizes the risk of errors or substandard work due to skill gaps. It’s like having a quality radar, helping you detect and address potential problems before they affect project outcomes.

When Should Project Forecasting Take Place?

Project forecasting isn’t a one-and-done deal. It should happen at key stages:

  1. Initial Planning: Forecasting during this phase helps set realistic expectations for time, cost, and resources.
  2. Project Execution: Ongoing forecasting allows you to adjust plans based on actual performance, new risks, or scope changes.

Continuous forecasting keeps your project adaptable and aligned with goals, even when surprises pop up (and they always do).

Discover how Parallax supports real-time project forecasting.

Forecasting Methodology in Project Management 

Traditional forecasting methods often rely on static data—snapshots of what was true at the start of a project. While useful for setting initial expectations, these methods fall short when projects encounter inevitable changes like shifting deadlines, fluctuating resource availability, or evolving client demands.

Dynamic, real-time forecasting is an adaptive approach to project forecasting that continuously updates projections based on live data from your projects. Unlike traditional forecasting methods, which often rely on static plans created at the start of a project, dynamic forecasting evolves as new information becomes available, ensuring your estimates for time, cost, resources, and project outcomes remain accurate and relevant throughout the project lifecycle.

The Benefits of Real-Time, Continuous Forecasting

  1. Increased Accuracy: Real-time forecasting adjusts as new data comes in. This means your forecasts are always current, reducing the risk of decisions based on outdated information.
  2. Proactive Risk Management: Continuous forecasting allows you to identify risks early and make timely adjustments. Instead of reacting to issues after they occur, you can anticipate and mitigate them before they impact your project.
  3. Better Resource Utilization: Dynamic forecasting provides a clear view of resource availability, enabling more effective allocation and helps inform capacity planning efforts. This prevents burnout, and ensures the right people are working on the right tasks at the right time.
  4. Enhanced Financial Control: By regularly updating cost forecasts, you can catch budget overruns before they escalate. This helps maintain profitability and supports smarter financial planning throughout the project lifecycle.
  5. Greater Flexibility: Projects rarely go exactly as planned. Real-time forecasting allows for quick pivots, helping teams adapt to changes without derailing timelines or goals.

Static forecasting might give you a baseline, but it doesn’t account for the dynamic nature of most projects. Real-time forecasting, on the other hand, transforms forecasting from a one-time event into an ongoing process. It reduces the risk of missed deadlines, budget overruns, and resource bottlenecks because potential issues are identified and addressed before they become critical. This leads to more predictable outcomes, better resource allocation, and increased project success rates.

How To Project Forecast

Ready to create your own project forecast? Here’s how:

  1. Gather Historical Data: Collect data from past projects, including timelines, budgets, resource allocations, and outcomes.
  2. Define Project Scope: Clearly outline what the project entails to set accurate parameters for forecasting.
  3. Select a Forecasting Method: Choose a methodology that fits your project’s complexity and needs.
  4. Analyze the Data: Identify trends, patterns, and potential risks based on historical insights.
  5. Adjust and Update Regularly: As the project progresses, revisit and refine your forecasts to reflect real-time changes.

See Parallax’s Resource Management Software

Project forecasting doesn’t have to be a guessing game. With the right tools, you can predict timelines, control costs, and ensure top-notch quality all while keeping your team aligned and your stakeholders happy.

Parallax’s resource management software takes the heavy lifting out of forecasting. It integrates historical data, real-time project metrics, and resource insights to help you plan with confidence.

Want to forecast smarter, not harder? See how Parallax can transform your project management.

How to Drive Service Org Growth and Employee Engagement 

By Parallax |

Running an agency often feels like a balancing act—keeping clients happy, maintaining profitability, and ensuring your team stays engaged, all at the same time. Many leaders believe they have to choose between running an efficient business and creating a great place to work. But in reality, these two goals go hand in hand.

A well-structured agency creates a better work environment, and an engaged team delivers better business results. The challenge? Too many agencies rely on gut feelings rather than data, leading to firefighting, burnout, and unpredictable workloads that keeps orgs stuck in survival mode. 

So how do you know if you’re approaching this “survival spiral” and how can you escape? 

We’ll cover: 

The Survival Spiral 

Some agencies unknowingly trap themselves in a cycle where work is overwhelming, profits are shrinking, and employees are heading for the exit. If this sounds familiar, you might be stuck in the Services Spiral of Death—which, yes, sounds dramatic, but for agency leaders trying to make payroll while keeping clients happy, it can feel all too real.

Signs Your Agency is Stuck in Survival Mode

  1. Compressed Margins – Costs keep rising, but pricing hasn’t kept pace, eating into profits.
  2. Stagnant Revenue – New business isn’t coming in fast enough, and existing projects aren’t generating enough value.
  3. High Employee Turnover – Your best people are leaving, and those who stay are burning out.
  4. A Reactive Culture – Instead of proactively managing workloads, leadership is constantly putting out fires.

A common reason agencies get stuck in this cycle is lack of visibility into key metrics. Without utilization and margin data, it’s impossible to know if the business is actually making money—or just running in place.

Intuition is great for creative work, but it’s a shaky foundation for business operations. Agencies that don’t measure what matters end up making pricing and staffing decisions in the dark.

The Services Growth Flywheel: A More Profitable, Engaged Agency

The good news is that agencies that shift their focus to operational efficiency can break free from the survival spiral and build lasting momentum, where strong processes, engaged employees, and profitability continuously reinforce one another.

Characteristics of a Thriving Agency

  1. Predictable Revenue Growth – A strong sales pipeline consisting of strategic opportunities. 
  2. Healthy Margins – Pricing reflects value, and projects are consistently profitable.
  3. Engaged Employees – Clear career paths and balanced workloads keep top talent invested.
  4. Proactive Workflows – The agency is structured to anticipate challenges rather than react to them.

The biggest difference between agencies in the flywheel versus the survival spiral? Visibility into key business metrics. Agencies in growth mode aren’t guessing—they’re using data to guide hiring, pricing, and resourcing decisions.

For example, tracking utilization rates helps agencies determine whether they need to sell more work or hire additional staff. Similarly, understanding project margins allows agencies to focus on the most profitable work instead of taking on projects that show little return.

Download the Service Org Checklist

The Metrics That Will Transform Your Agency

Tracking everything is overwhelming, and let’s be honest, no one has time for that. Instead, agencies should focus on two core metrics that provide the clearest picture of financial health and operational efficiency.

1. Billable Utilization: Are You Using Your Team Efficiently?

Billable utilization measures how much of an employee’s available time is spent on revenue-generating work. This helps to understand whether there may be too much, or not enough work for the team and what actions to take in order to balance off workloads.

  • If utilization is too low, you may be overstaffed or struggling to win work.
  • If utilization is too high, employees are at risk of burnout.
  • A balanced utilization rate ensures profitability without pushing employees to their limits.

A key takeaway? Agencies that don’t track utilization are flying blind. Without this metric, they risk hiring too soon, waiting too long to bring on new staff, or mismanaging workloads.

2. Project Margins: Are You Making Money on Your Work?

Project margins reveal how much profit remains after accounting for labor and other costs. It’s important to track margin on both the project type level as well as project margins for specific clients. Calculating and tracking both is key to identifying what projects and clients are the most profitable, and which offerings may need to be adjusted in order to maintain healthier margins. 

Many agencies assume that as long as revenue is growing, everything is fine. But without monitoring margins, they might be taking on work that keeps them busy but doesn’t contribute to long-term growth.

How to Transition from Survival Mode to Growth

Unfortunately, selling more work is not the quick fix to unpredictable revenue, compressed margins, or erratic utilization rates. Growth without operational improvements will only magnify existing problems. Instead, there are a few strategies you can focus on to gain momentum for growth.

1. Track Utilization and Margins

Start by calculating your team utilization and project margins. Then, set a cadence to continuously monitor these metrics. Visibility into where time and resources are going will immediately highlight areas for improvement.

2. Adjust Pricing and Scope Management

Evaluate project types that typically lead to lower margins and identify where there may be opportunities to adjust pricing or resource management processes.

3. Balance Team Structure

A team made up entirely of senior-level employees may struggle to compete on pricing. Introducing more junior talent can create a more sustainable cost structure while giving senior staff opportunities to mentor and lead.

4. Move from Reactive to Proactive Sales

A strong pipeline reduces the pressure to take on unprofitable projects. Identify your most profitable services and ideal client types, then focus sales efforts accordingly.

5. Prioritize Employee Development

Employees who see a clear career path are more likely to stay engaged. Organizations that invest in mentorship, training, and leadership development build stronger teams—and ultimately, a stronger business.

The Secret to a Scalable, Engaged Agency

Agencies don’t have to choose between profitability and employee satisfaction. When operations are dialed in, the business runs more smoothly, employees feel supported, and clients receive better service. The agencies that succeed in the long run are those that balance financial health with a strong internal culture.

By focusing on billable utilization and project margins, agencies can break free from the cycle of uncertainty and build a business that thrives—for both leadership and employees alike.

For agency leaders ready to shift from survival mode to sustainable growth, the path is clear: track the right data, refine operations, and create an environment where both the business and its people can grow together.

A Guide To Resource Forecasting For Project Managers

By Parallax |
Resource Forecasting

Tired of guessing your project labor needs only to end up short-staffed or over budget? Take control of your resource management with resource forecasting, and start making calculated data-driven decisions. 

Without forecasting your resources, you are acting blind. Resource forecasting allows business owners, CEOs, and project managers to make smart decisions and set themselves up for success when allocating team members to various projects. Forecasting, when done well, is valuable for prepping for new projects and optimizing current projects. Read on to learn how to effectively forecast resources and the best software options for resource management.

Streamline your resource forecasting with auto-generated resource plans for all your projects.

What We’ll Cover

What Is Resource Forecasting?

Resource forecasting is any method or process you use to predict your business’s future resource needs. Forecasting is one of the elements of resource management. Resource forecasting helps project managers allocate resources effectively to ensure project goals can be met in the allotted time frame. Effective resource management forecasting also helps avoid delays and employee burnout. It allows for balanced workloads to help you meet profitability goals.

Resource forecasting involves analyzing data from various sources, such as sales pipelines and timesheets, to gain insights into how resources have been used on past projects and how they are currently being used. This analysis guides predictions for future resource use. Many businesses use resource management software to automate forecasting and ensure accuracy.  

Benefits Of  Resource Forecasting

The benefits of resource management forecasting cannot be overstated. It can optimize project timelines, improve team efficiency, and minimize the risks of resource shortages or over-allocation.

For many businesses,  resources are one of the most significant assets but one of the most substantial costs. Improved productivity and resource utilization can save a company money. It’s especially key to forecast resources when you want to grow your business to ensure optimal growth without overloading your employees or spending money you don’t have.

Better Project Planning

Forecasting helps project managers plan tasks, timelines, and resource needs more effectively. This leads to fewer surprises and smoother project execution. Because many projects are complex and involve cross-functional teams, sophisticated resource forecasting techniques are needed to plan and manage them.

A good forecasting model will let project managers, finance leaders, and executives see a clear, big-picture view of resources in different projects and allow them to zoom in on specific talent, projects, or other details.

Using Team Members Where They’re Needed Most

Forecasting ensures that employees are assigned to tasks that match their skills and expertise. This improves productivity and job satisfaction. With resource forecasting software, you can easily move team members around while forecasts are updated automatically. You can then maximize utilization quickly and easily. Moving employees around internally is usually more cost-effective than hiring someone new, and it could reinvigorate previously underutilized employees. 

Avoiding Staffing Issues

Forecasting helps project managers avoid overstaffing or understaffing by identifying potential gaps in advance. Employees whose skills are well-utilized and who do not get overworked or under-scheduled are more likely to stay with the company long-term. Employee retention saves money in costly hiring and onboarding processes and reduces stress on teams, helping keep their projects on track.

Even with the best resource utilization and employee satisfaction, you are bound to lose a vital team member at some point during one of your projects. Forecasting lets you plan ahead for those worst-case scenarios. 

Keeping Teams Productive

Effective forecasting enables balanced workloads. This reduces the likelihood of burnout among team members as each individual is given the right amount of work so that they remain focused and motivated.

Productive teams are more satisfied with their jobs which aids in maintaining morale, further increasing productivity. This positive momentum can lead to impressive innovation, collaboration, and project accomplishments. Also, because forecasting makes it easier to track KPIs, you can see your return on investment clearly.

Resource forecasting and tracking empower project managers with real-time performance data.

How To Forecast Resources

To forecast effectively, you need to know what resources you have and the best ways to allocate them. This starts with assessing your team’s current capacity and identifying future project needs so that you can match employees to the incoming work that best suits their availability, skills, workload, and interests. When done well, forecasting allows for continuous levels of productivity and positive project margins while honoring employees’ time off requests, navigating skill gaps, and adapting to issues as they arise.  

Assess Current Team Capacity

The first step to forecasting resources is evaluating the current workload and availability of team members. This is also referred to as capacity planning. During this phase, focus on getting buy-in from every single team member so that they are motivated to provide accurate information about their availability and workload. Accurate data from each team member is essential to accurate forecasting.

You can also use data from your CRM and time-tracking software to help you understand capacity. If resource forecasting is new to you, this may require going back through data from previous years. Then, get familiar with the current industry trends for insights into the demand for your products or services. Resource forecasting software can help predict anticipated demand in the future, and the earlier you can spot shifts in the market, the more likely you will be able to respond appropriately. 

Identify Future Project Needs

Forecast resource needs based on project goals, scope, and timelines. Projects must be clearly defined before accurate forecasting can happen. When prioritizing resources, companies should first focus on the most important, urgent, and profitable tasks. Breaking down complex tasks into smaller sub-tasks can help estimate what resources are required. 

Scenario planning is beneficial to further illuminate project needs. Use resource management software to play out various positive and negative scenarios with mock projects. Understanding and planning for future project needs this way can also reveal whether a centralized, local, or hybrid resourcing model is best for your business. Lastly, consider using customer surveys to discover future client needs.

Account For Employee Availability

When forecasting for resources, factor in vacation, sick days, or other commitments. Scheduling is often a dreaded task among managers and, therefore, isn’t given the careful time and consideration it needs to be done well. Creating accurate schedules is key to avoiding resource conflicts and employee burnout or wasting money on unnecessary labor.

A centralized resource management plan can streamline scheduling and minimize errors. Don’t forget to take into account fluctuations in demand when scheduling employees for various projects. 

Plan For Skill Gaps

Identifying skill gaps lets project managers address potential challenges in advance. This could be days or weeks when there was more work to do than available workers or when team members were being underutilized.

Underutilization can be remedied by launching new projects and training employees as needed to ensure they are being fully utilized. If there are certain tasks that only one or a few employees know how to complete, that could lead to potential bottlenecks. Consider training others to do those tasks or hiring new team members with the necessary skills already.

Track And Adjust As Projects Evolve

While having a clear, complete plan for any project is vital, it’s also vital to be flexible. Inevitably, something unexpected will happen that affects the project’s progress. Maybe a team member quits abruptly, or a supply shortage means working overtime to find an alternative. Be ready to shift team members and duties as needed. 

To be ready to make those shifts, closely monitor resource usage and update forecasts as projects progress; don’t wait until there’s an issue. Keeping forecasts updated ensures project managers can adapt to changes without disrupting timelines. They can also identify potential problems or inefficiencies early on and make minor adjustments to avoid larger challenges down the line. 

See resource forecasting software in action with a free demo from Parallax. 

Tips On Forecasting In  Resource Management

Resource management forecasting can feel overwhelming if it’s all new to you. While it’s a lot to take in, staying proactive and learning to prioritize key tasks will help things fall into place. Use the actionable tips below to improve your resource forecasting, gracefully adapt to changes, and maintain a competitive edge.

  • Centralize resource management: Streamline the forecasting process to build a solid foundation that could lead to adopting a more localized or hybrid model in the future. This will ultimately lead to better alignment within and across teams.
  • Think simplicity every step of the way: Cumbersome processes or spreadsheets will likely go unused or be used incorrectly, causing inaccurate forecasting. Simplicity helps ensure forecasting software is used with efficacy and minimizes chances for errors.
  • Regularly communicating with team members: Buy-in from all team members is vital to accurate forecasting and overall effective resource management. Set up a consistent meeting schedule that works for your team, whether it’s daily or weekly check-ins.
  • Embrace new technologies and train employees on them: Incorporating AI-driven analytics further enhances accuracy by predicting future talent demands based on industry patterns.

How Can You Use Resource Management Software To Forecast  Resources?

Parallax’s resource management software optimizes the forecasting process by offering real-time insights into availability and workloads. We unify executives, delivery, and sales to determine resource needs. Our user-friendly dashboard puts access to sophisticated data and resource forecasting at your fingertips. It’s customizable and easily shareable with all team members and other stakeholders.

For example, you can filter available talent by skill set to see how you can best leverage current employees and find talent gaps in your workforce for data-driven hiring. Plus, our software gets smarter with each project you complete, learning from the insights gained from previous projects to hone forecasting accuracy.

Book a Demo to See Parallax’s Resource Management Software

Effective resource forecasting is crucial when juggling multiple projects, growing your business, and maintaining profitability. It’s all about using the right data to predict future demand, project needs, and your team’s capacity. Those predictions are then used to guide  resource allocation and utilization.


New technologies have made all these elements of resource management a lot easier! Say goodbye to guesswork and confusing spreadsheets when trying to tackle resource forecasting. See how simple and easy forecasting can be when you use Parallax’s resource management software. Schedule your no-pressure demo today to discover how Parallax can transform your resource forecasting, allocation, and utilization efforts.

3 Types Of Resourcing Models For Resource Management

By Parallax |
3 resourcing model example image

Having a clearly defined resourcing model for resource management can level up your business operations, increasing efficiency, productivity, and employee retention. This blog can help you find the best resourcing model for your company. 

There are different types of resource models. One may suit your particular needs more than others, so it’s crucial to understand the nuanced differences between them. Below, we cover the pros and cons of the three main resource management models and tips on choosing and implementing one.

Transform a resource model into a customized resource management plan with Parallax.

What We’ll Cover

Types Of Resource Management Models

A resource model defines how a business organizes, allocates, and manages its human resources. Without a clear model, organizations often end up wasting resources or experiencing resource shortages, both of which use company time and money inefficiently. No matter what kind of products, services, or productized services your business offers, you can benefit from adopting a resource management model.

The three main resource management models are the centralized model, the local or decentralized model, and a hybrid model that combines centralized and local management approaches. These three human resource management models differ in terms of control, flexibility, and resource allocation. Once you understand each model, you can choose the one that best aligns with your business’s operations, goals, and needs.

Centralized resourcing model example image

Centralized Resource Model

A centralized resource model has a small or central group or individual that makes all human resource management decisions. This central authority could be an entire resource management team or a single manager or executive. 

Advantages of the centralized model:

  • Makes it easier to see all resources at once
  • Increased visibility improves resource allocation
  • Can help you stay within your budget and project timeline
  • Improves capacity planning so you can effectively plan ahead
  • Ensures employees are perfectly utilized so no one gets bored or burnt out

Challenges associated with the centralized model:

  • Little to no back-up options in case a part of the central authority fails
  • Less collaboration because decision-making is highly concentrated in a small group
  • Fewer opportunities for input from employees

Local resourcing model example image

Local Resource Model

The local resource model, sometimes called the decentralized model, is the opposite of the centralized model. In a local resource model, individual teams handle their own resource management. Instead of a central authority, the responsibility of resource management is distributed between teams or departments.

Advantages of the local model:

  • Promotes collaboration
  • Increased collaboration can lead to more innovation
  • Aligns with democratic values and systems
  • Increases employee buy-in
  • If one part fails, the whole system does not fail

Challenges associated with the local model:

  • May lead to less cross-department collaboration
  • Less standardized systems, policies, and procedures 
  • No resource management happening at the whole organization level

Hybrid resourcing model example image

Hybrid Resource Model

The hybrid resource model is a combination of the centralized and decentralized models. Individual teams hold some responsibility for their own resource management, while some decisions are made by a central authority and passed down. The key to effectively leveraging the hybrid model of resources is to determine which specific resource management tasks are best completed at the local level and which are best completed at the central level.

Advantages of the hybrid model:

  • Has the benefits of both the local and centralized models
  • Can alleviate some of the challenges of the local and centralized models
  • Provides the most flexibility in resource management
  • Promotes collaboration within and across teams 

Challenges associated with the hybrid model:

  • Can be complex and difficult to implement
  • Can lead to duplicate work if systems and communication are inadequate
  • Less consistency in decision-making than in the centralized approach

Book a free demo with Parallax to see how our software can help you incorporate a resource model.

Which Model Of Resources Is Right For Your Business?

Every model of resources has benefits and challenges. Evaluate each one with your business’s goals and unique culture in mind. As you are evaluating each resource model, also consider the following factors:

  • The size of your organization
  • The industry you operate in
  • Your operational complexity
  • The team structures you use 

Smaller organizations like agencies may be able to more easily implement and benefit from a decentralized resource model. A local model can promote growth for a newer business or an established small business looking to expand. Medium-to-large businesses will likely have more project success with a centralized or hybrid model. Multinational businesses should consider the hybrid model for the most flexibility between locations.

How To Make A Resource Model Into A Process

After you’ve illuminated which resource model you want to use, it’s time to implement it. While the structure of these models is clear, the way to make the structure fit your organization may not be so clear. Implementation involves transitioning your chosen resource management model into an actionable process by defining workflows, roles, and responsibilities. 

Download Parallax’s strategic forecasting e-book to get advice and tools for weekly and long-term resource planning. Once you have a system set up, it’s essential to regularly monitor it to ensure the model is functioning efficiently. Technologies like resource planning software streamline this process and make efficient resource management accessible to any organization. 

See Parallax’s Resource Management Software

Human resources are the single most important piece of any project, and putting the right people in the right roles can transform your organization. Using a systematic approach to human resource management with a defined resource model is the best way to ensure success. Maximize the benefits of resourcing models with Parallax’s resource management software. Agencies and studios that use our software see a 107% increase in revenue per billable employee.

Parallax’s software pairs well with any of the resource models. Teams and departments can access real-time utilization insights to empower them to make adjustments to optimize their performance. Those in charge of a resource management plan can also see all active projects to keep an eye on budgets, timelines, and resource utilization across departments and update resource plans to meet financial targets as needed.

Book a demo today to see Parallax in action.

How To Create A Comprehensive Resource Management Plan

By Parallax |
Resource Management Planning Graphic Example

A resource management plan isn’t just a checkbox for your project kickoff; it’s the blueprint for aligning your people, timelines, and budgets to work in harmony. Without a solid plan, even the strongest team can collapse under shifting demands and mismatched priorities. But there is a way to build a foundation for success that’s both balanced and forward-looking: a resource management plan.

Resource management plans help businesses ensure their teams are utilized effectively and protected from burnout while keeping project goals on track. From analyzing skill sets and availability to forecasting capacity and margins, a well-crafted plan is the secret to healthier projects and happier teams.

Discover how to optimize resource planning for your projects with Parallax’s resource management software.

What Is A Resource Management Plan?

A resource management plan is a structured approach to allocating, scheduling, and utilizing resources such as employees, tools, and budgets, to meet project and organizational goals. It clarifies who is doing what, when, and at what cost; ensuring that teams maintain healthy utilization. 

Using resource management plans, organizations can balance workloads, maintain efficiency, and align their workforce with strategic priorities. It’s the key to unlocking greater productivity, reducing risks, and improving project outcomes.

Parts Of A Resource Management Plan

A well-developed resource management plan is built on several key components. The different parts of the resource plan work together to provide a clear roadmap for managing your resources effectively and strategically. Prioritize only one, and raise risks of running into roadblocks in delivery. Incorporate them all, and you’re set up for a successful project. 

Let’s look at the different parts of a resource management plan and how they work together to create a seamless project resource plan. 

Resources And Resource Data

Identifying available resources and documenting their skills, roles, and responsibilities is the foundation of any resource plan. Accurate data on team members’ expertise and capacity helps inform what assets can be utilized and where there may be gaps. 

Resource Availability

Resource availability considers working hours, time off, and current and forecasted capacity. Tools like capacity forecasting software can help managers plan and consider upcoming project assignments when developing resource plans. This allows them to strategically match resources to projects, ensuring teams stay productive without risking employee burnout or underutilization.

Budget And Project Scope

Budget goals and project objectives should be considered to guide how resources are assigned. Aligning resourcing goals with project goals helps avoid overspending and ensures project targets like margin and scoped hours are met without sacrificing quality or missing deadlines. Using a robust resource planner, managers can see how their resource plans affect project goals and adjust accordingly. 

Learn how Parallax simplifies resource management for digital agencies.

How To Create A Resource Management Plan

Crafting a resource management plan requires strategic planning and monitoring. With the right approach, your resource management plans will help to reduce the risk of potential bottlenecks and support timely, quality project delivery. 

Assess Resources And Identify Gaps

Identify and document your current resources, including roles, skills, and capacity. Create a clear catalog that organizes this information, making it easy to match team members to tasks based on their expertise. This step also helps identify gaps in capacity or skill sets on your team when planning a project. 

Define Project Requirements 

Outline the specific roles and timeframes needed for your project. For instance, you might need a web designer for 6 hours daily from February 2nd to February 15th. This step essentially creates a template for your resource plan, laying out what roles are needed and when to successfully meet project deadlines and milestones. 

Allocate Resources Based on Goals 

Assign team members to roles by matching their availability and skills to project needs. Align resource allocation with broader goals, such as maintaining utilization targets (e.g., 80%) or improving project margins. Use data from past projects and capacity plans to anticipate demand and ensure flexibility for unexpected shifts. This approach balances immediate project needs with long-term business objectives.

Monitor Progress and Adjust as Needed

Once your plan is in place, track metrics like utilization, project progress, and team capacity. Be proactive in adjusting allocations to solve for changes in project scope or shifting priorities. Regular monitoring ensures that your resource plan continues to support your projects.

The resource management plan sample below can give you an idea of how resource management software can help organize and create clear visibility into the makeup of your resource management plans. 

plan resource management

Read how digital agencies use Parallax to streamline their resource management plans.

Resource Management Plan Example

Consider Vokal, a digital marketing agency that struggled with resource allocation and project scoping. By implementing resource management planning initiatives, Vokal gained visibility into team capacity and resource needs to help them accurately scope client projects. 

Their plans can now identify needed roles, track team capacity, and align resources with project priorities. This approach helped them make strategic hiring decisions, scope projects more accurately, and increase their project margins. 

Why Are Resource Management Plans Important?

Resource management plans are essential to developing, maintaining, and providing feedback for efficient operations. They help organizations avoid common pitfalls during delivery like last-minute hiring or project delays. By bringing together key parts of project delivery including available resources, project needs, budgets, and capacity, resource management plans help organizations: 

  • Create more accurate project scopes
  • Improve team efficiency 
  • Reduce burnout risk and underutilization of resources 
  • Anticipate potential bottlenecks 
  • And monitor project health 

Next step: How to level up your resource management 

Book A Demo To See Parallax’s Resource Management Software

Software specifically built for resource management can help set up and streamline your resource management and planning processes. Parallax’s resource management tool provides clear visibility into how managers can strategically allocate resources and align plans with project and company goals.

Learn how agencies see a 5% increase in utilization on average after adopting Parallax for resource planning. Book a Parallax demo.

Parallax Welcomes New CEO to Lead Next Stage of Growth and Innovation

By Parallax |
Parallax welcomes new CEO (with image of Jeff Eckerle)

Edina, MN — December 10, 2024 — Parallax, a leading provider of predictive forecasting and resource management software, announced today that Jeff Eckerle has been appointed as the company’s new CEO. Eckerle succeeds Tom O’Neill, Parallax’s founding CEO, who led the company’s early growth and established it as a trailblazer in helping digital service organizations unlock the full potential of their teams.

Parallax developed a platform designed for professional services firms with robust predictive analytics, resource management and strategic planning capabilities. It integrates seamlessly with clients’ existing systems, replacing complex spreadsheets and fragmented forecasting tools with a single, data-driven platform. 

“Founding Parallax has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. I’ve had the privilege of working with an incredible team and visionary customers to build software that helps companies align their business goals with their people’s ambitions,” said Tom O’Neill, Founding CEO of Parallax. “The company is in great hands with Jeff Eckerle, whose expertise makes him the ideal leader for Parallax’s next phase of innovation.”

Eckerle brings extensive industry and leadership experience, as well as a proven track record in scaling technology companies. His leadership will support Parallax as it continues to introduce new features and improvements, including recently launched timesheet capabilities that streamline time-tracking and billing within the platform, adding another layer of functionality for clients.

“Parallax stands out for its excellent core product and dedication to transforming businesses through smarter resource management,” said Jeff Eckerle, CEO of Parallax. “With several key product enhancements set to launch in the coming months, we’re more focused than ever on how evolving technology is creating opportunities for our customers to redefine how they manage people and deliver projects. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be leading a software company in this space.”

Parallax raised a $12 Million Series B funding round in 2023, bringing total funding to $24.5 Million with backing from Baird Ventures, Grotech and Rally Ventures.

“Jeff’s combination of product and industry knowledge, GTM expertise and people-focused leadership is optimal for guiding Parallax’s next phase of growth,” said Jeff Hinck, Partner at Rally Ventures. “Tom laid a solid foundation with a strong core product. We’re confident that Jeff’s leadership will build on that great success. We’re looking forward to supporting the team as they enter their next exciting chapter.”

About Parallax


Parallax is a strategic, predictive capacity and resource management solution built for digital service organizations. Centered around the most critical agency operational pillars – capacity planning, resource management, project financials, and operations intelligence – Parallax helps maximize efficiency of resources, ensure utilization goals are met, and track and improve project margin. For more information on Parallax and its solutions, please visit www.getparallax.com.

Media Contact

Miranda Lawler
miranda.lawler@getparallax.com

What Is Capacity Planning? How To Effectively Capacity Plan

By Parallax |
balancing demand and capacity abstract image

Imagine you’re throwing a dinner party, but instead of knowing exactly who’s coming, you’re guessing based on vague RSVPs like “maybe” or “I’ll try to make it.” You buy too many groceries, and half the food goes uneaten—or worse, you run out of chairs because way more people show up than expected. 

Now scale that chaos to a professional services business. That’s capacity planning: the delicate art of aligning your team’s availability with unpredictable client demands. Done right, it keeps projects running smoothly and profits healthy; done wrong, you’re left scrambling for resources or sitting idle, wondering where it all went wrong. 

Optimize team performance with Parallax capacity planning software.

What We’ll Cover

What Is Capacity Planning?

benefits of capacity planning abstract image

Capacity planning is the process of determining the amount of work an organization can take on with their available resources in a given time period. It takes into account the types of roles, skills, time, and budget projects will need in order to be completed successfully, while considering projects that may already be in delivery or in the pipeline. 

The planning helps give decision-makers a clear view of what types of projects can be completed efficiently and cost-effectively while maintaining alignment with the organization’s strategic goals.

Why Is Capacity Planning Important?

Capacity plans help agencies and professional service organizations operate as efficiently as possible, minimizing unexpected roadblocks in delivery and producing quality output for clients. 

When done effectively, it supports:

Strategic growth goals: by aligning projects and resources with long term organizational goals and market trends.

Cost management: by guiding resource plans to staff projects effectively, avoiding underutilizing employees or last-minute hiring. 

Efficient operations: maintaining the balance between available capacity and upcoming demand, supporting smooth workflows and healthy employee utilization levels.

Learn how strategic capacity planning improves team utilization rates.

Capacity Planning Strategies

Planning strategies can differ based on an organization’s goals and current capacity. Each strategy aims to align resources with demand, however, lead, lag, and match strategies differ when it comes to approaching project forecasting. Let’s break down each strategy and how they work:

Lead Strategy

The lead strategy focuses on planning based on anticipated demand level. Organizations using this strategy adjust capacity ahead of time, ensuring that when demand increases capacity is available to deliver. 

The downside of this approach is risking being over capacity, resulting in increased costs and underutilized employees. 

Lag Strategy

Unlike the lead strategy, the lag strategy only takes into account current demand. This strategy allows businesses to minimize costs, avoiding the risk of being over capacity by acquiring resources as demand increases. 

A sudden increase in demand may cause challenges for organizations who use this strategy. Resources may become overutilized, risking employee burn out, or the business may need to delay projects until capacity has been adjusted. 

Match Strategy

The match strategy is a combination of both the lag and lead strategy, planning for current demand as well as forecasting for future demand. The goal of this strategy is to maintain healthy resource utilization by matching capacity to demand as accurately as possible. 

To succeed with the match strategy, teams must work diligently to forecast demand and plan capacity accurately. With the right approach, the match strategy is the most cost effective and efficient strategy. 

How To Capacity Plan

A well crafted capacity plan involves evaluating your current capacity, forecasting future demand, and strategically allocating resources. With the right approach, capacity planning can help organizations improve the accuracy of resource allocation, prepare for growth, and get ahead of potential roadblocks early. 

Steps of capacity planning

Assess Current Capacity And Resource Utilization

Assessing your current capacity and resource utilization is the first step to creating a successful plan. Tools like time-tracking software and resource management dashboards can provide insight into metrics like resource utilization and forecast variance to help identify gaps or inefficiencies to address. For example, trends that show resources are consistently over-utilized may indicate a capacity shortage. 

Forecast Future Demand And Growth

Forecasting future demand helps identify how much capacity you will need to successfully complete upcoming projects. With future demand taken into account, capacity plans help organizations prepare for fluctuations like seasonal dips or spikes in demand by allowing them to increase their workforce, adjust schedules, and allocate resources more efficiently.  

Identify And Analyze Potential Bottlenecks

Identifying potential roadblocks within your capacity plans ensure that projects are delivered on time and as efficiently as possible. By anticipating future demand, organizations can be proactive and get ahead of bottlenecks such as resource shortages, overstaffing, or delays that could affect project timelines or quality.  

Develop And Implement A Capacity Plan

Now that you know your team’s capacity and requirements of current and forecasted projects, it’s time to use these insights to create your capacity plan.

Team capacity planning consists of aligning resource schedules, skills, and workloads to strategically allocate resources to projects both present and future. Tools like Parallax that help you both forecast capacity and manage resources as well as scenario plan, provide transparency into who is available to be staffed based on their capacity and utilization.

Once you successfully align your capacity plan with your resource plan, regularly monitor its effectiveness and adjust as project or demand changes occur.

Capacity Planning Examples

  • Praxent improved the coordination between their sales and delivery teams by using capacity plans to scenario plan for won deals starting in the sales process.
  • Raindrop encountered many swings in demand, causing teams to be over capacity. By using a capacity planning tool, they were able to smooth out curves in resource demand and allocate team members based on utilization goals. 
  • Clear Digital forecasts their capacity and utilization to identify and understand where there may be discrepancies between resource availability and project requirements. As they grew their business, insights from the capacity plan became essential to their operations. 

Read more about how Parallax customers capacity plan to improve operations. 

Capacity Planning Benefits

Team Transparency

Capacity planning provides clear visibility into workload distribution and resource availability, helping project managers and resource managers create more reliable work plans and delivery scopes. Capacity plans also provide feedback to teams on delivery status and effectiveness of the resource plan, allowing for adjustments and improvements to be made on future forecasts. 

Enables Teams To Deliver Projects On Time And Budget

By aligning resources with forecasted project requirements, capacity planning helps teams meet deadlines and stay within budget. This helps to reduce last-minute surprises and account for different scenarios to drive successful project outcomes. 

Easier Scalability For Growth

Capacity forecasting and planning also supports strategic hiring initiatives by anticipating resource needs ahead of time. Businesses can more easily scale operations without over utilizing teams using capacity planning as new business increases. 

Challenges In Capacity Planning

Capacity planning offers many advantages, but to execute effectively, there are a few tips we recommend to keep forecasts accurate, and avoid challenges: 

  1. Use a capacity planning and resource management tool like Parallax to keep forecasts accurate and resource plans up to date. 
  2. Plan for different scenarios and build flexibility into your plans to adapt to demand changes. 
  3. Integrate your tools to limit inaccuracies and human error in forecast data. 

Learn more capacity planning best practices. 

How Does Capacity Planning Software Work?

Capacity planning software like Parallax helps teams efficiently create capacity plans and apply the insights to their resource plans. 

Parallax uses data from other operational software like your CRM (customer relationship management tool) and time tracking software to inform, predict, and summarize operational processes and key performance metrics. 

Lets look at a few Parallax features that support effective capacity planning: 

  1. Resource capacity forecasting by hours and full time employees
  2. Hiring forecasts
  3. Shaper tool 
  4. Project health and variance reports
  5. People and projects assignment views 
  6. Utilization reporting and forecasting 

See Parallax’s Capacity Planning Software

Creating an effective resource plan is essential to supporting efficient operations and growth within your organization. Forecasting and planning team capacity allows businesses to be proactive to market changes, increase transparency among teams, and maximizes team productivity.

Parallax’s software is designed to help you forecast demand, allocate resources, and reach your strategic business initiatives. 

Book a live demo to see how Parallax can help streamline your capacity planning and resource management process. 

What is Resource Management?

By Parallax |
funnel

If you’re a CEO, head of operations, or project manager you’ve likely been asked, “What is resource management?” Efficient human resource management is vital to keeping your business running smoothly, reducing costs, and increasing profitability.   

Are you tired of having too many resources contributing to unplanned expenses or having resource shortages disrupting daily operations? Intentional resource planning and management allow you to stop reacting and start being proactive with your human resource use. This guide will explain resource management, why it matters, and how to do it well.

Take charge of your human resources use with Parallax’s resource management software.

What We’ll Cover

What Is Resource Management?

Resource management involves planning, allocating, and overseeing a company’s resources. What are resources in a business? In this context, resources mean employees, but depending on your industry, they can also refer to tools, equipment, and time. Resource management encompasses any processes and techniques used to plan, track, and manage resource use. It aims to determine the most cost-effective combination of resources and how to use them.

There are several different resource management techniques that companies can leverage based on their needs and goals:

  • Resource allocation: Having a list of employees and assigning when and what role they will have for different projects.
  • Resource utilization: Analyzing how resources are currently being used, overused, or underused, and offering suggestions to improve the efficiency of resource use.
  • Resource forecasting: Making predictions about what resources will be needed in the future to project, plan, and prioritize efficiently.

Why Is Resource Management Important?

Why is it important to manage resources thoughtfully? An efficient resource management plan helps maximize productivity, improve project outcomes, and increase your business’s return on investment (ROI). 

Employee shortages can halt operations, potentially causing missed deadlines, other employee burnout, upset customers, and revenue loss. On the other hand, too many employees who don’t have enough work can lead to underutilization. Resource managers look for the sweet spot where there are enough employees who can do the required work.

Resource Management Benefits

Any type of business can benefit from resource management, from startups to multinational companies and storefronts to digital service agencies. By using a systematic method for managing resources, you can gain more control over your business’s costs and ROI. This happens through optimizing the allocation and utilization of resources. 

Effective resource management ensures projects follow the set timeline and budget, improving project efficiency and increasing client satisfaction. Optimizing human resources can also improve team collaboration and communication, increase productivity, and minimize unnecessary labor costs. Let’s explore each of these benefits in more detail. 

Improved Project Efficiency

Resource management improves project efficiency by ensuring the right resources are available when they are needed and that they are utilized effectively. This leads to faster project completion and fewer delays or bottlenecks. Resource use should be constantly monitored and compared to plans, budgets, and goals for streamlined operations. Projects can be adjusted as needed to avoid waste and operate at maximum efficiency.

Enhanced Team Collaboration And Communication

Resource management enhances team collaboration by fostering clear communication about roles, availability, and responsibilities. This transparency enhances accountability, aligns team members, and reduces misunderstandings. It also allows executives and managers to create dynamic teams that can be flexible and shift as needed to optimize resource use. When employees are set up for success, they can focus on innovation and efficiency.

Excellent employee resource management is key to leveling up your business’s productivity. 

Optimized Resource Allocation

Optimized resource allocation ensures that resources are used where they’re most effective. This reduces underutilization and employee burnout. It ensures resources are applied strategically to meet project and organizational goals. Employees should also be evaluated regularly to measure and improve their performance.

Increased Utilization

Resource management helps increase resource utilization by minimizing idle time and maximizing productivity. This ensures you are fully leveraging available resources. For example, if your team is going to be overutilized for a month due to a one-off project, you can then confidently hire a contract role versus a full-time employee.

Resource management software

Resource Management Examples

Not sure what resource management looks like in action? The examples below from businesses that use Parallax’s resource management software illustrate real-life applications that enhance business operations:

  • Clockwork uses resource management techniques to adjust workloads effectively when an employee is going to be out of work for vacation or another form of leave. This ensures projects stay on track and no one is overworked.
  • Planet Argon integrated resource management software with its customer relationship management (CRM) software and time tracking tools to create a seamless workflow and share information between systems and across teams. This guarantees that everyone is always on the same page. 
  • HUSH leads long-term, large-scale projects. It leveraged resource management software to quickly price large projects and break them up into phases. This makes it easier to allocate resources effectively, adjust plans as needed, and communicate with clients about budget and timing changes.
  • Raindrop started using resource management to improve the bottom line of its business and discovered that a lot of their estimates for time had been off and they were missing around one million dollars in billable revenue. Now, they can bill their clients for all the time that is actually billable.

Learn the differences between resource and task planning, so you can use them both to maximize profits.

How Does Resource Management Software Work?

Resource management is complex and involves many aspects of operations and multiple departments. Resource management software helps businesses plan, track, and allocate resources in a centralized platform.

With Parallax’s resource management software, executives, managers, salespeople, delivery teams, and other employees can all collaborate in one place. Our comprehensive platform uses engaging data to promote transparency and accountability among your team members. It’s easy to share resource plans, view utilization insights, and monitor project progress for improved efficiency.

Resource management skills include the ability to determine what resources will be needed in the future. Predictive software can compute forecasts quickly and accurately, taking into account supply, demand, and market trends. With Parallax’s predictive resource management software, it’s painless to tackle resource management now and plan months ahead to streamline operations and decision-making. 

See Parallax’s Resource Management Software

It’s important to take the time to create a comprehensive resource management plan first. This includes understanding who and how many employees you have, planning how you will acquire new human resources, and creating a schedule of how and when resources will be allocated. It also involves having a system in place to track progress, monitor resource utilization, and adjust as needed for maximum efficiency. 

Effective resource management is the strategy you need to gain control over your human resource use, but you don’t have to go at it alone. Parallax’s resource management software allows you to be proactive and data-driven, taking the guesswork out of resource forecasting, leveling, allocation, and optimization.


Ready to learn more about what resource management software can do for your bottom line? Schedule a live demo of Parallax to see what makes our products unique.

2025 Digital Agency Trend Predictions

By Parallax |

Looking ahead to 2025, the agency landscape is evolving fast, with trends like AI, operational shifts, and a focus on workplace culture reshaping the way agencies and consultancies operate. The big question for agency leaders is how to thrive and grow in the face of these changes. 

In our recent Q&A session, Leading Your Agency Into 2025: A Guide for Strategic Planning Through Uncertainty, Parallax’s Head of Customer Success, Grant Hultgren, sat down with Carl Smith, founder of The Bureau, to explore emerging industry trends and how to navigate them.

Table of Contents 

How Will Agencies Adapt With Tech Trends?

The notion that “digital agencies are dying” makes headlines year after year, but industry veterans know this claim does not hold much truth. Instead, these orgs are constantly adapting, evolving their craft to embrace new challenges, agency industry trends and technology innovations. 

Like traditional advertising agencies adjusted to the craze of the internet, today’s digital agencies are taking advantage of new tools and advancements within their specialty fields. Tools like AI, automation, and data analytics help enhance their operations while honing in on being the best at and improving on their craft.

Digital agencies aren’t disappearing anytime soon. However, they may be redefining themselves. With every new shift, from emerging technology to changing client expectations, agencies are treating every challenge as a new opportunity for growth. 

Carl says, “When I hear somebody say digital agencies are dying, I think they don’t realize that we’re not dying, we’re evolving. We’re shedding our skins like a snake. We’re going to use all the new tools and big corporations are going to get to a point where they [can’t do it alone] and who are they going to hire? Digital agencies.”

Will Specialized Agencies Thrive?

Specialization is becoming a defining trend in digital agencies as we approach 2025. With growing demand for niche expertise in areas like SEO, digital design, and cybersecurity to name a few, smaller, specialized agencies are distinguishing themselves in a crowded market. 

By focusing on their specific crafts, these agencies offer a unique value proposition with a level of expertise that’s often harder to find in larger, generalist firms. These agencies are also able to adapt more quickly to shifts in the market, and get ahead of emerging trends whereas process changes in larger firms can get more complicated and time consuming. 

Will A Human-centric Approach be Prioritized Over AI?

AI is shaking up the agency industry as of late, offering digital agencies the chance to streamline and support the human insight that clients rely on (but not replace them). Tasks like data analysis and other repetitive tasks can be simplified through AI and automation, saving time and allowing teams to focus on project items that require personalization and context knowledge that AI can’t deliver.

It’s recommended to use AI softwares to compliment tasks and projects rather than rely on it, keeping humans involved in each stage of a project to ensure full alignment with client goals and unique project needs. Doing so ensures that agencies can still utilize the benefits of AI while continuing to build genuine relationships with clients as projects are delivered efficiently and with care.

Will Agencies Opt for a More Consultative Approach to Projects?

Alongside this trend, agencies are shifting towards a consultative, strategic partnership model. At Parallax, we encourage a productized service offering model as a best practice for efficient, scalable operations. However, it’s also important to nurture creativity and adaptability within each client project. This balance offers both predictability in operations, allowing professional service orgs to efficiently forecast and plan ahead while building the foundation for long-term client relationships that thrive on collaboration and shared goals.

Not only does this consultative approach contribute to healthy customer-vendor relationships, but it also gives more opportunity for agency employees to sharpen and build upon their skill sets. As new digital agency trends emerge in 2025, employees are able to explore new avenues to complete a project, nurturing their professional development and allow for exploration of new ways to improve operations. 

How to Get Ahead of the Trends in 2025

Planning for the year to come is hard enough as is – we get it! With new trends arising in software development, agency and consultancy industries, knowing what to prioritize and having an organized plan of attack is crucial to getting ahead in 2025. 

We created a 2025 Strategic Planning Guide for professional service organizations including helpful workbooks and strategies to help lean into the new year with confidence.

Download The Strategic Planning Guide

Have questions about agency planning for 2025? Send us a note hello@getparallax.com. We’d love to chat!