A resource loading handbook for project managers: how to do it right

Let’s start with a simple math problem: how many days does a team of masons need to install drywall in a new condo building? Two pros can typically cover a 12-by-16-foot room in about an hour. Two junior practitioners will probably do it in twice the time. How about while they work at 75% capacity? Or 50%?

These are the types of issues that project managers often need to solve—except instead of drywall it’s usually pixels, words, and code. 

Finding the right answers can be the difference between meeting a project deadline or going over time and budget; and a technique like resource loading helps you avoid unrealistic forecasts, inaccurate project estimates, overloading resources, and missed deadlines.

In this guide, you’ll learn what resource loading is, its benefits, and how to calculate it.

What is resource loading?

Resource loading is the process of filling team members’ available hours with project tasks. This resource management process is done in the early stages of a project—typically during the planning stage.

Note: we wrote available hours, but that comes with a caveat. Though it might sound good on paper to make use of all of the hours on your team’s schedule, this isn’t practicable. Research from Asana proves that workers spend 58% of their time doing work about work (i.e., attending meetings, getting status updates, and chasing information). If you aim to utilize 100% of a person’s capacity without taking this data point into account, they will get overwhelmed, fast.

Resource loading also helps you consider:

• Extra responsibilities → team members might need to step in and take on a task for someone who calls in sick or is working on another project
• Unplanned events → team members might have to take on more work when changes are made to project requirements

It’s best to keep resource loads at a manageable level. For example, instead of loading a schedule with 40 hours’ worth of work (100%), a more realistic approach would be to aim for 30 hours a week (75% utilization), which gives the person enough time to get their job done while accommodating (sometimes unavoidable) non-work tasks.

As an alternative, you could schedule a resource to 100%, but include all admin and non-billable tasks (like team or client calls, training, R&D, and buffers) in the calculation.

What are the benefits of resource loading?

Some of the key advantages to resource loading include:

• It maximizes the use of your team’s time. When used correctly, you can identify and fix mistakes in the planning stage of a project
• It helps you set realistic deadlines and prevents communication gaps, as you must confirm capacity with team members before diving into resource loading
• A resource loading chart (see below) shows when workers are under or over 100% capacity, so resource managers can avoid overallocation and reduce burnout
• It also helps prevent underallocation, which can lead to bored, disengaged workers who aren’t challenged or used to their full potential.

A practical example: resource loading in a creative agency

Since resource loading is the process of loading schedules with activities, needed resources, and task durations, one of its benefits is that it increases the chances of project success.

• From the start, PMs, Resource Managers, and other stakeholders can determine how many resources (say: copywriters, designers, developers, social media managers) are needed for a project, and the best people to allocate work to
• The resident Creative Ops / Resource Manager people then assign tasks based on their team’s skills and capacity, keeping an eye on underutilization and aiming to reduce overallocation and potential conflicts with other client due dates ‍
• Determining costs during the project becomes easier, as managers can see all the time estimated for each task in resource-loaded schedule

Below is an example of how one of Europe’s largest advertising agencies, Scholz & Friends, thinks about planning its team’s capacity.

What’s the difference between resource loading and resource leveling?

Resource loading is all about maximizing utilization levels, while resource leveling deals with allocation limits of resources. In other words, resource loading involves assigning resources to tasks based on their availability and capacity, while resource leveling aims to balance resource usage by adjusting task schedules to prevent overloading.

What is a resource-loaded schedule?

A resource-loaded schedule is a project schedule that contains information like tasks, due dates, costs, and available resources. You can’t allocate tasks if you don’t know what needs to be done, so you need a work breakdown structure before creating a resource-loaded schedule.

Creating a resource-loaded schedule requires inputting details such as planned activities, timelines, available resources, and rates. The visual representation of resource availability and capacity helps project managers produce accurate project estimates and shows them possible bottlenecks. It also aligns you with subcontractors and allows them to perform better.

Resource management software like Float (hello 👋 ) makes it easy to create a visual resource-loaded schedule. You can balance and build sustainable workloads by keeping track of each person’s planned work, time off, and public holidays. You can also integrate with project management software like Asana, Trello, Jira, and WorkflowMax to assign tasks by dragging and dropping them straight onto the schedule.

How do you calculate resource load?

To calculate resource load, divide the total hours for the task by the number of hours the team member has available.

For example, Task A requires a team member to work for 16 hours to complete it. As the person is only available for 8 hours a day, the resource load would be spread over two days, and the team member would be at 100% of their utilization rate.

How to create a resource loading chart

A resource loading chart serves as a visual representation of resource capacity and allocation. It makes it easier to see availability and adjust when resources are overloaded.

Project managers may use spreadsheets or applications like Microsoft Project and Primavera P6 to create resource loading charts. The process can vary depending on your project and business, but here are some basic steps:

• Have a list of tasks that need to be completed
• Include tasks in your spreadsheet along with their timelines
• Be sure to set the order in which each task should be completed
• Input names of resources
• Assign tasks to your resources
• Take note of resource overallocation and use the leveling option to make changes

Using Float to create a resource loading chart allows you to skip several manual steps. You can find the right person for the job by cross-referencing availability and skill set and assign a new task (or shift an existing task) to them.

You can also link tasks together or copy an existing task to someone new in a few clicks to keep up with changing project timelines and workloads.

Want to give it a try?

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Load resources with accuracy using Float

Constantly estimating the number of resources needed to complete a project & their availability can leads to project delays and frustrated team members. Cut out the guesswork by using Float to predict how much capacity and time are needed to complete tasks.

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📚 Everything else you need to know about resource loading & planning

Resource loading is just one part of the resource planning process—we have a lot more to share with you: 👇

• The ultimate guide to all things resource planning, with steps to create a plan of your own
• A handpicked list of seven free resource planning templates to use right away
• Practical resource allocation tactics to deliver projects on time without causing burnout
• Steps to build a solid resource scheduling process for visibility into your team’s time
• A tactical how-to guide to set up an accurate resource forecasting process

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