Capacity Planning Software
Rillsoft Cloud is the hosted operation mode of the Rillsoft Integration Server and provides project-oriented industrial companies with 20 to 200 employees a complete capacity planning platform with a German server location. The planning interface remains the Rillsoft Project desktop client; central data storage, multi-user operation and the matching of demand against capacity run through the Rillsoft Integration Server operated by Rillsoft. Capacity planning is the decisive lever here: only those who make bottlenecks, workloads and qualifications visible before assigning specific people can schedule projects realistically and keep them within budget.
Why is Capacity Planning Important?
Capacity planning is the process of ensuring that you have sufficient resources to successfully complete planned tasks and projects. It helps in avoiding bottlenecks, identifying overloads, and optimizing the utilization of your employees and machines. Effective capacity planning leads to improved resource utilization, cost reduction, risk mitigation, and increased chances of successful project completions.
Capacity Planning in Rillsoft Cloud
Rillsoft Cloud uses the Rillsoft Project desktop client as the planning interface and delivers the capacity planning functions through the hosted Rillsoft Integration Server. The following steps and features are central to this:
Define Resources
The first step is to define all the resources needed for your project. These resources can be employees, machines, materials, or other assets. Rillsoft Cloud allows you to store detailed information about each resource, including roles, professional qualifications, availability and costs. This is exactly the data foundation that makes qualification-based capacity planning before the actual person assignment possible in the first place.
Resource supply refers to the quantity and availability of resources in an IT environment, especially concerning hardware, software, and human resources. It involves the precise determination of available capacities to support IT systems and processes. Assessing resource provisioning is critical to ensure that the IT infrastructure is appropriately sized to meet the company’s needs.
Assign Tasks
Assign tasks to the appropriate resources. This can be done manually or using Rillsoft Project’s assignment features. Rillsoft Cloud automatically takes resource availability into account and highlights overloads or bottlenecks.
Resource demand refers to the requirements and consumption of resources within an IT system. This includes both hardware and software requirements as well as the need for labor. Accurately determining resource demand is crucial to ensure that available resources are sufficient to support the smooth operation of IT systems.
Create a Schedule
Create a schedule for your project by defining task dependencies, durations, and start and end dates. Rillsoft Cloud automatically calculates the schedule based on your input and resource availability.
Capacity balancing is the process of aligning resource availability with resource demand. The goal is to ensure that the available resources are sufficient to meet the company’s requirements. This alignment allows for identifying bottlenecks and taking capacity optimization measures as necessary.
Identify Resource Bottlenecks and Free Resource Capacities
Identifying resource bottlenecks refers to situations where the available resources are not sufficient to meet the demand. Recognizing resource bottlenecks is a critical step in capacity planning. It enables timely action to avoid or address bottlenecks before they impact business operations.
Free resource capacities refer to unused or available resources within an IT system or organization. Identifying and efficiently utilizing free resource capacities can contribute to optimizing the IT infrastructure and avoiding additional investments.
Monitoring and Adjustment
Capacity planning is an ongoing process. Track the progress of your project in Rillsoft Cloud and adjust the schedule and resource allocations as needed. Rillsoft Cloud allows you to create “what-if” scenarios to test different planning options.
Reports and Analysis
Rillsoft Cloud provides a variety of reports and analysis views to monitor resource utilization. You can create detailed reports on resource availability, bottlenecks, and costs to make informed decisions.
Location-based resource planning in Rillsoft Cloud is an approach in capacity planning that takes into account the geographical distribution of resources. It aims to ensure that resources are available at the right locations to meet local needs. This is especially important in organizations with multiple sites where different locations may have varying requirements and capacities.
Advantages of capacity planning with Rillsoft Cloud
Using Rillsoft Cloud for capacity planning offers several advantages:
Efficient Resource Utilization: The software helps optimize resource allocation and prevent bottlenecks.
Real-time Monitoring: You can track project progress in real time and respond to changes immediately.
Better Budget and Cost Control: Precise resource planning and monitoring allow more efficient budget management.
Risk Mitigation: Identifying bottlenecks and overloads enables early detection of risks and the implementation of countermeasures.
Informed Decision-Making: Rillsoft Cloud’s extensive reporting capabilities provide data and insights to support well-informed decisions.
German Server Location: Your planning data is hosted in German data centers, with no need for your company to build or run its own server infrastructure.
Working capacity planning is decisive for project success in mid-sized industrial companies with 20 to 200 employees. Rillsoft Cloud bundles these functions in a hosted platform with a German server location, operated as a multi-tenant Rillsoft Integration Server. This way, your projects are scheduled realistically, resources are planned on the basis of qualifications before the actual person assignment, and your budget stays under control.
Operation modes: Rillsoft Project, Rillsoft Integration Server and Rillsoft Cloud
Rillsoft’s capacity planning works through three components designed to work together:
- Rillsoft Project (desktop client) – the central planning interface for project leads and planners. This is where activities, roles, qualifications and efforts are entered and analysed.
- Rillsoft Integration Server – the central platform component for shared data storage, multi-user operation and access control. Suitable for companies that want to run the server in their own infrastructure.
- Rillsoft Cloud – the hosted operation mode of the Integration Server with a German server location, operated by Rillsoft. Suitable for mid-sized industrial companies with 20 to 200 employees that do not want to run their own server infrastructure and are looking for a fast entry point into multi-tenant capacity planning.
FAQ
How does Rillsoft's Capacity Planning Software facilitate matching identified resource demand with available resources?
Rillsoft's capacity management software enables matching identified resource demand with available resources in the following ways:
- Resource demand is determined based on the effort required for each task and the assigned roles or qualifications.
- Available resources are identified from a resource pool that contains information about available employees and their qualifications.
- When matching resource demand with available resources, the software takes into account the qualifications of employees. This means that tasks are assigned to employees with the appropriate skills to ensure quality and efficiency.
- The software also considers employee vacation schedules to ensure that projects are not disrupted by absences.
- Project priorities and locations are also taken into account to ensure that the most suitable resources are assigned to critical tasks and geographical constraints are considered.
Through this matching process, companies can ensure that the right resources are deployed for the right tasks at the right time, leading to optimized project execution.
What is the difference between resource planning and capacity planning in Rillsoft Cloud?
Resource planning answers the question “Which available people will work on which tasks in which project?”. Capacity planning answers the question “Are the available capacities – roles, qualifications, working time models, vacation – sufficient at all for the planned projects?”. In Rillsoft Cloud, capacities are planned on the basis of roles and qualifications before any specific person is assigned. This means you can see early on whether a project portfolio is realistically feasible with the current workforce – rather than only when a deadline is already at risk.
Which companies is capacity planning with Rillsoft Cloud suitable for?
Rillsoft Cloud is aimed at project-oriented mid-sized companies with 20 to 200 employees, primarily industrial companies in the DACH region that run several projects in parallel and need reliable capacity planning. The platform is particularly suitable for companies that do not want to operate their own server infrastructure and value a German server location together with a multi-tenant solution hosted by Rillsoft.
Which platform components do I need for capacity planning with Rillsoft Cloud?
You need Rillsoft Project as the desktop client for the actual planning – it remains the central planning interface. Central data storage, multi-user operation and capacity matching run through the Rillsoft Integration Server. Rillsoft Cloud is the hosted variant of the Integration Server, operated by Rillsoft with a German server location, so you do not have to build your own server. As your needs grow you can also switch to an on-premise Integration Server at any time.