Searching for a good Resource Planning Software

[nancycahille]

Hi All,

Can someone suggest to me a software which I can use to plan & manage my resources? All I need is some software which would have an easy interface with good reporting features. It's not an issue if it's paid or free, the concern is regarding the functionality of the software only. Also, a trial will would be appreciated.

Requirements are as follows:

1. Efficient in providing reports on hours consumed by resources and their availability.
2. Detailed report on revenues generated by the resources.
3. Resource overloading popup or message.

Please help me with something as soon as possible. Thanks in advance.

[TedAldrin]

Hey Nancy,

I am a project manager myself and i know what it is to schedule and manage resources especially when they are located around the globe. I always thought that humans can do better than computers but that changed . I was supposed to manage my universally located resources manually and many of them. I started making mistakes because of so many of them. Spreadsheet software were not a help either. Then i began searching for automated solutions on the internet but i found many of them were not exactly what i wanted and the rest of them heavily priced. So i went to a software consultant for a solution. He told me to try eResource Schedulerwww(dot)eresourcescheduler(dot)com. I gave it a try and it was worth the every second i spent on it. The software does every thing a project manager would want niche reporting, easy scheduling, time sheet management etc. So i think if you can, give it a try, i am satisfied by the software, i hope you will also find it useful.
Thanking You
Ted Aldrin

[jhannawin]

I'd be careful. PM systems are themselves an overhead. You need to have a pretty high project workload to justify the time and effort to learn and then usefully use a PM system. Then there is the old 'Garbage In Garbage Out' (GIGO) syndrome with resource availability (holidays etc.). Be careful you don't end up with great project plans, but no project output!

My advice, 'communication'. Get your global resources on an instant message system and some type of ticket system which gives them visibility on what you need doing and when. Talk to them often, stay abreast of their issues, give them visibility of your issues and plans. They'll soon get in touch when you need to re-jig things.

[nancycahille]

Hey Jhannawin,

Thanks for replying back. I absolutely second your thought on this issue but i think you have misunderstood my problem. I basically want to schedule my resources on different projects and want to know how the resources are doing on that project. I also want to see the financial side of the things, so that it will help me in preparing reports for the upper level management. I am done with scheduling the resources on pen and paper because it is prone to mistakes. I just want something automated which also log in the details of the resource and projects so that i can use them in the future as well. I hope now you will be more clear while addressing my problem.

[nancycahille]

Hey Ted,

Thanks for the solution provided, i am currently in the process of evaluating eResource Scheduler. I think up until now the software hasn't failed me. The one thing in the software that stood out for me is the "booking chart". The resources are so neatly listed in the chart and the filtering option also work great that helps me to find the right resource for the right project. I haven't had any resource availability conflict's up until now that makes the software quite efficient. I think if people ask me to suggest a software which can schedule resources eResource Scheduler will probably make that list.

[sonu rey]

Hi All,

Can someone suggest to me a software which I can use to plan & manage my resources? All I need is some software which would have an easy interface with good reporting features. It's not an issue if it's paid or free, the concern is regarding the functionality of the software only. Also, a trial will would be appreciated.

Requirements are as follows:

1. Efficient in providing reports on hours consumed by resources and their availability.
2. Detailed report on revenues generated by the resources.
3. Resource overloading popup or message.

Please help me with something as soon as possible. Thanks in advance.

what kind of reports? you mean
what context you are talking about?

[Aweinerws]

One of the best ways to find the best software as per your requirement is to check on Google. You will surely find the most appropriate tool to fulfill your needs. Just as a word of caution, you will find various types of software to plan different kinds of requirements, like events, resources, etc. Make sure you choose the right one.