Advanced Use Cases

(Experimental) Resource and Capacity Planning

Balance people, time, and assets across initiatives with full visibility and control.

1. The Business Challenge

In most organizations, resources are the invisible constraint that silently governs every decision.
Whether it’s engineers, machines, or budgets — leaders struggle to balance capacity against demand because resource information is often scattered across multiple tools or spreadsheets.

Common challenges include:

• No single view of who is overbooked or underutilized.
• Disconnected HR, project, and operations data.
• Inability to forecast future workload or availability.
• Project delays due to resource conflicts discovered too late.
• Poor visibility into costs, productivity, and role coverage.

The result? Overworked teams, delayed initiatives, and reactive decisions that hurt morale and profitability.

2. How KanBo Solves It

KanBo transforms resource management from an administrative activity into a strategic decision system.
It connects human and non-human resources directly to the work that consumes them — creating a live, real-time model of capacity, availability, and performance.

Unified Model for All Resource Types

Resource Type	Description	Example
Time-Based Resources	People measured by working time (hours, days)	Engineers, Analysts, Designers
Unit-Based Resources	Physical assets or materials measured in units	Machines, Trucks, Devices, Equipment

KanBo supports both types within the same environment, allowing organizations to plan human effort and asset usage holistically.

3. KanBo’s Unique Value (USP)

KanBo’s approach goes far beyond traditional scheduling or HR tools.
It unifies resource visibility, work context, and decision support — all while keeping data ownership 100% within the customer’s infrastructure.

Core Differentiators

1. Unified Resource Model – Manage people, machines, and materials in one view.
2. Two Allocation Types – Choose between Basic Allocation (fixed total effort) and Duration-Based Allocation (fixed daily intensity).
3. Soft Allocations – Plan tentatively before formal assignment, enabling scenario discussions.
4. Workload View – Visualize utilization per person or resource group in real time.
5. Scheduling Assistant – Automatically find the optimal time window for assignments.
6. Integration with HR & Finance Systems – Pull base data like working hours, costs, and absences from internal systems.
7. Data Sovereignty – All data resides in your infrastructure — never in KanBo’s.

KanBo delivers operational clarity and strategic foresight — without external dependency or hidden data flows.

4. Example: Engineering Department Resource Planning

Scenario: A global engineering firm balancing people and equipment across multiple infrastructure projects.

Objective:
Avoid overloading engineers, ensure machine availability, and forecast workload for upcoming projects.

Step 1 – Define the Resource Base

The Engineering Resources module is configured with:

• 120 time-based resources (engineers, supervisors, designers).
• 35 unit-based resources (machines, testing rigs, vehicles).
• Custom working schedules per subsidiary.
• Absences, holidays, and skill tags (e.g., “Structural Design”, “AutoCAD”).

Step 2 – Build the Work Environment

• Workspace: Infrastructure Projects 2025.
• Spaces: Bridge Design, Water Treatment Facilities, Airport Expansion.
• Cards: Represent individual design packages or milestones.

Each Card includes:

• Estimated effort (e.g., 160 hours).
• Start and end dates.
• Skills required (e.g., “3D Modeling”, “Structural Calculations”).

Step 3 – Assign and Allocate

• Engineers are assigned using the Resource Picker (filtered by skills and availability).
• Machines are allocated by unit count (e.g., 2 cranes for 3 months).
• The Scheduling Assistant identifies best-fit resources and avoids conflicts.

Step 4 – Visualize Workload

Managers open Workload View to see utilization across all engineers.
Red zones indicate overload; grey shows idle capacity.
Soft allocations can be adjusted before finalizing to balance workloads.

Step 5 – Analyze and Adjust

Using Forecast Charts, managers simulate delays and their impact on resource utilization.
The Scenario Planning function allows testing “what-if” options like project rescheduling or team reassignments.

5. Metrics and Insights

Metric	Description	Derived From
Utilization Rate	% of resource capacity allocated	Resource Schedule
Overload Index	% of resources exceeding 100% capacity	Workload View
Idle Capacity	Unused available hours	Workload View
Allocation Type Mix	Ratio of Basic vs Duration-based allocations	Resource Data
Skill Coverage	Match between required and available skills	Resource Picker
Forecast Accuracy	Variance between planned and actual effort	Time Tracking

These metrics transform KanBo from a planning tool into a resource intelligence platform.

6. Organizational Benefits

Challenge	KanBo Solution
No single source of resource truth	Centralized resource module integrated with Spaces and Cards
Overloaded employees	Visual workload and soft allocations
Poor planning accuracy	Forecast-driven capacity analysis
Inefficient asset usage	Unit-based allocation and scheduling
Disconnected HR/Finance data	Integrated resource base and cost insights
Compliance and sovereignty concerns	Data stays within customer infrastructure

KanBo provides clarity, predictability, and fairness — ensuring resources are used optimally and sustainably.

7. Practical Setup Guide

Step-by-Step Implementation

1. Activate the Resource Module
   Define base data: work schedules, locations, holidays, skills, and job roles.
   Assign Resource Admins to maintain the data (without seeing individual resources).
2. Add Resources
   • Human Resources: Define capacity in hours per month.
   • Non-Human Resources: Define total available units.
   • Assign each resource to a subsidiary.
3. Set Roles and Permissions
   • Human Resource Managers – manage people’s workload and approvals.
   • Non-Human Resource Managers – manage assets and materials.
   • Finance Managers – access cost data and budgets.
4. Create Workspaces and Spaces for Projects
   Link resources to Spaces where they will be allocated.
5. Plan Allocations
   Use Basic or Duration-Based methods depending on the nature of work.
6. Monitor and Adjust
   Regularly check Workload and Forecast Views to rebalance or optimize.
7. Enable Scenario Planning
   Simulate changes to timelines or assignments to predict impact on utilization and delivery.

8. Why Business Leaders Choose KanBo

1. Single Resource Intelligence System: Combines human and machine capacity in one environment.
2. Predictive Planning: See tomorrow’s overloads today with live Forecasts.
3. Transparent Decision-Making: Everyone understands resource constraints.
4. Compliance Assurance: All resource data remains under internal control.
5. Integrated Cost View: Optional finance layer links budgets, internal rates, and effort data.
6. Adaptive and Scalable: Works for 50 employees or 50,000 across subsidiaries.

KanBo transforms resource management from firefighting to forward-looking capacity governance.

9. Example Workspace Snapshot (Conceptual)

Level	Example	Responsible
Workspace	Infrastructure Projects 2025	COO / Resource Director
Space	Bridge Design	Project Manager
Card	Structural Package – North Span	Engineering Lead
Resource Assignments	4 Engineers, 1 Supervisor, 2 Cranes	Allocated via Resource Picker

Each change in workload, absence, or duration automatically updates the global resource picture.

10. Summary

KanBo enables enterprises to see, plan, and balance capacity across the entire organization — in real time and within their own infrastructure.
It bridges the gap between HR data, project schedules, and operational delivery.

KanBo transforms resource management into a strategic advantage — giving leaders the clarity to act, not react.