Tasked with agile resource planning, but don't know where to start? Here are some tips for agile organizations.
Resource planning has always been a critical lever for growth, no matter the project management methods in use.
Agile is one of the most misunderstood methodologies; as it’s all about adaptability, you may be left wondering how planning fits in.
So how does one bridge the gap between human resource planning and Agile delivery? Here's a guide to getting started.
Agile resource planning is the practice of matching the right people to the right work at the right time, while maintaining the flexibility Agile teams need to adapt. Let's dive a little deeper into how this works in practice.
The truth is, when it comes to Agile projects, resource planning is still very important. While Agile resource planning works differently from the deterministic, bottom-up planning we associate with Waterfall, it still relies on structure.
As McKinsey’s Santiago Comella-Dorda puts it, “Agile organizations rely on an innovative mix of stable and dynamic elements to bring planning up to speed with their fast-paced needs.”
That is to say, being Agile does not mean there is no upfront planning or that it is guided by arbitrary decisions. Instead, Agile organizations use the management techniques that have been in circulation for decades, adjusting them to match the pace at which Agile teams work.
This “element of stability” in Agile makes resource management powerful. It helps teams do capacity planning more accurately, make better resource allocation decisions, and – ultimately – keep people productive and happy.
What’s more, Agile resource management gives you insights into resource-related risks, which are inherent to any type of project. With resource planning strategies in place, Agile teams can predict and prevent risks before they cause the project to stagnate or derail it altogether.
In our webinar on Agile resource management, Calwyn Costa, Director of Digital Transformation at PwC New Zealand, and Naresh Noolu, Senior Resource Manager at Udemy, reinforced the same point: Agile does not eliminate planning. It elevates it.
Any project which is going through Agile also needs to make sure that they have a resource planning team in place...expert level resource management is needed." – Naresh Noolu.
Watch the full webinar on when Agile Meets Resource Management ➡️
Wondering how far ahead you should actually plan? As Agile methods require a fluid and responsive approach to managing resources (which traditional methods might not accommodate), putting concrete plans in place too far ahead can be restricting, yet it's essential you understand demand and budget expectations.
This is why Agile planning is completed in two phases: low-resolution planning (months ahead) and high-resolution planning (a sprint ahead).
This is why Agile ceremonies, such as sprint planning, backlog refinement, and retrospectives, are essential, helping you continuously assess capacity, priorities, and constraints, and adjust resource needs.
Agile is known for its flexibility. And that flexibility also translates into the way you do resource planning: working in short cycles.
Remember: Agile isn’t just about completing the project, but about delivering a great product. Due to this product focus, Agile teams work in sprints – two-week iterations that help you finish one milestone after another.
However, this doesn’t mean you need to re-plan your resources every fortnight. Instead, rethink and tweak the approach to resource planning altogether.
For me, agile means flexibility… the client can come back to us at any point with a redefined requirement, and we can start working on the redefined requirement and work on iterative developments as requirements change aggressively." – Naresh Noolu.
So, planning becomes an ongoing process, not a one-time activity, allowing teams to prioritize the interests of product development.
Staying nimble will allow you to swiftly adapt when your client’s needs evolve, which makes a stark difference compared to more traditional resource management methods.
Get started: How to Use Runn in an Agile Environment ➡️
Whether you use Waterfall or Agile methodologies, resource planning (resources = people, in this context) is critical to good project management. Yet, as the methodologies differ in the way you approach scheduling and management, they also differ in their resource planning best practices.
Traditional planning focuses on locking in people and timelines upfront, while Agile resource planning focuses on forecasting capacity and adjusting assignments as priorities evolve.
Interested in getting started with Agile resource planning? Your first step is to create a clear and actionable strategy.
A good Agile resource plan will blend stability and flexibility, being structured enough to guide delivery yet dynamic enough that you can adjust when scope shifts or you discover a missing skill mid-sprint.
As Viviane de Paula, PMP-certified project manager, told the PMI:
Whether it’s design thinking or Agile, organizations must take a strategic approach to incorporating new processes.”
Here are a few tips for guiding your strategy-building process.
One of the traps you want to avoid with Agile resource planning is making it too complex.
By its very nature, resource planning can easily get tangled, especially if you are planning multiple projects or Sprints at the same time.
To avoid this, take a minimalistic approach that cuts away distractions and helps you focus on what supports clarity and fast decisions.
Ilter Gunasti, Manager at Deloitte, captures this well:
In my opinion, in an agile project, resource planning should be rather simplified as it is the team who owns the stories, not the individuals.”
Before a project kicks off, take a step back and look at what you’re trying to achieve with the project and how your team can make it happen. It’s important to consider:
This gives resource managers the time they need to take preemptive measures and address potential resource issues before they turn into real problems.
Bonus: Getting the wider team involved at this stage can also provide a platform to raise concerns regarding potential resource constraints or other challenges, helping them feel part of the project journey.
Consistency matters when doing resource planning in an Agile environment. Though it may be challenging, it’s important to keep teams as consistent as possible; when team members rotate constantly, you lose speed, context, and trust.
Nicolas Frei, certified Scrum Master, puts it bluntly but eloquently:
A team is not much of a team if its members keep changing. That is just a bunch of random people.”
Whenever possible, it’s best to assign people to one project, rather than scattering their attention across different projects.
Rahul Dewan, Managing Director at Srijan Technologies, also supports team consistency:
On the occasions when resources are shifted from one product to another, managers should keep team members together whenever possible to ensure the benefits of team consistency.”
Your team needs to be all in when it comes to their motivation and alignment with the project, its value, and goals.
By focusing on the human element and the role it has to play in project success, you will help your people feel connected with each other and understand the value of their work.
Performance, motivation, and accountability for project targets will follow.
As Calwyn Costa noted about his experience with this people-first approach:
We understand the problem always going back to the human-centered design... we touch on empathy, you know, how do you feel about it? What, you know, what is the need for this?"
Communication is the core of Agile success. Frequent contact is essential, supported by check-ins, stand-ups, and retrospectives, keeping people aligned with business goals and project progress.
And recent project management statistics show communication improves significantly when teams adopt Agile practices: in 2024, 47% of organizations said their communication improved after introducing Agile.
Communication becomes especially important in cross-functional teams, which are common in Agile environments.
A cross-functional team features a little bit of everything, with representatives from each company department coming together to finish a single unit of work or a Sprint. Planning across these teams can take a little more work, anticipating dependencies and ensuring no one is blocked by someone else’s capacity.
.avif)
How do you adapt quickly without breaking the project’s flow?
Agile resource planning is so flexible because it depends on regular, real-time check-ins that allow teams to be highly responsive to blockers or challenges.
Daily stand-ups give visibility into how people are managing their workloads and project constraints, while continuous assessment helps teams ensure the right skills are applied where they are needed.
As Naresh Noolu explains:
With Scaled Agile, we can have a dynamic resource allocation, which means we actually adapt ourselves to the changes within the projects, and we continuously reassess and reallocate resources as and when required."
Skills-based planning is key to team resource planning. According to our research, almost half (42%) of organizations don’t track their people’s skills.
Skills tracking is essential, yet it doesn’t hurt to future-proof your team by bringing in people who can step up when plans change.
When building an effective Agile team, there are two key qualities you should look for in your resources:
More often than not, projects stagnate, and sprints fail because you suddenly discover that you’re missing a key skill on the team.
By accounting for this threat ahead and assembling a team that can ‘fill in the gaps’, you can save the day in case of a change in plans.
Staying on the topic of skill, let’s make one thing clear: upskilling your people is essential.
Agile moves fast, but by embedding learning opportunities into the workflow of your projects, you can ensure that people’s expertise remains up-to-date and relevant. You can even make plans to close your workforce's skill gaps, helping to stay on top of the rapidly changing project environment.
Calwyn Costa explains:
We identify potentially learning opportunities, and you build that as part of your process… So we also think about learning as not something that happens as a once off… it's sort of, you know, continuously looking at the work coming ahead of time.”
Further reading: How to Conduct a Skills Gap Analysis ➡️
Autonomy and accountability are two distinctive features of Agile teams.
Giving your resources freedom to plan their own workload and schedule their time off will not just support independence, but will also support accountability.
When teams get involved in estimating capacity or building strategy, they naturally feel more accountable for ensuring those plans succeed, increasing motivation to meet delivery goals and finish sprints. Simply, being sloppy with it and watching their own strategy fail is not in their best interests.
Calwyn Costa shared the unique approach his team takes when building their Agile projects and doing resource planning.
If we have a skills gap, how do we start executing on it right now ... And then that triggers right into the ceremonies where we’ve got a continuous resource management flow.”
Before every project, they bring all the relevant stakeholders in the same room and map out the relevant project needs, ranging from skill gaps and upskilling needs to how their team plans to work together as a single unit.
This approach to planning works best when visualized via a charter that details all the relevant and high-level elements of the project.
Learn more: Agile Resource Management: 5 Best Practices for Dynamic Organizations ➡️
Agile thrives on adaptability; rigid staffing is the antithesis of flexibility. You need to leave some room for potential resource adjustments.
As Aaron De Smet from McKinsey explains, “small, multidisciplinary teams of agile organizations can respond swiftly and promptly to rapidly changing market opportunities and customer demands.”
By using your two-week sprints as tests for your approach, you can quickly assess if the resource plan is working or not. In reality, you’ll likely know after the first or second sprint, allowing you to take action – rearranging resources or acquiring missing skills.
While being adaptable is key, it’s best to avoid adding people reflexively where possible.
Adding extra people to a late project makes it later, according to Brooks’ law.
When planning a team, instead of focusing on roles and titles, first consider the skills and capabilities you need to have a project delivered and compare them to the ones you have in the resource pool.
See if your resources have some skills that cover the areas that go beyond their main roles. For example, your developers likely can also take on some testing.
Your main goal here is to create a small team that can take on a sprint and finish it independently.
Agile resource planning can feel like tightrope walking at times.
But if there is a sure way to get to the other side of the rope safely, it’s this: having good visibility over your resources’ capacity and availability.
In the end, the intersection of Agile practices with expert resource management creates a powerful framework for success. Resource managers who embrace flexibility, continuous reassessment, and a focus on human-centered design will find themselves better equipped to navigate the complexities of modern projects.
By doing so, they can build a more responsive, adaptable, and effective approach to resource management, ensuring that their teams – and their projects – thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
Having conducted sufficient research and with all the necessary data at hand, you can make informed decisions when planning your teams and building realistic expectations. Runn can give you accurate insights into your resource capacity, availability, utilization, management, scheduling, and more.
.png)
