Many organisations still use Excel templates for project resourcing, and it's not hard to see why. Excel is familiar, flexible, and easy to modify. When the "official resourcing tool" frustrates you and makes you want to pull your hair out, opening a spreadsheet you know and trust feels like the obvious solution.
From the perspective of an individual resource manager or project manager, it works well enough. But from an organisational standpoint, it quickly falls apart. How do you get an overall picture of resource allocations when they're spread across dozens of separate files? Compiling them is like a heavy workout without the right gear.
So why consider moving on from resourcing in Excel? Here are a few observations — from us and our customers — across three angles: dissemination, forecasting, and tooling.
Resourcing with Excel
Distribution of the resource information happens through email, Google Sheets and meetings.
Making future allocation plans is based on resourcing Excel files that someone has manually compiled together.
When resourcing lives in multiple Excel files, keeping them up to date becomes a job in itself. Version control is a constant headache, and depending on where the files are stored, simply accessing the right spreadsheet at the right time can be a challenge.
Resourcing with EG Silverbucket
Up-to-date information is always available for users without a time delay.
Forecasting is easier when the system shows all allocation plans that are also updated in real-time as the data is edited or changed.
All the data is in one place so all the changes are visible right away. Making changes to plans is made easy for the user, which contributes to the motivation to update the plans.
Excel is a versatile tool which can be well suited for resource allocation management of small companies. When the number of projects and people increase, Excel is not always the best solution for project resourcing.
Resource Management with Excel
How do you keep resourcing information current when it lives across multiple Excel files? People try all kinds of workarounds — an "Excel God" who manually pulls everything together for a weekly overview, distribution via email, recurring meetings, or syncing to Google Sheets. These approaches sound reasonable, but they rarely hold up over time. How often has the most up-to-date resource information actually been available when you needed it most?
Planning future resource needs in Excel is no easy task either. Can you confidently make resource plans for upcoming or prospective projects? Is the overall picture reliable enough to trust? On the rare occasions when you do have truly current data, forecasting becomes significantly easier — no gut feeling required. But the risk is always there: that the decisions you're making are based on information that's already out of date.
"Not responding." Just as you've finished updating your resource plan and are about to save, Excel decides to freeze. In the worst case, your whole computer goes down with it and you're forced to reboot. Sound familiar? Or perhaps you need a specific spreadsheet, but it's stored somewhere you can't access. And when you finally track it down, it turns out to be an old version anyway.
Resource Management with EG Silverbucket
In EG Silverbucket, up-to-date resource information is always within reach — regardless of where users are located or what device they're on. Access is controlled by the client, and user rights determine what each person can see. At minimum, everyone can view their own project allocations. Project managers can update their plans on the fly, and leadership gets a real-time overview of the full picture. No more waiting for the weekly summary email — updates can be made and reviewed mid-meeting, the moment they're needed.
Resource allocations can be planned well into the future, which makes a meaningful difference to forecasting accuracy. It becomes straightforward to see whether capacity is fully utilised, where gaps exist, and whether the right skills are in place for upcoming work — without having to piece the picture together from separate files.
Silverbucket is delivered as a cloud service, so getting to your resource data requires nothing more than an internet connection and a device. Planning isn't tied to a specific office, computer, or file location. One thing customers consistently highlight is the peace of mind that comes with knowing the data is always current — no more second-guessing whether you're looking at the latest version. Resource planning simply becomes more straightforward
In the first paragraph we mentioned few good points about Excel files in resource planning. But honestly, they are not the most suitable for managing the overall picture of resource management, especially when there are a lot of people and projects. There are few key points that should be considered when thinking of managing project resource plans in Excel. Who will compile all the data from the files into an overall view? How critical is it to get the latest and updated resource information for finding the right resource for projects and data for the big picture? How would a proper tool contribute to managing and revising the resource plans, and which other benefits are possible?
EG Silverbucket alone will of course not make everything better, because a new tool always requires some extra effort and time to make the new procedure become part of the project management culture. Based on the feedback that we’ve heard, we recommend discussing and evaluating whether Excel is the most reasonable option, or if you should explore different resource management tools and study the benefits that they offer.