How can you ensure your team has the resources to meet deadlines?

Planning and prioritization are my key strategies in meeting deadlines. Once the team understand what should be prioritized and they are properly guided by a work plan, then everyone will be on the same page and shoot in the right direction. Challenges will be promptly identified and escalated as appropriate. The team will focus on the goal of meeting the deadlines of the tasks on the priority list and move to the next afterwards, based on the defined order.

I have always found it helpful to have an open talk with the team to understand their pain points. This will give you insight into what resources(skill, time, budget etc.) are missing to complete the job. Then you as a Leader, can Influence the ecosystem to provision the resources needed. Remember, it's not a one-time activity. It's iterative. Good Luck.

The main authority figure who should be able to influence the provision of resources in an organization would normally be the initiative sponsor. One step required to get support is to understand what resources are available, and if there are any gaps.

Help the team prioritize tasks by assisting them in determining the order of importance and deadlines for each task. Make use of tools such as Kanban boards or software for managing projects in order to visualize the progression of tasks and their priority.

Simplify the way you understand cost to execute across all aspects and rely on contingency % to cover any things you may believe could become a nice to have. Ultimately the project benefits are critical so while mix, costs and timelines are important, never waiver in goals the project is executing on or must haves get diluted.

A project framework would have some kind of standard gating process in order to govern project's progression though the different phases. That is simply providing a structured way of comunicating and decision making, so that all parties understand each other.

It's also important to have contingencies in place for the things that might not go to plan, and note what the consequences will be in those cases. This allows complete visibility into how the project may turn out. This ensures there are no nasty surprises.

Work with stakeholders, managers, and other relevant parties to secure the necessary resources for the project. Advocate for additional resources if needed, providing justification based on the project's scope, complexity, and deadline constraints. Be prepared to negotiate and compromise to reach mutually beneficial agreements that support the project's success.

Sometimes adding resources to a project is not feasible. There are other ways to manage resource-dependant activities. This can be achieved by communicating the options to stakeholders and getting their support. Reprioritizing resources, delaying activities or accepting a lower quality end-result are some of the options.

When evaluating and allocating resources, it is important to determine the resources (such as personnel, tools, and information) that are required for each project. It is important to ensure that all members of the team have access to the resources they require in order to successfully complete their tasks.

This goes back to the project management triangle where we pick where we want the outcome to be, quality, scope, time. We also need to keep in mind that adding resources at time doesn’t help speed things up 100%. More cooks cooking a dish adds to communication complications and diminishing returns

Bringing new resources into a project can be a source of risk by itself, that has to be managed. Risks and costs can increase when resources are missing as well as when new resources have to be onboarded, which cost time, money and effort.

Having a team that is given a platform to voice out also helps spot unknown risk to come. A proactive team that is not base off hierarchy helps give a spot for them to voice my concerns and opinions that may allow you to spot potential risk to come.

One of the most important questions at the end would be to understand if the resource availability and approach were adequate.

By making it cristal clear what will be the impact if you dont have the resources. And if there is a “business case”, meaning if you are working on something really important with a high impact, you will get the resources.

As a product leader, ensuring my team has the resources to meet deadlines involves proactive planning, clear communication, and agile resource allocation. I regularly assess project requirements, adjust team capacity, and prioritise tasks to optimise productivity. By fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration, we can swiftly reallocate resources and address any bottlenecks to keep projects on track.

Resource optimization: Continuously evaluate resource utilization and allocation to ensure efficiency and maximize productivity. Look for opportunities to streamline processes, eliminate waste, and reallocate resources where needed. Cross-training and skill development: Invest in cross-training and skill development initiatives to enhance your team's capabilities and versatility. This allows team members to step in and assist with tasks outside their primary roles, minimizing dependencies and bottlenecks.

Timeline is the last thing to a project, stakeholders would always ask when can a project can be delivered first but we should take things a step at a time and first know what? How? And lastly when?

Set realistic deadlines considering the team’s capacity and potential obstacles. Build in some buffer time for unforeseen challenges.