Optimizing Delivery with Fractional Resources: Balancing Project Work and Regular Operations

By Wayne Rambow, Senior Program/Portfolio Delivery Consultant

It is common in today's business world for people to be assigned to both project tasks and regular operational duties. Balancing between the two can be challenging, but organizations can optimize delivery without compromising either function by implementing the right strategies. Below are some ideas and thoughts that can help achieve this balance.

1. Understanding Fractional Allocation:

To begin with, it's crucial to comprehend the concept of fractional allocation. In most companies, teams are either running in a very lean steady-state or in the process of expansion and stretched thin. Employees perform various roles and those include operational and project tasks. If too much time is required by projects, routine and important operational duties are neglected and things like patching fall behind and put the organization at risk.? Conversely, if very little time is available to support project tasks, key organizational objectives through project implementation may not be realized. As with most things in life, the key is finding an appropriate balance.

2. Understanding the difference between Capacity and Capability:

First, we need to define the terms:

·????? Capacity: The term "capacity" refers to the amount of work an individual or team can handle within a specified time frame. It is a quantitative measure that is often expressed in terms of hours per week. For example, if an employee has the capacity to complete five tasks in a week, it means that they can handle that workload within the specified timeframe.

·????? Capability: Capability refers to the skills, expertise, and competencies they possess. It's possible for two employees to have the same capacity but different capabilities. For instance, one employee might excel in data analysis, while the other may be an expert in content creation.

The Significance of Distinguishing Between the Two:

While capacity provides a measurable limit on the amount of work achievable, capability ensures that the work is of the desired quality and meets specific requirements. Focusing solely on capacity can lead to burnout and subpar results while overlooking capability can result in poorly executed tasks or projects. My personal experience is that trying to produce an understanding of capacity, even with modern PPM tools, is like trying to count snowflakes falling. It’s in a state of constant change, supporting thousands of tasks, and its unintended and often inaccurate reporting is destined to drive even the most experienced leaders insane.

My recommendation is to stop trying to measure from a roll-up of tasks and instead focus on the capabilities within the organization to achieve the work. Look more at the organization's ability to absorb new work, move things around, and hold conversations with leaders on what they can and cannot do and then adjust accordingly. I work with leaders and say I need 25% of this person's time and describe at a high level the work. Often the simplest answer is the best answer.

Project Management Strategies for Leveraging Capability:

• Rotate Roles: I have heard on many occasions, “If we only had dedicated resources”. Firstly, that is rare, and secondly, I’m not convinced that is desirable. I would prefer access to a team so I can make the most of individual capabilities. It exposes the team to different challenges and enables them to learn from their peers. Rather than distributing tasks merely based on available hours (capacity), assign them based on the expertise required. This optimizes both the quality and efficiency of the output.
• Peer Reviews & Mentorship: Encourage team members to review each other's work. This not only enhances the quality of the output but also helps in the transfer of skills and knowledge and works as a communication channel through the project lifecycle. It also aids in operational transition as you close the project out.
• Feedback Loops: Introduce regular retrospective-type sessions where team members can discuss what’s working, what’s not, and areas where we can work better as a team. This ensures alignment between supporting individual needs and organizational needs.

3. Strategies for Optimal Delivery:

Prioritization:

• Work with your team to prioritize tasks. Nobody expects you to know everything about what needs to be done and in what order.? They will help you.
• Regularly review priorities as both business and project needs evolve.

Establish Clear Communication:

• Ensure team members understand their fractional allocations. For instance, "You’re allocated 30% to Project X and 70% to regular operations."
• Use visual tools like Gantt charts or Kanban boards. If your organization has Teams, try Planner as it integrates well with Email and Task Boards.

Time Blocking:

• Dedicate specific blocks of time for project work and operational tasks.
• Ensure minimal overlap, so employees aren't constantly switching between tasks.

Flexible Deadlines:

• When working with limited resources, it's important to set realistic deadlines and allow for buffer time, as tasks may take longer than expected. Even during the creation of a WBS, team members said this task would take 8 hours. ??Is that 8 hours of continuous and focused work? If they are committed 20%, is that the one thing you can do this week? It’s very important to distinguish the difference between effort and duration.

Resource Leveling:

• This project management technique involves adjusting the start and finish dates of tasks based on resource constraints. If an employee is overloaded one week, tasks might be pushed to the following week. If you are in IT, an outage or incident will be an all-hands effort until resolved. That could take hours or days.? If you are in construction, you build schedule contingency to deal with weather delays. A lot of this is based on experience and gut feeling. You want schedules and by extension resource allocation to be aggressive but achievable, with the understanding at any moment you will need to pivot to keep things moving.

Regular Check-ins and Feedback:

• Regular check-ins, either weekly or bi-weekly, can prove to be extremely beneficial in managing workload, reducing stress, and re-assessing priorities

Promote a Supportive Culture:

• Empathy and Understanding: It is important to acknowledge the difficulties that come with managing multiple responsibilities and show appreciation for those who can do so.
• Professional Development: Partner with leaders to provide training for employees to develop capabilities. This means you need to build time into your schedule to support this.
• Well-being Initiatives: Partner with leadership to consider introducing flexibility in work hours, remote work options, and wellness programs to combat burnout. One of my favourite indicators of project success is whether or not an individual would do a project like that with me again. You will know right away what the answer is - spoken or not. If the answer is "Yes", you have created a repeatable delivery process. If the answer is "No", you have work to do.

Final Thoughts

In a fractional resource environment, optimizing delivery requires clear strategies, open communication, and a culture that is focused on delivering results. Organizations that prioritize the well-being of their employees and provide them with the tools to handle different tasks can not only navigate the complexities of such an environment but thrive in it.