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We caught up with Maureen Carlson, Chief Researcher and Partner at Appleseed Partners, ahead of her PIPELINE presentation on the results of the 2013 Resource Management and Capacity Planning Benchmark Study.

The just-released study results reveal the global state of resource management and capacity planning and Maureen’s presentation will focus on the survey findings around Product Development – the pains, risks and opportunities of resource management and capacity planning.

Joe Hage: Without giving away too much ahead of your presentation, what are the most common pain points in resource management and capacity planning facing product organizations today?

Maureen Carlson: Thanks, Joe.

The study represents the findings from 600+ globally based executives and the current state of their resource management and capacity planning.

Greater than 40% of the participants (280) were product development executives, which allowed us to share a view into their specific concerns and challenges. The study uncovered product organizations face some tough but addressable challenges to manage their resources effectively and deliver high-quality products in increasingly-tight market windows – all with existing resources.

Their top challenges are constant change, inaccurate project estimations, and the inability to complete projects on time. These are all highly interrelated pain points that can be effectively addressed as evidenced by organizations that are higher in the maturity spectrum in their resource management and capacity planning capabilities.

However, there is significant room for growth – roughly two-thirds of product development organizations self-identified as low- to mid-level in terms of resource management and capacity planning maturity.

Joe Hage: Thanks, Maureen. What are the risks facing the organizations that don’t mature in their resource management and capacity planning approach?

Maureen Carlson: Executives seem to be pretty clear about what is potentially at risk: delayed time to market resulting in losses of revenue, customer satisfaction, and/or market share; making decisions based on inaccurate data; and quality or cost issues due to misalignment of resources to products and projects.

As organizations moved up the maturity spectrum their concerns around each of these risk areas decreased by 10% or more. Imagine what it would mean to reduce risk by 10%!

In our PIPELINE 2013 breakout session, we’ll drill in more on connecting the dots of the business implications of addressing/not addressing resource management and capacity planning with more consistent and enforced processes, some key best practices in terms of critical roles to put in place, and the software foundation to support it all.

Joe Hage: Attending PIPELINE is free, yes?

Maureen Carlson: Oh, yes, thanks for asking. It’s online, so your readers can participate from their offices. It is for executives and practitioners in R&D, product development, and innovation.

Joe Hage: Great, thanks. Based on survey results, are there characteristics among mature companies that excel in resource management and capacity planning?

Maureen Carlson: Yes, they share a number of traits. More mature groups 1) have insight into what people are working on and ability to identify bottlenecks; 2) run what-if scenarios on-demand to adapt to change; 3) meld top-down and bottom-up approaches to capacity planning and resource management; and 4) have a dedicated function to lead capacity planning and resource management activities.

Joe Hage: Anything you’d like to share about your PIPELINE Breakout Session?

Maureen Carlson: I’ll present with Carrie Nauyalis from Planview about the research from the lens of the product development group. We’ll share more on the top pain points, business risks, pain cause, software impacts and best practices, and how they look for different maturity levels, so that attendees can see the impact of their efforts when they address these areas.

We’ll discuss how to evaluate the state of your organization on the maturity model and offer actionable recommendations to bolster capacity planning and resource management effectiveness.

I think you’ll walk away convinced that taking action in this area is critical and will have measurable business impact – and you’ll understand the processes and technology you’ll need to be successful.

Joe Hage: Thanks, Maureen.

OK, folks, you heard her: For recommendations how your organization can improve its resource management and capacity planning, join Maureen and Carrie for “How to Improve Time to Market With Existing Resources” at PIPELINE 2013 on May 16th.

About Maureen Carlson: A partner at Appleseed Partners, Maureen Carlson has been providing strategic marketing services for 20 years including market research, product marketing, positioning, and how to develop effective demand generation programs. Maureen’s B2B technology experience spans from emerging companies to larger established brands. Maureen has conducted three research studies sponsored by Planview for product development as well as for other markets, is an active guest blogger, and participates in the development of new market strategies with the company.