Development,Implementation,and Validation of a Capacity Management System

Organizational capacity management remains a significant tactic in reducing drug development cycle times and cost. The implementation of a project management system from the German software company, SAP, and supporting business processes was a significant step forward in our journey toward an enhanced capacity management system. However, it became apparent that a supplemental tool was needed to schedule resources and provide more detail on resource type. To achieve an effective capacity management process, each of the functions must have a robust capacity model with supporting tools in place. This article describes how a functional capacity model was constructed and utilized for ongoing capacity management. In addition, it describes how that model has been validated with data from the project time entry system. Finally, this article outlines the roles and responsibilities of various groups involved in the capacity management system. When the linkages between the groups are leveraged along with the capacity model and supporting information technology tool, it results in a capacity management process that allows for optimal project resourcing.