How to increase your resource management maturity to support data-driven decisions

Project Online and Power BI- A Dynamic Duo for Making Reports That Matter

Is making reports taking up all your time? Or Are you still wondering the answers to questions such as ‘what is the project’s progress? Or ‘how much will this project cost the company after two years?’ then your business needs a digital makeover. Companies need applications that can quickly analyze huge data sets and come up with trends that can help in decision-making. This is where Project Online and Power BI come into play. In this blog, we will tell you about Microsoft Project Online and Power BI, and how they can become a game-changer for your business? These applications are powered by Microsoft, and i2e can help you with the implementation as well as migration of your existing projects. Are You Already Using Project Online? Along with being a magnificent project management application, Project Online is also a precious data source. Leverage it correctly and it can give a powerful start towards making meaningful reports. This is where Power BI can change the way you look at the data. But doesn’t Project Online come with a reporting module, then why should you integrate Power BI? This is a reasonable doubt, which many of our clients expressed. Read the next section to find out. Why Integrate Power BI to Project Online? Power BI is a reporting tool that can analyze data and convert it into meaningful metrics for the business. Yes, Project Online does generate reports, but if you need customized reports, along with actionable insights, and smart visuals, then Power BI is what you need. Using Power BI, companies can do more than just creating reports, they can dig deep into the data and use the Machine Learning algorithm to predict trends. The best part is you can easily integrate Power BI to Project Online and eliminate the hassle of exporting data and manually generating reports. Integrating Power BI to Project Online will boost your reporting capabilities and help in smart decision-making. Power BI’s Components Using Power Q&A, you can create visuals by just typing in questions. For example, ‘who owns more projects,’ or ‘how many projects are owned per owner.’Power BI has a Power query option which can structure your data. Once the data is structured, the Data Management Gateway refreshes the data periodically and the new data will follow the same format, saving you time and effort.Power BI also comes with a Quick Insights feature which can churn your data and create subsets to give you valuable insights. For example, it can give you visuals of which project might cost more, or which project can fall out company’s goals in the future.There are other components such as the Power View and the Power Map, the former comes with an easy drag-and-drop interface, and the latter is a 3D geospatial data visualization tool. Both these tools help in creating superior reports. Along with creating impeccable reports, Power BI can accumulate data from various data sources, create visuals and share across global data centers. This helps companies to meet their compliance and regulatory needs. Power BI- The Game Changer Fetch data from various cloud services – helps you in making consolidated reports.Build smart dashboards- gives a holistic view of the business empowering teams to make informed decisions.Ask questions and get real-time answers- gives answers in the form of a graph or chart for quicker understanding.Scan hidden insights in seconds- never miss out any data or trend which can be helpful for the business.Secured live access from any device- easy to access through Power BI mobile apps. If you are looking for a way to make smarter reports, then it is time to adopt artificial intelligence tools that can pull data and allow you to visualize in your own way. If you need assistance in implementing Project Online and Power BI, connect with us. Our team of experts will understand your requirements and provide you with the right solution.

Decoding custom resource management in life sciences: A Q&A with Nicola Clear

Effective cross-functional collaboration in resource management is no longer optional—it's essential. In life sciences, where complexity, speed, and precision matter, organizations must evolve beyond spreadsheets and fragmented systems to unified, data-driven frameworks like Alloc8.Check out this blog where PPM Subject Matter Expert Nicola answers a few critical resource management questions in life sciences project management.1. How can organizations improve cross-functional collaboration in resource management?When getting started with resource management, organizations must assess PMO processes weighing the level of their maturity and interconnectedness with other functional teams. Following aspects need assessing:Resource management tools – stand-alone or connected to other PPM tools?Project management tools – are they paired with good reporting to bring the portfolio together?Is strategic portfolio management linked to integrated schedule, cost and resource planning?Is the PMO/Resource ecosystem a collection of Individual tools or a unified smart integration with data warehouse strategy?While larger teams in global pharmaceutical organizations have excellent strategic and project management tools, with resource management, often things fall short. Despite maturity in portfolio planning, most resource allocation still relies on disconnected Excel spreadsheets—built on the fly during crunch time. This slows decision-making, making it inefficient and reactive. There is also no clarity on which projects can be delivered in-house, what needs to be outsourced, or making the case for additional resources.This disconnect is a pain point in large organizations, especially in R&D environments with complex, fast-moving portfolios with tight budgets, and limited resources.To tackle this, i2e’s purpose-fit digital resource framework Alloc8 becomes critical in bridging the gap between high-level strategic planning and day-to-day resource operations.Here’s how Alloc8 helps manage resources across teams:Speeds up decision-making and improve alignment—making sure the right people are working on the right projects at the right time.Unifies siloed data across HR, PMO, and line operations into a single, real-time platform with live dashboards and alerts—giving teams a shared, accurate view of resources, skills, and timelines.A connected resource management system that integrates seamlessly into any existing portfolio ecosystem.The result?Clearer communication, faster decisions, and real collaboration—because everyone is working from the same up-to-date information. 2. What are the benefits of dedicated digital solutions like Alloc8 for named resource management?Managers often stick with Excel for resource management because it's familiar. Excel works for one-off analysis, especially in ad hoc instances, for teams of fewer than 10 people. But in large, complex R&D environments managing tens of millions $s in demand across diverse skill sets, it breaks down fast.When the workforce needs shift weekly, not quarterly, and capacity planning is based on broad skill categories, a dedicated resource management system brings critical transparency. It enables faster, data-driven decisions on what can be delivered, what needs funding, and where trade-offs are required.But the impact is not just operational, it's also qualitative. In R&D, where success depends on collaboration, a shared resource framework structure & processes reduces stress, clarifies priorities, and supports team well-being.When tools like Alloc8 genuinely makes work easier for managers and teams, adoption isn’t a battle—it happens naturally because at its heart Alloc8 improves colleague well-being - through communication and expectations supporting the individual’s role in the team sport of drug R&D. Why is this?The visibility of allocation drives meaningful & quantifiable dialogue between colleagues, managers, and teams. When an employee sees they’re assigned 40% to Project A, 30% to B, and 30% to C—and understands why Project B is the priority and who else is involved—it brings clarity and focus. This alignment drives engagement, improves delivery, and makes employees feel empowered, valued, and connected to the bigger picture. The right dialogue on resourcing between managers and employees enables trust and engagement to develop in projects. Once resources are assigned to projects, identifying skill or knowledge gaps is the next priority—something Alloc8 addresses head-on. Alloc8 identifies skill and knowledge gaps by integrating with enterprise systems and using advanced LLMs can automatically recommend targeted training and surface relevant internal knowledge. This transforms traditional scheduling into real-time workforce enablement—offering a futuristic, AI-driven way to align people with projects and goals instantly. It also uncovers cross-divisional shadowing or delegation opportunities, matching it to individual growth plans. As a result of this smarter alignment, faster upskilling employee retention improves, colleagues stay where they feel supported and developed.Refer to our white paper called “Solving the mystery of named resource management in life sciences project management for organizational effectiveness” for more. 3. What roadblocks and barriers do organizations face with digital solutions for resource management?Factors that deter life sciences organizations from doing named resources.Disparate data: Life sciences organizations often hesitate on named resources due to fragmented data across unconnected systems, overlooking how integration can unlock new insights.Manual effort: The perception that named resource management requires time-consuming manual data gathering and updates—especially in tools like Excel—can hamper adoption.Lack of automation: Without automated notifications, critical updates on resource availability and task changes are missed, causing delays and misallocations.Regulatory compliance: Concerns about compliance with country-specific labor laws, particularly in the EU, are addressed by Alloc8’s configurable framework that ensures both efficiency and regulatory alignment. 4. What are the challenges and opportunities when integrating FTE forecasting, resource allocation and time carding data for resource decisions?Challenges in cross-functional data integrationDisconnected data systems: When your PPM, HR, and contractor capacity databases don’t talk to each other, comparing forecasted demand to actual capacity becomes manual hard work. It gets worse when insourced contractors are tracked separately, making total workforce visibility nearly impossible.Mismatch in forecast vs actuals: In theory, matching forecasts to actuals is simple, but any inconsistencies in naming and activity labels across systems make it difficult. For instance, a PPM forecast may list “chemist” for Project AB-234,777, Workflow 2, Activity A, while the timecard logs “chemist” under a different activity—causing misalignment when attempting forecast variance analysis. Without governance & standardization, linking forecast, allocation, and timecard data, data analytics are slow and error prone.Challenges in data maintenance: Scientists and teams often deprioritize forecast data updates, preferring to focus on their core science work rather than business forecasts. Many distrust forecasts and view manual updates as unproductive. But with custom digital resource frameworks, much of this can be automated—named allocations can update forecasts, calendar events can feed into timecards, and AI can refine future forecasts with human-in-the-loop approvals.Opportunities in cross-functional data integrationConnected forecasting: Data integration across functions is no longer optional—it’s now technically possible and essential. As digital transformation accelerates across every part of the organization, static forecasting templates quickly become outdated.Seamless data flow: Leaders need up-to-date, connected insights to compare forecasts, allocations, and actuals in real time and to accurately measure the ROI of digital investments. Without seamless data flow between systems like HR, PPM, finance, and operations, organizations risk slow or misinformed decisions, resource misalignment, and missed opportunities.Enhancing workforce administration with Alloc8: Resource management tools like Alloc8 are designed to work with—not against—the workforce. When integrated into the broader tech ecosystem, they help reduce manual admin, surface actionable insights, and identify training, knowledge or resourcing gaps early. This frees scientists, managers, and leaders to focus on higher-value innovative work, advancing science, solving critical problems, and driving innovation all the while letting technology handle the complexity behind the scenes.5. What about resource constraints and how can life sciences companies handle them?Yes, resource constraints are BAU for most Pharma companies, it’s a sign of a healthy growing organization to have a book of work larger than the capacity. Resource constraints are a normal part of any growing life sciences organization—but they only become a problem when there's no clear process to address them. Handling resource constraints with rapid, structured action involves:Verifying if the forecasted demand truly exceeds capacity by analyzing gaps in FTE or budget by skill set. Using named resource data to pinpoint which projects are under- or over-resourced relative to priorities, enabling faster and more accurate decision-making.Resolving gaps requires aligning existing talent with strategic priorities, securing additional budget for outsourcing or hiring, or making tough trade-offs on lower-priority projects.Alloc8 makes this decision-making process real-time by flagging skill shortages, overbookings, and workload bottlenecks. When teams see that managers are actively identifying and addressing resourcing issues, it builds trust, reinforces a team-first culture, and supports both performance and well-being. As a result, organizations can manage workload demands to balance productivity and colleague well-being. 6. Explain the 4Cs to optimize named resource allocation Organizations have the best interest of business and employees when they use 4Cs to optimize named resources. Culture: When employees trust the governance process and the leadership backing is strong, named resource allocation is seen as fair and beneficial.Communication: Regular one-on-ones, face-to-face updates, and AI-powered task automation ensure everyone stays aligned and knows their priorities.Connected: Linking resource plans to business strategy, OKRs, and KPIs ensures every allocation supports high-impact goals first.Change Management: For named resources to deliver as much time needs to be invested in stakeholder buy-in and training as the digital tech solution to ensure lasting adoption and effective implementation. Forget this last step at your peril!7.How can organizations solve demand forecasting disagreements?Purist vs directional, correct?Forecasting demand is never 100% precise because it’s based on general templates and estimates, often includes extra buffer time, often forgets to account for tasks like capturing lessons learned—so the over- and under-estimations tend to even out in the end. Managers recognizing this can usually reach forecasting agreements.Skill effectiveness varies too. For instance, a newer employee may deliver at 50% efficiency compared to someone experienced, making named allocation essential for accuracy. Historical data showing consistent over-forecasting—like deliverables met despite named resources being 20% below forecast—helps refine future predictions and find the true average algorithm.When disagreements arise, resource managers can use data from named allocations and timecards to show how work was actually delivered guiding more accurate, AI-supported future forecasting.

How executive dashboards drive strategic decision making in pharma portfolio management

In the dynamic domain of pharmaceutical research and development, data is emerging as a lifeline where new innovations are transforming our lives every day. The pharmaceutical industry captures an enormous amount of data throughout the drug development process. According to McKinsey, impact of advanced analytics will drive between 15% and 30% improvement of EBIDTA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) over the next five years climbing to EBIDTA improvements of between 45% and 70% over the next decade. Given the speed of advancements in the study and knowledge of diseases in today’s world, effective management and analysis of disease data has become the most important performance differentiator for innovative growth in the pharmaceutical industry. The quality and volume of new data collected from academic research, scientific discovery in disease analysis, and advances in pharmaceutical sciences, along with broader and more far-reaching data from epidemiological studies, clinical trial results and real-world evidence is huge. This data cannot be managed or analyzed solely using traditional methods. Pharma R&D organizations must learn to leverage digital aids to assemble this data volume in practical ways that increase their knowledge in diseases of interest and guide their investments in medicine and device therapies. Smart data engineering, business performance monitoring, project management, portfolio risk analysis, intuitive data visualizations, and executive dashboards are becoming an integral part of successful pharma R&D pipeline innovation and delivery. In this blog post, you will discover how decision dashboards play an important role in advancing pharma analytics, R&D project portfolio management and effective decision-making. Top-down, integrated analytic frameworks and dashboards will guide the future of pharmaceutical industry performance. We will explore how visualization and analysis tools should be tailored to meet the unique business growth objectives of strategic business analysts, commercial and R&D portfolio leaders, and corporate executives. For a successful innovative organization, strategic R&D portfolio management is a key factor to growth. Pharma R&D has a very long development cycle and requires the commitment of significant corporate resources to gain approval to market innovative medicine and device therapies. R&D portfolio management solutions help the enterprise control and optimize the value of their investments by analyzing and effectively navigating the risks in their R&D pipelines, and wisely positioning portfolio opportunities to maximize the potential benefit for the company and for their patients. The complexities in pharma portfolio management highlight the need for executive dashboards Diverse Pipeline Components Pharmaceutical companies may manage their R&D project portfolios from early-stage research through loss of exclusivity or by segmenting early-stage and late-stage development and in-line products. Either way you cut it, portfolio management demands alignment in key valuation metrics and the assembly of like for like data on timing, cost, revenue and risk data to effectively inform strategies and decisions. Marketing Dynamics In the highly competitive disease therapy market, portfolio managers analyze various dynamics such as regulatory shifts, research innovations, competitor pipeline advancements, and market trends to differentiate and promote the value of their products for patients. Risk Mitigation and Assessment Risk assessment in drug development accounts for the technical feasibility of demonstrating that a medicine or device delivers health improvements that meet or exceed a minimum criterion for the target product profile, on safety, efficacy, and stability. Beyond that, risk assessments should also account for the uncertainty in regulatory, competitive and commercial forecasts associated with delivering a product with a minimally viable commercial profile. Portfolio Performance Monitoring the performance of projects over time and evaluating them against their baseline, against other projects, or against industry benchmarks for assets at each stage of product development can be effectively achieved through a dynamic visual portfolio dashboard. The comparison analysis enabled by the visual interface can help put focus on performance trends and areas of risk to manage. Effective Decision Making With the ability to incorporate annotations, analytical insights, and rationales into dashboard charts and tables, portfolio investment options can be assessed with expert feedback, and the most viable portfolio development scenarios can be confidently pursued. Importance of Data Visualization in Pharma Portfolio Management The use of dashboards for pharma portfolio analytics drives the value of the organization´s information assets and offers advantage to gaining a competitive edge in a very competitive marketplace. Dashboards collect data from sources across the organization and present them in an interactive and insightful manner, helping executive decision makers access, analyze and act on important information effortlessly. Comprehensive View A holistic, accessible, and appealing visualization of a portfolio incorporates information from distinct data sources such as project delivery milestone timing; project cost and resource forecasts; technical and regulatory risk assessments; competitive landscape analysis; and market forecasts. When presented in an integrated dashboard, these data deliver greater project insights. Real-Time Analytics Integrated decision dashboard, enabled by real-time performance data, help facilitate well-informed decision-making processes. They source plan schedule updates, resource re-allocations, and market forecast adaptations due to competitive, regulatory and market events. These timely information dashboards provide a differentiating advantage for product positioning in a highly competitive industry. Cost Management Pharma Portfolio Executive Dashboard contribute to R&D cost management by efficiently signaling cost variance from baseline, assessing ROI for trial investment and optimizing cost forecasts and benchmarks for future management of trial cost and forecasting. Customization Portfolio management across the pharma industry has a common objective to drive sustained business growth but each organization has its own unique approach to governing its portfolio investment decisions. Subsequently, each organization measures portfolio performance and growth objectives based on the unique metrics and composition of their portfolios. To effectively interact with their portfolio knowledge base, these stakeholders require customized, yet frictionless interaction with their portfolio data, via personalized data dashboards, with data visualizations and insights customized to manage and respond to the elements most sensitive to sustained growth. Challenges in accomplishing Data Visualization for Data- Driven- Decision- Making From long and complex drug development cycles to fast evolving standards of care and an ever-dynamic market landscape, the pharmaceutical industry has a complex task of forecasting a successful and sustainable pipeline delivery of innovative medicine and device therapies over the next decade. Digital solutions such as data visualization and data dashboards improve clarity and actionable insights to effectively project and plan for a sustainable future with a robust and viable set of medicine and device projects at all stages of research and development. Data Disparity and data silos A core challenge that pharma and biotech companies are grappling with is data disparity. Due to the distributed nature of pharma R&D planning and execution, data is captured and maintained in different systems and in varying formats and structures throughout the project lifecycle. Maintaining data standards across systems may not be a priority for the various project data contributors and therefore it may be challenging to assure data quality and to align and join project data for portfolio analysis. This makes it difficult for the portfolio decision makers to get a reliable, consolidated view of all their project data. Manual data assembly demands patience, is error prone, and may not yield insights in a timeframe that a decision maker requires. Need for Centralized Portfolio-level Visualizations A crucial step in data-driven-decision-making is the ability to analyze multiple dimensions of complex project data and to make informed decisions. Dashboards and visualizations can be of immense help in bringing clarity and insight into the performance and options available to optimize a project’s development path. The ability to assess one or many projects in the portfolio, to visualize and contrast projects and development options across the portfolio, and to offer clear insights to investment choices for decision-makers is a significant advantage. As a pioneer in pharma data analytics and visualizations, team i2e engineered Clairvoyance- a custom Executive Dashboard Application tailored specifically for the pharmaceutical industry. This application offers a consolidated view of the client's project portfolio, providing executives with a powerful interactive tool for data-driven decision-making. This custom solution delivers a robust data quality verification platform and offers the analysis and visualization features needed to tackle the various problems the client was experiencing. The Clairvoyance custom dashboard platform can help the R&D leaders to align portfolio performance with their business goals. i2e Consulting helps global pharmaceutical companies to access insights and prepare decision dashboards tailored to their unique business requirements. Embrace the power of Clairvoyance, a cutting-edge decision management solution. Contact us now and seize the future of pharmaceutical innovation by optimizing, strategizing, and thriving with Clairvoyance. Reference: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/life-sciences/our-insights/how-pharma-can-accelerate-business-impact-from-advanced-analytics