Project Management/Resource Allocation

Resource Allocation

Objectives and Skills

Objectives and skills for the resource allocation portion of Project+ certification include:

• Identify roles and resource requirements based on WBS and resource availability
  • Identify existing resource availability
  • Identify training needs / outsourcing requirements
  • Assign resources to scheduled tasks
• Coordinate human resources to maximize performance
  • Assemble and develop project team, build team cohesiveness, perform individual performance appraisals
  • Identify common causes of conflict:
    • Competing resource demands
    • Expert judgment
    • Varying work styles
  • Detect conflict and apply conflict resolution techniques:
    • Smoothing
    • Forcing
    • Compromise
    • Confronting
    • Avoiding
    • Negotiating
• Given a scenario, execute appropriate resource leveling techniques
  • Fast tracking
  • Crashing
  • Delaying
  • Optimizing
    • Use of tools as necessary

Readings

1. Read Wikipedia: Resource allocation.
2. Read Wikipedia: Resource breakdown structure.
3. Read Wikipedia: Resource (project management).
4. Read Wikipedia: Professional development.
5. Read Wikipedia: Outsourcing.
6. Read Wikipedia: Scheduling (production processes).
7. Read Wikipedia: Human resources.
8. Read Wikipedia: Project team.
9. Read Conflict Resolution in Project Management.
10. Read Wikipedia: Resource leveling.
11. Read Fast-tracking and crashing can get your project back on schedule.
12. Read Manage Project Delays: Proactive Steps to Minimize the Unexpected.
13. Read Optimizing Project Performance.
14. Read Simple Ways to Optimize Your Project Plan in MS Project.

Activities

1. Practice allocating resources in Microsoft Project. This tutorial can help you navigate the software.
2. Resources can often become overallocated in Microsoft Project. Watch this tutorial video to learn how to manage resource overallocations in your file.
3. Review this PDF file to view an example of how resource allocation can be applied in a health care system.
4. Review this web page to learn how limited resource allocation works in projects where there are insufficient resources.

Key Terms

collaborating mode

The process of two or more people or organizations working together to realize or achieve something successfully.

compromise mode

The deal between different parties where each party gives up part of their demand.

confrontation mode

The process of conflicting parties meeting face-to-face and collaborating to reach an agreement that satisfies the concerns of both parties.

deputy project managers

Second in charge of a project under the project manager

forcing mode

The process of one party going all out to win it's position while ignoring the needs and concerns of the other party.

intrinsic motivation

The motivation to engage in a behavior arises from within the individual because it is intrinsically rewarding

organizational breakdown structure (OBS)

Hierarchical model describing the established organizational framework for project planning, resource management, time and expense tracking, cost allocation, revenue/profit reporting, and work management.

overallocation

Situation when assignments of more tasks than your resources can handle or reasonably complete within a standard eight hour workweek are assigned

resource histogram

Tool that is often used by the project management team and or as a means of providing a visual representation to the team and to all of those interested parties

resource leveling

A technique in which start and finish dates are adjusted based on resource constraints with the goal of balancing demand for resources with the available supply

resource allocation

The scheduling of activities and the resources required by those activities while taking into consideration both the resource availability and the project time

resource loading

The process of allocating resources to planned project activities

responsibility assignment matrix (RAM)

Describes the participation by various roles in completing tasks or deliverables for a project or business process.

smoothing mode

The process of accommodating or obliging style. In this approach, the areas of agreement are emphasized and the areas of disagreement are downplayed.

avoiding mode

The process of postponing an issue for later or withdrawing from the situation altogether.

team development

Enhancement of the effectiveness of work groups, by improving goal- and role-clarification and interpersonal processes.

human resources (HR) frame

The integration of human needs and organizational requirements.

outsourcing

The process of contracting out of a business process and operational, and/or non-core functions to another party.

offshoring

The relocation of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting.

fast tracking

The Technique that is often implemented in crisis and/or crunch times so to speak as it involves in taking a specific schedule activity and/or work breakdown event that has been previously scheduled and/or is underway and expediting it in some way or another.

Review Questions

1. What is the goal of resource allocation?

   To optimize the use of limited supply
2. What is the process of attempting to shorten project activities and in turn the overall project by assigning additional resources?

   Crashing
3. (Crash cost - normal cost) / (normal duration - crash duration) This formula describes the:

   Activity Slope (cost per day)
4. What is an expediting technique in which one phase of the project is started before preceding phases are completed?

   Fast tracking
5. the project must be finished by a certain time, using as few resources as possible. But it is time, not resource usage, that is critical

   Time limited
6. the project must be finished as soon as possible, but without exceeding some specific level of resource usage or some general resource constraint

   Resource limited
7. This requires a fixed amount of time and known quantities of resources (no trade-offs are possible)

   System-constrained task
8. This minimizes the period-by-period variations in resource loading by shifting tasks within their slack allowances

   Resource leveling
9. This is the amount of specific resources that are scheduled for use on specific activities during a specific time

   Resource loading
10. In this flawed system, all three variables -- time, cost, specifications -- are fixed

    Over-determined system

References

Type classification: this is a lesson resource.