Resources in Project Management

Revision as of 14:09, 22 February 2019

Developed by Hedin Gunnarsstein Poulsen - S153658

Abstract

Resources are an important aspect of everyday life. Resources are what you have available to complete a task and get an output. In a project management perspective, resources can be anything from time, money, people, facilities and equipment. Proper resource management is important in this matter, as it must ensure that people are not overloaded with work, and that time is effectively utilized, as well as the final budget must be within or under budget. Often in resource planning, the challenge is to find a baseline and complete the projects on time and to budget. Statistics however shows that one in every three project have no baseline^[1] and less than one-third of projects are completed on time and on budget^[2]. These are just a few examples of how difficult resource management planning can be. Resource management planning could for instance help project managers and project team to solve and answer questions like:

• Do we have enough space on our budget for new equipment and experts handling this products? What if not?
• Is there anyone who is overloaded with work and is there anyone who has not sufficient amount of work?
• Is there any worker available to work in the Christmas holidays?
• How will adding another project affect the existing projects?
• Is the project on time?

To make sure the right resources are available for the project managers and project team at the right time there has been developed Project Resource Management processes/tools^[3], to identify, acquire and manage the resources for a successful completed project. This article will focus on the following processes:

• Plan Resource Management
• Estimating Activity Resources
• Aquire Resources
• Develop Team
• Manage Team
• Control Resources

In this article the focus will be on Plan Resource Management

Plan Resource Management

Plan Resource Management is a process to estimate, acquire, manage, and use team and physical resources. The key benefit of this process is that it establishes the approach and level of management effort needed for managing project resources based on the type and complexity of the project.

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Plan Resource management is used to ensure that the resources are sufficient and available during the project time and thereby making sure that there is a successful completion of the project. Those resources can be found internally and also outside of the organization through a procurement process. In this article there will be looked out how the elements inside the boxes: Inputs, Tool & Techniques and Outputs are defined and also some methods to get this information which is needed for the output.

Project Charter

Project charter is probably one of the most confusing areas in the project and it begins prior to project being launched. It is also arguable that is the most important part of the project as it outlines the whole project. It is a an agreement between contractors and other people. In the project charter the project name is identified. There will be outlined that it is a formal authorization document for the description of the project. So the description of the project states the need, that this project is going to provide a solution for the organization. It states the organization, the need that the organization has, and the solution that this project is deemed to fit. The project charter also includes key stakeholder list, summary milestones, costs, preapproved financial resources and also the risk assessment which is attached to the project which are vital for the survival of the project.

Project Management Plan

The Project management plan consists of two elements: Quality Management plan and Scope Baseline.

Quality Management Plan

The Quality Management Plan helps

Scope Basline

A scope baseline used to measure, manage, assessing and controlling the project scope. Scope baseline is a actually component of the project management plan. Scope baseline can be changed only through formal control procedures. It contains three elements of approved project documents:

• WBS (Work Breakdown Structure):
• WBS Dictionary
• Detailed Project scope statement

Project Documents

Stakeholder Analysis

Enterprise Environmental Factors

Organizational Process Assets

Conclusion

References

1. ↑ [The State of Project Management, Annual Survey 2016, APM PMO specific group, page 7'] http://www.wellingtone.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/The-State-of-Project-Management-Survey-2016.pdf
2. ↑ [CHAOS MANIFESTO 2013, Think big, Act small, page 1'] https://www.versionone.com/assets/img/files/CHAOSManifesto2013.pdf'
3. ↑ [Project Management Institute, (January 01, 2013), A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), Vol. 5, ISBN-13 978-1-935589-67-9, chapter 9']