The document discusses resource allocation in project management. It defines resources as anything required to accomplish an activity or undertake an enterprise. The basic resources are land, labor, and capital. Resource allocation involves assigning available resources in an economic way and scheduling activities and their resource needs based on both resource availability and project time. Techniques to avoid over-allocating resources include resource leveling, prioritizing projects, linking tasks, leaving breathing room in schedules, and avoiding an approach where teams constantly put out fires.
2. Resource
An economic or productive factor required to
accomplish an activity, or as means to undertake
an enterprise and achieve desired outcome.
3. The Three Most Basic Resources
Land
Includes all natural resources (“gifts of nature”) used in the
production process, such as arable land, forests, mineral and oil
deposits, and water resources.
Labor
Consists of the physical and mental talents of individuals used in
producing goods and services.
Capital
Refers not to money but to tools, machinery, and
other productive equipment.
5. Resources in Project Management
anything used up to execute the project
•Budget
•People
•Technology
•Time
•Space
•Tools
•Equipment
•and etc.
6. Resource Allocation
Resource allocation is used to assign the available
resources in an economic way.
In project management, resource allocation is the
scheduling of activities and the resources required
by those activities while taking into consideration
both the resource availability and the project time.
8. 1. Basic allocation decision
• The choice of which items to fund in the plan
• What level of funding it should receive
• Which to leave unfunded
• The resources are allocated to some items, not to
others
9. 2. Contingency mechanisms
A.There is a priority ranking of items excluded from the
plan, showing which items to fund if more resources should
become available.
B.There is a priority ranking of some items included in the
plan, showing which items should be sacrificed if total
funding must be reduced.
10. Example of Resource Allocation for Jobs
Assume that the active resource
plan is called “Night Plan”.
3 Job classes:
DW Consumer Group
OLTP Consumer Group
Other Consumer Group
11. Resource leveling
A project management technique used to examine
unbalanced use of resources (usually people or equipment)
over time, and for resolving over-allocations or conflicts.
Leveling resources involves redistributing an imbalance of
allocated work. It assists project team members by keeping
them from becoming overwhelmed, working overtime, or
running into project burnout.
12. Resource leveling
If DW Consumer Group do not
fully use the allocated 60%, the
unused portion is available for use
by jobs in OLTP and Other
Consumer Group.
13. Resource leveling
The Two Key Elements of Resource Leveling:
1. As the main aim of resource leveling is to allocate resource
efficiently, so that the project can be completed in the given time
period. Hence, resource leveling can be broken down into two main
areas; projects that can be completed by using up all resources
which are available and projects that can be completed with limited
resources.
2. Projects which use limited resources can be extended for over a
period of time until the resources required are available. If then
again, the number of projects that an organization undertakes
exceeds the resources available. Then it's wiser to postpone the
project for a later date.
14. Resource Over-allocation
Over-allocation of a resource is when a resource
has been assigned more work than can be
completed during normal work hours. Resource
allocation often leads to overtime and
overspending on financial resources.
15. Techniques for Avoiding Resource Overload
1. Resource Leveling
2. Prioritize Projects
3. Linking Tasks
4. Leaving Breathing Room
5. Avoid the “Putting out fires” approach to project
management
16. Techniques for Avoiding Resource Overload
1. Resource Leveling
In this method, the project manager
can either level resources by hand
(complicated, but perhaps more sound) or use a
software program such as Microsoft Project to
level resources for you.
17. Techniques for Avoiding Resource Overload
2. Prioritize Projects
By prioritizing projects, when a
resource allocation overload is apparent or a
task conflict exists, it can be resolved without
piling pressure on the individual or team (or
requiring the individual or team to put in a
couple twelve-hour days).
18. Techniques for Avoiding Resource Overload
3. Linking Tasks
Linking tasks is more of a logistical
solution. If the resource has been assigned to
research the markets for project A and project
B, these tasks could be linked. In this manner,
when it appears that a resource has been over-
allocated, really the tasks are similar enough to
count for two projects. By linking these tasks
from the different projects, the problem can be
resolved.
19. Techniques for Avoiding Resource Overload
4. Leaving Breathing Room
When scheduling the project, it is vital
to leave breathing room between tasks.
However, it is important to not under-allocate
resources as this could lead to a loss of budget
monies meaning resource allocations problems
will affect your project's health. A fine balance
must be achieved between breathing room and
not moving forward quickly enough.
20. Techniques for Avoiding Resource Overload
5. Avoid the “Putting out fires” approach to project
management
If your team is consistently putting out
fires, it makes it difficult to focus on the project.
Moreover, by putting out fires, the team
becomes knee-deep in ash, while project tasks
pile up. This is where project management
techniques such as Scrum come in handy.