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What is Project Resource Management?

What is a Resource?

The resources are assets required to carry out a certain task or project. Resources are assessed and allocated before the project begins. They are the main catalysts of project management. In simple language, anything that is required to deliver the project on time is a resource. Resources can be people, equipment, skillset, space, tools, finances and time.

What is Project Resource Management?

The efficient use of all the resources by planning, estimating and acquiring all the resources is Project Resource Management. According to Project Management Body of Knowledge, 6th Edition (the PMBOK Guide),

 ‘Project Resource Management includes the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of the project.’

Resources are a vital part of the project. Managing and optimizing resources is very important in order to complete the project effectively within available resources. This will determine how much revenue you bring from the invested resources.

Why Project Resource Management is important?

Project resource management is important because it gives an overview of everything and everyone involved in the project. The optimal utilization of all the resources available results in maximum efficiency and minimal waste.

In short, Resource management is all about working on “doing more with less”.

The resource managers are responsible for allocating the resources required to complete the project successfully within the allocated budget and time. Poor resource management is one of the main reasons for project failure.

What are the advantages of Project Resource Management?

There are many advantages of effective resource management:

1. Enhances productivity: Appropriate identification of capability and skill set of the resource enhances productivity.

2. Optimum utilization of resources: The main aim of resource management is to utilize all the resources available in an efficient manner. The best of all the resources can be witnessed in structured resource management.

3. Avoids unforeseen obstacles: Resource management enables you to know all the details of the resource availability, risk, quality requirement, budget and time. So, the obstacles can be avoided before it occurs.

4. Prevents stress and exhaustion: The team’s workload is effectively distributed according to the capabilities, skillset and required quality. The overallocation and dependency are managed well with structured resource management.

5. Control over budget: The optimal usage of the resource within the availability enables to monitor and control the budget.

6. Transparency throughout project life-cycle: The framework and the bandwidth of the resources allocated is transparent which enables to analyze and improve the team performance.

What are the processes involved in Project Resource Management?

There are 6 Project resource management processes in three phases of project management.

In the Planning phase:

• Planning resource management

 Planning Resource Management process is a process of identifying the required resources, equipment for the required for the project activities. Planning resources include preparing the user guide document to identify, acquire, manage and monitor the required resources for project activities. Human resources can be identified by networking.

• Estimating activity resources

The process of estimating the type and amount of resources required for each project activities. The main objective of estimating resources is to plan the resource requirement for the overall project. The type and quantity of the resources are estimated in this process. This process is carried out in the planning stage of the project lifecycle. The various inputs, tools and techniques and outputs are involved in this process.

In the execution phase:

• Acquiring resources

The process of acquiring the resources like team members, types of equipment and other resources required for the project delivery. The main objective of this process is to ensure there is no shortfall of resources required for the project.

• Developing the team

The process in which the stakeholder or project manager improve the knowledge, skills and techniques of the team members as per the requirement of the project quality. This improves the competencies and enables the interaction between the team members enhancing the quality of the project.

• Managing team

The process of tracking and recording the performances of the team and managing by giving feedback, resolving issues, managing conflicts and optimize the project performance according to the project requirement. The main objective of this process is to improve the overall performance of the team and enhance productivity.

In monitoring and controlling phase:

• Controlling resources

The Control Resources process aims to fulfil all the resource requirement for the project activities. It ensures all the resources allocated are according to plan. The probability of change requests is high in resource management. Therefore, controlling the resources and monitoring according to the resource plan management is highly essential.

What are the techniques of Project Resource Management?

Some of the important techniques for effective Project Resource Management are:

Resource Allocation

Depending on their availability and skills, the resources are allocated to perform the project activities. Resource allocation is a process of assigning human resources along with equipment and materials required to complete the task within the assigned time. The project managers are responsible to identify the resource and assign the work. The allocation can be done in an effective way by following the tips given below:

1. Know the objective of the project thoroughly
2. Identify the resources according to their capabilities and skills
3. Know the dependencies of the resource
4. Track the schedule of the resource required.

Resource Scheduling

The estimation of the resource required to complete the project activities within the specified timeframe. There are two categories in resource scheduling.

• Reusable resources
• Consumable resources

Reusable resources can be human resources, software, space, machinery, tools.

Consumable resources can be money, time, materials.

There are three steps involved in resource scheduling:

1. Allocation-In this step project managers decide what type of resource is required to finish the task
2. Aggregation- Splitting of resources over the project life cycle.
3. Scheduling- Schedule the resources according to the availability. When resources are limited, then the requirements are addressed through resource smoothing or resource leveling.

Resource Leveling and Resource Smoothing 

The resource leveling and resource smoothing take care of limited resources. It generally avoids over-allocation and under-allocation. According to The PMBOK® Guide, Resource levelling and resource smoothing can be defined as,

“Resource leveling is a technique in which start and finish dates are adjusted based on resource constraints with the goal of balancing the demand for resources against available supply.”

“Resource smoothing is a technique that adjusts the activities of a schedule model such that the requirement for resources on the project does not exceed certain predefined resource limits.”

Resource Forecasting

The process of predicting future resource requirements ahead of time is resource forecasting. Resource forecasting helps to determine the potential risks and possible constraints. Understanding the availability and demand can help project managers to predict the resource requirement throughout the project cycle.

What are the best practices for Project Resource Management?

The best practices of resource management to successfully complete the project are:

1. Identify the resources which might fall short during the project lifecycle.
2. Prioritize the work considering all the aspects when dealing with shared resources.
3. Different ways of work can be adapted to meet the demand and supply.
4. Understanding that resource management runs throughout the project-lifecycle.
5. Create resource-breakdown structure.
6. Keep track of reporting time.
7. Limit multi-tasking
8. Record time spent on non-project work.
9. Don’t over-allocate the work.
10. Keep the resources motivated for better productivity.

What are the tools and softwares used for Resource Management?

The list of latest tools and software used for efficient resource management are:

• Float
• Resource Guru
• Hub Planner
• Saviom
• Mavenlink
• elapseit
• Forecast
• Productive
• 10,000ft Plans
• eResource Scheduler

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