Module 5 -Resource and Budget Planning
As discussed earlier, a Work Breakdown Structure is a list of tasks required to undertake a project. This sound like a simple activity until we consider the resources required – the number of people with relevant skills in the appropriate facility, with the necessary equipment, workspace, utilities (electricity, etc.), parts, materials, supplies, technical information, quality specifications, and so on. Resources applied to tasks make the tasks possible.
Taking the project schedule, it is necessary to consider what resources are required to perform the work to the time, cost, and quality required. The project activities are often broken down into work packages and resources are identified to make the work possible. To meet project constraints and objectives it is important to have the best available project team and resources. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and project managers need to appreciate the impact on the project of resource constraints.
Resources are the core components of a project and make the project tasks achievable. As the project manager, one of your key roles is resource planning. This is a must action that you are required to execute before the start of the executing phase of a project. Resources can be specifically skilled people, technical and non-technical equipment, funding, location or anything you think is required for the completion of all project activities.
Unfortunately, resources are almost always limited – we seldom have adequate funds, enough skilled people at the right time, enough time, or sufficient equipment and materials. This means that trade-offs must constantly be made between time, cost, and quality, and resources must be balanced to achieve optimal employment and output.
Project Resources
Resources are crucial to projects. At this stage, the project manager should focus on the available resources to undertake the project and identify which resources must come from outside the business.
Determining and accessing project resources involves three steps:
- Identifying what resources the project needs.
- Organising where these resources will come from (e.g., available internally or externally to the business?).
- Obtaining approval to use these resources (when required).
Hartley (2018) suggests six typical types of resources:
- Human resources (HR)
- Technology
- Plant and equipment
- Information
- Materials
- Working capital and finances
There are two main types of resource allocation:
- Time-restricted resource allocation – time is limited as time overruns cannot be tolerated.
- Resource-restricted resource allocation – no more than those allocated resources can be used.
To calculate resource requirements, Hartley suggests having the work allocation divided by its duration.
Work = duration * resource units
Duration = work / resource units
Resource units = work / duration
If the time allocated is not enough, the size of the project will have to be reduced or m