8. Resource Management Flashcards
What are the stages in scheduling the critical path
- Create network diagram - From agreed WBS
- Estimate project duration - Have best / worst / most likely
- Calculate over duration, critical path and free / total float Can use software.
- Optimise baseline - Stakeholder review, baseline, change against
- Maintain schedule - dynamic tool. Mechanism to collate updates.
What is the critical chain technique
- Emphasis on resource (path on activities)
- Use optimistic time frames. Removes contingency.
- Needs culture of accepting timings were optimistic.
- Aims to keep resources at a constant utilisation.
Difference between Critical Path and Critical Chain
- CP emphasis on activity, CC on resources. Keeps resources in constant utilisation.
- CP float within each activity. Idle gaps. PM monitors progress. CC buffer at end. PM monitors buffer.
- CP can result in hidden contingency and relaxation. CC more collaborative culture. Accepts best case rarely achieved.
Considerations when allocating resources in linear lifecycle
- Time to obtain resource
- Amount of resource needed
- Cost of Resource
- Ensuring right people allocated to right job
Differences between iterative and linear lifecycles
- Right resources added to each time box
2. Resources available for prototyping early.
Explain the steps involved in resource scheduling
- Allocation
- Application
- Scheduling
Explain the difference between resource smoothing and resource levelling
- Smoothing - Time limited. Use float / additional resource where required. Levelling - Resource / cost limited - delay items where required.
- Smooth usage of resources, reorder to keep aligned. May overload resources. Levelling avoids overload
- Smooth delays work to smooth resource profile, removes flexibility. Levelling retains flexibility and breathing space, time to deal with issues.
Cost planning linear vs. Iterative
- Linear - cost influenced how long to deliver agreed scope, Iterative - Base on available cost, may mix within.
- Linear - Funds released for whole project life or at decision gates. Iterative - often released as work completed. quotes may be refined.
- Linear - Can be more expensive as as project proceeds, cost of change is more expensive. Iterative so may change continually as more learnt. Faster reaction to change.
Describe 3 activities when creating a schedule
- Create a network diagram
- Network diagram derived from inserting logical relationships between WBS.
- Insert durations to calculate start / finish times
- Calculate total float (early start from early finish)
- Identify critical path
- Start dates and finish dates updated during schedule implementation - Optimise and baseline
- Once schedule created, review by relevant stakeholders to ensure realistic
- May be several iterations before confirmed
- Dependencies may change to allow concurrent work
- Once agreed schedule to be baselined
- Project may need to be re baselined following major approval changes - Update timescale with actuals
- Schedule is a dynamic document
- Mechanisms need to be in place to enable updates effectively
- Finished tasks should be shown as 100% complete
- Forecast to completion an be made once the schedule has been updated
- effect of delays on subsequent activities, the critical path, free and total float and end date essential to forward plan recovery.
Explain two differences between critical path and critical chain scheduling techniques – 20 marks (10 marks each)
They differ in the way that they manage and display contingency. • With the critical path method (CPM), estimators will have almost certainly built contingency into their estimates for individual activities by using pessimistic estimates for durations. • This potentially hidden contingency will then be built into a schedule often resulting in pessimistic timescales. • The project manager monitors the activities as they are completed and forecasts the completion date. • In the critical chain method (CCM), this contingency is stripped out by using optimistic durations. This ‘pooled’ contingency is then made visible at the end of the schedule as a buffer. • The project manager monitors the ‘buffer’ which acts as a type of contingency and can take action when it is reduced to an agreed minimum.
b)/2 They differ in the way that expectations are set over the completion of activities. • With a schedule completed employing CPM, pessimistic estimates will have been used for activity durations, so there is a high expectation that the activities will be completed on time. • In addition, owners of subsequent tasks may not have the resources ready until the task is scheduled to start. • With a CCM schedule, not all activities are expected to deliver to their ‘optimistic’ given duration; it is accepted that some activities will overrun. The contingency buffers are used protect the whole project by absorbing the impact of delays. • Using the CCM means resources will be made available so that they can start tasks as soon as their predecessors have finished. This drives project efficiency.
Describe three things that need to be considered when allocating resources to a project schedule following a linear lifecycle – 30 marks (10 marks each)
The time to obtain resources. • In order for resources to be available when needed, the lead times required to secure resources must be understood and built into schedules. • For example, people may need to be recruited, inducted and trained, material will need to be procured from suppliers and money obtained from fund holders. • All of this will take time and needs to be factored into project plans and considered as part of risk management. • If this is not taken into account schedules will be unachievable and product delivery may negatively impact the users.
a) /2 The amount of resources needed. • Using the schedule of work and estimates of effort, profiles for each type of resource can be produced to show the levels of resources needed at any point in time. • This is typically done using a resource demand profile histogram. • Consideration must be given to the constraints on the resource’s providers (e.g. line managers and procurement specialists) and the project manager should liaise with them to understand these constraints such as the number of available people. • Where resources do not match the planned profile, the project manager should consider whether available float can be used, scope adjusted, or timescales extended.
a) /3 The cost of resources. • Managing the budget and controlling costs depends on the efficient, effective and economical use of resources. • In this respect, it is important to ensure that the resources used are at an appropriate level of quality/skills. • For example, both buying material that is of higher quality than required (‘goldplating’) or employing people who are overqualified will increase costs. • Also, money can be saved by ensuring resources are not employed before they’re required (e.g. contractors sitting around when not required) and are returned when no longer needed (e.g. expensive hired plant on site after the work is complete).
Describe how two different categories of resource can be allocated to a project following a linear lifecycle – 20 marks (10 marks each)
Fixed cost resources. •
As the name implies, the cost of these remains the same regardless how much work is done on the project.
• They to be allocated to the project either as a single cost attached to an activity in a schedule (e.g. setting up a machine) or as a cost ‘spread’ across the lifecycle (e.g. the fixed cost of a project manager and core team).
• This category of resource can be scheduled with a great deal of certainty because they are known and agreed with little risk of changing.
b)/2 Human resources/labour.
• These are allocated based on the skills required and the amount of work required to deliver the project.
• Once the scope is understood, the available resources can be matched using a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM).
• This will allow responsibilities and accountabilities to be assigned using a RACI diagram. This will clarify roles and avoid ambiguity throughout the lifecycle.
• The resources will then be added to the schedule to show a resource usage profile allowing smoothing and levelling to reach an optimum solution.
Explain three different considerations that need to be made when deciding to use resource smoothing and resource levelling – 30 marks (10 marks each)
The amount of float available.
• This can help to resolve resource loading issues by allowing activities to be delayed, brought forward or increased in duration without impacting a project’s overall timescale.
• Identifying and using float within a schedule is therefore the first thing that should be considered before adding in additional resource or increasing the project’s duration to resolve resource loading issues.
• This will deliver a version of the schedule that is realistic and considers resource availability, which will save money and simplify the job of resource managers. • However, using all the float will put more tasks on the critical path increasing the risk of activities overrunning and jeopardising timely project completion.
a)/2 The importance of the project end date.
• This needs to be considered when deciding to use either resource smoothing or resource levelling.
• Resource smoothing optimises the use of resources in order to maintain the schedule (time) as the first priority.
• So, if cost is secondary in importance to the completion of a project to a specific time scale, then resource smoothing should be used, and additional resources secured to cater for any instances in the schedule where demand exceeds supply.
• This of course assumes that resources can be found and employed effectively, recognising that there is a finite limit to the resources that can be applied to some tasks due to things such as physical space (e.g. plumbers in enclosed space).
a)/3 The amount of resources available.
• If resource availability (or cost) is limited and thus more important than the project deadline, then resource levelling should be used.
• Resource levelling is where the schedule dates are modified in order to stay within the specified resource availabilities/limits. This helps keep the costs within the agreed budget.
• However, this may cause the end date of the project to be extended beyond acceptable limits to accommodate the strict resource limitations.
• Other ways to achieve resource levelling include giving work to an under-utilised resource or redefining the specification to reduce the scope.
Explain two differences in how funding is planned to be allocated for linear and iterative lifecycles – 20 marks (10 marks each)
Phase v sprint-based funding.
• In a linear lifecycle funding is allocated on a phase basis. Once completion of a phase is complete, budget is released to the team to complete the next phase.
• In an iterative project life cycle, work is completed in relatively short time-boxes (sprints). Sprint reviews can be used as checkpoints for product managers and funding can be planned to be released to coincide with a sprint timetable.
• This supports good governance by providing more frequent reviews of iteratively managed projects which are typically are more prone to failure (e.g. IT projects).
• This would mean more frequent funding release than is the case with projects following a linear life cycle, where actual and predicted costs are reviewed and approved through the updated business case.
b)/2 Different funding profiles.
• In a project following an iterative life cycle, expenditure tends to be constant across the project thus simplifying cash flow. As such the funding requirements for the project follow a relatively flat line after the team has been established.
• This is because the majority of the costs are usually related to people (such as a software development team) and this team will be self-contained and have been sized to deliver outputs at a constant rate over the life of the project.
• This is not normally the case for linear based projects which typically have a more Sshaped curve to their funding profile due to an increasing usage of resources as the project proceeds from planning on into implementation.
• Cost planning is influenced by how long activities take to deliver an agreed scope. This will make budgeting difficult. Contingency will need to be added to allow a budget to be created. This may result in a lack of confidence by the stakeholders.
Describe three things that need to be considered when maintaining a schedule – 30 marks (10 marks each)
The measurement of progress.
• Knowing what progress the project team has made allows the project manager to determine whether the project is either behind, ahead or on schedule.
• The project manager should also check the validity of the progress reports as they might be optimistic or pessimistic.
• If the project is behind schedule, an analysis of incomplete activities will help to identify where lessons can be learned, and corrective action needs to be taken.
• If it is unlikely that the team can bring the project back within agreed tolerances, then the project manager must consider escalating the issue to the sponsor.
• The schedule should be updated and re-baselined to reflect any agreed changes.
a)/2 Based on performance to date, whether the schedule is realistic.
• The schedule was developed using estimates for the cost and duration of activities. As the project progresses the team will get a better understanding of the accuracy of their estimates.
• The project manager should review the duration of future activities and adjust them based on lessons to date (i.e. actuals v scheduled).
• If they have been consistently too optimistic or pessimistic then there will be a good case for reviewing the remaining activities and adjusting the schedule to take account of their initial bias.
• This may require the project manager to raise an exception report if the project duration breaches cost or time tolerances.
a)/3 The impact of under or over performance.
• Being ahead or more likely, behind schedule will almost certainly have a knock-on effect for activities scheduled later on in the project.
• The project manager will need to understand these impacts and then liaise with resource managers and suppliers to mitigate the effects.
• Resources may be able to be re-profiled and if not, the schedule may need to be changed to accommodate this.
• They should also liaise with the users to understand their absolute deadline and any tolerances they have. This ensures that they are not trying to solve a problem that does not exist.
