Resource Planning
| This topic is not in the project cost management section of the 3rd edition of the PMBOK, but it is still a very important factor in determining the costs of the project. This process is closely linked to both cost estimating and cost budgeting. Remember that in many organizations, resources may be assigned to several projects at once, particularly if they are specialty resources. In the case of multiple assignments, it is absolutely critical for costing that detail is given in the WBS that will allow a project manager to correctly budget for the resources needed. If the task time is too large, this is not possible, and rather than estimating, you will be guessing.
The answer is D. This is the document where the Scope Statement is decomposed, and it will give you the task detail necessary to make resource planning possible.
The answer is C. If you have a task that will take longer than this, it is very difficult to assess resources needed to execute the task. You can certainly have tasks that are shorter than this; they will be useful for many of the resource planning activities. But you will not be able to plan well if a given task is over 40 hours in length. There are too many unknowns in a task over 40 hours to do good resource planning. Historical information in the resource planning process has the same caveats as it does in all the other processes. You can look at previous projects to determine what resource needs occurred, but you must be careful to examine each piece of information as it relates to the current project. Because all projects are unique, it is possible to have resource information that is correct for previous projects but just slightly off for the current one. However, if historical information is available, particularly if you can talk to the previous project's manager and he or she is a PMP, you will get a great deal of valuable information that can help you in your current planning. One other word of caution: It is highly likely that you will not have exactly the same personnel from project to project. By changing personnel, you will change the dynamics on the project team. The new resources may work differently or have skills that were not available from your previous team. Certainly new resources will change the amount of time you need to complete tasks. You should also evaluate the skill level and work output level of your current team for each project. This is particularly true when using historical data as a part of the inputs to your planning process. These data are a guideline, not a finished blueprint. People make the difference on the project team's performance, and so does the project manager. The time it takes a team to do a task will vary when other people are added to the team. The timeline may increase or decrease. Whatever occurs, change in personnel means change in resource utilization.
The answer is B. Historical information will not be the exact blueprint you need for your current project. People change, technologies change, situations change. All of these factors mean that although you can look at historical information as a guide, do not use it as your plan.
The answer is C. The basic definition of a project includes the fact that each project is unique. Something (often many things) is always different between projects, so do not accept historical information as your final plan. It can guide you, but historical information should not be the only data you look at to do your planning. The Scope Statement is another input to resource planning. As with all the documents in the inputs to resource planning, the more clarity you have in the Scope Statement, the better the chance that you will effectively allocate resources to tasks. If the Scope Statement is unclear in any way, you will be unable to give accurate estimates of the resource needs for the project. The Scope Statement also contains the justification for the project as well as the project objectives. The justification for the project will generally give you clues as to the importance of the project to the organization. For instance, if you are managing a project that must be finished to avoid a government fine of $500K per day, you will most certainly be able to access all of the resources you need to finish the project with all due haste. If, on the other hand, your project is to change email servers, there will not be the same urgency, and you are not nearly as likely to get all the resources you want or need with as much speed as a project that will cost the company millions of dollars per month if neglected. So, be aware of the justification as you go through your resource planning and make sure that reality is a large part of planning. The resource pool description is a very important part of the inputs to resource planning. The equipment you have available will determine how long your project will take. So too will the people you can engage to execute the project. The resource pool description can vary greatly from organization to organization. In some organizations, the description of a worker may simply say "coder," whereas in others, a full description of what languages the coder is competent in and how much experience the coder has had on similar projects may be available. There may be code words for certain organizations in the resource pool description that you will need to know in order to make choices about whom you want to be on your project. The words "senior" and "junior" when used as modifiers for any position give information that is specific to the organization in which you are working. For instance, how long does it take a "senior" coder to write a module of code? Can two "junior" coders do the same work in the same time as one "senior" coder? You'll have to answer these types of questions when looking at a resource pool. It should be noted that in many cases, looking at a resource pool is a luxury. Very few organizations can offer unlimited resources to the project manager; this usually happens only if neglecting the project may cause a failure of the organization. Your decision as a project manager deals with the resources you are given and the best way to help them execute the plan. If you can pick and choose from a large list, you can be assured that your project will be under close scrutiny because for most organizations, resources are a major constraint. If the project is important enough to the organization to allow the project manager to choose anyone he or she wants, be aware that you will be watched very, very closely.
The answer is D. All three of these elements are choices you will have to make to successfully plan the project.
The answer is A. If you receive a list of resources, be sure you understand what they are and that you have a description in your mind that matches the description of the organization giving you the resource pool. For instance, the words "heavy duty" may mean different things to different organizations. Asking what the words mean, especially if the words are descriptors, is something you should do for your own project. Organizational policies will also affect your resource planning. You need to know whether outsourcing is permitted and if so, what organizations or countries you are permitted to outsource to. You might have to consider whether the organization wants to buy new equipment or to lease or rent it. You may have to consider whether the organization wants to put people on its own payroll or always have contractors working with them. The organization may have assembled a list of preferred vendors. Someone, perhaps many people, in the organization will set all of these policies, and you should consider these policies when you are doing resource planning.
The answer is D. The organization will often have policies that are used to determine how resources are selected. As a professional project manager, you should make every effort to be aware of any organizational policies that will affect your resource planning. Finally, you will look at activity durations in resource planning. The major key to doing these is that you often trade skills, efficiency, and time for cost. If you choose to get more expensive, faster equipment, you are deciding that time is more valuable than cost. The same is true with people. The more skilled the people, the higher the cost is to use them on your project. However, if you are up against a looming deadline, changing the input into the task can change activity durations. (Activity durations are also discussed in the previous chapter.)
The answer is A. The triple constraints of cost, quality, and time are always in play in a project. You must choose between the three constantly as you go through resource planning. You will probably not be the final arbiter of who to use or what equipment to use on the project because those choices will be made in organizational meetings leading to organizational policy. You should know that there are tradeoffs to be made between the triple constraints, and you should give good information to sponsors and stakeholders about your decisions in choosing resources. Another source for expert judgment is professional and technical associations. These can be excellent sources for your planning. Many associations keep databases on average costs for their members. This information is extremely valuable and gives you a large amount of data from which to work. One thing to note if you are using a database from an association: If the data to be used are averages, you should consider how many cases the association used to get these numbers. If, for instance, the association was only able to get a few organizations to respond to questionnaires concerning costs, then the data may be skewed. It is valuable to know how many organizations were surveyed in order to determine how accurate the data are. The larger the number of organizations included in the survey, generally the better the numbers are. One large company in an expensive city can change the average costs for resources, so be certain of how the numbers were reached and then use them to help you in your resource planning. One other type of organization that can give you expert judgment is industry groups. These are often very useful and can give you good information about the industry as a whole. Once again, note who the members are. The groups that include organizations like yours will give you the best information.
The answer is A. You sum up the lower levels of the WBS to get the final number for the resources needed in the summary task at the top. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
EAN: 2147483647
Pages: 167