Pinto Pm2 Ism Ch12

1
INSTRUCTORS RESOURCE MANUAL
CHAPTER TWELVE
Resource Management
To Accompany
PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
Achieving Competitive Advantage
By
Jeffrey K. Pinto
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
CHAPTER 12
PROJECT PROFILE The Road to Green: Converting a Power Plant
INTRODUCTION
12.1 The Nature of Resource Constraints on Projects
12.2 Resource Loading
12.3 Constrained Projects
12.4 Resource Leveling Projects
Step One: Develop Resource Loading Table
Step Two: Determine Activity Late Finish Dates
Step Three: Identify Resource Overallocation
Step Four: Resource Level the Loading Table
Splitting Activities
Optimization Models
12.5 Managing Resources in Multi-Project Environments
Resolving Resource Allocation Decisions in Multi-project Environments
Summary
Key Terms
Solved Problems
Discussion Questions
Problems
Case Study 12.1: The Problems of Multitasking
Internet Exercises
MSProject Exercises
PMP Certification Sample Questions
Integrated Project Managing Your Projects Resources
Bibliography
TRANSPARENCIES
12.1 CONSTRAINTS ON PROJECTS
1. TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS
2. PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS
3. RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS
i. PEOPLE
i. MATERIALS
ii. MONEY
iii. EQUIPMENT
12.2 RESOURCE LOADING TABLE WITH OVER ALLOCATION
Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.
12.3 RESOURCE LOADING TABLE
12.4 PRIORITIZING ACTIVITIES FOR RESOURCE

ALLOCATION
1. Those with the smallest amount of slack
2. Those with the smallest duration
3. Those with the lowest activity identification number (e.g., those

that start earliest in the WBS)
4. Those with the most successor tasks
5. Those requiring the most resources
12.5 EXAMPLE OF RESOURCE LEVELING
Fully Developed Task Table for Sample Project

Activity
Duration
ES
EF
LS
LF Slack
--
10
10
10
--
11
14
15
10
16
10
16
10
16
--
11
15
14
18
16
23
16
23
--
15
20
18
23
15
18
20
23
23
28
23
28
--
12.5 (COND)
12.5 (COND) SAMPLE PROJECT NETWORK
10
12.5 (COND) - Activity Float and Resource Needs for the Sample Network
Activity
Duration
Total Float
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
5
4
5
6
6
6
4
7
5
3
5
0
1
0
3
1
0
3
0
3
5
0
Resource Hours
Needed Per Week
6
2
4
3
3
2
4
3
4
2
5
Total
Total Resources
Required
30
8
20
18
18
12
16
21
20
6
25
194
11
12.6 RESOURCE LOADING TABLE FOR SAMPLE PROBLEM
Resource Requirements
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
Project Days
12
12.7 Resource Loading Table for Sample Network When Activity Float is Included
January
Activity
A
1 2 3 4 5
8 9 10 11 12
15 16 17 18 19
February
22 23 24 25 26
2 2 2 2
4 4 4 4 4
3 3 3 3 3
5 6 7
6 6 6 6 6
29 30 31 1 2
3 3
5 5
5 5 5
13
Total
6 6 6 6 6
9 9 9 9 10
8 9
3 3
5 5
5 5 5
( = Late Finish)
12.8 Resource Leveling the Network Table

January
Activity
A
1 2 3 4 5
8 9 10 11 12
15 16 17 18 19
22 23 24 25 26
4 4 4 4 4
3 3 3 3 3
3
4
5 6 7
2 2 2 2
29 30 31 1 2
6 6 6 6 6
February
3 3
5 5
5 5 5
14
Total
6 6 6 6 6
9 9
9 9 7
3 3
5 5
5 5 5
( = Late Finish)
15
12.9 RESOURCE LEVELING THROUGH SPLITTING ACTIVITIES
16
12.10 SAMPLE RESOURCE LOADING CHART
8
6
4
Resources
F
E
10
12
14
Project Days
17
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Consider a project to build a bridge over a river gorge. What are some of the
resource constraints that would make this project challenging?
Resource constraints would include money/budget constraints, specialized equipment,
large material requirements, and personnel constraints revolving around contractors, and
highly-skilled construction crew. A bridge is subject to many potential risks related to
environment, technology and physical construction. All put the project in jeopardy of
overextending its budget which can make monetary budgets and necessary reserves a
central resource constraint. Due to the specialized equipment and personnel required,
scheduling these resources to arrive at appropriate times is important. Equipment rentals
and labor can be expensive, so it is important to schedule these resources so that they
arrive just in time for use, however this can be difficult to accurately predict. It is also
unlikely that the same personnel will be required throughout the project. One
construction team may be needed for pouring foundations, while another is hired to pave
the driving surface. Again, identifying, sequencing and scheduling these resources is
vital to the projects on time completion.
2. For many projects, the key resources to be managed are the project team personnel.
Explain in what sense and how project team personnel are often the project critical
resource.
Project teams are created to perform work on a specific project. Since projects often
require a team members expertise in more than one area, it is not uncommon for a team
member to be assigned to more than one task in the project. The problem comes when
these two tasks need to occur simultaneously. If only one person on the team or within
the organization can perform the function, then team personnel becomes the critical
resource constraining the ability to complete the project as planned. Alternate scheduling
18
has to be made in order to enable completion of both tasks and hence, progress on the
project to continue.
3. What is the philosophy underlying resource loading? What does it do for our project?
Why is it a critical element in effectively managing the project plan?
Resource loading identifies the amount of resources needed over the project baseline. It
is a process that assigns resources in the required amount to each project activity.
Resource loading maps out resource use over the duration of the project. It is a useful
tool for team members to determine conflicting uses and over allocation of resources
prior to the start of the project. It is critical to effect project management in that it
provides a better picture of resource availability, constraints and misallocation. This
allows managers to determine more accurately if extra resources are required and if the
project baseline is reasonable.
4. It has been argued that a project schedule which has not been resource leveled is
useless. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why or why not?
This question requires students to recognize that it is only after a schedule has been
resource-leveled that it represents a true perspective of how long activities and the project
as a whole are expected to take. It is important that instructors clearly identify the
linkage between schedules and resource availability and commitment for viable project
timeframes to completion.
5. Discuss the nature of time/cost tradeoffs on projects. What does this concept imply
for our project management practices?
19
When a resource is over allocated, meaning it is needed to perform multiple tasks at one
time or is needed in a greater quantity than the current supply, time/cost tradeoff
decisions have to be made. Due to the over allocation, project managers must decide to
either increase the overall time of the project by extending the schedule to allow extra
time to complete both tasks or increase the budget to allow for employment of additional
resource use. Either way, the project is going to run over projected figures, it is simply a
matter of whether the budget or timetable will be extended.
6. When resource leveling a project, there are a number of heuristics that can help us
prioritize those activities that receive resources first. Explain how each of the following
heuristics works and give an example:
a. Activities with the smallest slack: Those activities that have the smallest amount of
slack are given priority for resources. This is done to reduce the amount of slippage in
the overall project, by attempting to meet the demands of tighter deadlines. For example,
if activity A has 4 days of slack time and activity B has 3 days of slack time. Then,
resources needed to complete B are allocated first. Activity A is scheduled around the
resource use of B.
b. Activities with the smallest duration: The activity requiring the shortest amount of time
to complete may receive resources first. This heuristic focuses on completing a the
greatest number of tasks by getting shorter tasks out of the way before engaging in longterm assignments. In this case, if activity A takes 10 days to complete while activity B
will take 25 days. Then, A is scheduled first and resources for B are assigned based on
remaining availability.
c. Activities with the lowest identification number: Tasks starting earlier in the WBS
sequence are assigned resources before those occurring later. If A begins on day 1 of the
project and B begins on day 6, then resources will be assigned to A first.
20
d. Activities with the most successor tasks: Resources are assigned to the task which has
the greatest number of subsequent tasks. This attempts to allow increase the number of
downstream tasks that are able to get underway. Assuming activity A has 4 successor
tasks following its completion and B has 6 successor tasks. B will be assigned resources
first, leaving A to be scheduled with the remaining resource availability.
e. Activities with requiring the most resources: Activities requiring the greatest use of
resources is assigned priority. Then, those with lesser requirements are allocated. Here,
if A requires 10 people and 5 specialized machines for its completion while B only needs
5 people and 1 machine, then A will be scheduled first.
7. Multi-tasking can have an important negative impact on your ability to resource level
a project. When your team members are involved in multiple additional commitments,
we must be careful not to assign their time too optimistically. In fact, it has been said:
Remember, 40 hours is not the same as one weeks work. Comment on this idea. How
does multi-tasking make it difficult to accurately resource level a project?
Multi-tasking decreases employee efficiency because employee time is divided among
multiple projects. This division creates down time as employees shift from one project to
the next. Simple things such as time spent getting to a new location or time switching
from on set of thought processes to another eat up time that employees could be spending
on task accomplishment. Therefore, scheduling may become difficult because
employees time devoted to one project begins to affect their time availability for other
projects. Managers in charge of scheduling need to be aware that an employee has
multiple responsibilities and not assume that he or she can devote their full amount of
working hours to one project.
21
8. Why is resource management significantly more difficult in a multi-project

environment? What are some rules of thumb to help project managers better control
resources across several simultaneous projects?
A multi-project environment creates several problems. One is that using resources for
one project may mean that those resources are not available for a co-existing project.
Another stems from underutilization of resources. One project may hold on to resources
even if it is not currently using them. This may occur because the team does not want to
relinquish the asset for fear they may not be able to get it back when they need it. On the
other hand, shared resources may become spread too thinly resulting in the delay of
multiple projects. When shared resources exist in a multi-project environment, a delay
(and hence, a longer use of resources) in one project may create delays in other projects.
Finally, there may be a decrease in employees efficiency and quality as they attempt to
juggle competing work assignments.
Some rules of thumb used by managers to resolve resource allocation problems include:
first in line, greatest resource demand, greatest resource utilization, minimum late finish
time and mathematical programming. First in line simply allocates resources based on
which projects are entered first. It is essentially a first-come, first-served approach.
Using greatest resource demand as a guideline, managers allocate based on which
projects demand the greater amount of available resources. The project with the highest
demand is scheduled first, then the project with the second-highest demand, and so on.
The greatest resource utilization approach is similar but allocates based on the degree of
resource use. Here, it may not be the project that has the greatest overall use, but rather
the greatest depth of use that is scheduled first. The minimum late finish time rule
focuses on slack time by scheduling first the project with the earliest late finish time.
22
CASE STUDY
Case Study 12.1: The Problems of Multitasking

The case, The Problems of Multitasking, highlights some of the critical issues that
students must absorb in terms of the relationship between project activity scheduling and
resource availability. Many firms require that their project team members engage in so
many different projects at the same time (multitasking) that resource assignments are no
longer viable because they do not recognize the over-committed nature of their resources.
The old adage, 40 hours duration is not the same as one weeks work, illustrates this
point. If we can assume that a project resource can fully devote her time to one project,
then the 40 hours duration argument above changes it is, in fact, one week. However,
the more projects that are added to our plate, the more difficult it becomes to clearly
determine resources needs.
Questions:
1) How does multitasking confuse the resource availability of project team
personnel?
As noted above, the more projects my personnel are committed to at the same time, the
more difficult it becomes for me to accurately forecast the needs of any specific project.
Activity duration estimates become contaminated by the interrelationship among the
competing project commitments and my ability to forecast resource needs and activity
durations gets extremely problematic.
2) In modern organizations, it is impossible to eliminate multi-tasking for the
average employee. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?
23
While there is some truth to this statement, due to many firms desire to operate with a
lean staff, this statement can be a very good source of discussion among students in a
classroom setting. One method for minimizing the problems with multitasking is to do a
better job of project portfolio management, adding new projects to the portfolio only after
considering resource availability in addition to other strategic factors.
3) Because of the problems of multi-tasking, project managers must remember that
there is a difference between an activitys duration and the project calendar. In
other words, 40 hours of work on a project task is NOT the same thing as one
week on the baseline schedule. Please comment on this concept. Why does
multitasking decouple activity duration estimates from the project schedule?
See the general discussion of the case above. Multitasking confuses accurate resource
requirements planning because it adds a level of complication to this process. In
developing a resource-leveled project, it is critical that all the resources commitments be
factored into the schedule, not just their commitments to the current project itself.
24
PROBLEMS
Consider a project with the following information:
Activity
Duration
Predecessors
--
B, C
E, F, G
Activity
Duration
ES
EF
LS
LF
Slack
--
10
10
10
--
10
13
10
13
--
13
12
17
13
17
13
17
--
10
12
15
17
17
22
17
22
--
25
Activity
Duration
Total Float
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
3 weeks
5 weeks
7 weeks
3 weeks
5 weeks
4 weeks
2 weeks
5 weeks
-2
--4
-5
--
Resource Hours Total Resources

Needed per
Required
Week
6
18
4
20
4
28
6
18
2
10
4
16
3
6
6
30
Total
146
A. Construct the project activity network using AON methodology.

B. Identify the critical path and other paths through the network.
C. Create a Time-Phased Resource Loading Table for this project, identifying the
activity early start and late finish points
D. Assume that the maximum resource hours per week available for the project are
eight. Can you identify any weeks with resource over commitments?
E. Resource level the loading table. Identify the activity that can be rescheduled and
reconfigure the table to show this reallocation.
26
Solution to 1:
27
Solution to Problem 2:
Alternative Paths through the Network:
1. A B E H
2. A B D F H
3. A C G H
Critical Path: A C D F H
Weeks
Activity
4 4
4 4
6]
10
13
6]
14
15
16
17
] = Late Finish
22
4]
21
]
4
19 20
4]
Total
18
D
E
11 12
11 11
Resources are overcommitted in weeks 11 and 12 by three hours each (total of 11 hours
are committed during those weeks).
Weeks
Activity
4 4
4 4
6]
10
13
6]
14
15
16
17
4]
3]
] = Late Finish
21
22
]
4
19 20
4]
Total
18
D
E
11 12
11 11
8
8
4
7
4
7
Problem 6
Consider the partial resource loading chart shown below. Suppose that the maximum
resource hours you can commit per day are 8.
a. What are the dates on which project resources are over allocated?
b. How should the resource loading table be reconfigured to correct for this over
allocation?
c. Now, suppose that the maximum resources hours per day you can commit are
reduced to 6. How would you reconfigure the resource loading table to adjust?
What would be the new project completion date?
Project Calendar Dates

June
Activity
A
1 2 3 4 5
8 9 10 11 12
15 16 17 18 19
22 23 24 25 26
6 6 6 6 6]
2 2 2 2
4 4 4 4 4]
3 3 3 3 3
4]
Total
6 6 6 6 6
9 9 9 9 7
]
4
35
Solution to Problem 6 (a):

Over allocation occurs on the week of the 8th through the 11th. Total hours allocated for
each of these four days is nine.
Solution to Problem 6 (b):

The simplest method would be to delay the start of Activity B to its late finish dates as
shown in the figure below.

June
Activity
A
1 2 3 4 5
8 9 10 11 12
15 16 17 18 19
22 23 24 25 26
6 6 6 6 6]
2 2
4 4 4 4 4]
3 3 3 3 3
2]
4]
Total
6 6 6 6 6
7 7 7 7 7
]
4
4 ]
Solution to Problem 6 (c): Because activities C and D have little slack time, pushing them off to their Late Finish points is not a viable
option. Activity D would have to be moved later, affecting the starting dates for Activities E, F and G. The new completion date for
the project would be July 1, or three days late.
June
Activity
1 2 3 4 5
8 9 10 11 12
July
15 16 17 18 19
22 23 24 25 26
6 6 6 6 6
2 2
4 4
4 4
Total
29 30 1
6 6 6 6
6 6 6 6 4
37
MSProject EXERCISES
Problem 12.1
Refer to the activity network table below. Enter this information using MSProject in
order to produce a Gantt chart. Assume that each resource has been assigned to the
project activity on a full-time basis.
Activity
Duration
Predecessors
Resource Assigned
A. User survey
None
Gail Wilkins
B. Coding
12
Tom Hodges
C. Debug
Wilson Pitts
D. Design interface
A, C
Sue Ryan
E. Develop training
Reed Taylor
Solution:
38
Problem 12.2
Using the above information, produce a Resource Usage sheet, identifying the total
number of hours and daily commitments of each project team member.
Solution:
The following is a partial Resource Usage sheet, identifying the team members and their
total work hour commitments.
39
Problem 12.3
Refer to the activity network table below. Suppose that we modified the original table
slightly to show the following predecessor relationships between tasks and resources
assigned to perform these activities. Enter this information using MSProject in order to
produce a Gantt chart. Assume that each resource has been assigned to the project
activity on a full-time basis.
Activity
Duration
Predecessors
Resource Assigned
A. User survey
None
Gail Wilkins
B. Coding
12
Tom Hodges
C. Debug
Tom Hodges
D. Design interface
B, C
Sue Ryan
E. Develop training
Reed Taylor
A. Using the Resource Usage view, can you determine any warning signs that
some member of the project team has been overassigned to the project
team?
Solution:
The output highlights (in red) the warning that Tom Hodges has been overassigned to
multiple simultaneous tasks.
40
B. Click on the Resource Graph view to determine the specific days when
there is a conflict in the resource assignment schedule.
Solution:
The Resource Graph screen indicates the exact dates that show a resource assignment
conflict, providing the user with the basis for leveling the activity network.
41
42
Problem 12.4
Using the information provided in problem 12.3 above, how might you resource level this
network to remove the conflicts? Show how you would resource level the network.
From a schedule perspective, what is the new duration of the project?
Solution:
The challenge here lies in reassigning Tom Hodges in such a manner that the schedule no
longer shows conflict among his project responsibilities. Clicking on the Tools taskbar
shows a Resource Leveling function, under which MSProject will automatically smooth
out any resource conflicts. The new Gantt chart is shown below.

Pinto Pm2 Ism Ch12

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Исходное описание:

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Pinto Pm2 Ism Ch12

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

1

INSTRUCTORS RESOURCE MANUAL

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

12.1 CONSTRAINTS ON PROJECTS

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

12.2 RESOURCE LOADING TABLE WITH OVER ALLOCATION

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

12.3 RESOURCE LOADING TABLE

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

12.4 PRIORITIZING ACTIVITIES FOR RESOURCE

1. Those with the smallest amount of slack

2. Those with the smallest duration

3. Those with the lowest activity identification number (e.g., those

4. Those with the most successor tasks

5. Those requiring the most resources

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

12.5 EXAMPLE OF RESOURCE LEVELING

Fully Developed Task Table for Sample Project

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

12.5 (COND) SAMPLE PROJECT NETWORK

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

12.6 RESOURCE LOADING TABLE FOR SAMPLE PROBLEM

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

12.8 Resource Leveling the Network Table

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

12.9 RESOURCE LEVELING THROUGH SPLITTING ACTIVITIES

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

12.10 SAMPLE RESOURCE LOADING CHART

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

8. Why is resource management significantly more difficult in a multi-project

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Case Study 12.1: The Problems of Multitasking

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Resource Hours Total Resources

A. Construct the project activity network using AON methodology.

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Project Calendar Dates

Solution to Problem 6 (a):

Solution to Problem 6 (b):

Project Calendar Dates

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Вам также может понравиться