Section 5
Key Points
Briefing: Identifying Project Resources
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Discuss the importance of identifying project resources.
Both human and nonhuman resources must be identified for a project so that the
project has all of the skills, material, equipment, and money needed for the
project. Identification of project resources is a necessary step in determining
the project’s budget.
Explain the consequences of failing to accurately identify needed project
resources.
If a project manager fails to accurately identify needed project resources, the
progress of the project will probably be delayed until the needed resources
can be acquired. This can result in problems with completing the project
during the initial timeframe. In addition, the project’s total cost will have been
underestimated so that the business is unable to obtain its planned return on
investment.
Identify sources that can be used to determine needed resources.
Project managers can review previous project documentation to see what resources
were used and what comments about resource allocation appears in the
lessons learned documents. Project stakeholders should be asked to provide
insight as to the nature and quality of resources they want to be used in the
project. Team members can be consulted to find out what resources they have
used on previous projects.
Explain considerations in determining resources needed for successful
project completion.
The work breakdown structure is useful in identifying the types of skills that are
needed to successfully complete a project. The project manager should focus
on identification of the needed skills before focusing on the individuals who’ll
make up the team. The skill level should also be determined—e.g., does the
project require an expert or could it rely on a person with less skill who will
cost less to obtain? Once the skills and skill level are determined, the project
manager can begin to match that information to the names of people who
possess the needed skills. The project manager needs to verify the availability
of each person identified so that s/he ensures that the person won’t be on
vacation, scheduled for other projects, etc. The deliverable the employee will
provide should be referenced. The number of days that the employee will be
needed, start and end dates, and the person’s cost must be estimated and
recorded.
Describe techniques for identifying individuals who possess the needed
skills.
Project managers can ask the functional managers to assess the skill set of their
employees to determine who has the requisite skills. They can access
previous project plans to see what individuals have participated in similar
projects.
Explain the importance of estimating project costs.
Project managers attempt to estimate project costs as closely as possible. If they
underestimate project costs, they might find that they have to “eat” the costs
themselves as a contractor. When working for the company for which the
project is being undertaken, project managers might find that they are running
out of funds before a project is completed. If this happens, they may have to
request additional monies or cut corners to complete the project with fewer
resources.
Section 5
Briefing: Identifying Project Resources
5-87
Demonstrate procedures for identifying project resources.
For human resources, take each deliverable in the WBS, identify the activity
required to produce the deliverable.
Next for human resources, determine the skill sets needed.
Specify the level of expertise required on the project.
Match people to the required skill sets and skill levels.
Designate the specific deliverable that each identified resource will produce.
Specify the number of days of effort that the person must spend on carrying
out the deliverable.
Identify start and end dates for each person.
Estimate the cost of each person’s labor.
For nonhuman resources create a nonhuman availability sheet that involves:
Taking the activity specified on the WBS, and determining what nonhuman
resources are required to complete the activity.
Recording the nonhuman resources on the availability sheet.
Estimating the number of hours that the nonhuman resources will be used or
needed, and recording that information on the availability sheet.
Specifying the date(s) the nonhuman resources will be used or needed, and
recording that information on the availability sheet.