What is Project Resource Management and How to Perform it?

In my previous articles, I have covered various aspects of Project Management. Since the project team and material resources are the main catalysts that drive a project toward success, thus it becomes very important to properly manage and utilize these resources. In this article, I would be specifically talking about Project Resource Management, how it is performed and what are the various processes involved in it.

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What is Project Resource Management?

Project Resource Management is one of the ten Knowledge Areas of the project management framework that exclusively deals with the resources involved in a project. According to PMBOK^® Guide – Sixth Edition,

To proceed with a project, it is very important to clearly identify and define the type and amount of resources required. Resource in project management is an umbrella term for physical resources and team resources that are required in order to complete the final deliverable. Physical resources include materials, equipment, facilities, and infrastructure whereas the team resources are human resources. For a project manager, it is very crucial to understand the distinction between the skills and competencies that are needed in order to manage both types of resources.

Project resource management ensures that the project is being executed in accord with the scope and overview that was defined during the planning phase. It also ensures that the right resources are in the right place for the right people at the right time. Not only this, resource management has many other benefits, about which I will be talking in the next section. Enrolling in a PRINCE2 course can significantly enhance your project resource management skills, ensuring successful project execution.

Resource Management Benefits

1. Optimum Utilization of Resources: With a well-organized project resource management you can use your project resources to their full potential, maximizing their productivity while making sure that they do not feel overworked.
2. Increases Revenue: With optimum utilization of resources and balanced workload, the efficiency of a project increases that in turn results in increased revenue and success of a project.
3. Helps in Resolving Internal Conflicts: Resource management helps in resolving any kind of internal issues regarding the project resources whether be it human resources or physical resources. In project teams, internal conflicts are very important to resolve; else they may hamper in the project development.
4. Avoids Unforeseen Obstacles: A structured resource management will help you in gaining insights into your resources upfront and help in planning how to use them, and troubleshoot gaps or hindrances beforehand.
5. Enhances Employee Satisfaction: Project resource management also helps in clearly outlining the right compensation and benefits which ensures that the employees are happy and satisfied.
6. Improves Employee Performance: Resource Management helps in defining the project resource requirements and thus recruiting the right resources from the very beginning of the project.
7. Helps in Quality Training and Development: The project resource management team solely focuses on the development and growth of the project team. From time to time they organize assessments for determining what type of skills training and programmes are required for the development of the employees.
8. Better Control of Budget: With effective resource management, you can easily avoid “overallocation” or “dependency” of resources which will give you better control over your project.
9. Builds Transparency: It builds up a transparent framework from where other teams of your organization can see and analyze your team’s bandwidth, and thus help in deciding whether your team is working at their full potential and are available to take on new projects.

Project Resource Management Processes

This knowledge area consists of six processes which are listed below along with their detailed explanation:

1. Plan Resource Management
2. Estimate Activity Resources
3. Acquire Resources
4. Develop Team
5. Manage Team
6. Control Resources

1. Plan Resource Management

Plan Resource Management is the first and the initial step of the project resource management Knowledge Area. It involves various aspects like defining the process of estimating, acquiring, managing and using physical and human resources. This process is usually performed only once or at few predefined points throughout the project lifecycle to help in establishing the way of approach and level of management required for managing resources. These aspects are majorly influenced by the type and complexity of the project.

This process consists of various inputs, tools & techniques and outputs which I have listed down in the below table:

2. Estimate Activity Resources

Once you are done with planning, the next process is Estimate Activity Resources. In this process, the resources required for the project along with their type and quantity of tools, equipment, raw material, and supplies are being estimated. This process is generally executed after specific time intervals throughout the project lifecycle. With this, you can pinpoint the what type of resources you need, in what amounts and what should be their characteristics in order to finish the project successfully.

There are various inputs, tools & techniques and outputs involved in this process that I have listed in the below table:

3. Acquire Resources

Acquire Resources is the third process of project resource management Knowledge Area that deals with collecting the various human resources, facilities, tools and equipment, supplies and raw materials required to deliver the project. This process helps in outlining and guiding the selection process of the project resources and then assigning them to their specific activities/tasks. Thus, it is performed at periodic intervals throughout the project lifecycle and helps in preventing running out of resources.

This process consists of various inputs, tools & techniques and outputs which I have listed in the below table:

4. Develop Team

Next process of this Knowledge Area is to Develop Team. As the name suggests, this process purely concentrates on the development of team bonding and assigning them with rewarding work, future opportunities, and career development. It helps in enhancing the overall team performance by improving team members competencies, interactions, and the environment. This process is performed throughout the project lifecycle and intensifies teamwork, improves interpersonal skills of the individuals, motivates the team and reduces attrition.

Develop Team  process involves various inputs, tools & techniques and outputs that I have listed in the below table:

5. Manage Team

Since the project team is acquired and developed, the next step is to manage them. In this process, each and every team members performance is monitored and tracked, their problem areas are identified and the issues are resolved and feedbacks are given in order to optimize the project performance. This process is generally performed throughout the project lifecycle and helps in influencing team behavior, managing the conflicts and resolving brewing issues.

In the below table I have listed down the various inputs, tools & techniques and outputs that are involved in this process:

6. Control Resources

Control Resources is the final process of the project resource management Knowledge Area. In this process, the project managers ensure that the resources that are assigned and allocated for the project activities are available, monitor their estimated usage vs actual usage and subsequently take corrective actions to keep the project on track. This process is implemented throughout the project lifecycle and helps in ensuring that the necessary project resources are deployed to the correct places at the correct time and are released when the project comes to an end.

This process consists of various inputs, tools & techniques and outputs which I have listed down in the below table:

With this, we come to the end of this Project Resource Management article. There are 10 Knowledge Areas in the project management framework and Resource Management was just one of them. If you wish to learn more about project management framework or project management exam guide, you can check my other articles as well.

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