Chapter 8 Resource Considerations2 2Learning Objectives Learn how to take resource constraints into account Determine the planned resource utilization for a project Level the use of resources within the required time frame Determine the shortest project schedule with limited resources3 3Real World ExampleVignette: San Diego County moves toward e-government First year: replace 15-year old telephone system, old PCs, the data network, and several key software applications. Implement first ever countywide e-mail and voice mail systems. Second year: replace the outdated HR system and their old financial system. Develop data warehousing capabilities. Third year: provide an internet delivery channel for all county services, such as on-line permits and tax payments. A $644 million pact was approved, making this of of the most aggressive outsourced contracts by a U.S. local government.Real World Example Vignette: Advice from an Expert Barbara Perrier -Dreyer After numerous successful projects and awards, Barbara offers the following suggestions: Spend plenty of time on up-front design and requirements Ask technical leads HOW they will build the product Make sure you can measure progress along the way Test. Test. Test. Give the team regular feedback Have some fun and say thank you a lot!4Resource-Constrained Planning Nearly all projects have limits on available resources. Project delays often occur due to certain resources being unavailable. A network diagram can be drawn to reflect the availability of a limited number of resources. 5Planned Resource Utilization Its necessary to indicate the amounts and types of resources needed to perform each activity. Resource utilization based on each activitys earliest start time are based on an as-soon-as- possible (ASAP) schedule. Resource utilization charts based on each activitys latest start time are based on an as-late- as-possible (ALAP) schedule. 6Resource Leveling Resource leveling, or smoothing, is a method for developing a schedule that attempts to minimize the fluctuations in requirements for resources. This method levels the resources so that they are applied as uniformly as possible without extending the project schedule beyond the required completion time.7Resource-Limited Scheduling Resource-limited scheduling is a method for developing the shortest schedule when the number or amount of available resources is fixed and cannot be exceeded. This method will extend the project completion time if necessary in order to keep within the resource limits.8Project Management Software Provides excellent features for handling resource considerations within a project. Allows you to create and maintain a list of resources. Resources can be assigned to various tasks within a project. The user is informed if any resources have time conflicts or if they are over-allocated. Numerous resource allocation reports can be generated.