RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Here’s a PM who’s fantastic at managing their resources……

RESOURCES = Human resources + extra money + ( computers, offices,  equipment, etc )

Basically anything that costs money is a resource. However, primarily, PM’s refer to SKILLED PEOPLE as their resources.

STEPS FOR RESOURCE PLANNING (D-A-L-L)

• Determination – of what’s needed
• Acquisition – of the resources you want
• Loading – of the resources onto the schedule
• Levelling – the resources to smooth/minimise the issues (probably as they occur)

Remember the 4 letter mnemonic, D-A-L-L

RESOURCE LOADING TABLE

This is a matrix for an INDIVIDUAL RESOURCE which plots:

Time on the x-axis
Individual tasks (chronologically) on the y-axis
The number of hours per week per task — Note that resourcing is in HOURS not days, weeks, etc.

 ”CONSTRAINT MANAGEMENT”

This is in quotation marks because I question the worth of memorising this… To me it reads like Workplace Health & Safety guidelines — i.e. specifically worded for idiots.

1. Identify the system constraint
2. Exploit the system constraint
3. Subordinate everything else to the system constraint
4. Elevate the system constraint
5. Re-evaluate the system

 Longer list of things that are resources, if elaboration is required.

• People = skilled labour, sometimes unskilled labour
• Extra people = ccontractors, consultants; brought in to fix lagging timelines
• Tools = computers, software, office chairs, desks, coffee machines; stuff which allows the people to work
• Materials = stuff which needs to be used up by the team in order to get tasks done. E.g. Testing a printer may require heaps of paper
• Location = office space, etc
• People’s rights = sick leave, superannuation, people bludging, etc.

Time/Resource/Cost Management, Part 2: Activity on Arrow, PERT.

Activity on Arrow (AOA Network Diagram)

Is a common way of graphically depicting the sequence of tasks. The tasks usually come from the WBS. This could also be represented as a Gantt chart, but Gantt charts are for rookies.

• Circular nodes represent points in time.
• Nodes left-to-right.
• Tasks are represented as lines between circular nodes. They can be identified by the nodes on either side: E.g. Task B-C is between nodes B & C. Or Task A is between nodes 1 & 2.
• Dummy nodes can be used to denote task identity (and possibly task sequence?) i.e. a dummy node is added for task-ID’ing purposes.

BE CAREFUL. Tasks are not the nodes. Tasks are between the nodes.

When drawing one, DO A DRAFT FIRST. Unless it’s the simplest of projects, usually your AOA will become messy and end up everywhere.

PERT: Project Evaluation and Review Technique

Draw Circles with Crosses, then link them with arrows.

TOP: Node ID
LEFT: Earliest start (NOT the worst time estimate)
RIGHT: Latest Start (NOT the best time estimate)
BOTTOM: Float

Float is a measurement of time gap. The shortest path will have a float value of zero.

Note: Very few examples online actually depict a PERT chart as per UTS teaching. It seems this is an area that PM’s agree to disagree.

(Thank you Breeny for correcting some of the above points) 

That feeling of able to manage tasks and people with diagrams:

Time/Resource/Cost Management, Part 1: WBS, Milestones, Estimating time.

Work Breakdown Structure

Create atomic tasks (Atomic meaning granular, individual, one single outcome per task). This is usually done in a top-down fashion, i.e.

• We have the entire thing which is TBA
• Figure out the main sub-areas (labelled 1, 2, 3, etc)
• For each sub-area, break down into smaller task-groups (1.1, 1.2, etc)
• Then for each of those, write down the atomic tasks (1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc)

Going any further down than 3 or 4 levels (i.e. 1.5.1 or 1.5.2.1) is the maximum recommended – otherwise your WBS will look like a cluster fuck.

This is most WBS’s when they are overly complicated

Milestones

Milestones will keep your project schedule in check. By breaking down the tasks, and setting milestones for completion dates, we can reduce the student syndrome problem: WHERE STUDENTS DO NOTHING AT FIRST, THEN DO ALL THEIR CRAMMING AT THE END.

I have used this screenshot for the purpose of studying and revising. (c) Grant Mooney, School of Systems, Management and Leadership. No copyright is claimed or assumed by me.

This may work for uni, but apparently it is the bane of PM’s – it wastes money and potential opportunities e.g. spare time to do other stuff.

Time Estimation

• Guesstimation: Make a straight guess for each task. Used by noob PM’s, is considered bad. 
• Delphi: Consult the experts (Think the Oracle of Delphi – got consulted all the time)
• Time Boxing: Break up into defined time gaps, try and push the group towards finishing in that “time box”
• Analogous: Based on previous experience
• Top-Down and Bottom-up: Estimate the times for the largest/smallest groups, then build each successive level as the sum of the levels before it.
• Parametric: (Think “parameters”) An engineering approach – where you calculate your time, based on known factors and metrics.
  E.g. Lines of Code (LOC), each LOC costs $0.04, therefore 3,254,000 KLOC costs ???

Stakeholder management

What are the ways that a PM should manage a stakeholder? (R-R-C-C)

• Recognise – the interests of everyone
• Reconcile – the competing interests
• Communicate – continually
• Commitment – get it from them

Remember the acronym R-R-C-C for managing stakeholders.

<– Draw this diagram

There is so much fluff here, just try to use common sense when answering stakeholder questions.

If in doubt, put in references to PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge). “According to PMBOK, ……….”

Types of ethical standpoints

4 “main” ones:
Deontology – Consequentialism – Relativism – Universalism

3 less-useful ones:
Virtue Ethics – Justice Ethics – Ethical Pluralism

DEONTOLOGY: Right/wrong depends on your duty/job/task. (Look how far this got poor Ned)

CONSEQUENTIALISM: Right/wrong is based on what happens.

RELATIVISM: Right/wrong depends on who you ride with.

UNIVERSALISM: There is only one set of right/wrong beliefs. Very individualistic. Could be represented through arrogance.

VIRTUE ETHICS: Depends on the character of the person. So if society deems that person to be a person of “good character”, then the things that the person does are deemed to be “good things”

JUSTICE ETHICS: Socialist way of looking at ethics. Everyone shares the good and the bad aspects.

ETHICAL PLURALISM: Is an “all of the above”, where it is accepted that different ethical standpoints may conflict.

It is a matter of ethics when:

• There is someone in a position of power – i.e. with the ability to do stuff
• It’s related to society, more than to an individual
• The effects are felt amongst other people – who are anonymous

It is NOT a matter of ethics when:

• It’s personal opinion only, and nothing more
• It doesn’t affect anyone else
• The beliefs/views are changed frequently (that’s probably paranoid schizophrenia)

In a project, why is ethics involved?

• There may be impacts for stakeholders in the final project. IF YOU APPROACH FROM A CONSEQUENTIAL STANDPOINT, consider if the project’s impacts will affect anybody negatively? Loss of jobs, loss of convenience, injury/loss of life.
• FROM A DEONTOLOGY STANDPOINT, does this project actually need to be undertaken by the company? Or are you wasting their money? Is this what you really honestly believe – or do you just want to get paid for your job?

Lecture slides: Seven Step Approach (F-S-C-W-O-R-D)

1. Facts – get them
2. Stakeholders – Identify their role
3. Consequences – Consider them
4. Weigh-up – guidelines and principles
5. Options – develop and evaluate
6. Review – the decision
7. Decision – evaluate the results

Remember the acronym, FSC WORD

LAW vs ETHICS

Not the same thing. It could be legal and ethical, legal and unethical, etc etc

As I study for 31272 Project Management & the Professional, I may as well put up my notes and study material.

Daenerys approves.