What does project resource management look like in your organization? Are you managing multiple teams across departments or geographic locations? Perhaps you’re outsourcing talent or coordinating dates and budgets? Maybe you’re managing equipment, space availability, or partners in a supply chain. The scenarios are endless. Depending on who you ask in your organization and their role, you may find it difficult to get a consistent project resource management definition. In the spirit of keeping it simple, this blog provides my favorite definition around project resource management, as well as tips to improve resource management in today’s fast paced environment. Let’s get started.
While the specifics differ for each organization, the following is a solid definition of project resource management at its basic level:
Project resource management is the effective procurement and allocation of the resources needed for a specific project.
These resources may include people, equipment, financial capital, etc. For more detail on project resources and how to ensure their availability, check out the blog, “What Are Project Resources? Defining Your Keys to Success.”
How can you determine the best approach to project resource management? Here are a few tips to get started.
- Consider the nature of the project—Understanding the length (short- or long-term) and cost of your project is the first step in knowing whether or not resources will be available and how early you will need to request them. Planning ahead of time will help avoid additional costs and hold-ups.
- Remain flexible—Once your project is underway, there will most likely be changes along the way. Schedules change, prices fluctuate, and there is always risk involved. Keep all project information in one place so you will be prepared to respond appropriately to any adjustments.
- Ensure your team is reliable—Your team must be capable of turning corporate strategy into reality. According to research sponsored by the Project Management Institute, “talent deficiencies significantly hamper 40 percent of strategy implementation efforts.”[1] Therefore, hiring and training the right people is critical to the success of your organization.
Once you have an understanding of your resource management practices, you will be able to construct and improve your project and resource management processes.
For more information about project and resource management, check out the 2016 State of Resource Management and Capacity Planning Benchmark Study, and leave a comment below with how you define project resource management.
[1] “Resource Management.” Project Management Institute, www.pmi.org/learning/featured-topics/resource. Accessed 29 Dec. 2017.
